The German Occupation of the Netherlands from the Dutch Perspective

[@HistoryHustle]

Learn about: GERMAN INVASION OF THE NETHERLANDS: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXqspIxsa5mne5Y DUTCH RESISTANCE: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2qniIGFna1-lck DUTCH WAFFEN-SS VOLUNTEERS: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mILPd2OflpJ0eKM

[@joeliccione6616]

Thank you

[@monkeydank7842]

Did the Netherlands, it’s forces or it’s forces on the mainland surrender? Where there forces in exile?

[@jurgbangerter1023]

No Dutch Jews survived as in France even in Vichy France 90% of the French Jews survived says Erich Zenmour in his books about Vichy France and FM Pétain, for FYI Eric Zenmour is a Sephardim an Algerian origine Jew who has French citizenship....so more likely 95% of the Dutch collaborated and only 5% were Résistance and suddenly at the end of war everybody in Holland became a Résistance fighter, based on Canadian Armed forces which liberated the Netherlands and Belgium the Dutch Criminals dominated the Dutch Resistance at end of war..

[@vandenberg298]

In the farm where I lived near the small hamlet of Berghuizen, many people were active in the resistance, including the well-known "frits de Zwerver". On a Sunday there was a church service going on in the main church and from a distance a troop of Germans and the wrong field guards can be seen arriving with wrong intentions. Very soon the pastor is signaled and soon the church is surrounded. There are a number of wanted people inside who can't leave, but the Germans don't come in. Soon a number of wanted gentlemen put on the women's clothes and disguise themselves because the women are allowed to leave the church and the men have to stay. And thus they were able to escape, and the Germans descended after checking everyone.

[@HistoryHustle]

@Jebus Hypocristos Perhaps one day.

[@68crusin51]

My Father served in the Canadian Army in the Netherlands. I really appreciate these detailed videos of what actually happened. He didnt talk about it much, he did make alot of Dutch friends while there.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this. Respect for your father.

[@rogerelzenga4465]

The Canadians had to do the Battle for The Scheld... a insanely important forgotten battle... without this battle operation market garden would have failed... he might have helped liberate my town, So thank you for that!

[@hermacoutts8587]

Thank you for your fathers’ service. I was born in NL, my parents were teenagers during the war. 🇳🇱❤️🇨🇦

[@julianshepherd2038]

I .I've in the Jordaan, Amsterdam back in 79-80 and it was lovely but I was also aware that my landlord was one of the few Jews that had survived. All those families gone. He didn't hate young Germans but he couldn't talk to them.

[@HistoryHustle]

I can understand. Thanks for sharing.

[@tylerhiggins3522]

@lati long they would have felt very different about the SU if the Red Army had advanced to the Atlantic.

[@tylerhiggins3522]

@lati long there are also those who believe that Operation Barbarossa forestalled a Soviet drive into Western Europe. Certainly events transpired that the longer they held in the East the further east the Western Allies would advance. Sadly due to the ignorance and incompetence of FDR and Eisenhower the Red Army was able to advance into and remain in Eastern Europe. And then there was the repercussions of this in Korea and Vietnam, when the SU entered the Pacific War at the last minute.

[@radomirratkovic9014]

​@@tylerhiggins3522here in Australia we do have documented material proving the fact that USSR planed invasion of the western Europe was to happen sometime in 1940 s once UK and Nazi Germany declare the seize fire

[@cowgirl9014]

Thank you for posting. My Dutch grandparents hid people during the occupation. My father was 12 or 13 at the time. He would break down crying almost every time he would talk about it because most of those people were eventually caught by the Germans.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@matty6848]

Your grandparents were obviously very brave because any Dutch people found hiding those wanted by the Germans would suffer greatly with punishment, even by death. The fact they risked their lives too protect others shows how brave your grandparents really were.

[@OAlemaozinho]

Your grandparents were heroes. Love from Germany

[@Artur_M.]

A very interesting and insightful video. I'm looking forward to seeing more. Especially the perspective of ordinary Dutch people during the liberation of the Netherlands and how they viewed and interacted with the allied soldiers from various different countries.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Artur!

[@IvoTichelaar]

@Jebus Hypocristos my grandmother told me that, after famine, the break dropped by allied airplanes tasted better than anything. Dutch men were in danger of being sent to labour camps in Germany, so wonen would journey across the countryside to find food. She told me about trading her wedding ring and other valuables for food, only to have it confiscated by German soldiers when she arrived back in her city. She never told me how bad her physical condition and that of her family was, but there were so many stories about surviving famine, that I assume it was bad. The good savex a lot of lives.

[@ajnachakra7324]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqrUZap4m9N_eNk

[@marcoskehl]

1:07 "Goed" and "Fout". Another two words added to my dutch vocabulary. Je kanaal is erg goed, Stefan! Dank je! 🇳🇱 Obrigado! 🇧🇷

[@HistoryHustle]

Bedankt!

[@marcoskehl]

19:57. We are waiting for the promised future episodes about this topic, broer! Obrigado! 🇧🇷

[@HistoryHustle]

Cheers Marcos!

[@elisabethbenn1572]

My parents survived the occupation and migrated to Australia with 8 children in 1955. No food was wasted in our house. You ate what was put on the table with reminders of how lucky we were not to be going hungry. The Germans were ruthless bullies and were hated and feared. My parents listened to the BBC and hoped for liberation. The Canadians and British were my mother’s favorite people ever after Liberation. My uncle was in the Resistance. His whole line was picked up and sent to Belsen concentration camp. After liberation he was near starved and needed a stoma for the rest of his life. I stayed with my aunt and uncle on a holiday to Holland and he related some of his experiences. He was a cheerful fellow who appreciated every moment. How so many Germans were enthralled by Hitler remains a mystery. The Devil screams, my mother used to say, and I am wary of screamers.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@matthewhayler601]

Thanks sterfan I heard about the famine at the end of the end of the wsr and that it took to long bringing that third sentiment the reason the Dutch were so happy to see the allies.

[@HistoryHustle]

True.

[@isejanus2714]

What a great summary of the Dutch dilemma. I tried to express this during a conversation about the Dutch resistance movement. I said that the resistance was less effective than a division of combat troops. It came across like I was diminishing their effort and courage which was not my intention. And of course loosely organized Francs-tireurs are different from traditional military formations. I had probably seen Soldier of Orange too many times, thank you for exposing me to actual research and history.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply!

[@tylerhiggins3522]

This was the first I've heard of Germany saying they invaded Holland to forestall the English. This was true though in the case of Norway. One thing my studies of this era have convinced me of is that a country was far better of being invaded (or liberated) by the Wehrmacht than the Red Army.

[@DarkDutch007]

@@tylerhiggins3522 The Brits did invade Iceland in the morning of the 10th of May 1940, as a result of the German invasion of Denmark. After failing to persuade the Icelandic government to join the Allies they invaded since the Brits feared the country would be used by the Germans. If the neutrality of the Netherlands was (to some point) respected like in WW1, would the Allies used the Netherlands as their invasion point? Probably not at the start of the war but perhaps some time later. (being invaded is no fun, agreed, but being neutral with the Axis on the right and the Allied to the left, being stuck in the middle was no joy either) Though just like before the German invasion, foreign aircraft on both German and British side got shot down when they flew in Dutch territory, with an Allied invasion, the Dutch would have tried to defend itself against them, mainwhile the Germans might also invade the Netherlands if word got to them that the Allies were D-Daying the Netherlands...

[@BasementEngineer]

@@DarkDutch007 "...foreign aircraft... got shot own...". Is there any literature to support this? Thanks.

[@DarkDutch007]

@@BasementEngineer Whitley V N1357 KN-H of 77 Sqn RAF

[@JohnnoDordrecht]

Very nice video , great work

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks!

[@karlkeesman2055]

Thanks for the video. I'm currently reading "An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum" and I don't get the sense of anxiety that my parents talked about when they were teenagers in Holland during the war. Your KZbin article on the analysis of other people's diaries helps put both into perspective. Thanks.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@daguard411]

I do appreciate your efforts to give not only the facts, but going further in trying to explain the thinking, the emotions. Thank You.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching.

[@johnc2438]

Talk about "uncertain times." We like to toss terms like this around to bemoan our situations during the current pandemic. But for the Dutch, as well as other occupied nations, nobody knew how long the Germans (and in Asia, the Japanese) would hold on or even if the occupation was permanent. The Dutch -- at least many of them -- had to endure almost five years of military subjugation by the Germans. Yes, American soldiers, sailors and marines enlisted or were drafted for the duration (which could mean until victory, disabling wounds or death), but as the war went on, Americans soon came to know that victory was possible and then probable; and we came out virtually undamaged and so far ahead of all others at the end of the war, victors, vanquished, and occupied alike. Good to have some thoughtful perspective on how things were like at the time for the Dutch, especially that last winter where food supplies virtually disappeared. I recall Audrey Hepburn, the actress who lived as a teenager at the time in Arnhem, describing life there in that last year, including the fighting during the failed Operation Market-Garden. Thanks for the video and the research you presented. A salute to you and the fine Dutch people from a retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer enjoying life in the Pacific Northwest, USA. (P.S.: My wife and I love watching Noraly Schoenmaker, the Dutch adventure motorcyclist showing us the world on her travels, by the way!)

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@rowzielynwho202]

Of course the US came out of the war undamaged. You showed up almost 3 years after it started.

[@skylermacgowan264]

Thanks for another great video Stefan! I really appreciated the old footage in particular. Interesting that ~85% of the population was neither actively supporting nor actively resisting the occupation. That’s not surprising to me though; ultimately most folks just try to endure and make it out the other side. I’m Canadian but my Oma & Opa (Mom’s side) were Dutch and were about eight years old when the Germans invaded - it’s rather mind-blowing to me when I think/realise how utterly different their “circumstances” were than mine at the same age. They later (early 1950s) immigrated to Canada, due in large part to the role Canada played in liberating the Netherlands, a subject you have touched on in other videos. Thanks again and ga zo door!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply!

[@jarneNiL]

Prachtige video Stefan, mag je heel trots op zijn. Heb veel indrukwekkende verhalen gehoord van mijn eigen opa en oma’s over de oorlog. Verrijkend om te zien hoe het in de rest van het land ging toen.

[@HistoryHustle]

Bedankt voor je bericht!

[@the_old_bones1744]

Hallo Meneer Stefan. Weer een top verhaal. Wat een beetje onderbelicht is gebleven is dat het verraad in Nederland best wel hoog was. Verder blijf ik hier terugkomen, ik ben met deze verhalen opgegroeid. Met groet.

[@HistoryHustle]

Dank voor je bericht!

[@mikecain6947]

You are honesty is astounding in acknowledging the negative aspects of your country. You should do a history of the world as it would be credible and honest.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your kind words Mike!

[@ajnachakra7324]

@@HistoryHustle kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp3cgGasgteCrZo

[@eleanorkett1129]

I'm now anxiously awaiting the continuation of this. I'm impressed as to the role played by individual diaries and how people wrote them with an eye on history. Great episode.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Eleanor!

[@jasnycal]

Thanks for the great insight. I love learning about WW2, especially from another Countries perspective. Keep up the great work, and good luck with the channel.

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks Jason.

[@Holsjols]

Found myself hanging onto every word of this video that by the end when you mentioned the February Strike I was excited for it to go on, you are a master of cliff hangers! I work as a tour guide in Amsterdam and have found your videos helpful for my research as I learn more about this side of Dutch History. Can't wait to see more, thank you Stefan!

[@HistoryHustle]

Great to read. Thanks for your reply.

[@thomasdg9595]

Thank you so much! Your English is so understable. You are actually my best English Teacher even if I enjoy History Facts!

[@HistoryHustle]

Great to read. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidraper5798]

Thankyou. An interesting overview of a complex subject.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for replying!

[@allensloot7552]

Another great video Stefan. Thank you from a `ditch` (Sloot) in Canada. My father`s family was there during the War. I want to know everything.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for replying.

[@Woefie-art]

Uw kanaal is een waanzinnige bron van info, gebracht op een heerlijke duidelijke enthousiaste doch respectvolle manier. Als een leraar op youtube...maar dan veel beter 🙂!

[@HistoryHustle]

Dank voor je reactie 👍

[@doonewatts7155]

Fascinating thank you. You are a fantastic teacher

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks!

[@johnvanstone5336]

Brilliant analysis Stefan, absorbing story, thanks for this important aspect of the war

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks John!

[@bjw4859]

In Australia a Dutch born friend of mine about my age as me, say early 50's, told me about an encounter between his father, aged maybe 10, had with occupying Germans soldiers & things were going bad but a friend or relative of my friends father in the Dutch police force intervened & his father was released into their care. This is just a small story of not much interest but it made something that happened in another country, in a very bad time real to me as I helped my friend move his father & mother into their new home in my country, so now even I am part of his life.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@nickgardner1507]

Very insightful, can't wait to see more.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@lookforward2life]

I’ve been subscribed for a long time, just dropping back in to say I really appreciated the summary and am looking forward to further subjects.

[@HistoryHustle]

Awesome, nice to read..

[@pavomrnarevic3900]

The geography played a big part in not having strong resistance , it's much easier to resist if you have mountains and forests and caves like in former Yugoslavia

[@HistoryHustle]

True.

[@matty6848]

True or by us in Britain. We had 20 miles of the sea protecting us. If it wasn’t for the English Channel the Germans would of invaded and occupied us just as easily..

[@thegametwins7553]

Once again a perfect video, I actually believed a lot from the german supression, but now I see that it was not that bas aa I have believed (Like the foodpackage) Thank you for this good video and I cant wait for the next one

[@HistoryHustle]

Cheers!

[@XHollisWood]

Excellent deep knowledge Stefan 🍻 Thxs for sharing 🍻

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Jesse.

[@va3ngc]

My dad still thinks that the Dutch queen should have stayed. He was 8 when the invasion occurred. He lived in Blerick in Limburg and when the invasion came he thought it was a big parade. As a kid he had no idea. Their farm was bombed in 1941 and they ended up moving to Diessen in Noord Brambant. He told me a story of how they would remove the string from bottoms of grain sacks and partially fill them with sand so the Germans would think they got full bags of grain, but didn't get everything. I guess they did not track which farms they got the grain farm or they would have been in trouble. A boyfriend of my aunt was taken away by the Germans and never seen again. One of my dad's cousin's hid from the Germans for years as they were looking for him too. He managed to survive the war. A lot of stories from those times.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@nickpapagiorgio5056]

I have been waiting for this video/history lesson Professor Stefan!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this interesting piece of history and of course a dark time unfortunately for the Dutch people. I am excited for the follow up videos on this topic to come! Also I totally understand if for privacy reasons you do not want to share this but I hope to hear someday about how your family survived during this time or maybe how friends and extended relatives from the past lived during this time as well! Great work!

[@HistoryHustle]

Yes, Nick. Great to read.

[@jackthebassman1]

Another very informative post, Heel erg bedankt stefan.

[@HistoryHustle]

Graag gedaan.

[@mammuchan8923]

An outstanding video, because this happened to your own country, the storytelling was so much more impactful. I can imagine your countrymen going through all those emotions, and I feel outraged on behalf of these people. You probably have quite a few stories that your own family members experienced (I remember the one about the shooting in the square) and get told through the generations.

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks Tanya!

[@garygorham478]

My mother grew up in Den Haag , she was 15 when the Germans invaded, and had so many stories….. she met my father after the war and moved to Harwich and married my dad. My opa lived to a good age of 101, and had a glass of gin every night. Thank you for your amazing work, I’ve learned so much more of what my mother and the Dutch people went through.

[@HistoryHustle]

Wow, what a good age: 101. Thanks for sharing.

[@DavidJones-oc3up]

Great video! Most of the information I had about the German occupation of the Netherlands was from ‘The World at War’. That’s a bit dated but still excellent in my opinion. I think your video adds a great deal to it and answers other relevant questions. Thanks 👍

[@HistoryHustle]

You're welcome David. Thanks for your reply.

[@edlawn5481]

A good movie about the occupation was "Soldier of Orange", featuring Rutger Hauer.

[@DavidJones-oc3up]

@@edlawn5481 Thanks 👍

[@tirsosanchezotaegui2035]

Than you so much for this video! One of the most surprising stories I have read about the hunger winter is the one involving Audrey Hepburn who colaborated with the resistance in Arnhen and how she survived that extremely cold and rough winter of 1944 ... it's breathtaking, the book "Dutch Girl" is a must read, don't you agree?

[@mikehillas]

Thanks for another great video; you have one of my favourite channels. This subject matter doesn't usually get treated in histories of the war, so it was particularly interesting to me. I'd be very curious to learn how the occupation of Belgium compared/contrasted to that of the Netherlands.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply! I did cover Flemish and Walloon collaboration already. As well as the invasion and liberation. Hope to cover more in the future.

[@sinonkryze3638]

Hey History Hustle can you make a video series on the perspective of Asian people like the Philippines, Malaysia, and etc on the war from before the war, during the occupation of Japan and after the war.

[@HistoryHustle]

Not anytime soon.

[@sinonkryze3638]

@@HistoryHustle ohh okay but I hope in the future you try to cover this part due to for me this part of the theater of the war is not covered or talked much about. But take your time and keep up the great work

[@sinonkryze3638]

@lati long Wow that is interesting to know in a historical standpoint but horrific in a humanitarian standpoint for me.

[@dougsrepair1060]

You are a very interesting teacher to listen to and follow. Good pace and engaging. Thanks

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

An excellent treatise! Thanks.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@Paul9601EX]

Impressive presentation. Thank you

[@HistoryHustle]

You're welcome Paul!

[@gerardenpatriciab3501]

Goeie video Stefan. Ga zo door kerel! Groet Gerard

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Patricia!

[@anthonyanderson2405]

A superb analysis, one not afraid to mention certain unfortunate truths. I hope you will devote in the future a segment to the jodenvervolging in NL.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@johnmarjaable]

Exact presentation! So good!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks.

[@simplefranky1]

Thankyou , the context for my late Mothers stories

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching.

[@JohnnySmartie]

4:57 She wanted to stay. Dutch commanders told her to flee. I think it was a good idea to leave the netherlands, otherwise she would be captured and tortured.

[@HistoryHustle]

Captured yes, tortured I don't think so. The Belgian king stayed and wasn't treated as such. He did cooperate though. Not sure what Wilhelmina would have done.

[@JohnnySmartie]

@HistoryHustle Yes true, but I do know she didn't leave the Netherlands voluntarily

[@hheyop]

Good long episode, nice bro

[@HistoryHustle]

👍👍👍

[@davidbarr9343]

Excellent video, as usual.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks David.

[@lugano1999]

My Dutch family comes from Lisse in the western part of the Netherlands and they were in the flower business. My father's cousin was determined that he would not allow his teenage sons to become forced laborers in Germany after they were called up. He built a false wall in one of his warehouses behind which they were hidden - for more than 4 years. During all that time the two brothers never saw daylight. For years afterward they both developed strong sensitivity to light and had frequent bouts of migraine headaches. But they survived. And yes, during the Hunger Winter they did eat tulip bulbs... Other cousins were not so lucky. They were caught hiding Jewish families in their warehouses and were sent to Bergen-Belsen were they died. Most tragically, the Netherlands had the highest rate of Jewish victims in Western Europe.

[@HistoryHustle]

Sad to read. Thanks for sharing this.

[@matty6848]

Your Dutch family were obviously very brave, because all the Dutch people knew the punishment if they were caught hiding or protecting Jewish people.

[@toriidawdy8456]

" A bridge too far " anne frank and the medical study of famine descendants is all I knew of the Dutch occupation . Thanks for Dutch vocabulary . A great language and respect to it's people .A hugh player in my country s history

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching.

[@skeurton]

Thank you so much for this video. Very informative and it was a great supplement to my reading of "The Diary Keepers" by Nina Siegal. It includes diary excerpts from Dutch resistance, Jews, and even NSB members. I've become very interested in the Netherlands during WWII, so I've been trying to read and watch what I can, including your other videos. I hope to even visit someday. I do have one question about Queen Wilhelmina. You touched on it briefly saying that the people felt abandoned by her and the rest of the Dutch government when they fled. What was her homecoming like after the war was finally over? Was she welcomed back with open arms, or was there a feeling of resentment from the people?

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply. Wilhelmina was welcomed with open arms. During the war you spoke via the radio (Radio Oranje) to the Dutch people to hold courage. Some resented her but most accepted what she did.

[@skeurton]

@@HistoryHustle Thank you very much for your reply!

[@juanzulu1318]

Interesting content. Greetings from Germany to our Dutch friends.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@jscatt6123]

Thanks for another great video

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@daffyd5867]

Thank you ....it's personal experiences that make history more interesting.

[@HistoryHustle]

Glad to read you found it interesting!

[@Liitebulb]

My neighbour was Dutch, in the Netherlands sobviosuly, and was in a concentration camp with other people and they escaped a camp (I don't know where it was). I knew her since childhood and I never knew until I was a teenager, she never talked about it except she hated eating potatoes because they reminded her of the war, and she spoke German because of it, and only one time she complained she wasn't invited to a funeral of a woman she knew from her escape. She had a blue blur on her arm but I didn't know it was the number tattooed on her arm.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@benonivillasana]

Thank you for the very interesting video

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching.

[@ipsylon7297]

Fascinated story to learn from. Thank you.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍👍

[@glasgovipsolara]

Great video. Slight correction: Rudolph Hess didn’t fly to England. He flew to Scotland and landed in a farm field just 4 km from where I’m sitting right now.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply. I said England because the Dutch back then referred to the whole island as England.

[@glasgovipsolara]

@@HistoryHustle - that’s true, as did other nations. Thanks for your reply.

[@ryeguy787]

Well done video...from a strategic perspective it was necessary for the Germans to invade countries like the Netherlands and Norway. I hadn't heard the Dutch resented the crown for leaving in exile. Churchill had great respect for Queen Wilhelmina and the efforts to aid the allies. He once said "I fear no man in the world but Queen Wilhelmina". My mother who lived through the occupation said the Dutch always had a dislike for the Germans even before the war. The Germans had food (and labor) shortages even early in the war so this "less fat in the diet" for the Dutch was simply a diversion of resources. As for Dutch volunteers in the waffen SS this was a product of fear of communism which during the interwar period was very real. France, England, Germany, Spain and others had strong communist movements which threatened revolution. Conservative families in conquered countries were sometimes lured to fight against the Soviets for this cause, not because they admired the Nazis or Hitler. Dutch and other northern European volunteers fought fiercely in the east and were known as one of the best fighting formations in the SS. Was Hitler's war a war of conquest, or death match against Communism? The invasions west were certainly to settle scores against France and Poland but the main goal may have always been to eliminate communist threat from Russia. The proxy fight in Spain may have just been a prelude.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. If you wanna know why Dutch men joined the Waffen-SS, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mILPd2OflpJ0eKM

[@cashew1]

Great episode!! History never repeats?

[@HistoryHustle]

It rhimes they say.

[@_vallee_5190]

Feelings of everyday life is extremely important to History, if not all of History. How average people reacted to an event from a first person perspective is arguable on of the most authentic ways to tell history.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply.

[@zandor5657]

great commentary

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@XMan-mi6gs]

What a good video Stefan! True masterwork. Any change this one comes in Dutch as well? I want to show and explain this video to my children. It’s also a very good topic. ‘What would your live be like then?’ Done nothing? Gone ‘bad’ , ‘good’. It’s not that easy to see. Many would say: ‘good!!! Restiance fighter and heroic stuff!!!’ But you would probably had done nothing and just tried to feed your family … tried to survive …

[@HistoryHustle]

Thank you for your video. Yes, this one will also arrive on the Dutch channel. However, I cannot say when. There is a long waiting list for Dutch vids but because I'm moving places I dedicate the small amounts of time I have to the English channel. In the future more content will appear on the Dutch channel.

[@MrAgj200]

you're an excellent teacher

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks!

[@ConsciousAtoms]

Hi Stefan, one aspect of the occupation that I've always wondered about: how did the people in the liberated south experience the hunger winter? Did they know about it? Did they try to help out? Or had they perhaps grown so weary of the war that the overwhelming feeling was one of relief, as in "at least that's not us", cynical as that may seem? My history lessons at school put a huge emphasis on the hunger winter (and rightly so, I believe), but I always felt a bit left out as the history of the south, where I grew up and which was at that point already liberated, was glossed over.

[@otten5666]

Since there are millions of people in the liberated area's there was not one experience but you will find some people who tried to help, some not to help, some to know about it, some to not know about it, some to care, some not to care. Sorry to hear your history lessons did not cover different experiences of millions of people.

[@HistoryHustle]

For sure more to cover in the future.

[@nightchicken283]

@@otten5666 They never took or take the south seriously, but yeah 300 years of occupied terrority, with second rate citizen? Goverment still treats us in the south like that.

[@marcheijnen9475]

During the hungerwinter the province Limburg did not only suffer from hunger but also was the frontline and they lost there homes. the suffering of the south of the Nerherlands is often ignored during history lesons.

[@nightchicken283]

@@marcheijnen9475 Thats because the age-old cultural differences between Holland / The north vs Staats regions.

[@bigsarge2085]

Thanks for elaborating on the Dutch conditions during German occupation.

[@HistoryHustle]

You're welcome 👍

[@adriiteach]

My mother was born in 1919 and raised, along with 7 siblings, in the city of Rotterdam. Although she never talked about any of her wartime experiences, she did open up to me one night and told me a lot. She told me that she had gone to Germany to work. I can't remember if she said she went voluntarily or was forced, but I do remember her saying something about "if your name was on the list posted, you went." But she also wrote a letter from Germany to her younger brother telling him his should come and that there was food. Two of her brothers were in the resistance. I know that early in her stay there she did not live a hard life, but at the end she was on a farm digging and eating potatoes straight out of the ground. She also told me that her sister went to Germany and became a nanny for a high ranking Nazi in Berlin. Can you tell me if going into Germany to work was ever voluntary? She escaped on top of a train to Belgium when the Russians were advancing. I wish my aunts and uncles were alive for me to interview.

[@HistoryHustle]

I understand. Thanks for sharing this.

[@sirdarklust]

Good video that makes things a bit more personal. I'm just curious if there were any different feeling among the Fries? Take care and ding dong.

[@HistoryHustle]

Not that much I believe.

[@paulkoza8652]

Thanks for explaining this.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@jackavery7179]

Very good presentation. Could you do a video on the life of te Dutch Under The French Empire and the Napolenic Wars?

[@HistoryHustle]

Perhaps in the future.

[@jackavery7179]

Sounds very cool. Thank you professor Stephan

[@jackdowelmotorsports]

My Great Grandfather was in the Royal Dutch Army during WWII. I've been told that he is a Medal of Honor (equivalent) recipient for his actions during the Battle of the Hague. I don't know how to obtain my Grandfather's War Medal. Can you help?

[@flightsimgeek579]

I used to live directly opposite Vliegveld Bergen. My son and I found a relic of the war there which was a bomb fragment (I'm guessing from the bomber raids) It was quite heavy for it's size, pitted with holes on one side and smooth and slightly rounded on the other. In the local war grave in Bergen lies the crew of a Lancaster that breached one of the dams in the Dambusters raid. They had been shot down by a night fighter from Vliegveld Bergen on the return trip. I no longer live there but found many reminders of WW2

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@leonanderson4727]

As a post war generation person born second generation with Ukrainian and First Nations Canadian parents, learning about the German occupation of Holland was and is one of my interests. It seems that the doors have always been open, for Dutch people, here regardless of background.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for watching Leon.

[@kennethkloby2726]

Thank you Stefan.

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@rolandoscar1696]

My mom was a kid in a Frisian village. She told me stories of how the kids there conspired against the Germans. The children would go to the house with the only pig, warning them a patrol was coming. They would then help lift the pig over the neighbours' wall, so when the Germans searched the back yard, there was nothing. The pig was trained to do his business in one place, so there was no visible evidence. Then the kids waited for the Germans to search the next house, and over the next wall went our hero, the pig. It was always one step ahead of the enemy, and survived the war.

[@HistoryHustle]

Very interesting to read, Roland, thanks for sharing!

[@yuriklaver4639]

Asking my grandpa what he thought of Hitler 'well, he created jobs'.

[@HistoryHustle]

In the beginning there was an economic boom yes.

[@frankforrest1597]

My father was 8 years old at the start of the German occupation. My Grandfather was arrested and placed in jail for being out past curfew, suffered 26 stab wounds in his back,prodded by the SA to the jail on foot.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing. Harsh times.

[@IBENF]

For example in Warsaw, the Scouts played an imporant role in the resistance. On photos from after the liberation of the Netherlands, I see plenty of Scouts. What was their role during the occupation?

[@HistoryHustle]

True. During the occupation scouting groups were outlawed. There was the National Youth Storm. I covered that last summer.

[@nestor3079]

French television broadcast a program on this very topic: life under occupation. It was called Un Village Francais and ran for about 6-7 years. I would love the opinion of any Dutch who saw it. It was shown on a station, which no longer exists, that showed non-English programs with subtitles.

[@HistoryHustle]

Haven't seen it.

[@steved7961]

11:15 Hitler did not set out to capture Leningrad. He besieged it intending that the population would starve to death and so not consume any locally available resources, he wanted an empty city.

[@HistoryHustle]

Never claimed that. Just said the Dutch were in a good mood because the Germans didn't capture the city.

[@williamgatheist1314]

I have viewed several of your videos and consider them very well done. I have looked through your entire catalog and in the tiles, I do not see the words United States Canada, or even the word Canadian. My thoughts are, should your videos be viewed say in the year 2322 will anyone viewing the catalog even know, was North America even in this war? I think you do a disservice to your excellent work. You see I am a Canadian who lost family members in that #$%^%$ War, and now my grandchildren ask me "Grampa what were our relatives doing so far away" and your videos help with that conversation. Thank you for your work.

[@vh1775]

I went to the Netherlands as a teenager and I’ve always had a positive impression of them since.

[@HistoryHustle]

🇳🇱👍

[@charlyvanbuuren2947]

My mother barely survived the famine as a child living in Rotterdam... My father survived because his Catholic orphanage moved from The Hague to South Limburg and thus was liberated a year earlier...

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@anthonyvierdag6287]

My father was a teenager during the occupation. He lived in Almelo, an important logistics transit point for the Wehrmacht and security forces. He saw how the plundered goods and persecuted people in trains passed daily heading East. After 1943 he had to go into hiding alongside Jews who went underground to avoid deportation. He saw what the occupation left behind. Nothing. A completely destroyed nation. He was 19 at the time the Canadians liberated Almelo. He saw the last German soldiers, most of them younger than him, flee the frontline the evening before on May 4th 1945. As he spoke fluent German and good English, he joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps of the Lake Superior regiment. My father followed all the way to Bergen Belsen where he contracted typhoid, helping the wounded and providing humanitarian aid. He talked about it and he never made it a secret how much he despised anything from Germany. He would never ever consider driving a German car. A Volkswagen was in his view the heritage of utter eivil and should have been renamed. I grew up with that despise. I grew up with his nightmares. I also grew up with him forgiving them. I took him one day after the wall between East and West Germany fell. I showed him that in the GDR they paid for it to the USSR. He told me, time stood stiill, especially when we walked through Dresden and Berlin. My father involved me in an adventure, I feel part of his grief and fear. I hope we never have to deal with this again, but unfortunately, we must remain cautious.

[@HistoryHustle]

Very interesting to read. Thank you for sharing.

[@j.dunlop8295]

"Hongar Winter," because the neurality thing didn't work? 1944-45, during the Second World War. By the time the country was liberated byCanadian and Allied forces in May 1945, around 20,000 Dutch people had died from the famine.

[@HistoryHustle]

It's mentioned.

[@UCN2027]

Believe or not 20 years after the occupation a former german soldier became prince or netherlands . The hability of forgiveness of the dutch is amazing .

[@HistoryHustle]

Believe he already was. Oh, yeah mean Claus? I understand.

[@daviddoran3673]

2.15 a WW1 Lewis gun mounted beside the front seat passenger.

[@HistoryHustle]

Yes, believe these Germans took them from the Dutch troops who had these in service.

[@bastiaan4129]

My grandparents on my mothers side couldn't talk about the war, but I do know my grandfather was forced to work for the Germans in 43. My grandmother on my fathers side was a bit younger so she remembered the hunger the most and was eventually evacuated to Vollenhove because there wasn't enough food in The Hague in 44. Have you done a video anout the Arbeitseinsatz yet? I am curious what happened there that my grandparents were never able to talk about it.

[@HistoryHustle]

Not yet Bas. Hopefully in the future one Day. Thanks for your reply.

[@MjrCarnyx]

Fantastic explanation!! Never knew that the Germans cooked "better" food. Great job as always!!

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for replying.

[@robertwilliams5082]

Another outstanding episode Stefan ! Thank you !

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Robert.

[@tomfrazier1103]

This really bites, is what they were they were thinking. I have a lot of the English language Manila Tribune. The classified ad tell a lot, "Prewar XX for sale" or "Prewar materials used" in ads for "Co-Prosperity brand" Venetian blinds. I used to work in a window coverings factory in Las Vegas.

[@HistoryHustle]

Bot sure what you're trying to say.

[@rickglorie]

@@HistoryHustle I asume newspaper ads from the Philipines (Manila Tribune) occupied by the Japanese, in their "Co Prosperity' sphere. Products were advertised with "prewar" as a mark of quality from which one could deduct indirectly how people actually thought about the situation.

[@marcusfielding5640]

My grandfather served in the Dutch Army during the German invasion. Can someone recommend where I can get some more information on whether they were made POWs or allowed to rejoin the population? I imagine the Germans would have kept a close eye on former Dutch military members.

[@HistoryHustle]

NIOD Amsterdam.

[@Flandersfieldscollector]

i love these videos

[@HistoryHustle]

Awesome!

[@Flandersfieldscollector]

@@HistoryHustle thank you for teaching me this all

[@spicykokosnoot7115]

can you do a more indept video about the battle around the delfzijl area

[@HistoryHustle]

One day for sure but cannot tell when.

[@spicykokosnoot7115]

@@HistoryHustle great ill wait :))

[@Bertine565]

I have read the dutch people were told to cooperate with the germans after the invasion, minister Colijn officially asked the people to cooperate. Is this true? Families were forced to give the biggest rooms in their houses to the german soldiers. Ingekwartierd. There was no choice, they had to. I remember a story about a very young german soldier who stayed in the house of my grandparents, when the war was over my dutch grandfather found him crying because he had to go back to germany, my grandfather talked to him and told him this was the consequence of their actions and that he had to follow the instructions and leave. Also, my family was hiding in shelters(kelders) with the whole neighbourhood, all together, until the bombing was over. The glass of the windows was mostly broken and smashed after the bombings happened and they used wood(houten planken) to close off the windowgaps.

[@Fantastischevideos]

Great beard, great country, great teacher. You're a rollmodel sir!

[@HistoryHustle]

👍👍👍