3.2 Netherlands under occupation (part II)

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3.2. the Netherlands under occupation

PART 2

Homework

Study 60-61

Do 1, 3, 4 and check them critically yourself

Who was the Dutch general who fought the Germans in May 1940?

The Nazi leader in our country during the war was

1. Himmler
2. Goering
3. Goebbels
4. Seyss Inquart

What does nazification mean?

3.2. the Netherlands under occupation

PART 2

people in these lessons

Winkelman

general

Netherlands

Mussert

leader NSB

Netherlands

Seyss-Inquart

Nazi governor of NL

Germany

Wilhelmina

queen

Netherlands

Anne Frank

Jewish girl

Netherlands

What is this lesson about?

Between 1940 and 1945, German forces occupied the Netherlands. Nazi governor Seyss-Inquart attempted unsuccessfully to Nazify the Dutch. Not many people actively resisted. Approximately 100,000 Jews were deported and brought to their death. The southern provinces were liberated soon after D-Day. People in the northern provinces went through famine before they were liberated in May 1945.

Persecution of the Dutch Jews

• Within weeks, the Jews were isolated in the Netherlands. 
• One of the first steps was the so-called Ariërverklaring (Declaration of Arian Ancestry) 
• September 1941, Jewish children had to go to Jewish schools.
• Jews were banned from public places such as parks, cinemas, playing fields, restaurants and public transport. 
• From May 1942, they were forced to wear a recognizable yellow patch in the shape of a star on their clothing.
• The next and final step was that all Jews had to report for a work programme in Germany. In reality, they were brought to a transit camp at Westerbork and then transported to extermination camps. Razzias were held to round up all the Jews.
• More than 100,000 of the approximately 140,000 Dutch Jews were sent to their death in these camps. 
• Others went into hiding or fled to other countries.

The sign in the background shows the entrance to the Jewish quarter in Amsterdam, where all Jews had to go and live.

Dutch Jews are taken to the station where they will be transported to concentration camps.

Most Dutch people knew that not much good would happen to the Jews when transported to the East.
Do you think they could imagine what really happened there?

The treatment of the Jews at camp Westerbork was not bad. All kinds of activities such as games, sports and theatre were organised.
Can you think of a reason why the Jews were entertained in this way?

This picture was taken at the Montessori school in Amsterdam.
The girl behind the teacher is Anne Frank.
Anne went into hiding on July 6th, 1942, was betrayed in August
1944 and (probably) died in February 1945
Explain why the picture could not have been taken after
September 1941.

Resistance

• During the first period of the German occupation, there was hardly any resistance from the Dutch people. 
• There was passive resistance, e.g. secretly listening to ‘Radio Oranje’, or going into hiding to avoid working in Germany. 
• Only a few dared to join the active resistance: they sabotaged German plans, helped to hide Jews and Allied spies, falsified identities and spread illegal newspapers. 
• A large-scale strike took place only once, when in February 1941, labourers in Holland and Utrecht protested against the deportation and treatment of Dutch Jews. This strike is known as the February Strike.

Razzia on the Waterlooplein, February 1941. 425 Jewish men are arrested by force. This agressive German action leads to the first (and only) open Dutch resistance against the Germans: the February strike

Many people listened secretly to the radio.

On July 28, 1940, queen Wilhelmina opened  the first broadcast of Radio Oranje. The program grew into "De stem van strijdend Nederland".

from London, queen Wilhelmina speaks to the Dutch people  on Radio Oranje

Collaboration

Resistance

Resistance group from Dalfsen (Overrijssel).
Picture taken by an anonymous photographer in
September 1944.
Why was it a great risk for these people to have this
picture taken?

How can you tell whether these people took part
in active or passive resistance?

Liberation of the south

• After D-Day, Allied forces were able to advance quickly and liberate the south of the Netherlands 

Eindhoven, Sept 18, 1944. Allied tanks drive along Stratum's Eind

Liberation and ‘Hongerwinter’

Shortage of food in the big cities caused people to eat crops that had never served as food before; they resorted to eating sugar beets and flower bulbs. Tulip bulbs were even used to make meals and soup.

After D-Day, Allied forces were able to advance quickly and liberate areas that were occupied by Germany. The south of the Netherlands was liberated by British and Canadian troops in the autumn of 1944, but this did not mean peacetime had arrived. Heavy fighting took place at the front lines; cities like Venlo and Roermond had to be evacuated as people there could not be provided with sufficient water, gas and electricity.

During the hunger winter many people, including children, tried to scrape something they could eat from waste bins

This is Henkie Holvast. He survived the Hunger winter of '44-'45

‘Hongerwinter’

• In the northwest of the Netherlands, people experienced the toughest conditions of the war. 
• A harsh winter brought food shortages in many cities in the west. These were made worse by the strike of 30,000 Dutch railway workers, who tried to stop the transportation of German troops and the deportations of Jews. 
• During the Dutch Famine (Hongerwinter) of 1944/45, more than 22,000 people died as a direct result of the food shortage, while many others died of the cold, due to a shortage of fuel. 
• In April 1945, the north and east of the Netherlands were liberated by Canadian troops.
• German soldiers in West Netherlands surrendered without fighting on 5th May 1945. 

These children are collecting wood from tramway
sleepers (bielzen). Why would they do that?

Which of the events, people or concepts is
the odd one out?

1. Anton Mussert
2. Seyss-Inquart
3. General Winkelman
4. NSB

Which of the events, people or concepts is
the odd one out?

1. Jewish schools
2. Westerbork concentration camp
3. February Strike
4. wearing a yellow star

Homework

Study 3.2

Do 6 and check it critically yourself