Liberation of the Netherlands Flashcards
Dutch were treated better at first since they were seen as…
Aryans (“superior” race according to hitler)
When the war began, Dutch government fled to…
England
Hitler freed______as a nice gesture when Netherlands was first occupied
Dutch POW’s (prisoners of war)
Dutch first revolted because of
German propaganda
What was the February strike?
Strike by the Dutch against forced labour, 300,000 Dutch workers participed
What happened when Dutch didn’t voluntarily shift to German ideology?
Germans shipped Dutch workers to germany
1940: Jews _____________
Registered themselves with the Germans, and then were laid off later
1941: Jews_______
were segregated from schools
1942: jews____________
Had to wear a yellow star in public, then were registered to work in Germany
100,000/140,000 Dutch jews _______
Didn’t survive WW2
What was the Dutch resistance?
People who rebelled against the Germans (ex: hiding Jews or other prosecuted people)
How many members did the resistance have?
25,000 total (2000 executed, 4000 died in camps)
__% of Dutch collaborated with the germans
10%
________ Dutch served in the SS
25,000
Dutch girls who slept with German soldier were called ____________ after the war
Moffenmaiden
What was done to Moffenmaiden?
Their head were shaved and painted orange, and they had swastikas drawn on them and publicly humiliated
First liberation mission was called…
Operation Market garden
Operation market garden failed, but liberated…
Eindhoven and Nijmegen
Operation market garden took place…
September 1944
What happened in putton?
All men were rounded up and shipped off to concentration camps in retaliation for resistance activity
What are the statistics of Hongerwinter?
20,000 dead of cold, starvation and disease
Netherlands was fully liberated in…
April 1945
Germans signed unconditional surrender on…
May 5, 1945
What is mad Tuesday?
Sept 1940, Dutch people thought they were going to be liberated and prematurely celebrated
What was operation market garden?
Plan to capture bridges across main Dutch rivers, then liberate city’s nearby
Why did market garden fail?
Airdrops were dropped too far from objectives, radios failed, Germans responded too quickly
Allies lost _______ men during operation market garden
15,000
What happened at the battle of overloon?
Allies won, went on to liberate the town of venray (2000 died)
Which areas were liberated during operation pheasant?
Tilburg, S-Hertogenbosch, roosendaal, Bergen op zoom, Willemstad and Breda
Limburg was liberated in….
1945
Where did the battle of scheldt take place?
Zeeland
What happened to zeeland in the battle of scheldt?
The Germans flooded it, which made liberation much harder
Which operation started after zeeland was secured?
Operation switchback
What was operation switchback?
Securing breskens pocket, which was defended by 10,000 armed Germans but it was a success
What was operation vitality?
Allies clearing off Germans from the south bevelands, which was a success
What was Operation infatuate?
Allies capturing the island of Walcheren by flooding it, over 150 Dutch civilians died
How long was the battle of scheldt?
October 2 to November 8 (1944)
How was the Hongerwinter started?
It started from railway workers striking, and that caused the Germans to stop all food import
What did the Dutch eat during the famine?
Tulip bulbs and sugar beets
How many Dutch died during the hongerwinter?
Approximately 20,000
What was the large last battle in the netherlands?
Battle of Groningen (destroyed large parts of the city because of how cramped it was)
When was Rotterdam bombed first?
May 14, 1940, at least 1150 were killed
Who was the perpetrator for the second bombing of Rotterdam?
The allies
In 1944, why was Nijmegen bombed by the allies?
Allies mistook it for a German city, leaving 800 dead
