Dutch program named “The War at Court” digitally released a list of the names of about half a million suspected Nazi collaborators during World War II after a law barring public access to the file expired.

The archive, consisting of 32 million pages, includes 450,000 people, mostly Dutch people who had been investigated for collaboration with the German occupiers during World War II. The law barring public access to the archives expired on New Year’s Day.

Only a fifth of those on the list had previously been brought to justice, while most cases involved minor offenses such as being a member of the National Socialist movement.

Although the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects personal data, it does not apply to those who have died, i.e. the vast majority of those listed in the archive.

Initially, scanned files from the archive were to be made available to the public online today, giving users access to files on suspects, which also include their victims and witnesses.

However, after a warning from the Dutch Data Protection Authority, it was decided last month to postpone full disclosure and instead publish only the list of names.

No date has been set for the release of these files, but those interested in research – including descendants, journalists and historians – can apply to the Dutch National Archives in The Hague for instructions.