By the end of the war 205,900 Dutch men and women had died. The Netherlands had the highest per capita death rate of all Nazi-occupied countries in Western Europe, 2.36%.^[3] Another 30,000 died in the Dutch East Indies, either while fighting the Japanese or in camps as Japanese POWs. Dutch civilians were held in those camps as well.^[4]

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Dutch East Indies and the war against Japan

Main articles: Japanese occupation of Indonesia and Indonesian National Revolution

On January 10, 1942 the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Dutch naval ships joined forces with the Allies to form the ABDA fleet (American-British-Dutch-Australian fleet) commanded by Dutch admiral Karel Doorman. On February 27 and 28, 1942, Admiral Doorman was ordered to take the offensive against the Japanese. His objections on the matter were overruled. The ABDA fleet finally encountered the Japanese surface fleet at the Battle of the Java Sea, at which Doorman gave the order to engage. During the ensuing battle the ABDA fleet suffered heavy losses. The Dutch cruisers Java and De Ruyter were lost, together with the destroyer Kortenaer. The other allied cruisers, the Australian Perth, the British Exeter and the American Houston tried to disengage but were spotted by the Japanese in the following days and eventually destroyed. According to legend, Doorman, gave the order to attack were Ik val aan, volg mij! ("I am attacking, follow me!"); in reality, the order was "All ships follow me."

After Japanese troops had landed on Java and the KNIL had been unsuccessful in stopping their advance (due to the Japanese ability to occupy a relatively unguarded airstrip) the Dutch forces on Java surrendered on March 1 1942. Dutch soldiers were imprisoned in labour camps, though some were executed on the spot. Later all Dutch, including civilians, were captured and sent to camps, some were deported to Japan or set to work on the Thai-Burma Railway.

Dutch submarines escaped and resumed the fight on with the Allies. As a part of the Allied forces, they were on the hunt for Japanese oil transports to Japan and the movement of Japanese troops and weapons to other sites of battle (including New Guinea). Because of the large amount of Dutch submarines active in this theatre of the war, the Dutch were named the Fourth Ally in this area.

Several Dutch army and navy pilots also escaped, and, with Dutch aircraft purchased from the United States, formed Royal Australian Air Force No. 18 Squadron (B-25 Mitchells) and No. 120 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawks). These squadrons helped to defend Australia from the Japanese and participated in the eventual liberation of the Netherlands East Indies.

Gradually, control of the Netherlands East Indies was wrested away from the Japanese. The largest Allied invasion took place in July 1945 with Australian landings on the island of Borneo, ostensibly to seize the strategic oilfields from the now cut-off Japanese forces. However, the Japanese had already begun independence negotiations with Indonesian nationalists such as Sukarno, and Indonesian forces had themselves taken over control of a sizable portion of Sumatra and Java. Following the Japanese surrender on August 15, Indonesian nationalists led by Sukarno declared their country's independence and a four year armed and diplomatic struggle between the Netherlands and Indonesian republicans.

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After the war

Dutch women who had sexual relations with German soldiers, await their fate after being arrested by the Dutch resistance

After the war some who were thought to have collaborated with the Germans were lynched or otherwise punished without a trial. Men who had fought with the Germans in the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS were used to clear minefields and suffered losses accordingly. Others were sentenced by the Ministry of Justice. Some were proven to have been wrongly arrested and were cleared of charges, sometimes after having been in custody for a long period of time.

The Dutch government initially developed plans to annex a sizable portion of Germany, either with or without German population — which in the latter case would have to be 'Dutchified' — doubling the land area of the Netherlands. This plan was dropped after an Allied refusal (although two small villages were added to the Netherlands). One successfully-implemented plan was Black Tulip, the deportation of all holders of German passports in the Netherlands and several thousand Germans were deported in this way.

The bank balances of Dutch Jews who were killed are still the subject of trials today, more than half a century later.

The end of the war also meant the final loss of the Dutch East Indies. Following the surrender of the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies, Indonesian nationalists fought a four-year war of independence against Dutch and initially British Commonwealth forces, eventually leading to the Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia. Many Dutch and Indonesians emigrated or returned to the Netherlands at this time, and their presence has resulted in a lasting Indonesian influence in Dutch culture and cuisine.

World War II has left many trails on Dutch society. On May 4, the Dutch commemorate those who died during the war. Among the living there are many who still have emotional problems due to the war, both in the first generation and the second. In the year 2000, the government was still granting 24,000 people an annual compensatory payment (although this also includes victims from later wars, such as the Korean War).

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Documentaries

• Making Choices: The Dutch Resistance during World War II (2005) Tells the stories of four participants in the Dutch Resistance and the miracles that saved them from certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

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See also

• 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland
• Dutch resistanceedward sandul
• Military history of the Netherlands during World War II
• Chronological overview of the liberation of Dutch cities and towns during World War II
• Culture of the Netherlands
• History of the Netherlands
• Military of the Netherlands
• The Netherlands
• World War II
• Jan de Hartog
• Corrie ten Boom
• Anne Frank

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References

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External links

• Canada and Holland The liberation of Holland with photos and video footage.
• Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War - The Liberation of the Netherlands, 1944-1945
• Administrators of the German occupied Netherlands during WW II

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