Issues related to war violence generate a lot of interest from society and demand independent academic research. NIOD conducts and stimulates such research and its collections are open to all those who are interested. The Institute was founded on 8 May 1945 to write the history of the Second World War in the Netherlands and in the former Dutch East Indies through independent research. Since 1 January 1999 the Institute is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). On 9 December 2010 NIOD merged with the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) and it now operates under the name NIOD, Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Area of work & tasks NIOD’s area of work covers the 20th and 21st century, with a focus on research into the effects of wars, the Holocaust and other genocides on individuals and society. NIOD: - collects, manages, opens up and makes accessible archives and collections about the Second World War. - conducts academic research and publishes about it. - gives information to government bodies and individuals. stimulates and organises debates and activities about war violence and processes that are at the basis of war violence.