Headline:
Storm of Visitors Overwhelms Netherlands‘ Largest War Archive as It Finally Opens
SEO-Optimized Article:
The website of the Netherlands’ largest war archive, Oorlog voor de Rechter, has been flooded with nearly 400,000 visitors since its launch yesterday, with interest pouring in from both domestically and internationally, particularly from Jewish families seeking information about their relatives during the Holocaust.
Robert Chesal, a reporter for NOS, the Netherlands public broadcasting organization, broke the news today that the archive’s sudden popularity has led to frustration, as the promised full access to the archive has not yet materialized. The archive, which houses dossiers from the Centraal Archief Bijzondere Rechtspleging (Special Court of Justice), had announced it would become fully accessible this year, but bureaucracy and privacy concerns have delayed the process.
One such frustrated visitor is Gideon van der Sluis, a 48-year-old who emigrated from the Netherlands to Israel in 2006. Although he has some information about his family members who perished in concentration camps, he has unanswered questions about two of his grandfather’s brothers. "One was supposed to escape to Limburg but was betrayed. The night before they were supposed to leave, they were all arrested. The other was already hiding in The Hague, but he and his wife were also betrayed. I need to know who did this," he said.
Van der Sluis believes there are many more emigrated Jews, like himself, who would like to delve into the archive’s records. "There are family members in Canada, the US, and Australia who also want the full story. It’s important for us to pass this on to our children," he explained.
Currently, users can only search the archive by the names of suspected collaborators. If they find a record, they must make an appointment to review the documents in person at the National Archive in The Hague and are not allowed to make copies.
The National Archive expects to introduce a computer in the study hall in March where visitors can search using multiple keywords, not just names of suspects. However, it’s unclear how long it will take for the archive to be fully accessible online worldwide, as the Archive Act needs to be amended.
Ultimately, the plan is for the entire archive to be digitized and available online, which would make it much easier to access. But for some Holocaust survivors, this may come too late. Such is the case for Pinchas Bar-Efrat, a 93-year-old Israeli researcher who survived the war and now wants to find out why his aunt and uncle, who were hiding, were betrayed and sent to Sobibor.
For Van der Sluis, who also doesn’t know the names of the people who betrayed his great-uncles, waiting for better digital search functionalities is agonizing. "I understand the need to protect privacy, but as next of kin, we’re being hindered. My family was wiped out. I grew up with these stories. Now I just want answers. I have a right to this information," he said.
While the full digital accessibility of the archive is still a work in progress, anyone interested in learning more about the Dutch wartime era can sign up for NOS’ newsletter by clicking here.
