Life in the Netherlands
The second World War was not only about the soldiers and the battles, but it had a strong resonance with the civilians who struggled through those years at home. During World War 2, life as a Dutch citizen was harsh after Holland was invaded by Germany. German air-forces bombed Rotterdam on May 10th of 1940 and took control of an important bridge in the city.
The Dutch defenses were weakened by this surprise attack and the blitzkrieg affect, only to further crumble while the Netherlands were under occupation beginning in April. Once Dutch boys reached the age of 16 they were forced into labour for Germany from 1940 to 1943. Hundreds of thousands of citizens lost their lives to the cruelty of the war in camps, prisons, and forced-labour. In September of 1944, Dutch railways went on strike to prevent transportation of German troops, hoping the Netherlands would be liberated within weeks. However, the goal was not achieved, as Germany had their own trains to use in replacement and it also affected supply-travel into Dutch cities and towns. |
This strike was followed closely by the Hunger Winter of 1944 and 1945. Supplies were short, and shipping food to the Netherlands was banned. Dutch families had to ration what little goods they still had, and thousands of citizens starved to the point of death. A citizen would trade all they had for a portion of food. By 1945, flour and other supplies could finally be delivered to the Netherlands from Sweden. It wasn’t until after being liberated by Canadian and Allied forces that the Netherlands would begin to recover from the severe food shortages.
Every Dutch citizen suffered under German seize, but most especially the Jewish citizens. During the Holocaust, of all the Jews in Northeastern Europe, less than 3o% survived through those years.
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In the Netherlands, the Jewish population had the lowest survival rate after the Holocaust. There was a high concentration of Jewish citizens in Amsterdam, and by the time the war was closing only just over 11% of those Jewish citizens survived. One nationally-known story that illustrates the gruelling life that a Jewish family had to live during the Holocaust in the Netherlands is the Diary of Anne Frank. Anyone caught hiding Jewish people was punished, and those who they were hiding would be taken away and either put into concentration camps or executed.
Overall, the war had a large effect on the civilians, as well as the people who fought in it. Citizens in Holland had to undergo severe conditions and a long period of waiting for liberation from Germany’s control. But when the Canadian, British and American soldiers finally came, it was a joyous day still remembered even now by the people in Holland. |
first Advance - The Battle of Arnhem
By September of 1944, all the cities in the Netherlands were occupied by Germans, and the Allied forces had approached the southern occupied cities. After the first Allied Airborne Army was launched in the winter of 1944, they attempted to infiltrate Germany by taking control of the bridge over the Rhine River in Arnhem, called the Battle of Arnhem. This battle was part of Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne battle in the war.
Operation Market Garden was the first attempt of initiating the Allied Airborne Army. They assisted in the Battle of Arnhem when the Allied forces were taken by surprise from the German’s plentiful and prepared, defensive troops. Three British and American air-forces were part of this brigade, intending to find a way behind enemy lines |
The purpose of this battle was not only to create a route into Germany, but to institute a port-base to obtain supplies from trade ships. They were led to this location because the city of Antwerp, Belgium was already liberated, but the river of Scheldt, connected to the North Sea, was under German control. So the Allies needed to clear the area of enemy soldiers for a way to enter Germany and have control of a port. This task was assigned to the First Canadian Army.
When Allied foot-soldiers were overcome by the German’s defense, the Allied Airborne Army flew overhead and released gliders as an attempt to take over the bridge on the Rhine River through by air-force. The German soldiers were more prepared than what was expected, so the Allies’ offensive attack failed, destroyed by enemy troops, and the Netherlands remained under German control. The civilians in Holland would have to wait months until they were to be liberated. |
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Veteran - Aubrey Cosens VC
Works citedVeteran: Government of Canada. National Defense and the Canadian Forces, 14 Apr. 2009. www.cmp.forces/aubrey/cosens/vc. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016. Veteran Images: World War 2 Today. Sgt. Aubrey Cosens Shatters the Germans at Moosdorf, 2015. www.aubreycosens/photos. Accessed 14 Dec. 2016. Bridge Image: Canada at War. Canada at War, 2009. www.canadaatwar/photos. Accessed 10 Dec. 2016. |
Life in Netherlands/Battle: Allied Airborne Army. First Allied Airborne Army, 2002. www.alliedaribornearmy/messhall. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016. Canadian War Museum. Democracy at War. “The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945”. www.warmuseum.ca/operations. Accessed 10 Dec. 2016. Government of Canada. Veterans Affairs Canada. "Canada - Netherlands", 09 Dec. 2014. www.veterans.gc.ca/remembrance. Accessed 12 Dec. 2016. Government of Canada. Veteran Affairs Canada. “The Occupation of the Netherlands”, 23 Oct. 2014. www.veterans.gc.ca/occupation. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016. |