The Netherlands Set the Groundwork for the Third Reich - Research Paper Example

?Westerbork: A camp different from others Thesis: A country, thought to have been tolerant to all religions, had perfectly set the ground work for the Third Reich to come in and freely annalitate 70% of one population group. From 1936 to 1940, the Netherlands set the ground work for The Third Reich to come with free will to set up a government then proceed to deport and or force into hiding over 90% of its Jewish population. The lost resulting from the numbers of deportations represented the highest loss of Jewish inhabitants in any European country in the Shoah. As it was taught in schools after the war, it was thought that The Netherlands treated all the Jews as Dutch citizens and did everything in her power to protect them. The contrary will be shown. It will be shown that they had a class system. They had classified the types of citizens as early as 1936. The infrastructure had been created and the fascilities were built before the Germans even entered Dutch soil enabling the Germans to come in and murder over 100 000 people in less than 3 years. Three stages will be examined is this essay. From 1936-1939, when the national decree dictated who was a dutch citizen and the creation of refugee centers. From 1939 to 1940, when Westerbrok was voted into Parliament as a center for the "legal refugees". To conclude with the capitulation of the Netherlands government within 5 days in 1940 and the consequences it had on the Shoah. Please note that in the sources there is much conflicting information due to the age of the survivors and the difference in translations and countries methods of notations.. 1936-139 The Jewish population of Amsterdam represented approximately 10% of the population. The attitude was rather avant garde, agnostic, assimilated and had benefited greatly from the WWI attitude of being a neutral state.(Hillesum 1999) There was a sense of safty of being Dutch before being Jewish. The general consensus was accepting the census as a natural govermental process. Upon registering in 1936, Jews were told that as citizens they would be protected. (Vanderwerff 2010)The atmosphere as explained by Etty Hillesum, in her Letters of Westerbork, was that she had no desire for organised religion. Life was absurd. God was helpless (12/07/1942) She was born into an agnostic family. Before 1941, she was lost in the different intellectual circles of Amsterdam. She had failed her exam to get into law school. She studied Slavic studies and then went on to tutor. This is an insight into the Jewish population of Amsterdam. The intellectual assimilation would eventually be the demise of the Jews of Amsterdam. The felt themeselves more protected and superior over the German Jews who were often poorer and less educated then the Dutch Jews. They had jobs and lived in proper housing. They were not touched by the refugee housing or economic situation. As in other European nations, they considered themselves citizens of the nation of their birth. In 1936, by Royal Decree it was voted that a national census would require new identity cards in order to define who were Dutch citizens. Religion was required on the last line of the card. (Vanderwerff 2010) In 1939, Refugees were forced to register. Legal Refugee Jews (Stateless) were defined by having been born in a country that no longer existed because of World War I and having been born in Poland. Illegal Refugee Jews were those who came into the Netherlands without any visas. Illegal refugees were sent back to Germany. (Vanderwerff 2010) In World War I, The Netherlands had remained a neutral State. It was common knowledge that the Netherlands was a state that had had an open door policy. Because of the depression, lack of jobs and overall anti-semitism, German Jews and Stateless Jews were considered secondary citizen to Dutch citizens. The geo-political economic situation of Europe has changed the map. Dutch citizens were given precedents over refugees in employment and housing. What had been refugee homes all over the country since 1936 had become internment camps in December1938. (Vanderwerff 2010) All non aryan refugees had to register with special cards showing that they were not considered part of the Dutch population . (pink and green cards) (Vanderwerff 2010)The tension was high: anti-semitism was rampant ;and the administration had total control over the numbers of Dutch Jews, legal and non legal refugee Jews. 1939-1940 The Jewish community was told that Westerbork was being built as a transit camp to help primarly refugee Jews but also those Jews who wanted to emigrate to Palenstine (Hillesum 1999). There is very little information documenting this statement . The Jewish Refugee Committee was charged the cost of building the camp.(Heart 2007) When the camp was opened, the other internment centers were closed.(Vanderwerff 2010) A few visas for Palestine were found for German Jews in Westerbrok but they obviously were not used. (Day 1998) The cost of building and running the camp was the responsibility of the Refugee committee.(Heart 2007) When the Germans took control in 1940 and started increasing the capacity and construction, the cost was paid for by the confiscated goods of the interned Jews. (Heart 2007) As the Jews were interned, they gave up all their worldly property. The Germans took their wealth to help the "war effort". They were able to financing the killing of over 100 000 people. Westerbrok had no financial gain for the Germans. There were no factories, no farms; it was just a rocky waste land. (Hillesum 1999) Construction for Westerbork started in the Spring of 1939 and opened in October of 1939. It was to be run by the Jewish Council. With permission, Jews could come and go.(Hillesum 1999) The principal function was to give housing to the German Jewish immigrants. There was a small staff of administration (Jews) who maintained daily functions of a small village like environment. There were doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, internal police, an orchestra, schools etc. There was little tension. Jews had permission to come and go as long as they checked with the administration (Hillesum 1999). The core staff who were mostly Dutch Jews were some of the longest residents of the camp. 1940 Five days later In May of 1940, there were 750 inhabitants at Westerbrok. The Germans attacked the Netherlands on the 10th of May. (Heart 2007) 5 days later, the Queen took her government ministers and high officials into exile to England. During the 5 years she remained in England, she made three radio speeches in which she mentioned the Jewish population (Heart 2007). She, in essence, left her parliament open for the Nazis to come in and set up their own government as there were no longer any more qualified individuals to do so. (Heart 2007) Upon the Dutch capitulation, the Ministery of Justice under the auspice of the German government took control and by 1941, the population of Westerbork increased to 1100. (Heart 2007) As Westerbork had been established in an agricultural wasteland . The Germans decided at the end of 1941, that it would be used as a transit camp as there was no economic benefit in it being used as anything else. For two years the camp had been run with relativly open doors. Now watch towers were built and barbed wire was put up surrounding the camp. The infrastructure was left as is but the freedom of the camp dissipated and it was obvious that the Germans were preparing for deportations. Early in 1941 there were over 2000 permanent jewish employees. "The Germans encouraged "normal" activities by this group, including metalwork, health services work, and cultural activities ". (Yadvashem) As ludicrous as it may seem, the camp had its own form of money. The Nazis were masters in mind manipulation. The Dutch had started the administration of the camp in 1939. The 14th of July 1942, Jews were transfered for the first time from Amsterdam. The first deportation, comprised of the camp administration was prepared to leave that night. (Yadvashem) This created fear and animosity between the Dutch Jews and the German Jews. The German Jews took over the administrative work thus there was supposedly no more language barrior. This day represented the first time Jews were transfered from Amsterdam to Westerbrok; the start of the construction of railroad tracks directly into the camp and the Teusday deportations.(Heart 2007) The German General enjoyed the cultural utopic aspect of his camp but the fear that people lived with of the Teusday death list made people desperate. (Yadvashem) Those who could keep people off the list did so. The Doctor Elie Cohen would take people from the list and put them in the hospital. More than 95% of all of those who were deported perished. (Heart 2007) What went wrong with a whole nation. To set such a perfect stage makes one think that life is orchestrated to perfect harmony which may be as cacophonist or as harmonious depending on our reaction to history. To those walking the streets of Amsterdam in 1940 where one person in ten was a Jew, who would not have had to have felt the effects of Westerbork? The German leader of the camp only got a 10 year sentence after the war for having been so generous and kind in sending only 100 000 to their deaths. Why was this story kept from our children as we read the diary of Anne Frank or visited the secret hiding places in Amsterdam. Anne Frank and Etty Hiddlesum were on the last two transit trains to Auswitzs.(Heart 2007) The final transport from the Netherlands to Auschwitz was on 3 September 1944. Those who did return back to Amsterdam had nothing left as everything had been looted or confiscated. Most emigrated. This is not a kind story as it is was not added to the immediate history books after WWII.     References Day, Nicholas (1998) "No Turning Back" The Washington Post Wednesday, August 26, 1998, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/daily/holoship0826.htm. Heart 2007 "Westerbork Transit Camp" Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/othercamps/westerbork.html Hillesum, Etty 1999. An Interrupted Life: The Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum, London: Persephone Books Vanderwerff, Hans (2010) "Refugee camps in the Netherlands, 1933-1942" http://www.cympm.com/refugeecamps.html Yadvashem Archives " From the Testimony of Don Krausz about Life in Westerbork Under the Shadow of Transports" http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%203914.pdf Read More