Gandel Holocaust Studies
Program for Australian Educators
2010
Yad Vashem
The International School for Holocaust Studies
Jerusalem, Israel
Educational Project on
Resistance Movements in the
Netherlands and Denmark during
World War II
By David de Groot
History Teacher
Strathalbyn Christian College
Geraldton, Western Australia
Definition of Resistance
• Resistance: Is an illegal organization
fighting for national liberty in a country
under enemy occupation.
(Source: Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus 4th Ed, HarperCollins publishers, Italy, 2006, p. 727)
• Under Nazi occupation during World War
II both Dutch and Danish citizens were
involved in a variety of activities to resist
their oppressors.
Origins of Resistance
• Questions for discussion: –
• Why fight back?
• Is it worth the risks to friends, family and
possessions?
• Religious conviction a factor?
• Patriotism/Nationalism?
• Can 1 person or small group of people really
make a difference?
• A force for National unity & pride?
Countries involved in Resistance
Movements in Nazi occupied Europe
during World War II
• According to Thomson, ‘In every occupied country resistance
movements of some kind came into being in the early days of the
war.’ However he also states that: ‘The unity and harmony of the
national movements varied greatly. Most resistance organizations
were strongly political and religious in character.’
(Source: D. Thomson, Europe Since Napoleon, Penguin books, England, 1990, pp. 797-798.)
• Questions for discussion:• Why is it that Resistance Movements in Europe were not able to
unify under one banner to fight against the Nazis?
• What political & religious beliefs motivated citizens to fight & why?
Case Study: The Netherlands
(Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/netherlands.html)
Europe
(Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/europe.html)
German Occupied Europe 1942
(Map source: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/occmap.html)
German Occupied Europe 1942
continued …
• In 1942, Germany dominated most of Europe. Greater Germany had
been enlarged at the expense of its neighbors. Austria and
Luxembourg were completely incorporated. Territories from
Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Belgium, and the Baltic states
were seized by Greater Germany.
• German military forces occupied Norway, Denmark, Belgium,
northern France, Serbia, parts of northern Greece, and vast tracts of
territory in eastern Europe. Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria,
Slovakia, Finland, Croatia, and Vichy France were all either allied to
Germany or subject to heavy German influence.
• Between 1942 and 1944, German military forces extended the area
under their occupation to southern France, central and northern
Italy, Slovakia, and Hungary.
•
(Source directly quoted from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/occmap.html)
Dutch Resistance
• Types of resistance:• Strikes
• Hide Jewish residents & help them move
from one hide out to another
• Provide food & ration cards
• Forged identity documents
(Source: Dr R. Rozett, Dr S. Spector (Editors), Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, The Jerusalem Publishing House & Yad
Vashem, Facts on File Inc, China, 2000, pp. 336-7)
Dutch Resistance Cont…
• Protests at Universities from academics &
students (Universities of Leiden & Delft)
• Letter of protest from a number of churches
• ‘Illegal’ press to print pamphlets of protest
• Radio broadcasts to the Netherlands from
England on ‘Radio Oranje’. (The Dutch
obviously had illegal radios to receive this
information.)
•
(Source: S. Friedlander, The Years of Extermination Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945, Harper Collins Publishers, USA, 2007, pp.
124-5, 410)
Co-ordination of Dutch Resistance
•
According to Friedlander ‘From the outset, however, small networks of
people who knew and trusted one another and mostly shared a common
religious background (Calvinist and Catholic) did actively help Jews,
notwithstanding the risks. The limited scope of the grassroots actions has
been attributed to the absence of hands-on leadership form the hierarchy of
all Dutch Christian churches, despite some of the courageous protests,
particularly of Archbishop de Jong.’
•
(Source: S. Friedlander, The Years of Extermination Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945, Harper Collins Publishers, USA, 2007,
p. 412.)
•
•
Questions for discussion:Using the above quote could the Dutch had coordinated their resistance
better?
If so why did the Dutch people not step up their efforts to resist the Nazi
occupiers with greater fervor?
Referring to the previous two slides, did the Dutch still make a difference to
some of the Jews in the Netherlands during this time? Evaluate their
effectiveness.
•
•
Effectiveness of Dutch Resistance
•
According to Woolf: ‘The resistance movement was slow to take form in the
Netherlands. As Nazi oppression slowly took shape, so did Dutch
resistance. Hitler underestimated the Dutch people and the Nazis were
unprepared to deal with the primarily non militaristic character of Dutch
resistance. Much of Dutch resistance can be characterized as either
passive resistance or non-violent active resistance. Radio broadcasts under
Nazi control consisted principally of propaganda. Thus, while it was illegal to
listen to British radio, many Dutch began to listen to the BBC and radio
broadcasts from the Dutch government in exile. In 1943, over one million
radio sets were confiscated by the Nazis in response to these acts of
resistance.’
•
(Source: L. Woolf, Survival and Resistance: The Netherlands Under Nazi Occupation http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/netherlands.html)
•
•
•
•
Questions for discussion:Compare & contrast the above quote to that of Friedlander.
What characteristics are clear in the Dutch people resisting the Nazis?
Was this approach in your opinion effective?
Jewish people living in the
Netherlands
• According to Woolf: ‘At the time of Holland's capitulation,
approximately 140,000 Jews resided in the Netherlands.
By the time of the war's end, the Nazis had deported
107,000 Jews out of Holland. Of these, only 5000
survived to return home following the war and 30,000
managed to survive in hiding or by other means. Thus,
over 75% of Holland's Jews perished at the hands of the
Nazis. This represents the largest percentage of Jews to
die from a particular country with the exception of
Poland.’
•
(Source: L. Woolf, Survival and Resistance: The Netherlands Under Nazi Occupation http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/netherlands.html)
Why did so many Dutch Jews
Perish?
Geographic reasons:
• The countries bordering the Netherlands were already occupied by
the Nazis and the North Sea patrolled by the German Navy.
• Densely populated country of 9 million people.
• Land flat, very little forest or mountains to coordinate partisan
activity. Therefore it was very difficult to run or hide.
•
(Source: L. Woolf, Survival and Resistance: The Netherlands Under Nazi Occupation
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/netherlands.html)
Why did so many Dutch Jews
Perish? Cont …
Cultural Reasons:
•
Dutch society stratified on the basis of religion. Jews and Christians did not
have close friendships generally.
•
Did not know their neighbors well due to this fact to seek help.
•
Extremely dangerous for the people hiding Jews. If Dutch people were
discovered hiding Jewish people, they would face deportation or execution.
•
Usually individuals rather than whole families were hidden.
•
(Source: L. Woolf, Survival and Resistance: The Netherlands Under Nazi Occupation http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/netherlands.html )
Questions - Netherlands
•
Account for the Netherlands involvement in resistance activities. What methods did
they use to resist the Nazis?
•
Outline the reasons why the Dutch people resisted during World War II
•
How did they protest/resist?
•
Was this protest or resistance effective?
•
Who coordinated resistance and was it done properly?
•
Account for the reasons as to why so many Dutch Jews perished as a result of the
Nazi regime (including geographical and cultural reasons).
•
Could this have been avoided? If so how?
•
Discuss the role that the Church played during this time, did it do enough to help the
oppressed Dutch Jewish people?
Case Study: Denmark
(Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/denmark.html)
Europe
(Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/europe.html)
The Rescue Mission of Jews in
Denmark
A story of hope in the dark days of Nazi occupation:• Danish resistance to Nazi Germany came in a surprising and epic tale of
courage and determination when thousands of Danish Jews were smuggled
by boat to Sweden in 1943.
• These heroics allowed for approximately 7500 people to be saved from the
onslaught of Nazi barbarism.
Activities:
• Students are to read the official story of the rescue of Danish Jews in there
workbook.
Questions – Denmark
• Discuss why the Danish people felt compelled to assist
its Jewish inhabitants.
• Assess how successful the Danes were in helping its
citizens. Could they have done more?
• Could the rescue have still worked if people had not
cooperated so wholeheartedly? Why/Why not?
• Does this rescue show that resistance although not
armed still made a difference and undermined the
occupying Nazi authorities? How/Why?
Consequences of Resisting the
Nazi Regime
• According to The World at Arms, ‘Whipping, beating and worse
tortures were often used by Gestapo and SD interrogators. Torture
was endorsed by Hitler’s notorious Nacht und Nebel (Night & Fog)
decree of December 1941, proclaiming that ‘enemies of the Reich’
might be interrogated by any method and executed without trial.
Suspects simply disappeared into a miasma of darkness and dread.’
• Therefore it can be said that interrogation, imprisonment, torture,
deportation to a concentration camp, forced labour and execution
were possible punishments for the Dutch Underground (Resistance)
if caught by Nazi authorities.
•
(Source:The World at Arms, The Reader’s Digest Illustarated History of World War II, Reader’s Digest, USA,
1989, p. 186.)
References
•
Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus 4th Ed, HarperCollins publishers, Italy, 2006.
•
S. Friedlander, The Years of Extermination Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945, Harper Collins Publishers,
USA, 2007.
•
Rozett, Dr R., Spector Dr S., (Editors), Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, The Jerusalem Publishing House & Yad
Vashem, Facts on File Inc, China, 2000.
•
Thomson, D., Europe Since Napoleon, Penguin books, England, 1990.
•
The World at Arms, The Reader’s Digest Illustarated History of World War II, Reader’s Digest, USA, 1989, p. 186.
•
Woolf, L., Survival and Resistance: The Netherlands Under Nazi Occupation
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/netherlands.html
•
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/occmap.html
•
Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/denmark.html
•
Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/netherlands.html
•
Map source: http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/europe.html
•
Map source: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/occmap.html