Why did Holland have the highest number of Jewish victims during WW2? Part 2

Unveiling of “The Dokwerker” (The Docker) by Queen Juliana in 1952. The Amsterdam statue commemorates the general 1941 February Strike by the Dutch to protest against the suppression of their Jewish countrymen and women by the Germans.

In the first blog post of this series on the Jewish situation in Holland, Belgium and France after the German occupation in 1940, I explained the differences between the countries regarding their Jewish citizens and national governments. In this second part, we'll explore the tightening of the rules and regulations against Jews and the dire consequences thereof.

My next book in The Resistance Girl Series, The Crystal Butterfly, which comes out this summer, is a fictive but deeply-researched account of what happened to the Dutch Jews, their helpers and their traitors during WW2. This is the dedication I’ve chosen for the book:

Dedicated to all Dutch Jewish families who lost loved ones in World War 2 because of deportation and murder by the Nazis.
Dedicated to all descendants of Dutch citizens who stood up against the Nazis to protect their Jewish countrymen and women.
May the brave spirits of your beloved shine forever in my humble words.

Protest in the Netherlands against the mistreatment of Dutch Jews

In the second half of 1940, as the Nazis spread their sphere of power in Europe, they introduced a wide range of anti-Jewish legislation and cultural restrictions. The goal was to make Europe ‘Judenrein’, cleansed of Jews, although in the Netherlands this process was thwarted by some brave protests from non-Jews from all walks of life.

In Amsterdam on 11 February 1941, this Nazi policy ignited the strongest protest movement the occupation had seen so far. Jewish shops had been attacked on that day by the Dutch Nazis (NSB) who saw that as an opportunity to retaliate for a previous incident with German police officers. In retaliation, SS chief Rauter had some 400 Jewish men arrested and transported to a concentration camp in.

The arrests made on 11 February weren’t just random: Many non-Jewish Amsterdamers witnessed them and were shocked to see Jewish men being treated like cattle in their own city, where they had lived peacefully for centuries. A general strike erupted on 25 to 27 February, which at first only involved Amsterdam but soon took over the entire southern part of the country.

Even internationally such a staunch protest against the Nazi occupation had not been shown yet. The occupiers found themselves unexpectedly faced with a complete economic halt, paralyzed public transportation, and surrounded by masses of protesting Dutch people in what has become known as the February Strike.

This event marked the turning point in German and Dutch Fascist politics in which–at least for some time - open violence against Jews became unfashionable. From then on, the Nazi occupiers would employ more subtle but equally lethal methods to make Holland Judenrein.

The Jewish Councils

In France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, organizations were established with the sole aim of further excluding and extricating the Jewish populations.

In the Netherlands this was called “De Joodsche Raad van Amsterdam” (the Jewish Council of Amsterdam).

Hans Böhmker (left) who ordered the establishment of the Jewish Council in the Netherlands in 1941

The establishment of the Jewish Council for Amsterdam, was demanded on February 13, 1941 by Hans Böhmcker, Beauftragte of Amsterdam after the earlier mentioned riots in the Jewish quarter and the death of WA member Hendrik Koot.

Abraham Asscher and David Cohen formed the Jewish Council and became its chairmen. The main office was at Nieuwe Keizersgracht 58. The first call from the Jewish Council was to hand in weapons to the police station at Jonas Daniël Meijerplein.

In the second half of 1941, every major Dutch city had a Jewish council.

Anne Frank’s registration card for the Jewish Council

Part 3 of this series of blog posts follows soon.

In a separate blog post I will deal with the history of the Jewish Council, which was to become the most horrendous instrument the Nazis could impose on the Jewish citizens of Holland. It would give the occupiers all the data they needed for the raids and deportations. Unbeknownst to the Councils, they assisted in the eradication of their own people.

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Based (among others) on information by historians Pim Griffioen and Ron Zeller, authors of ‘Persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands, France and Belgium, 1940–1945: similarities, differences, causes’