Publication of inventory of missing archival records relating to the Danish post-war legal purge stolen in the 2012 theft case

The Danish National Archives has decided to publish an inventory of archival records relating to the post-war legal purge in Denmark following the Second World War. These records are missing from the holdings of the Danish National Archives and were stolen in connection with theft committed between 2009 and 2012.

The Danish National Archives had previously assessed that publication of the inventory of missing records might have more adverse than beneficial consequences. On the one hand, individuals in possession of records included in the inventory might choose to destroy them in order to avoid prosecution for unlawful possession. On the other hand, publication of the inventory could give rise to the mistaken impression that government records not included in the inventory may lawfully be held in private possession.

Recent discoveries of stolen archival records and renewed media coverage of the thefts have prompted the Danish National Archives to reconsider whether to publish the inventory. It now considers that the benefits of publication outweigh any potential disadvantages.

The Danish National Archives’ overriding objective is to secure the return of the stolen archival records. The inventory is therefore being made publicly available, and the Danish National Archives encourages anyone who may be in possession of records listed in the inventory to contact either the Danish National Archives or the Danish police.

The inventory provides an overview of records relating to the post-war legal purge in Denmark that have been identified as missing from the holdings of the Danish National Archives. It should not be regarded as a definitive list of stolen records, since records may be missing for reasons other than theft—for example, because they were never transferred to the Danish National Archives when the case files were originally transferred to archival custody.

The inventory will be revised continously.

In 2012, following an external inquiry, the Danish National Archives became aware of the theft of archival records from its reading room in Copenhagen and from the reading room of the former Provincial Archives of Zealand, which has since closed. The Danish National Archives reported the matter to the police, resulting in the arrest of two individuals in 2012 and their conviction in 2013.

Following the theft investigation, the Danish National Archives carried out a comprehensive review of security arrangements across all of its reading rooms, its inter-repository loan services, and its procedures for handling archival records. On the basis of this review, the Danish National Archives introduced a series of enhanced security measures and strengthened its operational procedures. These measures were implemented during 2013 and 2014.

A substantial number of archival records were recovered during police searches of the offenders’ premises. However, not all of the stolen records have been returned, and the Danish National Archives continues to cooperate with the Danish police in cases involving suspected or confirmed discoveries of archival records connected with the thefts.