Five Brothers and a War

Dolle Dinsdag (“Crazy Tuesday”)

As the Allies swept across France and into Belgium, the Dutch became optimistic that their liberation was at hand. On September 3, the Allies liberated Brussels. The rumor on that day was that “someone in the know in London said that the Allies were about to cross into Holland,” which in turn fueled the rumor that the Allies would sweep through the country as quickly as they had through Belgium. At the same moment, General Eisenhower had approved the appointment of Prins Bernhard to be the Commander-in Chief of the Dutch Binnelandse Strijdkrachten (“Interior Forces”). On September 3, Radio Oranje , still broadcasting from London, announced Prins Bernhard’s new appointment. The next day, amazingly, the Allies took Antwerp—without meeting any resistance. But the radio broadcasts were always about 24 hours slow in their announcements, which all contributed to creating a fertile ground for rumors. That day’s Radio Oranje’s broadcast carried a message from the Dutch Prime Minister, in exile, stating that there were Allied troops on Dutch soil. Just before midnight, the BBC reported that Breda was liberated and quoted a British general as saying that German resistance was collapsing everywhere. Dutch citizens, living near the Belgian border confirmed that the Germans were retreating. Newspapers in London reported in their Tuesday morning editions that Breda was free. In Holland, the rumors were even more dramatic—Dordrecht, near the middle of the country, was free, and the Allies were on their way to Rotterdam. People collected flowers and headed for the roadways leading into their towns so they could welcome the troops. Even the Germans, and their Dutch collaborators prepared for the liberation. The NSB leadership, and many of the rank-and-file, fled to Germany to avoid the wrath of the Dutch populace. Among those who left was Gertruud Seyß-Inquart, wife of the Reichskommissar, who perhaps not coincidentally, fled Holland on September 3, 1944, a day before her husband made it an offence for anyone to leave. She was last seen leaving Den Haag with five suitcases, bound for Salzburg, Austria. One Nazi mayor surrendered his pistol to his secretary. Some German soldiers went to the local police to surrender. In Rotterdam, a resistance group cell took over a school. All of the euphoria spread like wildfire across the entire nation. Even the weather changed from days of rain to bright sunshine. September 5, 1944 became known as Dolle Dinsdag (“Crazy Tuesday”). By the end of the day, no Allies had liberated any part of Holland, and the euphoria turned very sour. The fact was that the first city to be liberated in Holland would be Maastricht on September 14. As the Dutch celebrations died, the depression and despair that followed the correction of the false rumors was profound. Not only on the immediate Dutch psyche, but also on the psyches of the Germans, who continued to tighten the noose around the neck of the nation. They became ever more brutal as they realized the extent of the Dutch hatred toward them. The notion of Aryan brotherhood had completely vanished, and the Dutch were then treated no better than the other subjugated peoples. Perhaps even worse in many respects. This attitude was certainly fueled by the actions of the Allies as well.

holland

Five Brothers and a War

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