# 1) INTRODUCTION

The German occupation of The Netherlands started on Friday 10th May 1940. German soldiers invaded The Netherlands. Even though the Dutch army was quite large, the soldiers were not well prepared.

After heavy bombing of Rotterdam on 14th May, the Dutch commander-in-chief gave the order to surrender. Although the battle only lasted for five days, the lives of nearly 4500 Dutch soldiers were lost. The Dutch government (Queen and cabinet) evacuated to England for safety reasons. The Dutch government in exile remained in London until 1945.

The Nazis took control of The Netherlands, led by officials appointed by Hitler. The Netherlands wanted to stay neutral during the war, as they did during the previous war. But the Germans ignored that. This led to widespread outrage among the Dutch.

Seyss-Inquart was appointed as ‘Reichskommissar’ of The Netherlands. The Nazis wanted to incorporate The Netherlands into their empire. According to them the Dutch also belonged to the Aryan race. The Germans took several measures to make sure they were in control of The Netherlands.

The Germans had two primary goals with their policies:
1) To involve the Netherlands in the German war effort.
2) To win the people of the Netherlands over for the principles of National-Socialism.

The German Occupation of The Netherlands can be roughly divided into four phases:

1. May 1940-Late February 1941: Mutual goodwill
2. Late February 1941 - April 1943: Growing anti-German sentiment and increasing use of force.
3. April 1943 - September 1944: Growing number of conflicts between the Dutch and occupying forces.
4. September 1944 - May 1945: Total disruption of Dutch society.

Continue to part 2 of this assignment to get information about WHAT you will gave to do, and HOW.