Staff at the KB National Library of the Netherlands discovered a box of Second World War material in its repository. The box includes letters, photos and information for people in the resistance.
Contents
Collection specialist Huibert Crijns has examined the box’s contents. In the process, he came across many special war-related items, such as a photo album showing war damage in various Dutch cities, camp money and personal letters. The box was also full of examples and templates for forging identity cards and other papers. Crijns wrote a blog in which he elaborates on the contents of the box (in Dutch).
Wim Oosenbrug
Crijns discovered that the box belonged to Wim Oosenbrug, a member of the resistance and head of the Falsificatie Centrale (Central Forgery Department) during the Second World War. At the time of Oosenbrug’s death, his son was working at the KB. He then donated several boxes of his father's papers to various organisations, but this box remained at the KB. Where it remained forgotten until repository workers came across it while preparing for the move to a new repository that is currently being built. This just goes to show how easily history can be lost.
