Largest Dutch WWII archive digitally available from 1 July
Starting 1 July 2025, the digital section of the Central Archive of Special Jurisdiction (CABR) will be accessible at the National Archives in The Hague. Five secure computers are provided in the reading room, and visitors must reserve a time slot in advance.
The CABR is the largest Second World War archive in the Netherlands. It contains files on people who were investigated for alleged alliance with the German occupier. This does not automatically mean they were guilty of collaboration. Someone may have been unduly suspected.
New software and ai
The CABR is being digitized by the Huygens Institute as part of the project War in Court. New software has been developed to make the archive accessible and easy to browse for both scholars and the wider public. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being applied. So far, almost a third of the files have been scanned. The archive should be completely digitalized by 2027. In future, it will be made available online. The Dutch government is currently amending legislation.
Specialty of the Huygens Institute
The Huygens Institute specializes in digitizing historical archives and making them accessible and easy to work with. For example, the institute has digitized hundreds of thousands of resolutions (decrees) made by the States General between 1576 and 1796 (searchable via Goetgevonden) and is currently doing the same with an important letter archive of the Dutch East India Company (see Globalise).
An abundance of new information
Digitization enables new research. Indeed, the CABR contains not only information about suspects, but also about victims and witnesses, like (Jewish) citizens, members of the resistance and people who offered shelter to those in hiding. In the past, this information was difficult or sometimes impossible to find, because the files are only listed under the names of alleged suspects.
How to make a reservation
Anyone wishing to consult the archive must book in advance via the National Archives. Due to high demand, available places are quickly filled. Visitors are advised to try again in a week’s time.
