Summary
The Netherlands has released a digital archive of 425,000 suspected Nazi collaborators from World War II, following the expiration of a law prohibiting its publication.
The list, compiled by the Huygens Institute’s “War in Court” project, documents the investigations of mostly Dutch individuals, with only 20% ever tried.
This revelation sheds light on the scale of Dutch complicity during Nazi occupation.
While historians and educators hail it as a significant resource, some descendants of those named have expressed concern about potential backlash.
Access to more detailed records remains restricted to researchers.
They also made some mistakes by accidentally including some victims! I read there was at least a few people on there who actually died in a camp.
It’s also worth pointing out that ‘suspected’ is quite a vague term. If a neighbour didn’t like you and tipped you as a collaborator, you might very well be on that list despite being perfectly clean.
Still, it’s a good thing they’re at least acknowledging this uncomfortable part of Dutch history. Some families will finally have some closure/answers as to what their (grand)parents did or didn’t do during the war.
This is a good example of why witch hunts inevitably include innocent people. Maybe you started rooting out fascists, but somebody will take advantage of a ravenous mob given the opportunity.
Which is why Nazis actively carrying signs, showing tattoos, or shouting Nazi shit are fair game. At that point it’s just proactive self defense.