Declassified papers detail WWII scandals, Kissenger's Bilderberg rejection, cheese study

The Dutch National Archives in The Hague is releasing thousands of documents to the public on Tuesday, a process which happens annually in the Netherlands. In many cases, the documents were published after a 75-year period lapsed, meaning many papers date from 1948, the year Queen Juliana ascended the throne, but there is also new information about World War II and post-War periods in the Netherlands, the Japanese rule over the Dutch East Indies, why Henry Kissinger did not attend the 1973 Bilderberg Conference, and research into the perfect farmer's cheese.

This year, a total of 11,000 documents will be released which were classified due to privacy reasons or national interests, but with restrictions that expired on New Year's Day. Roughly 180,000 documents will be publicly available in a year, mostly about the War and post-War periods.

World War II in the Netherlands and Japanese occupation of Dutch East Indies

The documents made public on Tuesday regarding World War II and the years afterwords include information about the difficulties faced by Dutch people, mostly Jews, when they wanted to return to the Netherlands after the war. "Who gets priority and who pays for the trip?" the National Archives stated.

"After the War, the Dutch government started Operation Black Tulip," the National Archives noted. "The intention is to deport all residents with German nationality to Germany. For this purpose, the Mariënbosch internment camp near Nijmegen was set up by the Aliens Service. Documents about how this was set up are now available for everyone to view, as are two German letters that one 'Walli' wrote from the camp to her lover."

More information also became public about atrocities committed by the Japanese occupation forces in the former Dutch East Indies. The Japanese invaded the colony, which is mostly present-day Indonesia, after the Netherlands declared war against Japan for the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Imperial Japanese Army conquered the colony, and the Dutch surrendered in March 1942.

The National Archives has now made public more information about atrocities committed there by the Japanese, and those who faced prosecution after the war. "Files are also released about their trial. An investigation concerns those responsible for a number of brothels in Semarang in which Dutch women were forced into prostitution."

Kissinger's decision not to attend Bilderberg in 1973

Newly-published letters also revealed details about why Henry Kissinger did not attend the Bilderberg Group meetings in 1973. Kissinger was U.S. National Security Advisor to Richard Nixon at the time. The conference was held in Sweden from May 11-13, months before Kissinger was sworn in as Secretary of State.

Leiden University Professor Ernst van der Beugel was the secretary of the Bilderberg Conference at the time, and Prince Bernhard was its chair. They invited Kissinger to attend, but Kissinger decided not to attend based on advice from diplomats located in Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme was staunchly opposed to U.S. policy in Vietnam, which was largely orchestrated by Kissinger. "Under these circumstances, it is obvious that my attendance at the Bilderberg Conference would be impossible, and I therefore have decided to cancel my participation," Kissinger wrote in a letter dated April 28, 1973.

But Van der Beugel and Bernhard were not satisfied with that, and desperately wanted to change Kissigner's mind. At one point, they considered moving the conference from Sweden to The Hague. Kissenger stuck to his position. Van der Beugel explained to Bernhard, "Of course it has nothing to do with the Bilderberg, but it does have to do with the Swedes."

Preparations for Queen Juliana's inauguration in 1948

Queen Wilhelmina stepped down after 50 years, abdicating the throne in 1948. Documents about preparations for the inauguration of Queen Juliana were published on Tuesday. They show the "meticulous" planning that went in to organizing the ceremony. The documents are like a "silent witness" to this era, the National Archives wrote.

Of her ascension to the throne, Juliana famously said, "Since the day before yesterday, I have been called to a task that is so difficult that no one who has even spent a moment imagining it would desire it, but also so beautiful that I can only say, 'Who am I, that I may do this?'" The documents shed light on how that speech was developed.

Profits over taste: Dutch row over farmer's cheese

Another set of documents made public was TNO research into "the perfect, full-fat farmer's cheese." The research started in the 1950s, and continued into the next decade, to determine how farm-produced cheese production could be increased to compete with industrial dairy manufacturers. The research was somewhat controversial as it somewhat supported the efficiency of making cheese in a factory over the labor of love shown by farmers doing everything they can to make the best cheese possible.

“The difference between farmer's cheese and factory cheese could almost lie in this: that the farmer generally does their utmost to make GOOD CHEESE, and the factories do their utmost to make as much money as possible,” one critic wrote.