The Netherlands in World War II

Prelude to the War

In World War I the Netherlands succeeded in remaining neutral, although the sympathies were clearly more on the German side than on the British. Relations with Germany had traditionally been better and the memory of the Second Boer War was fresh. After the end of the war the Kaiser Wilhelm II asked and was given asylum, much to the anger of both Britain and France. A further consequence of the neutrality was that the country had no involvement in the Treaty of Versailles. In fact, the Dutch economy suffered from the financial consequences of the reparation that Germany was made to pay. There was a large influx of children from Germany, Austria and even Hungary who came to stay with Dutch fosterparents as conditions in the hinterland worsened.

During the period between the first and second World Wars the Netherlands, like other countries, suffered from the effects of the Great Depression after the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Prime minister Hendrikus Colijn pursued the policy of a strong guilder. This led to a strong currency, avoiding a possible hyperinflation such as had struck Germany in the early twenties, but also causing much poverty by unemployment according to some economists: the Great Depression was typified by deflation. The Vereniging Nederlands Fabrikaat (Dutch Product Association) tried to reverse the economic downfall with a campaign Koopt Nederlandsche waar, dan helpen wij elkaar (Buy Dutch goods, so we help each other).

The poverty caused by the Great Depression helped the rise of some Nazism in the Netherlands. Anton Mussert founded the Nazist Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (National Socialist Movement or NSB). It got almost no votes (about eight percent maximum), but was during the occupation made the only allowed political party in the Netherlands.

Under the influence of the economic depression and the Broken Guns movement, the budget of the Ministry of War (today Ministry of Defence) wasn't allowed to increase much.

The outbreak of the war

The two sides of a WWII 'Ausweis' or 'Persoonsbewijs' (identification)

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the Netherlands declared itself neutral once again as in World War I. In order to flank the French defences on the Maginot Line and to pre-empt a possible British invasion, on May 10 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands, starting the Battle of the Netherlands, and Belgium. Given the historically good relations with its much larger neighbour, the invasion came as big surprise to most Dutch, but the army had been warned by Hans Oster, a German officer.

The poorly equipped Dutch army was quickly defeated by the Germans. At the Afsluitdijk, the Grebbeberg and Dordrecht the Dutch Army offered strong resistance. A German airborne landing at The Hague, intended to capture the Dutch royal family and the government, failed. The royal family and government escaped to Britain to continue the fight (although some saw this as an act of cowardice).

On May 14 the Germans demanded the surrender of the port of Rotterdam, threatening to bomb the city. Soon after the ultimatum it surrendered. However, bombers that had already been sent were not called back and the city was thus still heavily bombed, resulting in approximately 800 deaths and 78,000 homeless. This was supposedly caused by a communications difficulty. After this bombardment the Dutch army surrendered, but the battle continued in Zeeland for a few days, until the bombardment of Middelburg forced Zeeland to surrender as well.

People were hoping to be liberated quickly by the French and British, but after the evacuation from Dunkirk, where the Allies's armies barely escaped being surrounded, France surrendered. The new regime in Vichy began collaborating with the Germans. The government of Prime Minister Dirk Jan de Geer was invited to return as well. He wanted to accept this invitation but Queen Wilhelmina did not approve it.

The Dutch navy, merchant navy and the oil reserves of Dutch East Indies were of great importance to the British. After Germany forced Vichy France to hand over Indochina to Japan, Queen Wilhelmina was afraid the same thing would happen to the East Indies. She herself dismissed her Prime Minister and assigned another (Pieter Gerbrandy), who did want to continue fighting.

Gleichschaltung

The German policy in the Netherlands was called Gleichschaltung. Gleichschaltung means 'making equal' in English. This policy had two aims. One was that an end should be made to pillarization and the differences between the working class and the bourgeoisie. Another aim was that the Dutch nation was to be dissolved and become part of a Germanic or Aryan nation of lords, Herrenvolk. The German occupation authorities tried to change the society step by step, so the Dutch population would not be antagonised. The Gleichschaltung however was from the beginning opposed to by the Roman Catholic Church and some Socialist parties. All Roman Catholics were urged in 1941 by the Dutch bishops to leave those associations that had been Nazified.

This policy was a complete failure mainly due to the loss of the war and because of the economic recession. The national-socialist ideology was alien to the approach of different Dutch ideologies. Humanism was an important element in all of the main Dutch ideologies. German atrocities led to public resentment against the German occupation regime. Before 1943, the German position was so strong, that many Dutch citizens started to cooperate with the Germans, while the majority of the Dutch population was indifferent or remained silent. Dutch nationalism was very vivid which became apparent in 1943, when the Germans started to lose the war. The Germans lost nearly the complete control over the Dutch society, which formed one front against the Germans and against Dutch people associated or collaborating with the Germans.

German officials were divided on the matter if the Dutch were conquered foreigners or Aryan bloodbrothers. Most Germans regarded themselves as German nationalists, but the most important German officials, including the SS, Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Adolf Hitler regarded the Dutch as part of the Aryan Herrenvolk. Nevertheless, only a small portion of the Dutch people fought on the German side, but the allies could count on warm sympathies of the Dutch population, which was expressed by the railway strike of 1944 during Operation Market Garden. During the war the Dutch people could be described best as giving passive resistance mostly. Seyss-Inquart was so angry, that he stopped the transfer of food from the eastern Netherlands to the major cities in the west, thereby contributing to the hongerwinter. The German regime became extreme hard in 1944/1945 against the Dutch 'traitors.' Suspects of terrorism were shot on the side, while hundreds of bystanders were forced to watch on point blank for instance.

Persecution of Jews

Anne Frank's diary has been translated into some 60 languages since its publication.

Shortly after the invasion the Persecution of Jews began. The Germans established a government with the Austrian Arthur Seyss-Inquart as leader. They also established a "Jewish Board". Mainly this was a way of organising the identification and deportation of Jews more efficiently. A substantial number of people from the diamond business organised this 'Board' and the Jews were told they were safe, as long as they all came to register themselves.

Only a few disagreed, mainly because it 'would jeopardise the Jewish community'. The Dutch people did not offer much resistance at that time either. When the Germans had gathered enough information they broke all promises and started deporting the Jews. In 1942 a transit camp was built near Westerbork by converting an existing internment camp for immigrants; at Vught and Amersfoort German concentration camps were built as well. At the end of the war only 30,000 of the 140,000 Dutch Jews survived. Two of the victims were Anne Frank, and Etty Hillesum who became famous years later because of the diary they produced in the years up to their executions.

Some Dutch people reacted with a strike (the February Strike) as a protest against the deportations. Although the strike did not accomplish much, it was a major setback for Seyss-Inquart because he had planned to both deport the Jews and to win the Dutch for the Nazi cause. At the same time the Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands publicly condemned, by a letter read at all Sunday parish Masses, the deportation of Jews. From then on the Nazis treated the Dutch more strictly. Notable socialist leaders were imprisoned, and Roman Catholic priests like Titus Brandsma deported to concentration camps.

Part of the reason that it was so easy for the Germans to round up the Jews was that the Dutch had registered their population in too much detail, including information about their religion. To this day, this is used as an argument in the Netherlands that such detailed registration is a bad idea.

There has been some criticism of Dutch Railways (NS) for helping the deportations by not going on strike. But there was little knowledge of what exactly was going to happen to the Jews and the trains were essential in other terrains. As an example of how much they were needed the later 'Hunger Winter' (see below) can be given. Another organisation later accused of assisting the deportation is the Dutch police: most Jews were in fact apprehended by them and not by actual Germans.

Oppression and resistance

See also: Dutch resistance

An Arbeitseinsatz was imposed on the Netherlands, which obliged every man between 18 and 45 to work in the German factories, which were bombed regularly by the western Allies. Those who refused to work in German factories were forced to go underground. As food and many other goods were taken out of the Netherlands, rationing (with ration cards) became a way of controlling the population. Any Dutch that violated German laws, such as hiding or hiding another, automatically lost their food. Hiding Jews was even more dangerous as it was punishable by death http://www.joodsmonument.nl/article.php?thg_id=1005.303&lang=en- one third of the people who hid Jews did not survive the war.

The Atlantic Wall, a gigantic coastal defence line built by the Germans along the entire European coast from South France to Denmark and Norway stretched into the Netherlands too. Some towns, like Scheveningen, were evacuated because of this. In the Hague 3200 houses were demolished and 2594 were dismantled. 20,000 houses were cleared, and 65,000 people were forced to move. The Arbeitseinsatz also included forcing Dutch people to work on these projects, but a passive form of resistance took place here by working slowly or doing such a bad job that it had to be done again.

Due to the censorship, the radio and newspapers were only allowed to deliver the news approved by the Germans. Obviously this only reported the positive results of the German war effort. These news messages were not able to hide the unfavourable completely; after all, the German 'victories' in Russia kept coming closer to Germany. Listening to Radio Oranje (Radio Orange), Dutch-speaking broadcasts from London, was prohibited.

These measures of oppression stimulated the resistance movement. Illegal newspapers with the news from Radio Oranje were spread. Some people stole to obtain ration cards, to feed people in hiding.

In February 1943, the Amsterdam-based resistance cell CS-6 assassinated Lieutenant-General Hendrik A. Seyffardt, the figurehead of the SS-Freiwilligen-Legion Niederlande and a major Dutch collaborator with ties to the NSB. Such acts of resistance were met with increasing German brutality. After an assault on a German officer near Putten the entire male population of the town was deported to a concentration camp without trial.

In order for the resistance to do its work it was sometimes necessary to act as if they were collaborating with the Germans. After the war this led to problems if they couldn't prove they had been in the resistance - which was difficult because it was the nature of the job to keep it a secret.

Some even decided to keep their underground activities a secret after the war because they didn't want to brag about what they had done. Such was the case in Valkenburg. This led to a problem for historians, who couldn't find any information on any resistance there, so they claimed there wasn't any.

A Propaganda poster urging Dutchmen to join the Waffen-SS to fight against the Soviet Union in their own national brigade (SS-Freiwilligenlegion Niederlande).

Dutch volunteers in the German armed forces

Not all Dutch offered active or passive resistance against the German occupation. Some Dutch chose to serve with the German armed forces. A great number of Dutch men were forced to work in the German war industry, these men were often seen as traitors after the war even though they hadn't had any options during the war.

The NSB, a national socialist party, collaborated actively with the German occupants. In 1941, when Germany still seemed certain to win the war, about three percent of the adult male population was member of the NSB. There were also Dutch who voluntarily enlisted in the German army and the Waffen SS to take part in the so-called Crusade against Bolshevism or against communism in general. Some Dutch troops also saw action at Groningen in 1945.

Between 20,000 and 25,000 Dutch served in the Heer and the Waffen-SS, the most notable formations being the 4.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland and the Landstorm Nederland. Apart from brief combat during Operation Market Garden, these units saw action exclusively on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union.

The Nederland brigade distinguished itself on the Eastern Front during the Battle of Narva (1944), with several troopers receiving the Knight's Cross, Germany's highest award for bravery.

The last year

After the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944, the western Allies rapidly advanced in the direction of the Dutch border. Tuesday September 5 is known as Dolle dinsdag (Mad Tuesday) - the Dutch began celebrating, believing they were close to liberation. In September an Allied attempt capture the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem(Operation Market Garden) failed, though a large salient encompassing regions to the south, including Nijmegen, were liberated and held until the spring of 1945. Much of the northern Netherlands remained in German hands until the Rhine crossings in late March, 1945.
Parts the Netherlands in the south were not liberated by Market-Garden either, and at the start of October 1944, the Germans still occupied Walcheren and dominated the Scheldt Estuary and its approaches to the port of Antwerp. The crushing need for a large supply port forced the Battle of the Scheldt in which First Canadian Army fought on both sides of the estuary during the month to clear the waterways. Large battles were fought to clear the Breskens Pocket, Woensdrecht and the Zuid-Beveland Peninsula of German forces, primarily "stomach" units of the Wehrmacht as well as German paratroopers of Battle Group Chill.

By 31 October, resistance south of the Scheldt had collapsed, and the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, Scottish 52nd Lowland Division and British Special Service Brigade all made attacks on Walcheren Island. Strong German defenses made a landing very difficult and therefore the dikes of Walcheren at Westkapelle, Vlissingen and Veere were bombed and the island was flooded. In spite of warning the people with pamphlets, 180 inhabitants of Westkappelle died. The coastal guns on Walcheren were silenced in the opening days of November and the Scheldt battle declared over; no German forces remained intact along the 64 mile path to Antwerp.

The Dutch government did not want to use the old water line in 1940. It was still possible to create an island out of Holland by destroying dykes and flooding the polders, but this island contained the main cities. There were too many people to keep alive. However, Hitler ordered Festung Holland to be held at any price. The winter of 1944-1945 was very severe, and this lead to hunger journeys and people who starved to death (about 30,000), exhaustion, cold or disease. This winter is known as the Hongerwinter (Hungerwinter). The food situation was aggravated by a general railway strike ordered by the Dutch government in exile in expectation of a general German collapse near the end of 1944.

On the island of Texel 800 Georgians, part of the German army, rebelled on April 5 1945. Their rebellion was crushed by the German army after two weeks of battle. 565 Georgians, 120 inhabitants of Texel and 800 Germans died. The 228 surviving Georgians were forcibly repatriated after the war.

After the capture of the Rhine bridge at Remagen, Canadian forces entered the Netherlands from the east, liberating the eastern and northern provinces. The western provinces, where the situation was worst, however, had to wait until the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands was negotiated on the eve of May 5 1945 (three days before the general capitulation of Germany), in hotel De Wereld (The World) in Wageningen. Previously the Swedish Red Cross had been allowed to provide relief efforts, the most memorable ones employing Allied bombers dropping food over the German-occupied territories in Operation Manna.

After liberation, Dutch citizens began taking the law into their own hands as in other liberated countries such as France. Collaborators and moffenmeiden(Hun's girls) were abused and humiliated in public, usually by having their heads shaven and painted orange.

Dutch East Indies and the war against Japan

On January 10 1942 the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Dutch navy ships in the Dutch East Indies joined the ABDA fleet (American-British-Dutch-Australian fleet) commanded by Dutch admiral Karel Doorman. On February 27 and 28 1942, Admiral Doorman was ordered to take the offensive against the Japanese. The ABDA fleet encountered the Japanese at the Battle of the Java Sea, Doorman then gave the order to attack. However the ABDA fleet was destroyed in the ensuing battle. The words in which Doorman is alleged to have given the order to attack were "Ik val aan, volg mij!" (I attack, follow me!), although he never literally said that (in reality the order was "All ships follow me").

After Japanese troops had landed on Java, the Dutch surrendered on March 1 1942. Dutch soldiers were imprisoned in labour camps. Later all Dutch were captured and sent to camps, some were deported to Japan or set to work on the Thai-Burma Railway.

Dutch submarines escaped and resumed the fight on with the Allies. As a part of the Allied forces they were on the hunt for Japanese oil transports to Japan and troop and weapon transports from Japan headed for the other battlefields (including New Guinea).

Several Dutch army and navy pilots also escaped, and with Dutch aircraft purchased from the United States formed Royal Australian Air Force No. 18 Squadron (B-25 Mitchells)and No. 120 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawks). These squadrons helped defend Australia from the Japanese and participated in the eventual liberation of the Netherlands East Indies. [1]

Gradually, control of the Netherlands East Indies was wrested away from the Japanese. The largest Allied invasion took place in July 1945 with Australian landings on the island of Borneo, ostensibly to seize the strategic oilfields from the now cut-off Japanese forces. However, the Japanese had already begun independence negotiations with Indonesian nationalists such as Sukarno - and Indonesian forces had themselves taken over control of a sizable portion of Sumatra and Java. The Japanese surrender on August 15 1945 precipitated outright conflict between British, Dutch, Australian and American forces on one side and Indonesian forces on the other.

After the war

After the war some people who were thought to have collaborated with the Germans were lynched or punished without trial. Others were sentenced by the Ministry of Justice. Some proved to have been arrested unjustly, and were cleared of charges, sometimes after having been in custody for a long period of time.

There were plans to annex a sizable portion of Germany, either without or with German population â€" which in the latter case would have to be 'Dutchified' â€" doubling the Netherlands in surface. This plan was dropped after an allied refusal. But a plan that was executed to some extent was Black Tulip, the deportation of all holders of German passports in the Netherlands. In the end several thousand Germans were deported.

The bank credits of killed Jewish Dutch are still subjects of trials more than half a century later.

The end of the war also meant the final loss of the Netherlands East Indies from Dutch control. Following the surrender of the Japanese in the Netherlands East Indies, Indonesian nationalists fought a four year Indonesian war of independence against Dutch and British Commonwealth forces, eventually leading to the Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia. Many Dutch and Indonesians emigrated or returned to the Netherlands at this time, resulting in a lasting Indonesian influence in Dutch culture and cuisine.

World War II has left many trails on the Dutch society. On May 4 the Dutch commemorate the people who died during the war. Among the living there are many who still have emotional problems due to the war, the first generation as well as the second. In the year 2000 the government still granted 24,000 people a yearly payment (among them are victims from later wars too, for example the war in Korea).

The Netherlands in World War II: Encyclopedia BETA

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