Hongerwinter (hunger winter). By the end of the five year Nazi occupation, over 205,900 Dutch had died.
canada in the Netherlands Canada brought liberty and life to the Netherlands at the end of WWII. Between October 1944 and May 1945, with fierce fighting and heavy causalities, the Canadian military opened the Scheldt estuary and the port of Antwerp to Allied supplies, cleared much of the country of the enemy, and fed a Dutch people left starving by the Nazi occupier. On May 5, 1945, in Wageningen, the Germans surrendered to the Canadians. During the initial days of the invasion, Queen Wilhelmina, her royal family and the Dutch Government took refuge in England. Princess Juliana (the sole heir to the throne) was sent to Ottawa with her two daughters. Her third daughter, Princess Margariet was born in Ottawa. To ensure the Dutch citizenship of Princess Margariet, the Canadian Government decreed a special law that temporarily declared Princess Juliana’s suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital to be extraterritorial. By the spring of 1945, Canadian forces engaged in harsh fighting in various towns throughout Holland, with the assistance of American and British troops. On April 28, 1945, Canadians made a truce with the Germans so that food could be air-dropped over Holland to feed the many starving Dutch. To show their appreciation to the pilots who dropped food from the air, many Dutch painted “Thank you Canadians” on their rooftops. By May 5th 1945, the Netherlands was liberated. The German Army surrendered to Canadian forces in Wageningen. Once the occupation was over, much needed food, supplies, and support was brought in by Canadians. A deep, long-lasting bond of friendship was forged between Canada and the Netherlands. In honour of their gift of freedom, the Dutch people donate 10,000 tulips each year to Canada. Every year since liberation, the Dutch hold annual memorial services and liberation celebrations. Every five years, they have a “welcome veterans” event where hundreds of veterans come back to Holland as guests of Dutch citizens who gladly open their homes to their liberators and their families, and participate in the victory parade in Apeldoorn.
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