Five Brothers and a War

Dolle Dinsdag (“Crazy Tuesday”)

An order was given by the Dutch government in exile that there should be a general strike and a railway strike to put internal pressure on the German occupiers, and very importantly, to help stymie a Wehrmacht response to the upcoming Operation Market Garden, the attempt to secure a bridgehead over the Nederrijn River in Arnhem. 30,000 workers went into hiding, with a promise from the London-based government that they would provide financial support. Seyß-Inquart was furious, and when Operation Market Garden went into effect on September 17, his mood was not improved. In retaliation, on September 27, Seyß-Inquart gave the order that no food should be transported to the most densely populated provinces of Noord Holland, Zuid Holland and Utrecht. It also stated that no German coal would be shipped to replace the coal that could no longer be produced from the mines in newly-liberated Limburg. As everything was controlled, black markets developed to distribute food. Although Seyß Inquart stated in Nürnberg that this was a semi-sanctioned gray market, it led to additional hardship. Prior to the war, the Dutch established a Centrale Crisis Controle Dienst (CCCD) (“Central Crisis Control Service”). The Germans first used this established organization to control black market operations. Many people were sentenced to death for trafficking in black market goods. However, with the food restrictions and the Hongerwinter , the CCCD was pressed into service to restrict hungry city dwellers from obtaining food from farmers. The rationale was that food distribution was controlled and working outside of that distribution system was strictly forbidden. They set up checkpoints and when they found goods intended to be exchanged for food, they were confiscated. If the trade had already occurred, the food was confiscated. Word of checkpoints spread quickly in order to allow people to change their routes.

holland

Five Brothers and a War

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