An Ethical Procedure in Disclosing the CABR (Post-War Trial Archives of World War II) in 2025

Abstract

This thesis looks at the ethical issues around opening up the Central Archive of Special Jurisdiction (CABR), which holds records from post-World War II trials in the Netherlands. Using Scanlon’s theory of contractualism, it explores how to balance privacy, historical research, the needs of families affected by the archives, and the need for collective remembrance of the events of World War II. Following the Scanlonian framework, I propose the following principles that are not reasonably rejectable by any of the stakeholders involved in the disclosure of the archives. First of all, the path to ethical disclosure involves no public access to any records in which a living person is mentioned, unless all living persons grant access to the record (either through individual access or a blanket approval to disclose the record in a digital environment). All other records of deceased persons are accessible except for medical files or psychiatric reports. Medical information of dead people is not accessible because making this information available harms the confidentiality of the patient-doctor relationship of all living healthcare users. Lastly, it is imperative that all verdicts, testimonies and other documents that contain complex juridical terms are provided with sufficient context for a non-expert to understand its content. When this is not taken care of, there is a high risk of misinterpretation of the archive. Misinterpretation is harmful to both the posthumous reputation of the people mentioned in the archive as well as to the people who wish to obtain information from the archive. This research contains recommendations for the evolving policy around CABR disclosure. Current policy prioritises public access over privacy and focuses on what is allowed under privacy legislation in this situation. This thesis’ focus lies in the ethical realm rather than what is juridically allowed and proposes a reasonably non-rejectable agreement for all stakeholders involved in disclosure of the CABR.