Bugged by the BVD: How communist groups and radical-left cells experienced interference by the Dutch Bureau of National Security (1949-1989)

Abstract

During most of the Cold War, the Netherlands had one national security service: the Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst (BVD). Countless books and articles have been published on the Cold War, most of which had a global focus, with the United States and the Soviet Union in the forefront. But how the Cold War, and the fear and hate that came with it, impacted smaller countries such as the Netherlands, has been studied less substantially. Most literature on the Cold War in the Netherlands has been published exclusively in Dutch. This is also the case for literature on the BVD. This article tries to break with that tradition and provides an informational overview of the different kind of operations that the BVD had throughout the Cold War, including the reactions of those targeted, in English. The question it tries to answer is: How did communist parties, individuals and radical-left cells experience interference by the BVD into their affairs (1949-1989)? My research has shown that the BVD did not have a clear single target throughout the decades. There were many objects of interest for the BVD, such as the Communistische Partij Nederland (CPN), radical-left groups and the peace movement. However, most of the BVD’s attention during this period went to those that were either alleged or obvious communists. Each decade brought different threats, and each approach to them was different as well.