Thousands of people have requested to see the files of alleged Nazi collaborators on the first day that the national archive has been open to the public online.

The CABR archive holds the names of 425,000 people suspected of having collaborated with the Germans in some form, who betrayed fellow citizens, were a member of the Nazi affiliated NSB or fought in the German army.

Both the names of people who were convicted  – some 20% – and those who turned out to be falsely accused are in the archive. Some 1,900 of those who were found guilty spent 10 or more years in prison.

The prosecution of collaborators started as soon as the war ended but not all cases were investigated and brought to trial.

The actual files relating to each case were not placed on line, as was originally planned, following a warning from Dutch privacy watchdog Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP).

Relatives of those named also expressed doubts about making the information public. “It’s a bit uncomfortable,” one of three sisters whose family history is contained in the archive told the Guardian. “I don’t know what could come out of it eventually, if people Google our surname.”

Education minister Eppo Bruins and the AP subsequently decided to temporarily restrict access to the digital files to researchers and relatives. Some files are just a couple of pages, others include a long list of documents.

From Thursday, people have been able to check to see if names are included in the archives. They must then make an appointment to visit the digital archives in The Hague to view the files online in person.

People who cannot give a good reason why they would want to access the data will not be allowed to do so.

“This war archive is of incalculable value to historians, for keeping alive the memory of World War II and for relatives looking for information, Bruins said.

A programme about the archive will be broadcast on NPO 2 at 20.30pm on Thursday.