Collaborator
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In general, I have some level, albeit low, of sympathy for those who chose to collaborate with the Nazi regime in the Netherlands because maybe they felt it was the only way to survive. However, I have no sympathy for the Nederlandse Landwacht. They were in it for their own greed and hungered for power.…
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The one thing I can be sure of after posting this blog is that my contact details will be checked a lot, especially by the likes of the “‘Polish League Against Defamation,” and will probably be followed with threats. Unfortunately, there are groups in Poland who will go to great lengths to get any bit…
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War brings out the best and the worst out of people, that is just a fact. It is easy to acknowledge the good but there is often a struggle acknowledging the bad, even to the extent of trying to completely erase it from history. When it comes to the Holocaust there is no question about…
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Maarten Kuiper stands as a stark reminder of the complexities and moral ambiguities faced by individuals during the tumultuous times of World War II. Born on January 30, 1907, in Amsterdam, Kuiper’s early life was unremarkable, characterized by a series of ordinary professions including that of a sailor and a police officer. However, his later…
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I am a great believer that people should investigate their past before they pass judgment on others. There were many Dutch who did good during World War II; many risked their lives and sometimes gave their lives to help or save their Jewish neighbors. However, on the other hand, there were also many, and probably…
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The Netherlands Union (Nederlandsche Unie) was a Dutch political movement during the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War. It was founded by a trio consisting of Louis Einthoven (Chief Commissioner of Police in Rotterdam), Johannes Linthorst Homan (Queen’s Commissioner in the Province of Groningen), and Jan de Quay (Government Commissioner for…
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It always amazes me how easy it was for some Europeans to give up their Jewish neighbours. I know it’s easy for me to say that in retrospect, because I don’t know how I would have reacted if put in that situation. But I have a feeling I would have spoken out about it the…
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The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (abbreviation: NSB) was a Dutch political party that existed from 1931 to 1945. The NSB adhered to the ideology of National Socialism, presented itself not as a party but as a movement based on an anti-democratic attitude, and functioned as a collaboration party during the German occupation of…
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The Polish Blue Police (Granatowa Policja), officially known as the Policja Polska Generalnego Gubernatorstwa, represents one of the more controversial aspects of Poland’s experience under Nazi occupation during World War II. Established by Nazi Germany following its invasion of Poland in 1939, this police force, composed primarily of pre-war Polish police officers, operated under the…
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Mildred Elizabeth Gillars (November 29, 1900 – June 25, 1988), commonly known as “Axis Sally,” was an American broadcaster who worked for Nazi Germany during World War II. Broadcasting from Berlin for German state radio, she delivered English-language propaganda aimed at American troops and civilians. After the war she was captured in Berlin, returned to…
History of Sorts 