History of the Netherlands: Encyclopedia II - History of the Netherlands - 20th century

History of the Netherlands - 20th century

Although its army mobilised when World War I broke out in August 1914, the Netherlands remained a neutral country. The German invasion of Belgium that same year led to a large flow of refugees from that country (about 1 million). The country being surrounded by states at war, and with the North Sea unsafe for civilian ships to sail on, food became scarce and was distributed using coupons. With the end of the war in 1918, the situation returned to normalcy.

Although both houses of the Dutch parliament were elected by the people, only men with high incomes were eligible for voting until 1918, when pressure from socialist movements had resulted in elections in which all men were allowed to vote. In 1922 women also got the right to vote.

The worldwide Great Depression of 1929 and the early 1930s had crippling effects on the Dutch economy, effects which lasted longer than they did in most European countries. The depression lead to large unemployment and poverty, as well as increasing social unrest. The rise of Nazism in Germany did not go unnoticed in the Netherlands, and there was growing concern over the possibility of armed conflict. But most Dutch citizens thought that Germany would again respect Dutch neutrality.

History of the Netherlands - World War II

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Netherlands declared their neutrality again. However, on May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany launched an attack on the Netherlands and Belgium and overran most of the country quickly, fighting against a poorly-equipped Dutch army. By May 14, fighting was only occurring in a few isolated locations. However, on that very day, the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam, the second largest city of the Netherlands, killing about 800 people and destroying large parts of the city, leaving 78,000 homeless. Following the bombardment and German threats of the same for Utrecht, the Netherlands capitulated on May 15 (except the province of Zeeland). The royal family and some military forces fled to Britain. Some members of the royal family eventually moved to Ottawa, Canada until the Netherlands was liberated, and Princess Margriet was born during this Canadian exile.

Persecution of Jews, of which about 140,000 lived in the Netherlands at the beginning of the war, started shortly after the invasion. At the end of the war, only 40,000 Jews were still alive. Of the 100,000 Jews that didn't hide, only 1000 survived the war. Anne Frank, who later gained world-wide fame when her diary, written in the Achterhuis (backhouse), while hiding from the Nazis, was found and published, died shortly before the liberation of her camp on May 5, 1945.

Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies on January 11, 1942. The Dutch surrendered on March 8, after Japanese troops landed on Java. Dutch citizens were captured and put to work in labour camps. However, many Dutch ships and military personnel managed to reach Australia, from where they were able to fight against the Japanese.

In Europe, after the Allies landed in Normandy in June 1944, they proceeded quickly towards the Dutch border. On 17 September a daring operation, Operation Market Garden, was staged to make a quick incursion into the southern Netherlands and capture bridges across the three main rivers. The bridge at Arnhem, across the Rhine, could however not be captured. The part south of the rivers was liberated in the period September–November 1944. However, the rest of the country, with a major part of the population, wasn't liberated until May 1945. The winter 1944–1945 was very harsh, and many Dutch starved, giving the winter the name Hongerwinter (Hunger winter). On May 5, 1945, following Allied victories in Nazi Germany, Nazi Germany finally surrendered, signing the surrender to the Dutch at Wageningen. To this day, Canada's role in the nation's liberation, as well as its role in providing a safe haven for the royal family during the war, has led to a warm relationship between the nations that is deeply honoured.

History of the Netherlands - Post-war years

Two days after the surrender of Japan, most of the Dutch East Indies declared its independence as Indonesia. A confusing phase followed, known as the Indonesian National Revolution, with the Netherlands recognising the new country on the one hand, while fighting the Indonesian nationalists in two wars, named politionele acties ("police actions"). Increasing international pressure led the Netherlands to eventually withdraw. Indonesia formally gained independence on December 27, 1949. Part of the former Dutch East Indies, namely the western part of New Guinea, remained under Dutch control as Netherlands New Guinea until 1961 when Indonesia invaded the region.

Although it was originally expected that the loss of the Indies would lead to an economic downfall, the reverse proved to be true, and in the 1950s and 60s the Dutch economy experienced a near unprecedented growth. In fact, the demand for labour was so strong, that immigration was actively encouraged, first from Italy and Spain; then later on, in larger numbers, from Turkey and Morocco. Combined with the immigration from (former) colonies like Indonesia, Surinam and Netherlands Antilles, this meant that the Netherlands was becoming a multicultural country.

The 60s and 70s were a time of great social and cultural changes. Such as rapid ontzuiling (literally: depillarisation), a term that describes the decay of the old divisions along class and religious lines (which had lead to things like separate education and separate TV broadcasts for Catholics, Protestants, socialists and liberals). Youths, and students in particular, rejected the traditional morale, and pushed for change in matters like women's rights, sexuality and environmental issues. Today, the Netherlands is regarded as a very liberal country, considering its drugs policy and its legalisation of euthanasia. Same-sex marriage became permitted on 1 April 2001.

In 1952 the Netherlands were among the founders of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would over time evolve into the European Union. The Netherlands is an industrialised nation but also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In recent years the Dutch have often been a driving force behind the integration of European countries in the European Union.

On 6 May 2002, the murder on Pim Fortuyn, a right-wing populist calling for a very strict policy on immigration, shocked the country. His party became a major political force after the elections, significantly changing the political landscape. However, infighting within the party caused them to lose much of their following in elections the next year. Another murder that drew much attention took place on 2 November 2004, when film director and publicist Theo van Gogh was assassinated by a Dutch-Moroccan youth with radical Islamic beliefs. This sparked debate on the existence of radical Islam in the Netherlands, and on immigration and integration (or lack thereof) as well.

See also: Netherlands/2000, Netherlands/2001

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "20th century", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki