the Netherlands
-
On February 22nd, 1944 the people of the Dutch town of Nijmegen were subjected to an attack which killed more than 750 civilians. One would assume that this awful attack was carried out by the German occupiers , but that was not the case. The attack was carried out by B-24 bombers of the 446th…
-
This is slight deviation from my usual heavier history blogs. Every once in a while something lighthearted is needed. The Netherlands, a small country in the Northwest of Europe. Known for great painters and footballers and for Tulips and windmills and a lot of other things. It is however not so much known for its…
-
First of all, let me tell you I am Dutch, and I am proud to be Dutch. I love the country where I was born and where I grew up. But I am not proud of some of its black pages in history. I can understand why some Dutch bureaucrats and civil servants colluded with…
-
The buzzword nowadays is “immigrants” and in hardly any context it is used in a positive way.Here is the thing though, who is an immigrant? This is just a micro snapshot in history. It is basically a background of my family well at least from my Mother’s side. The picture at the start of the…
-
In September 1944, most of the southern part of the Netherlands had been liberated. Unfortunately, the rest of the country faced a very harsh winter. Extreme cold combined with a lack of food resulted in a famine, causing the death of about 20,000 citizens. Dutch railway workers had gone on strike with the hope of…
-
Little did I know when I was aged 7, that 2 headlines in a regional newspaper would have links to my life in ways I could never have imagined. On November 7,1975 2 events were in the Dutch newspapers. One event was a disaster which happened in a chemical plant, the other event was the…
-
Two sisters, the younger one lively,outgoing and bubbly, the older one a bit more reserved and shy. Two sisters who were very different and yet in many ways the same, On October 30, 1944, they both boarded a train. Not to go a big city to go for a shopping spree or to the cinema,…
-
They gave their today for our tomorrow. Our tomorrow was sacred to them. They gave their today for our tomorrow. Sacrificing their own lives for those they would never meet. They gave their today for our tomorrow. A tomorrow that we should cherish even more. They gave their today for our tomorrow. Their bravery should…
-
I would love to say there was not a single person in the Netherlands who turned a blind eye to the brutal Nazi regime and especially in relation the treatment of their fellow citizens, who happened to be Jewish. But I’d be telling a lie. There were many who at risk of their own lives…
-
In the southeast province of the Netherlands is Limburg. It used to be a rural area with mainly farming as employment opportunities. However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, something nicknamed “black gold” was discovered in the southern part of the province. This ‘black gold’ was coal. The Dutch government exploited the discovery…
History of Sorts 
You must be logged in to post a comment.