Documents stolen from the National Archives of the Netherlands have come back into the possession of the National Archives via Arthur Brand.
The National Archives was approached by the Amsterdam police at the beginning of May, after Arthur Brand had been offered the documents. These are special documents from the collection, such as the earliest resolutions of the Heren XVII of the VOC (albeit a contemporary copy covering the period 1602-1607), in which, among other things, the well-known logo of the VOC is established (with drawing), and the first ship's log kept by Michiel A. de Ruyter himself, and the early secret resolutions of the States-General 1592-1602. The VOC and States-General documents have been part of the archival collection of the National Archives (formerly the General State Archives) for at least 175 years. Other documents are mostly more than 50 to 100 years old.
General State Archivist and General Director of the National Archives Afelonne Doek: "We're naturally pleased that the documents are back in our possession; that's where they belong. There are some truly special pieces among them, and they belong in the National Archives. It's good that they can be consulted again by researchers and other interested parties."
The National Archives has implemented various measures to improve security in recent years. Based on this specific incident, no additional measures have been taken, but current measures are being re-evaluated. Afelonne Doek: "For example, we established study room rules years ago, and the study room is supervised. But it's also about access to the building and to both the digital and physical collections. That's an ongoing process."
Main Image: Copyright Arthur Brand