Persons from Dutch WW II History: Hannie Schaft, The Girl with the Red Hair

Jannetje Johanna (Hannie) Schaft; Haarlem, 16 September 1920 - Bloemendaal , 17 April 1945

Hannie Schaft was a Dutch Communist and resistantance fighter during World War II.
She was born as the daughter of Peter Schaft, a teacher who felt strongly related to the SDAP (Social Democratic Labour Party), and Talea Aafje Freer who was a Baptist.
She attended High school and in 1938 she started to study rights at the Municipal University of Amsterdam. Here she became befriended with her Jewish fellow students Philine Polak and Sonja Frenk, who both later during the war went into hiding at Hannie's parents home. Because of this she felt, when the war began, personally touched by the persecution of the Jews.

As a student after she had refused to sign the declaration of loyalty*, she went back to her parents. She took an increasingly active part in the resistance and helped with hiding stolen ration cards and identity cards. Her pseudonym became Hannie and her nickname was the girl with the red hair. Eventually she joined the Council of Resistance (RVV), an organization that, by its close links with the CPN (Communist Party Netherlands), who were greatly distrusted by other resistance movements. Along with Freddie and Hilda Oversteegen she committed several attacks on Germans, collaborators and traitors.
*The declaration of loyalty was a declaration that students had to sign in 1943. In that statement they had to promise that they would "refrain from any action directed against the German Reich”. The statement was introduced by the Germans on 13 March 1943, the students had until April 10 the time to sign the declaration. Those who did not sign, could no longer follow any college.

On June 8, 1944 she with resistance fighter Jan Bonekamp committed, at Heemstede, an attack on the NSB (National Socialist Movement) member and confectioner Peter Faber. He died six days later. Schaft and Bonekamp then committed on June 21, 1944 an attack on W.M. Ragut . Here Bonekamp became mortally wounded, which made Hannie Schaft to decide to went into hiding. On September 5, 1944 ( Dolle Dinsdag / Mad Tuesday ) an attack of Hannie Schaft and Jan Heusdens on policeman Willemsen failed. Hannie Schaft and Hilda Oversteegen had planned to liquidate Fake Krist on October 25, 1944, but other Haarlem resistance fighters killed him before they could execute their plan.

On March 1, 1945 NSB policeman William Zirkzee was shot by Hannie Schaft and Hilda Oversteegen. This took place near Krelagehuis at the Leidsevaart in Haarlem. On March 15 Hannie Schaft and Hilda Oversteegen committed an attack on Ko Langendijk . This was the barber from Ijmuiden who started to work for the Sicherheitsdienst. A previous attempt on him in January by Bonekamp had failed.

Hannie was hated by the Germans, because at the end of the war she commited many, in their eyes, senseless attacks. She was, on 21 March 1945, arrested at a roadblock at the Jan Gijzenkade near the Mauermuur (Haarlem) when she was carrieing underground papers and a weapon. At the police station of Haarlem the Germans discovered with whom they were doing. It was Emil Rühl who brought Hannie Schaft from Haarlem to the House of Detention on Amstelveenseweg in Amsterdam.

Although at the end of the war, an agreement existed between the occupiers and Interior Forces (BS) to kill no women, Hannie, three weeks before the end of the war (on April 17, 1945), commissioned by Willy Lages, was shot in the dunes of Bloemendaal. Here she, after a glancing shot, coolly would have said: "I shoot better", which made member of the SD Maarten Kuiper to empty his machine gun at her.

On 27 November 1945, her remains were reburied with military honors at the Honour cemetery Bloemendaal at Overveen . Queen Wilhelmina, Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard were also present. For her fight against the Nazis Hannie was in 1946 posthumous honoured with the “Resistance Cross 1940 - 1945” and the “Medal of Freedom”, an American special award.

Because Hannie Schaft could serve as a political symbol of communist resistance for the Dutch Communists, which many did not like, her name lost much of its luster during the Cold War. In 1951 the government even went so far to deploy police and army - including four armored vehicles - to make the anniversary of her death impossible. Much later, when the communist hate had died down Princess Juliana unveiled on 3 mei 1982 a bronze statue, made by Truus Menger-Oversteegen, in the Kenaupark in Haarlem.

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Photo: Noord-Hollands Archief

Today in Dutch WWII History: The Winter Famine

The winter famine was in the winter of 1944 to 1945. This was a severe winter with a great scarcity of food and fuel at the end of the Second World War in which twenty thousand Dutch people died of hunger and cold.

The Cause of the scarcity
The cause of the shortage must be sought in a reprisal by the Germans, following the general railway strike after 17 September 1944. In retaliation the German occupation forces blocked all food shipments to the west of the Netherlands. The blockade lasted six weeks and caused a famine in the western Netherlands disaster of catastrophic proportions. During this period, the South Netherlands was liberated. As the front line was now the Netherlands - roughly along the major rivers - there could no longer be coal transported from Limburg to the west of the Netherlands. Because the rivers and the IJselmeer were frozen shut, and because land transport is no longer possible, the west of the Netherlands was cut off from all supplies, fuels like coal, clothing and medicines. In the face of liberation in the first months of 1945 more than 20,000 Dutch died of starvation because of the blockade.

Life during the winter famine
People weren't allowed to be on the streets after eight pm in the evening (curfew). Because gas and electricity were no longer available, there was no light, no heating and no possibilities for cooking. With a mechanical flash-light you could have some light but many had to do with a candle and went to bed early.
If there even was a little food in the house, it had nevertheless to be cooked or heated. For that they often used an old tin can with a hole in the bottom, a little miracle heater. In there little twigs or wood chip were burned.
Due to the lack of fuel, the tarred wood blocks, that were installed between the tram rails, were robed. Also trees were cut down illegally. In the Amsterdam Jewish quarter and Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood the wood was taken from the empty houses from the deported Jews.
The schools were still open, but gradually the classes became smaller because many children were sick or stayed home. Shortly after the liberation, many malnourished children were placed for a few months with foster parents, including from the the United Kingdom, to return to strength.

Famine trips
Inside occupied territory, the situation was worst in the Randstad. Especially in large cities, the problem was acute. So the people themselves went in search of food. On the streets children were looking for something to eat in the bins.

At central kitchens, on presentation of a voucher card, people could get once a day a watery stew or soup of potato peelings. This led to long waiting rows which was not easy in the biting cold. Some people even tried to eat tulip bulbs and sugar beets.
Many people, especially women, cycled or walked to the east or north of the country, in order to find food, to exchange the little money they had or possessions (textiles, silverware, gold jewellery) for food. The so called famine-trips. Many farmers gave shelter to those who covered the street. Those people were called famine hikers. Some farmers did abuse the situation and enriched themselves.
In the cities it was sometimes very difficult to find a grave for the dead. The ground was frozen hard and the energy for excavation and transportation was lacking. Wood for coffins could also be better used as fuel. In Amsterdam the corpses were stored in the empty Zuiderchurch.

Help
In February 1945 Swedish white bread was distributed which was arranged by the International Red Cross. This bread was baked in the Netherlands, the meal came with a special transport ship from Sweden. At the end of the war in April food drops by Allied aircraft took place such as Operation Manna. Contrary to popular belief, these two events are stand alone projects: ​​there never has been Swedish bread dropped over the Netherlands.

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Today in Dutch WW II History: Stamkaart and Distrubution Coupons

Well not really a "Today in Dutch WW II History" but something I wanted to show to all of you.
These are some pictures of a Stamkaart (Ration card or "books" as they were called in the UK) and Distribution Coupons ( I have 2 sheets only 1 is pictured here) that were used during WW II here in the Netherlands. These are special to me because it is a gift from my mom. The stamkaart is on her name and the Distribution Coupons were of the family. At the time she was only a child. The Coupons are for food supply and are for Potatoes, Butter, Bread, Milk, Flesh, meat, refreshments and general stuff. The coupons for the meat are used and thus no longer on the sheet. They were at upper right corner.
Coupon-sheets were for the 11th and 12th period 1944 (1 October - 25 November). As my mother lived at that time in the south of the Netherlands (Schijndel) in liberated part of the country she still used coupons to get all the stuff. The sheets were probably already given to the family before the liberation.
The Stamkaart was needed to get these coupon-sheets.
This is the Second Distribution Stamkaart. The first one came in use just before WW II broke out. The Second Distribution Stamkaart was introduced by the Germans when they occupied the country this was done to cut off all the people that were in hiding. No stamkaart, no coupons thus no food. To get a stamkaart people had first go to the German authorities with a legal identity card. Most of the people in hiding had a false identity card and thus couldn't get a stamcard.
This measure has been thoroughly sabotaged by the Civil Resistance. To irritation of the German government there were more stamkaarten provided then, what they thought, the population was big, this without getting it clear where the fraud could be found.
During the war resistance groups go out to raid the distribution offices where the coupons were kept. The stolen coupons were distributed to people who kept people in hiding, so that extra food for those in hiding could be bought.
Even after the war a lot of stuff could only be bought with coupons. In 1952 Coffee was the last product that finally could be bought without using coupons.

Stamkaart front

Stamkaart back

Coupon sheet

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Persons from Dutch WW II History: Reichskommissar of the Netherlands Seyss-Inquart

Arthur Seyss-Inquart, born as Artur Zajtich, were an Austrian lawyer and Nazi politician. He initially belonged to the moderate wing of the Austrian nazi's, later he would turn out to be a hard-liner in the occupied Netherlands. Seyss-Inquart was one of the 22 war criminals who were on trial during the Neurenberg process. On 1 October 1946 he was declared guilty on 3 of the 4 charges. Two weeks later he was brought to death.
 

Reichskommisar Seyss-Inquart 07/22/1892-10/16/1946

Seyss-Inquart started his political career in 1934 when he became a cooperating member of the Cabinet of Engelbert Dollfus.
In 1938 under tremendous pressure and the threat of German dictator Adolf Hitler, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in the Austrian cabinet of Kurt Schuschnigg.
That same year he played a major role in the connection (called Anschluss) of Austria by Germany (so-called Greater German solution).
Under pressure and threat on the part of the National Socialist German Reich Government President Wilhelm Miklas of Austria appointed him, mid-March 1938, Chancellor, which made it easy for the German to occupy the country without any military resistance. Seyss-Inquart was only a few days chancellor. Hitler appointed him very shortly afterwards governor of the annexed Austria (Ostmark) which he remained until the end of April 1939.
On May 1, 1939, the Austrian Government ceased to exist. On the same date, Seyss-Inquart became Reich Minister without Portfolio, a position he formally held until the end of the war in 1945. Later in 1939, after the invasion of Poland, he also became the deputy of Governor-General Hans Frank of the occupied Polish territories.

In 1940 he became Reichskommissar (official "Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete") of the German-occupied Netherlands and in the Ridderzaal he was officially inaugurated by the German Wehrmacht generals and Dutch and German officials. This move from Vienna to The Hague was also seen by many as a degradation; Seyss was within the Nazi Party known as too moderate to resolve the "Jewish problem" in Vienna.
In the Netherlands Seyss-Inquart soon got a nickname: Zes en een kwart (Six-and-a-quarter) this was because he limped.
At first he tried gently to win the Dutch for the National Socialism, this included public appearances, strict standards for German soldiers and the establishment of German-Dutch friendship initiatives. But after the February Strike in 1941 the German oppression was also by Seyss-Inquart, who was put under great pressure by the SS, greatly increased.

When the war was almost lost, he became harder and more fanatically against the Dutch underground resistance. Several times, however, he tried hard to postpone or forbid revenge action by the SS, but because of Himmler's influence this became more and more difficult.

He was responsible for the deportation of over one hundred thousand Jews to concentration camps and extermination camps. Although he knew about the persecution of Jews and labor camps (including Westerbork), he claimed at the Process of Neurenberg that if it was brought to his attention of the existence of actual extermination camps in Eastern Europe, he would have done everything to stop these deportations. To Himmler, he, and that's a fact, several times tried to stop the persecution of Jews, arguing that during the war this would only led to unnecessary unrest, in both material production and among the rest of the "Aryan" population. He did not actually opposed to his superiors, presumably because of career and love of practical impossibility without deposition results.

In the last days of the war, Seyss-Inquart was personally involved in the negotiations with the Allies on food drops in the major cities of western Netherlands. During a meeting on April 30, 1945 in Achterveld Seyss-Inquart refused to surrender. This while he knew the war was lost. This refusal led to irritation at the American General Walter Bedell Smith, he said to Seyss-Inquart "Well, in any case, you are going to be shot" to which the Reichskommissar replied "That leaves me cold." General Smith then retorted "It will."

When the war was lost, Seyss-Inquart went from Flensburg, where he had a consult with the German government under Admiral Doenitz, with a submarine back to the just still "occupied" Netherlands, where he was arrested on May 8 by the Canadian navy and was held for weeks in a special prison in the city Delden Twente, near the castle Twickel where he had a country house.

In 1946 during the process of Neurenberg he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity (Jews Deportations, executions of condemned resistance fighters, allowing retaliation against 'anti-German' prominent Dutch). In the shortly before his death written letters to his father-confessor (Bruno Spitzl) the later reconverted Catholic Seyss-Inquart laid here more or less an admission of guilt, especially about his performance against Dutch civilians and allowing the Jewish Deportations to Eastern Europe.
On October 16, 1946 in Neurenberg he was hanged. His last words were: "I hope that this execution will be the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson learned from this war, may be that peace and understanding between people must exist. I believe in Germany. "

His ashes were scattered in the river Isar to prevent that his grave would become a gathering place for former National Socialists.

Before his trial, just as with the other arrested Nazis, they did an IQ test. Seyss-Inquart scored 141, which, after Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Economy of Nazi Germany, was the highest score.

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Persons from Dutch WW II History: Queen Wilhelmina

Queen Wilhelmina 31 August 1880 - 28 November 1962

Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until 1948. Her mother, queen Emma, was regent until Wilhelmina reached the age of 18 1n 1898.

On May 10 1940 when Germany invaded the Netherlands Juliana (Wilhelmina's daughter) with her kids fled to Britain this to secure the dynasty.
On May 13 1940 General H.G. Winkelman went to the Queen to tell her that the Grebbeline had fallen: Majesty even The Hague is no longer safe. An enemy tank column has reached Rotterdam.
Winkelman advised the Queen to get aboard of the British destroyer "HMS Hereward" to leave for Zeeland. Her initial plan would have been to get aboard the British destroyer, to set sail from The Hague to Zeeland and fight there with her troops until help would came from the Allies. But because the Germans invaded more and more land inwards and because of the bombing of Rotterdam, which made General Winkelman decided to capitulate, the destroyer was commanded by the English command to set sail for England. This way they were sure that, with the big Dutch colony of the Dutch East Indies in mind, the Netherlands stayed at the allied side.

In London she was in charge of the Dutch government in Exile. She also sent radio messages to her people through Radio Orange. She did not mince words. She named Adolf Hitler the 'arch-enemy of mankind'. In her speeches she also expressed her disapproval against the persecution of the Jews that were going on in the Netherlands at the time. And she called up to resist against the occupiers. Even the illegal press distributed her speeches. Her speeches had an important psychological effect on the Dutch people. Despite that it was illegal to listen to Radio Orange and the sentence that the Germans had put on it, many people did listen the Radio Orange.
This led to the confiscation of her Dutch assets by the State Auditor Seyss-Inquart on September 16, 1941. Also it became forbidden to publish pictures of her and other members of the royal family.

Taken from the publication of the forfeiture is the following:
Wilhelmina van Oranje-Nassau houdt, zonder iets geleerd te hebben uit de loop der gebeurtenissen halsstarrig vast aan het bolsjevistische-kapitalische front en plaatst zich hiermee buiten de gemeenschap van het nieuwe Europa. Zij richt tot het staatshoofd en de weermacht van het Groot-Duitsche Rijk verbazingwekkende scheldwoorden. Zij spoort uit de verte de Nederlanders aan op onverantwoordelijke wijze aan tot het plegen van geweld tegen de bezettende macht, welke slechts de hardste represailles ten gevolge kan hebben.

My own free translation:
Wilhelmina of Oranje-Nassau obstinately clings on, without having learned anything from the course of events, to the Bolshevik-capitalistic front, and thus places herself outside the communion of the new Europe. She directed towards the Head of State and the armed forces of the Great German Empire astonishing invectives.She encourages, on a irresponsible way from a distance, the Dutch on to commit violence against the occupying power, which only leads to the hardest reprisals.

Because of this Wilhelmina became the symbol of the resistance in the Netherlands. By placing a picture of her in their underground papers they showed for what they stood.

Wilhelmina during a speech for Radio Orange

During the last year of the occupation the number of listeners to Radio Orange only increased and the colour Orange became the symbol of liberation.

On March 13 1945 Wilhelmina paid a visit to the liberated south of the Netherlands. In May, she moved permanently back to the Netherlands.
After World War II, in sympathy with the Dutch people, Wilhelmina temporarily (September 1945 - April 1946)  lived in an ordinary residential house in the Nieuwe Parklaan in The Hague. Furthermore, she took personal visits throughout the country, sometimes by bike.

In 1948 she step down from her throne in favour of her daughter Juliana.
On November 28 1962 Wilhelmina died, 82 years old.


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Today in Dutch WWII History: The April-May strike of 1943

At the end of April 1943 everywhere in the Netherlands spontaneously and completely unexpected protest strikes broke out. The reason for those strikes was a recall of the German occupier: that the former Dutch soldiers had to go to prison camps in Germany. Here they to work in the Arbeiteizats (labour commitment). The April-May strikes lasted locally up to 5-6 May 1943. They were oppressed with aggressive violence. First in Hengelo, where the strikes had started.
The April-May strikes are considered as a turning point in the occupation. The Germans now knew that the Dutch couldn't be won for their cause in any possible way. From now on the Nazi's put all further afford in the warfare. Resistance increased and the "going into hiding" started.
This turning point in the occupation of the Netherlands followed on a turning point in the second world war as a whole: the German defeat at Stalingrad, to the Wolga. That defeat didn't remained a secret for long. Immediately afterwards, on 3 February 1943, the Nazi' s declared a period of three days public mourning in Germany and the occupied areas.
Suddenly on 29 April 1943 a recall of the commander in chief of the German occupancy troops in the Netherlands, general Christiansen appeared in the newspapers, directed at the almost 300,000 members of the former Dutch army. They all must go in to captivity in Germany. The occupiers saw two advantages in that measure: a) to provide workers for Germany and b) strip the Netherlands of able-bodied men who could reinforce the resistance.
The recall of Christiansen came in as a bomb. In Twente, first in Hengelo, at the machine factory of Stork, immediately protest strikes and demonstrations started. The example in Twente was imitated almost everywhere in the Netherlands. On a number of places milk stock breeders stops the supply of milk to the dairy factory, and distributed the milk for free (because of that milk aspect the April-May strikes are also called the milk strike).

The supreme police force chief in the Netherlands, SS'r Rauter, declared the politiestandrecht (sorry no english word for this). This politiestandrecht had little to do with justice. It was a terror measure, where 'suspects' immediately, without any form of process, were shot. From Groningen to Limburg strikers were arrested. There were almost two hundred deads, at arbitrary executions and shootings on the street.
In those days in Amsterdam one man, Hendrikus Hendrik was sentenced to death because of the distribution of strike recalls, but there was hardly any strike in Amsterdam. The people of Amsterdam still remembered the bloody oppression of the February strike in 1941 all to well. After the April-May strikes the rest of the country also knew what Nazi-terror implied.
Little was archived of the plan of the occupiers to imprison the Dutch soldiers; it had especially a wrong impact. Only 8,000 Dutch ex-soldiers were employed in Germany, much less than the intention was. Many soldiers obtained exemption of the labour commitment, on the basis of declarations of ' indispensable at work that is important for the warfare' (' kriegswichtig' ). Much of the ex-soldiers went into hiding.
According to the Nazi's the strikers were 'instigated' at the end of April-begin of May 1943 by the transmissions of radio Orange in London. On 13 May 1943 the Dutch were told that they had to hand in their radio's. ' After the war ' one could come back to pick up their radio. Those who kept their radio's risked a heavy sentence: the concentration camp. Still a quarter of all radio's were kept back by the citizens; a trick used was handing in a second, old radio. The radio owners continued to follow the transmissions of radio Orange (the Dutch broadcasting in London) and BBC as far as the noise of yammers that at least allowed.
The brought into line ' Hilversum' remained transmitting, although the listeners already considerably decreased in numbers.
Officially after May 1943 there were two groups of listeners: radio owners with a special license, and people with a subscription on ' radiodistributie' (cable radio). The number of illegal news-bulletins increased as from 1943 enormously, but the large hunger for news couldn't be satisfied with that.

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Today in Dutch WWII History: The February Strike

On February 25, 1941, Amsterdam was in the grip of a general strike to protest against the persecution of Jews. A day later the strike expanded to the Zaan, Kennemerland (Haarlem and Velsen), Hilversum, Utrecht and Weesp. In Amsterdam the public transport came to a halt and also nearly all other municipal services lay down their work. The shipbuilding and metal companies in North, at Hollandia-Kattenburg, and also in supermarkets as the Bijenkorf were at strike. Throughout the city, shops and offices were closed. Many students left their classrooms. Thousands of people were moving that day through the center of town. Their suppressed mind sought a way to express themselves against the German occupiers who invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940 and more openly wanted to impose their regime.

In the period before February of 1941 the German pressure on the whole political and economical life became more and more brutal. In June 1940 the German occupier started with their first of the many anti-Jews measures by removing all the Jews out of the municipal protection authorities.Soon followed by the measure that Jews were no longer allowed to be adopted in civil service. In October 1940 came the "Ariërverklaring" (Aryan declaration) which made an even more emphasis on a separation between Jews and none Jews.At the end of 1940 the personal certificate became obligatorily.
In preparation for the strike in February a lot more has happened. Amsterdam unemployed performed actions on projects in North Holland in the Gooi and near Amersfoort, where they had been employed. They turned against the extension of the work-time. Labor Workers marched in the capital and demanded increase in their benefits. When the German occupier wanted to force the north Amsterdam shipyards metalworkers to go to work in Germany, then also there protests started.

The end of 1940 and beginning of 1941 outlined themselves a tightened up anti-Semitism. The by Mussert led NSB (the Netherlands acting pro-German fascist movement) and WA (Uniformed troops) wished to manifest itself more emphatically and went about organizing provocations in neighborhoods where many Jewish families lived. Owners of hotels and pubs were forced to hang placards with the words 'Joden niet gewenscht' (Jews not allowed). The anti-Jewish measures became more grim. Seyss-Inquart (by Hitler appointed Reich Commissioner of the Netherlands) declarated that all persons who where "wholly or partly Jewish blood" had to report themselves and had to pay the associated fees. This registration would prove disastrous for the subsequent deportations.
More and more groups of the WA went into Jews neighborhoods and provoked fights. Market stalls were destroyed, shopwindows smashed and Jews beaten. On Sunday, February 9, 1941 it came to a heavy fighting on Rembrandt Square, near the Jewish quarter. Jewish boys resisted and clashed with WA. In the next two days the defending groups kept themself ready, on February 11 on Waterloosquare it came to a real battle with the WA. On February 12, in the early morning, the Germans closed off the old Jewish quarter. On Monday, February 17 emotions became high again on the Dutch Ship Building Company in Amsterdam North, a number of workers who were single were chosen by lotnumber to go to work in Germany. All the workers left the yard and on other yards the workers laid down their work. On Wednesday, February 19 men of the Grüne Polizei stormed the Koco ice cream parlor in the Van Woustraat, which was owned by German Jewish refugees Cahn and Kohn. When they invaded, shoting the owners shot ammonia from a bottle into their face. Both Cahn and Kohn were arrested. In the weekend of February 22 and 23 revenge actions took place in the Jewish neighborhood. Bloodhounds were released on Jewish people. Young Jewish men were taken to the Jonas Daniel Meyer Square and 427 of them, in the age off 18 to 35 years, were taken as hostages. They were taken to Buchenwald and Mauthausen. They died within one year of abuse and deprivation. The manhunt in the Jewish neighborhood aroused strong indignation and was the direct cause of the February strike. In the evening of February 24 on the Noordermarket a short open-air meeting  took place which was attended by many municipal workers. The strike parole was announced. That same night, at many addresses in the city the by the illegal CPN made manifest "Strike, strike, strike!!!" was printed. In the early morning hours, this manifest was spread at the gate of numerous companies.

The municipality tram went on strike this morning, followed by other municipal services. The tram disappeared from the cityscape and soon it became clear to many Amsterdam people that there was a strike.  From one company after another men and women came on to the street. The strike movement was given its own dimension, there is a growing atmosphere of spontaneous solidarity among the population, relief of rejoicing over the fact that their abhorrence and protest so massive and united showed. All of Amsterdam was in the grip of the February strike. The Germans were stunned. It had never occurred, that their would be a strike against anti-Semitism and Jewish persecution. The occupation authorities took refuge in a series of measures. But they could not prevent that the strike one day later expanded  to the Zaan, Kennemerland, Utrecht and other places. The February 1941 strike, as briefly outlined above, entered history as one of the biggest acts of resistance in the struggle against Hitler's fascism.
Each year on February 25 at the monument of the Dock Worker on the Jonas Daniel Meyer Square the 1941 February strike is commemorated.

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Today in Dutch WWII History: The bombing of Nijmegen

If you speak in terms of victims the bombing of Nijmegen was one of the biggest bombardments on a Dutch city. The bombardment was carried out by U.S. pilots who mistakenly thought that they were flying above the German city Kleve. 880 people were killed plus an unknown number of persons in hiding.

How could this all happen?
Hundreds of American and British planes departed on 22 February 1944 at 08.00 hours to Germany. Their target was a carriage factory in the German city Gotha. The attack was part of a major offensive named "Plan Argument" which was directed against the German Air Force.
When they arrived in Gotha, the weather was so bad that many of the planes had to turn around. Given the numbers of planes it wasn't easy and it became a chaos. Eventually they split in smaller groups and went for new targets. When it appeared that it even was cloudy on these targets, the pilots were given the task to attack an objective on German territory by themselves. But the pilots didn't bombed any place before they crossed the border but just after they crossed the border, on Dutch territory.

On February 22 several Dutch city's were bombed, besides Nijmegen there were Arnhem (57 deaths), Enschede (40 deaths) and Deventer (1 Death). All city's where not far from the German border. Nijmegen was hit the hardest of all. The pilots wanted to bomb the bridge over the Maas river but were hampered by other US airplanes. Because of this their bombs fell in the middle of the centre of Nijmegen.
Thinking that their mission was successful they flew home back to England satisfied. While they turned home safe and unharmed Nijmegen was burning.

Nijmegen burning

At first the low flying planes didn't cause any panic to the people of Nijmegen because the sky was often used by German planes. But soon the air raid went off and many people ran for the shelters. After the first bombardments many people thought that it was safe again and came out of the shelters to look at the damage.
However the bombers came back and more bombs were dropped. One of the buildings hit was a Kindergarten. But also the Saint-Stevenschurch was hit.
Because the main water-supply was hit too it was very difficult to extinguish the fire. The city kept burning for 3 days.

For the German propaganda machine the bombing was a real windfall. They told it was a deliberate attack authorized by the Dutch government in Exile. The German propaganda machine tried everything to set up the Dutch people against the Allies but it was in vein. The people of Nijmegen saw the bombing as an accident and with the liberation the American liberators were welcomed as heroes.

German propaganda posters

Although the bombing, in terms of civilian casualties, was about as heavy as those in Rotterdam, the event was rather hushed. The event is often mentioned as "the forgotten bombing". Probably there was less talk about it because it was a mistake of a friendly nation. Only twenty years after the bombing it was commemorated for the first time.

Next is a link to a book in PDF format about this tragedy. I am sorry to say that it is in Dutch.
De Fatale Aanval


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Photos: Historiek.net

Today in Dutch WWII History: The Bunker Drama.

In January 1944 in Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch the Bunker Drama took place.
A German woman, who is kept prison in the Camp, provided all kind of information about the other prisoners to the camp leaders. By doing this she hoped that she would be released sooner. The other women in the barracks warn her to stop doing all this. After a last warning they cut her hair.
The leader of the barrack is locked up for this in the camp prison (Bunker). Ninety women from her barrack wrote their name and number on a list in the camp administration to protests against this act.

Two days later, on 15 January, all these women were brought to the Bunker. 74 women were locked up in one Cell: Cell 115. The size of the cell is about 9 square meters. Because the cell is full and there is absolutely no room left in this cell, the other 16 women were placed in another cell. Cell 117.
In Cell 115 panic broke out . There was no fresh air and it was very hot. More and more women became unconscious due to the lack of oxygen.
At Sunday 16 January after 14 hours the the door of the cell goes open.
Ten women didn't survive the night:
Helena Bagmeijer-Krant
Nelly de Bode
Maartje den Braber
Lamberta Buiteman-Huijsmans
Anna Gooszen
Mina Hartogs-Samson
Johanna van den Hoek
Lammerdina Holst
Antoinette Janssen
Huiberdina Witte-Verhagen

This drama soon became known outside the camp and all kinds of resistance papers wrote about this drama. The Germans were very annoyed that the news leaked. The camp-commander Grünewald is discharged and sent to the Russian front were he got killed.

Cell 115

Photo: FP Media VOF



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Today in Dutch WWII History: The Disaster of Heusden.

Heusden is a small historic town near the Meuse river with, at the time of the war, 2000 inhabitants.
During the war Heusden didn't had much to complain. The Germans showed little to no interest in the town.
But all things changed in October 1944.
As a result of the advancing Allied armies Heusden became right in the middle of the battle.
The town was filled with retreating German troops and it was also under the relentless shelling of the allied troops.
Normal life on the streets and in their homes became impossible so many of the people were forced to seek shelter in the basement. Many, however, had no basement and sought hiding in other peoples basement.
Many families had sought shelter in the town hall basement because, with its thick walls and vaults and additional external reinforcement of beams and sandbags it had to be safe.
Here they stayed for days, because normal life at home and on the street was no longer possible.
On Nov. 4, the British crossed the canal in Drunen and the rumble and roar that penetrates into the vaults announced the impending liberation. The day passed full of tension and unrest and nonsensical rumors. It was claimed that the Germans would have undermined the towers so they could be blown up to prevent that they were going to be used as lookout posts for the allies. Some men of the air protection, led by Mr Verschuur, went out to investigate. They found nothing suspicious, and so the night fell.

The night of 4 - 5 November 1944.
The Germans are cornered, the Allied armies are on their heels and as a last act of desperation they destroyed all the beautiful old towers along the front-line. Among these towers was the town hall tower of Heusden. It is also evident that they didn't care that dozens of men, women and children were at risk. At that moment there were about 200 people in basement of the town hall, men, women and children.

Town Hall before the explosion.

At about 2.20 AM a violent explosion ripped through the night. With a thunderous roar the elegant tower of the town hall of Heusden came down.
The bells of the carillon, that would applaud for the towns liberation, fell down with sharp and dull sounds in the avalanche of dust and debris. The roof and the vaults collapsed. The thick exterior walls reinforced with beams and sand collapsed inside. Walls, beams, glass, stone, sand and dust fell down on the adults, children and infants in the shelter of the town hall. After this disastrous moment, it became quiet. A wall of dust hung over a mountain of rubble.

Town Hall after the explosion.

Among the debris faint cries could be heard. Some, who were close at the exit of the basement, came crumbling out of it looking gray of sand and dust and were in a shock. Dozens of men and women came to help and worked hard to free the trapped people but dust and darkness were their biggest obstacles.
A battle for life and death raged on in the debris. Dozens were trapped under beams and bricks. They were still alive. Mothers were screaming for their husbands and their children. But the voices became weaker and weaker until it became silent.
It took a week to recover and count all the victims.
Of the approximately 200 people in the basement 134 people didn't survive this German act of terrorism.
Whole family's were killed. Sometimes only 1 child or person of a family could be saved.

Memorial commemorating the 134 casualties.Writing: Passer-by, where you are, on five November 1944 one hundred and thirty four civilians fell victim to the war.

After the Germans retreaded north over the Meuse river, Heusden became part of the front-line and Germans aimed their fire on the town. On December 31 the people were ordered to leave the town only to return on May 9, 1945.

At the end of the war 10% of the population of Heusden was killed.
Heusden paid it's toll.

Thanks for reading.

Photo1: Geheugen van Nederland
Photo 2 and 3: Nederland in de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch revisited

This is some extra information on an earlier post about Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch.
It is information i found on a news tweet today (Thursday October 28 2010).
Today two unique photo's were found at Camp Vught, as the location of the former concentration camp and now memorial centre is called today.
The photo's are from 1944 and show camp prisoners and their guards.
It is exceptional that prisoners and guards are stand together on photo's like these. Moreover it was prohibited to shoot photo's in and close surroundings of the camp, such photo's are very rare.

Prisoners walking on the Loonsebaan guarded by a camp-guard on a bike.

Same group somewhere in the outskirts of the camp probably Gement or  the Bossche Broek where they were put to work.

The photo's are from the family album of Klaas Bezema. From research it has become clear that the father of Bezema made these photo's. He was an amateur photographer and kept taking photo's during the war.

Thanks for reading.

Photo's: STIWOT

Today in Dutch WWII History: The Battle of the Scheldt

This is not exactly a Today in Dutch WWII History because the battle of the Scheldt took place from October 1st - November 8th, 1944.
It was a very bitter, bloody and hard fought battle from both sites. But also know as a forgotten battle. Where most people do know about D-Day, Market Garden or the Battle of the Bulge there are hardly people who have heard of the battle of the Scheldt.
It was also a very important battle. Although the allies now occupied the harbor of Antwerp the Germans still dominated the East-Scheldt area. This made it still impossible for allied ships to go to the harbor of Antwerp and thus creating a shorter supply line.
My first intention was to write the story about the battle myself but instead the following link has a great and nice write up about the whole battle.

The Battle of the Scheldt

Next link is specifically aimed at the battle for Walcheren (Thanks Paul for the link).

OPERATION INFATUATE - WALCHEREN - 1 to 8 NOV 1944

The The Battle of the Scheldt link leads to a page from the Canada at War website. A website dedicated to the contribution of the Canadian army in both World Wars and other wars.



Thanks for reading.

Photo: Canada at War

Today in Dutch WWII History: The Razzia of Putten.

An attack by a resistance group on a German Wehrmacht was the reason for the German occupier to take retaliation measures against the people of Putten a small city in the middle of the Netherlands.

The night before.
In the night of September 30 1944 members of the Putten resistance movement shot at a car of the German Wehrmacht between Putten and Nijkerk near the Oldenallerbridge. In this car were 2 officers and 2 corporals.
During the gunfight the corporals managed to escape unhurt, 1 of the officers, although heavily wounded, escaped to a nearby farm from here he later was brought to Harderwijk where he died the next day. The other officer was captured and held hostage.

Revenge.
On sunday October 1, at the Command of General Friedrich Christiansen, the German Werhmacht raided most of Putten and a part of Nijkerk . During this raid 7 men and 1 young woman got killed.
Putten was surrounded by the German Wehrmacht , which also included the Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring who was encamped in nearby Harderwijk.
The women and children were separated from the men and locked up in the church. The men were brought and locked up in the school or eierhal. In the evening the woman and children were released on the condition that they would come back the next morning with food for their men.
They all came back the following morning.
All men between 18 and 50 years of age were put on transportation to Concentration camp Amersfoort.
Not much later all the woman and children did get the order to leave Putten within 2 hours.
When they all have left the village about one hundred homes were set on fire by German and Dutch SS'. The returning women found nothing but ruins.

In Camp Amersfoort 59 men were released. On October 11 the remaining 601 men were deported to concentration camp Neuengamme (during this transportation 13 men managed to jump from the train). A part of the men ended up in several other camps, which were part of Neuengamme.
Here most of the men died because of malnutrition, slavery, exploitation and infectious diseases.

Aftermath.
After the war, only 48 men returned home, of these 48 men 5 more died because of the deprivations they had endured.

Total number of men deported 660
Released in Amersfoort 59
Deported to Neuengamme 601
Jumped out of the train 13
Arrived in Neuengamme 588
Died in German Concentration camps 540
Returned to Putten after the war 48
Died soon after return 5
Killed during the Raid 8

Total number of victims 553

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Today in Dutch WWII History: Railway strike

On September 17, 1944, at the request of the Allied High Command, the Dutch government in exile in London called for a railway strike in the Netherlands.
The intention of this strike was to make it harder for the German army to move their troops and equipment to Arnhem, Nijmegen and Eindhoven, where the allied troops on that day began their offensive: "Operation Market Garden".
After a radio call from Radio Orange on September 17, 1944 (Code message: 'De kinderen van Versteeg moeten onder de wol' ), 30,000 employees of the NS (Dutch Railway) laid down their work. The result of this successful strike call was that nearly all employees of the Dutch Railways were not going to work and thus creating a standstill.

STRIKE!

The expectation of the strikers was that the strike would be over quickly, since the Netherlands was about to be freed soon. But the Germans won the Battle of Arnhem and the strike lasted until the liberation on May 5, 1945.

This had great impact on the life in occupied territory, including the way the occupation authorities did respond. The Germans went looking for other ways to bring back transportation to full running. Because the Germans succeeded in doing this quickly, the impact of the strike on the German troops had lost his effectiveness within 10 days.
The Germans had warned that a strike would endanger the food supply. They made this threat come true. While the German soldiers started to use their own trains for transport to supply their troops, for the Dutch population the railway strike meant that their was lack of food and fuel, and travel became a lot harder. Especially the west of the Netherlands suffered under the winter famine (hongerwinter).
Among the seven million Dutch people, who have not been liberated, the mood against the occupier became expressively grimly.

Thanks for reading!

Photo: Rotterdam 40 - 45

Today in Dutch WWII History: Dolle Dinsdag

Dolle Dinsdag (Mad Tuesday) is the name in the Netherlands for Tuesday September 5 1944.
On that day a lot of emotional scenes played out all over the Netherlands following reports that the country could be freed any time soon of the German occupation. Because the Allies had in previous days rapidly gained ground on the Germans, on Sunday September 3, Brussels was liberated and on Monday September 4 Antwerp, the optimistic Dutch figured that at this pace the Allies would be in Rotterdam on September 5, on September 6 in Utrecht and Amsterdam, and the rest would follow soon.
In the southern part of the Netherlands the thundering of the guns had been heard.
Rumors were exaggerated, and soon the myth circulated that certain places in the Southern Netherlands had been liberated. In Rotterdam, it was claimed that the Allies were at Moerdijk, and in Amsterdam it was claimed that they were at Rotterdam and The Hague.
This was exaggerated by a British radio message reported that Breda indeed was liberated.
Many Dutch prepared themself to greet their liberators the next day. Flags and orange flags were brought out, and businesses run empty because all personal wanted to wait on the street for the Allies to arrive.
Among the Germans and NSB people ( Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging. A Dutch political party that collaborated with the Germans) panic broke out, administrations were quickly destroyed and many fled.
Many of the NSB stayed temporarily at the Lüneburg Heath in Germany, while Mussert (Leader of the NSB) moved to Bellinckhof in Almelo.

Germans fleeing from Rotterdam

What the Dutch people did not know was that the size of the allied forces at that time was too small to be able to liberate the Netherlands. The Allied main force was still in France and the troops that had advanced towards Antwerp only liberated a thin corridor in Belgium. The Dutch border was not even reached at all. On either side of the thin corridor the area was still occupied and the forward troops were at risk to be cut off. Therefore the Allied High Command didn't dare to go for a further blow to the north, especially since the main objective; Antwerp, had already been reached.
The false radio report about the non-existing liberation of Breda had to do with the fact that, because of the marching speed, the Allied High Command hardly knew were their own troops were.
A few days later, the Allies crossed the Dutch border with reconnaissance patrols, and on September 14, 1944 Maastricht was the first major Dutch city liberated.
Then when also Operation Market Garden failed because of the German victory at the battle for Arnhem, it was clear that at least for the Northern Netherlands liberation would not take place for a while. The Western Netherlands had, after Dolle Dinsdag, to undergo the Hongerwinter (winter famine) until they finally got liberated on May 5 1945.
The name Dolle Dinsdag is first detected in De Gil, a magazine disguised as opposition propaganda newspaper that was funded by the occupier. On September 15 the headline in the paper about the events of September 5: GENERALE REPETITIE - DURE LES VAN DOLLEN DINSDAG (General rehearsal – Mad Tuesday expensive lesson).
The alliterative lines were written by Willem van den Hout who after the war under the name Willy van der Heide would gain fame as author of the successful children's books about Bob Evers.


Thank you for reading!

Photo: Rotterdam 40 - 45

Today in Dutch WWII History : Concentration-Camps 3

  

Polizeiliches Durchgangslager Amersfoort

Compared with other concentration camps, Camp Amersfoort was a small and makeshift camp. In operation from 1941 until the end of the war, it was run not by the military but by the German police the Sipo / SD. Neglect, starvation, maltreatment and murder marked the lives of over 35,000 prisoners who, in the course of two separate periods of the war, were held here for a brief or extended time.
The history of Camp Amersfoort can be divided into two periods.

First Period 1941 - 1943

In August 1941 the SS took the former shed camp for Dutch soldiers in use as a camp. Camp Amersfoort was a small, provisional camp. By the central, outlying position and poor control, the camp, in the period up to 1943, could develop into a cruel, disorderly, in itself turned community. Even to German standards.
The main feature of the prisoners population in Camp Amersfoort was the diversity.There were significantly more differences than similarities.There was difference in age, gender, background, education, religion, political orientation, reason for arrest, position and treatment in the camp, trial, sentence and length of confinement.
Forced labor, beatings, starvation and disease made staying at Camp Amersfoort a struggle for survival. There was no solidarity among the prisoners.
In the camp there were also 101 Russians. The German camp administration had them
registered as "Kriegsgefangene. They were exposed to abuse and neglect. The 77 survivors were murdered on April 9, 1942. On March 18, 1946, they were reburied at the general cemetery Rusthof in Leusden.
There were also approximately 120 American citizens, in the camp. The effect of the German declaration of war against the United States was that U.S. citizens, in the German occupied territories, were arrested. They were not considered prisoners, but as civilian internees. For them was the Geneva convention. They were treated different then the other prisoners. They did not have to perform forced labor and were not mistreated. But like the other prisoners they experienced, food shortages, uncertainty about their fate and the limited freedom of movement.
End 1942, beginning 1943 the camp was cleared. The prisoners were brought to the new camp in Vught. The existence of camp Amersfoort was uncertain. In this first period which lasted up to 8 March 1943, a total of 8,522 prisoners stayed in camp Amersfoort.

Second Period 1943 - 1945

Enlarging the capacity and afterwards reopening of camp Amersfoort appeared necessary. The reality of war, the growth in the number of detainees, retrieved the plans for Camp Amersfoort. On May 17, 1943, with the arrival of the first 2 new groups of prisoners, the camp, now with a new name 'Erweitertes Polizeigefängnis', reopened. The name pointed out that the camp fell under the responsibility of the local police force authorities.The capacity was, in comparison with the first period, drastically increased.
In this second period, as a result of the "arbeitseinsatz" the run through of prisoners became much larger.
In spite of the extension the camp remained, in comparison with ' official' German camps, disorderlily and negligent.
As a result, among other things, of the increasing allied threat on April 19 1945 camp Amersfoort was officially transferred to the Dutch Red Cross. 475 à 500 present prisoners no longer fell under the responsibility of the German occupancy power. On April 20 the German camp control left the camp.

Reconstruction of a copy of a stereographic drawing found in 1945 in the Camp commander's office.

Aerial picture August 1944

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Photo's: Nationaal Monument Kamp Amersfoort

Today in Dutch WWII History : Concentration-Camps 2

  

Durchgangslager Westerbork

Near the village of Westerbork, in the province of Drente, the Dutch Government owned a tract of heath and marsh land surrounded by dense woods. This isolated piece of real estate appeared to be the ideal place to build a camp for German Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi persecution. It was far enough placed from the village proper of Westerbork that refugees would not interfere with the daily business concerns of the villagers provided supervision was in place.
The first refugees that arrived at camp Westerbork was in 1939. During the German invasion on 10 May 1940 the camp contained 50 barracks, 1150 legal and 650 illegal refugees.
When the endlösing of the Netherlands started the existing camp near Westerbork was the ideal place for this. And early 1942, 24 large barracks capable of housing 300 people each, were added for this purpose.
On 1 July 1942 Refugee camp Westerbork officially became Durchgangslager Westerbork and stayed this until the liberation of the camp on the 12 April 1945.

Aerial picture of Durchgangslager Westerbork 1944

Between July 1942 and September 1944 more than 104,000 Dutch and German Jews and 250 Dutch Sinti and Roma were deported by train from Westerbork to the extermination camps. Between them were 22,025 childeren and young adults with an age below 21.
On 13 September 1944 the last train left from Durchgangslager Westerbork. Destionation: Bergen Belsen.

65 train-transports with 60,330 victims were sent directly to Auschwitz II Birkenau. Only 854 people who were deported from Westerbork survived. On 3 September 1944 the last train to Auschwitz II Birkenau left Westerbork. On this train was the Frank familly.

19 train-transports with a total of 34,313 Jews were deported from Westerbork to Sobibor. Only 18 Dutch jews returned.

9 train-transports with 4,894 Jews left Westerbork for Theresienstadt. Just as Westerbork this was a internent and transit camp. 2,000 deported survived.

A total of 3750 victims were transported to Bergen-Belsen. An other notorius concentration camp. But also know as the camp where Anne Frank, who was transported from  Auschwitz II Birkenau to Bergen Belsen, was murdered.
From the 3750 people deported to this place 1700 died.

After the last deportation on 13 September 1944 876 Jews and non Jewish people remained in Westerbork. On 12 April 1945 they were liberated by Canadian troops.

Dutch Camp Commanders:
mr. D.A. Syswarda Camp's inception - 16 July 1940
Captain in the Reserves Jacques Schol 16 July 1940 - Early January 1943

German Commanders:
SS-Sturmbannführer dr. Erich Deppner 1 July 1942 - 1 September 1942
SS-Sturmbannführer Josef Hugo Dischner 1 September 1942 - 12 October 1942
SS-Obersturmführer Albert Konrad Gemmeker 12 October 1942 - 12 April 1945

Note: both Dutch camp commanders had nothing to do with the death transports. Not even Schol who served under 2 German camp commanders. SS-Obersturmführer Albert Konrad Gemmeker even quickly saw to it that Schol was discharged in January 1943. Not wanting to have any witnesses to the Nazi Endlösing plan.

Other important positions (these people were Jews):
Kurt Schlesinger, the Oberdienstleiter 
Arthur Pisk :Head of the Ordnungsdienst
Dr. Fritz Spanier - Chief Medical Officer


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Photo: The Holocaust - Lest We Forget

Today in Dutch WWII History: Concentration-Camps 1

  

Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch

Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch (Concentration-camp ’s-Hertogenbosch) was the only SS concentration camp in the Netherlands (The more known camp at Westerbork, was a transit camp for Jews.) and was located at the town called Vught. Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch was the same organized as the SS camps in Nazi Germany. But the prisoners are treated less rigid than in the other camps. This way the Nazis wanted to prevent that the Dutch population started to protest against the treatment.
The choice of the location for the camp was well thought out. Vught was surrounded by railways and roads and nearby is ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Here a lot of the German authorities headquarters were located. In 1942 they started the building of the camp. The layout of the camp is over 1 kilometer long and 400 meters wide. Wrapped around the camp is a big moat digged by the camp prisoners. On all sides of the camp is a high barbed wire fence.
At every 100 meters there is a watchtower, with guards, searchlights and Machine-guns. The guards on the towers were almost all Dutch, who had chosen to side with the Germans.

Aerial view of the camp with right of the middle the "Fusilladeplaats".

Between January 1943 and September 1944 more than 31,000 men, women and children were encased in the camp. Among them more than 12,000 Jews who were from Vught  transported to Westerbork. Also in this camp were about 19,000 political prisoners, resistance fighters, drifters, Sinti and Roma, Jehovah's, gays, black marketers and criminals. Women were imprisoned in a special women's camp. At least 750 people died in the camp from disease and abuse or being shot outside the camp at the so called “fusilladeplaats”. At the approaching of the Allied army’s the Nazi’s started at the beginning of September 1944 with the evacuation of the camp. The prisoners were put on trains and transported to camps in Germany. On October 26, 1944, the empty camp is liberated.

The first commander was the 39 year old Karl Chmielewski. In the first months the camp was badly organized. The prisoners receive little food, the sick are not treated well and the drinking water is bad. Many people die in the time that Chmielewski was the Commander. In October 1943 he was sacked because he had stolen on a large scale in the camp. In 1961 he was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the concentration camps.

The second commander was the 40 year old Adam Grünewald. He introduced strict rules. He gave the order in January 1944 to put a large group of female prisoners into one cell. A horrible decision, which comes to be known as the “Bunker Drama”. He was brought to face the SS court and was sent to the Russian front as a soldier. He was killed in 1945.

The last commander of the Camp, was the 50-year-old Hans Hüttig. He fought as a soldier in the First World War and he became a member of the Nazi party before 1933. The SS leaders were very pleased with him. Under his leadership in July / September 1944 a certain number of 329 men are shot by the firing squad.

After the war the camp fulfilled many purposes. One of them was to imprison those Dutch people who had chosen to side with the Germans during the war.
Now a days most of the camp is a museum and a memorial center.

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Photo: Nederland in de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Today in Dutch WWII History: The Bombardment of Rotterdam.

70 Years ago on 14 May 1940 1.20 PM (Dutch Time) Bombers of the German Luftwaffen almost completely destroyed the town center of Rotterdam. The fire that started after the bombardment kept raging on for weeks.

Over a 800 people were killed, mostly civilians, 25.000 houses were destroyed and almost 80.000 people became homeless because of the bombardment.

For a more detailed description what happened that day i would like to point out to the following page. It is from the website that i linked to in my previous "Today in Dutch WWII History" post.
Rotterdam


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Photo: Anne Frank Werkstuk

Today in Dutch WWII History: Invasion!

Today it is 70 years ago the the Netherlands were invaded by Nazi Germany.
Although the Dutch government expected that the Netherlands would stay neutral just as in WWI, at 03.55 AM Dutch time (05.35 German time) Operation: Gelb was set in motion.

While the invasion "only" lasted for 5 days it were 5 days of hard and bitter fighting. And not a walkover as Hitler would expected it to be. As a matter of fact the German army lost a lot more planes and soldiers then expected.
An other fact that i like to mention is that in the Netherlands the first major airborne operation took place. More then 10.000 Fallschirmjäger jumped into Holland.
I can write a whole story what has happened during those 5 days of fighting but i think it is better that you follow the link below. It will bring you to one of the best or maybe the best site that handles about the invasion of the Netherlands. There is a lot to read and see.

War over Holland - May1940: The Dutch struggle

 Thanks for reading!