The Liberation of the Netherlands
This blog sheds a quick light on the events surrounding the liberation of the Netherlands during World War II. After the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944, the Western Allies advanced towards the Dutch border, raising hopes of liberation among the Dutch population. In September, Operation Market Garden was launched, an unsuccessful attempt to reach the north of the Netherlands and Germany due to the failure to capture the Rhine bridge at the Battle of Arnhem. However, substantial regions in the south were liberated during the operation.
Parts of the southern Netherlands were not liberated by Operation Market Garden, but British and American forces managed to defeat remaining German forces through Operation Aintree. Battles were fought in various regions, including Zeeland and North Brabant, to clear the way for liberation. During these operations, the Dutch faced a harsh winter in 1944-1945 known as the Hunger Winter, resulting in significant casualties due to starvation and disease.
Bicycles were confiscated by the Germans, so were hidden by some people. These two men are digging up a bike after the war.
The liberation of the western provinces faced delays, but negotiations for the surrender of German forces were finally successful on May 5, 1945, three days before Germany's general capitulation. The liberation process involved battles like the Battle of Groningen and the Battle of Otterlo. Additionally, the Dutch government initially considered annexing a part of Germany but later dropped the idea.
Liberation of Amersfoort including clogs
After the war, some individuals accused of collaboration faced extrajudicial punishment, while others were tried for treason. The Dutch government implemented plans to deport Germans from the Netherlands. The war also led to the loss of the Dutch East Indies, leading to Indonesian independence after a four-year war. World War II had lasting effects on Dutch society, with emotional scars carried by both the first and second generations. The Dutch Red Cross issued apologies for its failure to protect certain groups during the war.
In The Crystal Butterfly, Edda is liberated when she’s still a political prisoner in Camp Westerbork. Here’s a snippet from her own diary:
Westerbork, 13 April 1945, 8:00 pm
I am so happy I think I’ll burst and at the same time I’m way too ill to stand on my feet for longer than 5 minutes. What a contrast. We’re free! We’re liberated! The Germans are gone, gone, gone!!!! We couldn’t believe our eyes but yesterday, 12 April 1945, the First Canadian Army liberated us. We saw them coming.
But let me first tell you how Gemmeker and Frau Hassel were made to eat humble pie. All the rumors were so loud that liberation was imminent. We only saw Allied planes fly over and they dropped us food! Real food! I mean flour, margarine, coffee, milk powder, cheese, chocolate. Things we haven’t tasted for years. I was so hungry, but I remembered Miss Sterling saying we need to eat small portions, so I ate a little bite every hour. Honestly, I feel my strength already returning but that must also be the mental boost that it’s really, really over.
See, I can’t even return to the topic of that Gentleman Crook, but I need to. This notebook, by the way, was given to me by one of the sweet Tommys. I was talking with him last night, his name is Sergeant Stuart Gildersleeve (his last name sounds like a character from a ballet!!!) and he told me he’d been keeping notes ever since landing on the beaches in Normandy, which was over 10 months ago!!! The diary kept him sane, and I told him about my little notebooks hidden at my sister’s.
“I’ve got a spare one, now that I hope to head back to Vancouver soon,” he grinned. So now I have a Canadian notebook, a simple thin cahier with a brown cover but I’ll cherish it all my life. It’s my liberation gift, almost more important than the chocolate that melts on my tongue.
Alright, I promised you Gemmeker and Mistress Hassel. Well, there isn’t a grand finale there. They just left. Like that. Each had a small suitcase and they walked away. I hope by God they’ll be arrested before they walk hand-in-hand into Germany, but they kept their heads high. You know what Frau Hassel said to me on my last visit to them, which was months ago as they didn’t like my company anymore. I know I am a bore, but I was a deliberate bore with them as I hated every minute in the green villa. Anyway, back on track. She said to me: “My Albert is the Jesus Christ of Westerbork.” Can you imagine? I almost choked on the coffee I was drinking and spit it out on that striped sofa. The Jesus Christ of Westerbork. The woman is insane. I won’t be surprised he’ll be convicted of sending all these Jews and Sintis and Romas east with little chance of survival.
Though I’m writing horrible things, you can’t imagine what joy it is to write freely again. Oh, how I missed my own thoughts on paper. I simply love the act of my pen going over the page. Maybe I’ve got a bit of a writer in me? Who knows! But for now, it’s Heaven on Earth. Food in my stomach, the sun on my table, and me with my diary.
The Canadians have ordered us to stay here until Amsterdam is liberated but Stu told me it’s a mere matter of days now. I’ll be going home. But I almost dread the idea. What will I find at home? Will my flat still be there? And what about Tante Riet? No word of her all these months. Gemmeker kept promising me he’d find out if she was still in Zwolle but he said he couldn’t find her. I fear the worst. My instinct tells me something’s wrong there. But no sad thoughts today. There will be plenty of decisions to be made over the coming weeks but for now I’m going outside again and enjoy the company of the Canadians! They’re such fun.
Canadian soldier being kissed on Damsquare Amsterdam
