the Netherlands
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Most of my life has been occupied with one question: “Why did my Grandfather die?” As far as I am aware and as far as I was told by my family, he was executed by the German occupiers during World War II. It has only been recently I actually found out the actual date he…
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On the morning of May 10, 1940, the Netherlands awoke to the thunder of German bombers overhead and the sound of artillery fire along its borders. After months of tense neutrality, the small, strategically located country found itself swept into the maelstrom of World War II. The invasion of the Netherlands marked a critical moment…
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On 4 May 1945, the German Admiral Von Friedeburg at Lüneburg surrendered to British Field Marshal Montgomery on behalf of the German troops in Northwest Germany, the Netherlands, Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark. On 5 May, Canadian General Charles Foulkes summoned the German Supreme Commander Johannes Blaskowitz to Hotel De Wereld in Wageningen to discuss the effect…
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On April 29, 1942, the Nazis announced a new humiliation for Jewish Dutch citizens. Starting on May 3, they were required to wear an identifying mark: a six-pointed yellow Star of David with the word “Jew” in the center. This star made it possible to recognize Jews in public. The German occupiers intended this to…
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(Update from the November 2016 blog) One aspect of history I find particularly difficult to grasp is the collaboration of some Jews with the Nazis. On the one hand, I understand that self-preservation is a powerful human instinct—survival at any cost can drive people to make unimaginable choices. Yet, conversely, it’s hard to reconcile how…
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On October 26, 1944, British soldiers from the 51st Highland Division turned onto the Boslaan in Vught. As they passed through the wooded heath, the sight of barbed wire and watchtowers came into view, marking the entrance to Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch—better known as Camp Vught. Though the grounds were nearly deserted, the abandoned barracks, workshops, and…
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North Holland was the only province to have a Regional Sabotage Division (GSA). This was a resistance unit within the Internal Forces (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten), composed of experienced members of the Ordedienst (OD), the Raad van Verzet (RVV), and the Landelijke Knokploegen (LKP) under the command of Colonel Wastenecker. The GSA was involved in seizing and…
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I cannot decide which is worse, the crimes of Auke Bert Pattist or his remorselessness. Also, the fact that some people saw him as a hero—depresses me. Auke Bert Pattist was born in 1920. In 1943 he voluntarily entered the Waffen-SS. As an officer, he would be involved in arresting and ill-treating a large number…
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On April 19, 1782, John Adams was received by the States-General and the Dutch Republic as they were the first country, together with Morocco and France, to recognize the United States as an independent government. John Adams then became the first U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and the house that he had purchased at Fluwelen…
History of Sorts 
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