History of the Netherlands (1939–1945)

The history of the Netherlands from 1939 to 1945 covers the events in the Netherlands that took place under the German occupation that started on May 10, 1940 with the Battle of the Netherlands. The Netherlands hoped to stay neutral when World War II broke out in 1939 but this failed to happen when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. On May 15, 1940, one day after the Bombing of Rotterdam the Dutch forces capitulated. Subsequently the Dutch government and the royal family went into exile in London. The occupying forces were supported by a minority of the Dutch. Active resistance was carried out by a small minority which grew in the course of the five years of the occupation. The Germans deported the majority of the country's Jews to concentration camps. In doing so they were assisted by the Dutch police and civil service. Most of the South of the country was liberated in the second half of 1944. The rest, especially in the West of the country, suffered from the Hunger Winter. On May 5, 1945, the whole country was liberated by the Canadian Forces.

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