Today's Itinerary and Activities
Day 2: July 7
First thing in the morning we mounted our vans and departed Amsterdam for Vlissingen in the Scheldt area. We stopped half way between and spend most of the day in Rotterdam to consider the 1940 German invasion, the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch defence, and subsequent occupation of the Netherlands.
First thing in the morning we mounted our vans and departed Amsterdam for Vlissingen in the Scheldt area. We stopped half way between and spend most of the day in Rotterdam to consider the 1940 German invasion, the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch defence, and subsequent occupation of the Netherlands.
"There is no Canada today" |
Pedagogical pause |
We are asked to consider that in our high school history classrooms we don't teach about the Netherlands Liberation in any depth, if at all. Our textbooks barely mention the Netherlands in the Second World War. Yet veterans of the Netherlands campaign, Dutch citizens who immigrated as well as war brides inhabit our communities in Canada, and the shared experience of the liberation is unique to the Netherlands and Canada. Today we explore the Dutch experience in Rotterdam through the invasion, occupation, and bombing of the city. Read tour participant Greg's blog post on today's activities!
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What keeps students motivated? What keeps them going? Evidence suggests that lecture-based teaching, while a comfort zone for many of us, is least effective. How willing are we to revisit both historical narratives and pedagogical practices that perhaps serve us better than our students?
Working with primary sourcesWhat does the source tell me that confirms what I already know? What does it contradict? What is new?
What questions does it raise? |
Where we are |
Contact Us |
The Rotterdam MuseumOur host and guide in Rotterdam, Lt. Colonel Wouter Hagemeijer, brought us to the Rotterdam museum, then to the Witte Hius for a view of the city, to consider the Dutch experience in this city at the beginning of the war and consider the geography that the Dutch and German armies were working with.
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The invasionThe pillars of Dutch military policy were:
Due to the use of propaganda, the general population believed the country would stay neutral. There is a historic precedent for this, as the Dutch were the first to mobilize in the First World War. It was believed they would do the same again, to defend their armed neutrality. |
The bombingAfter the Germans had delivered an ultimatum demanding the Dutch surrender, the Dutch were able to stall as the document did not have original signature. When the second document was signed, the order did not reach the German planes in time. Germany had dropped 2/3 of their ordinance before red flares were lit indicating to stop.
The major effect of the bombings is the fires that started in the city. It is important to note that Rotterdam was bombed 10 times by the Germans, and 110 times by the Allies. |
The occupationThe plan was to give up 2/3 of the country as the Dutch army could only defend the area known as Fortress Holland. Have your students engage in the decision-making process required here: What areas do you defend, and how? Who decides who and what is expendable? Have students explore the evidence available. Were there any conflict among the Dutch decision-makers about this?
The Dutch economy revived after the occupation, and the German hand is light, as they see Dutch as their Germanic brethren. Food quality was higher than in the 30s, and businesses thrived. Economic activity in the Netherlands stalled in 1943, when there were no further raw materials to produce goods. |
Photo Gallery
Classroom questions
Here are some questions we considered through the day that can serve as research questions for students, to make this topic relevant and engaging in the classroom:
What role did propaganda play in the Second World War?
More Dutch served in the SS than wore the Allied badge. Were they Nazi supporters or anti-communists?
What is the difference between commemoration and history?
Is there such a thing as a small act of resistance?
What do you need in order to go into hiding?
Why did the Germans employ so many foreign workers in the war industry when the Allies did not?
Why was Belgium able to muster more than twice the men than the Netherlands with a smaller population?
Why was the winter of 1944 so bad for the Dutch?
Was there any urban-rural animosity as food shortages caused greater hunger among the Dutch population?
How do different European countries commemorate their days of remembrance? What do citizens of different backgrounds on these days do? ( ie, Germans in Holland)
What role did propaganda play in the Second World War?
More Dutch served in the SS than wore the Allied badge. Were they Nazi supporters or anti-communists?
What is the difference between commemoration and history?
Is there such a thing as a small act of resistance?
What do you need in order to go into hiding?
Why did the Germans employ so many foreign workers in the war industry when the Allies did not?
Why was Belgium able to muster more than twice the men than the Netherlands with a smaller population?
Why was the winter of 1944 so bad for the Dutch?
Was there any urban-rural animosity as food shortages caused greater hunger among the Dutch population?
How do different European countries commemorate their days of remembrance? What do citizens of different backgrounds on these days do? ( ie, Germans in Holland)