The Dutch “War in the Court” program digitally released the names of 425,000 dosilogs in the . The specific files come from the special jurisdiction courts established in the Netherlands after the country’s liberation, with the aim of trying those suspected of collaboration with the occupiers.
The release of the files was made possible because the relevant Dutch law prohibiting it expired with the change of time. The files were to be fully made available to the public online, but after a warning from the Dutch data protection agency, only the list of the names of the dosers was made public. It is also worth noting that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation does not put a protective framework around the data of the deceased – and most of those listed in the Dutch records are no longer alive.
“The overall publication of the files must undoubtedly only be done in accordance with the provisions on the protection of personal data”, writes the tageszeitung in a related comment. “Further consultations will be needed […] to determine exactly how the overall release of the records will take place. That goal is currently being postponed, but not canceled outright – nor should it be.
On the other hand, there can be no other alternative than general digital access to the files – especially at a time when the last people who lived through these events are dying and many experts worldwide are looking for ways to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for the next generations.
At a time when anti-Semitism is spreading in a way that no one could have imagined 20 years ago. Where Trump characterizes his enemies as “fascists” and Putin the enemies of Russia as “Nazis”. And that the AfD and the FPÖ are claiming power and that their friendly parties in other European countries have already taken it – as is the case in the Netherlands.
In this context, as much as possible unhindered access to these files is also of great importance for international investigations. But primarily it is a social obligation towards the often (over)aged relatives, who were not only forced to live for decades with the void left behind by their murdered family members, but also who could never find out which of their compatriots they were once betrayed,” concludes taz.
