Five Brothers and a War

Razzias

A new word was about to hit the everyday language of the Dutch. Derived from an Arabic word, then adapted into French, the word “razzia” means “plundering raid”. Razzias were used by the Moors in North Africa to round up slaves. But in World War II it was used by the Germans as the word for intense localized raids by German forces looking for Jews, Dutch Resistance members, or slave labor. When a razzia was held, a house, neighborhood or even city was blockaded, and then a dragnet conducted within the besieged area to find whatever was being sought. The Dutch quickly hated the word.

Above is a photo of an actual razzia being conducted on a Den Haag drugstore on the Zoutmanstraat, about 4 km from the Margrietstraat, on November 21. The photo below was taken from the same window, with people being herded down the street in front of the same drugstore.

nazi germany

Five Brothers and a War

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