"How could this have happened?" A slow progression.

[wildflower]

A valid question often raised is this, "Why did the Jewish people in the Netherlands, or anywhere else for that matter, allow themselves to be forced out of their homes and driven into ghettos and why did they not openly resist deportation? Why did they not rebel against the Nazi oppressor?" A similar question can be raised for the Dutch people, "Why did the Dutch people allow the singling out and persecution of the Jews that had for many decades lived among them?" These and other questions are valid ones for every nation that was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. Of course, for each country the circumstances were different but not the outcome

It is a thin line that runs between fear and hope. When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands their armed forces were much more powerful, better trained and better equipped than the Dutch army and Air force were. It only took five days for the aggressor to overrun the Netherlands. Once the land was conquered and the people subdued it was a matter of time before the Nazis could carry out their wicked plan. Constantly introducing new orders with further restrictions they slowly but gradually tightened the noose, depriving the Jewsih people especially of more and more liberties. Orders and restrictions increased in severity as time moved on. The occupying forces imposed Nazi rules upon the people and gradually replaced the duly elected government with a puppet regime of Dutch Nazi sympathizers under the leadership of Anton Mussert.

These new rules slowly but surely brought the nation to its knees and prepared the Jewish people for the ultimate. The word extermination was not mentioned. The Nazis referred to the deportations as resettling programs to the East. They made the people believe that the Jews would be engaged in an Arbeitseinsatz - Work Deployment program.

How could this have happened? How was it possible that 75% (104,000 out of 140,000) of the Dutch Jews were exterminated in only a few years time? Click here for the chart showing the chronological sequence of anti-Jewish measures issued by the Sicherheitspolizei -Security Police between 1 July 1940 until 29 September 1943. The removal of Dutch Jews from every day life and activity took place gradually, step by step, but with deadly certainty.

(More at http://www.cympm.com/whyandhow.html . The link to the chart showing the chronological sequence of progressively restrictive laws enacted in Holland is http://www.cympm.com/rules.html .)

A more complete history of Holland under the Third Reich can be found here: http://www-lib.usc.edu/~anthonya/waralt.htm