the Netherlands
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On this day in 1722—which was Easter Sunday—the little-known Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to visit Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. Jacob Roggeveen was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis, but instead came across Easter Island (called Easter Island because he landed there on Easter Day). Jacob Roggeveen…
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“Only the good die young, all the evil seem to live forever” are lyrics from an Iron Maiden song. For many years—I thought this to be a true statement, as I saw so many evil men living long lives. However, luckily, I was wrong in that assumption. Sometimes, a good man does live a long…
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On this day 44 years ago, at Tenerife-North Airport (formerly Los Rodeos), two Boeing 747’s – one KLM, the other Pan Am – crashed on a foggy runway. 583 people were killed in what remains the biggest air disaster in history. Neither of the planed were supposed to be there, they had both been diverted…
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The Dutch are known for their love of bicycles. For most Dutch people it is the first choice of means of transport. Needless to say, the bicycle played an important role in World War II. There is a long-running joke about the Germans giving back Dutch bikes. The origin came from the German occupiers demanding…
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At the moment there is a lot of talk how social media is used to distribute propaganda, but the widespread of propaganda is nothing new. The ‘social media’ during WWII was the radio. About 18 months after the Germans invaded the Netherlands they started broadcasting German language course programs. During World War II radio listening…
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On the night of 31 January – 1 February 1953, many dykes in the province of Zeeland, the southern parts of the province of South Holland and the northwestern parts of the province of North Brabant ,in the Netherlands,proved unable to resist the combination of spring tide and a northwesterly storm. It was to become…
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Hitler expected very little resistance from the Dutch because he saw them as kindred spirits and fellow aryans. When he decided to invade the Netherlands he expected a similar reception as he got in Austria, but he was wrong. Although the invasion only took 3 days the Germans suffered heavy losses. As in the other…
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It is a question I often ask myself “Would I do it, would I risk my life and the life of my Family to safe others? ” Honestly I don’t know. Risking my own life is one thing, but risking the lives of my Family is a different ballgame all together. And yet that is…
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The more I do these WWII stories the more I realize how littIe I actually know.. It was by chance I came across the name Gabrielle Weidner. Today when I tried to open a page on her it came up blank, just like my brain.I never heard of her or her brother Jean nor had…
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After months of fighting fierce battles this must have been the most adorable way ever how the US troops were entertained. Dutch children entertain U.S. soldiers. U.S. soldiers taken for a morning walk through the grounds of moated Hoensbroek Castle in Holland some of the 145 young Dutch children living there under the care of…
History of Sorts 
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