From savings accounts and tableware to houses, companies and even castles. In the first years after the Second World War, the Nederlands Beheersinstituut (Netherlands Property Administration Institute) (NBI) managed hundreds of millions of guilders in assets on behalf of the Dutch government. Part of this capital came from Germans residing in the Netherlands, who were declared enemy subjects. Personal belongings of these persons were expropriated as 'enemy property', by way of reparation for the war damage suffered by the Netherlands. Another part of the management concerned possession of (alleged) traitors, pending a criminal trial. In addition, the NBI was also responsible for managing the assets of so-called 'absents', persons who had not returned, often Jewish people, who presumably had not survived the war.
The Tax and Customs Administration played an essential role in obtaining information about the various assets. However, it is not clear exactly how post-war asset management functioned. How did the interaction between the Netherlands Property Administration Institute and the Tax and Customs Administration function? How was the post-war expropriation of assets and the imposition of tax liabilities justified? And, which formal legal framework applied? These questions are central to this research into the two main players in the property expropriation and the eviction of traitors, enemy subjects and Jews in the post-war period: the Netherlands Property Administration Institute and the Tax and Customs Administration.