NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

Overview

The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies is a national and international center of expertise for interdisciplinary research into the history of world wars, mass violence, and genocide, including their long-term social consequences. NIOD also collects, preserves, and provides access to archives and collections, particularly those relating to the Second World War. It is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and is headquartered in a historic building on Herengracht in Amsterdam.

History and Founding

The institute was founded on 8 May 1945 — the day of Germany's surrender — to document the history of the Second World War in the Netherlands and the former Dutch East Indies through independent research. Originally known as the Rijksinstituut voor oorlogsdocumentatie (RIOD), it changed its name to the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) and became part of KNAW on 1 January 1999. In December 2010, NIOD merged with the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS), which had been founded in 2002, adopting its current name.

Collections and Holdings

NIOD manages over 2,500 linear meters of archival material. Collections encompass archives of the German administration in the Netherlands, government departments in The Hague and London, resistance groups, Jewish and National Socialist organizations, and prison camps in Europe and Asia. Personal collections — including diaries, letters, and photographs — donated by the Dutch public since 1945 form a substantial portion of holdings. NIOD also manages the Image Bank WW2 (Beeldbank WO2), which contains more than 175,000 images from Dutch war and resistance museums and memorial centers. The NIOD library holds over 75,000 titles on the Second World War, the Holocaust, and other genocides.

Notable Works and Research

NIOD's most celebrated publication is Loe de Jong's fourteen-volume magnum opus Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (The Kingdom of the Netherlands During World War II), comprising 18,000 pages published between 1969 and 1988. NIOD also produced the influential report on the Srebrenica massacre, which contributed to the resignation of the Dutch cabinet in 2002. The institute is a key node in the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI).

Access and Usage

NIOD's reading room is open to the public free of charge (closed Mondays). Finding aids for archives and collections are searchable online. A portion of the archival collection is digitized and accessible online. Visitors with accessibility needs are accommodated at the Herengracht premises.