The Netherlands during occupation

Submitted by myth (Germany), Mar 28, 2014 at 05:11

Al, I feel obliged to defend the Netherlands against any accusation of guilt regarding the deportation of Jews from NL. The Netherlands was a country occupied by Germany and therefore had no choice on the matter.

Had they resisted more, the Wehrmacht would have bombed every city to bits the way they bombed Rotterdam. Do not underestimate the ruthlessness of the Wehrmacht. The Netherlands were only of importance for it was the natural place to invade from Britain and land troops to enter Northern industrial Germany without any natural obstacles. In order to prevent such an invasion a completely destroyed NL would have been a military solution sufficiently good enough.

If you ever come to visit both The Netherlands and Germany you see this prospect with your own eyes side by side. Germany city centers with broad shopping malls built in the 50ies and 60ies after being bombed to the ground during WW2. Dutch city centers take you right back to the Golden Age of the 1600s.

As for Srebrenica the side-by-side comparison looks like this. In southern Germany the roar of American fighter jets will convince you this country is well protected. When in NL, the promise there would be some Dutch military somewhere feels somewhat hollow.

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