The National Archive is the Netherlands largest archive. It manages over 100 kilometers of archives appealing to the imagination, and it is accessible to everyone. History is portrayed not only in words, but also in images, through maps, drawings, and photographs. There are documents about our colonial past and the Netherlands as a trade nation, about the Second World War, stories about government and democracy – from Jacoba van Beieren up to Hans Wiegel, and 1.2 million photographs that visualize the Netherlands in the 20th century.
The archive’s photographic collection is highly varied: from pictures of the KNVB (National Dutch Football Association) bringing the early years of Dutch football to life, to RVD (Royal Information Service) prints showing how the government used photography as a PR-instrument during the Second World War. The collection contains 85.000 photos and negative slides from Willem van de Poll - one of the most important photographers of his time (1895-1970), 700.000 images from Anefo, one of the Netherlands’ most important photo press bureaus between 1945 and 1989. The photographic collection of Rijkswaterstaat (the Royal department for the maintenance of dikes, roads, bridges, and the navigability of canals), probably one of the most complete in the area of large public works (1860-1920), is also housed here.
See also www.nationaalarchief.nl
