Why go
The twentieth century helps explain several histories encountered together in the Netherlands: occupation and resistance, collaboration, colonial war and European cooperation. Rotterdam anchors the account of the German invasion, while Indonesia and Suriname show why postwar history extends beyond Europe. Social change in the 1960s and 1970s also weakened older political and religious divisions.
The full story
The Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War, but Nazi Germany invaded on 10 May 1940. The bombing of Rotterdam preceded the surrender of the main Dutch forces. During the occupation, Dutch Jews were deported and murdered in Nazi extermination camps. Forced labour, resistance, reprisals and collaboration were also part of life under occupation. Liberation came in 1944–1945, with Canadian, British and Polish troops among the forces involved. Overseas, Indonesia declared independence in 1945. The Netherlands fought a colonial war before recognising Indonesian independence in 1949. Suriname became independent in 1975. After the war, the Netherlands moved away from neutrality and towards closer European and Atlantic cooperation. At home, the 1960s and 1970s brought challenges to established religious and political groupings. This process, called depillarisation, changed a society previously organised around distinct ideological communities. War, decolonisation and social change all contributed to the country’s postwar transformation.