Compensation for Victims of Nazi Persecution in the Netherlands
War and German Occupation
1940–1945
On 10 May 1940, the German Reich invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Just three days later, the government cabinet and Queen Wilhelmina moved into exile in London. On 15 May, the Dutch armed forces capitulated. Unlike in Belgium, Hitler ordered a civil administration, which was headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart as the political Reich Commissioner. The newly established Nazi surveillance apparatus also included Dutch collaborators, among them members of the National Socialist Movement (NSB). Initially, the occupiers expected a “self-Nazification,” but towards the end of the war, the measures to exploit Dutch labour and goods became increasingly harsh. 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported, only 5,000 returned.
End of the Occupation
After the Western Allies landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944, the Dutch population hoped for a quick liberation in September 1944. However, only a small part in the south of the country was liberated. For the majority of the population, the German occupation ended only after the so-called Hunger Winter of 1944/45 on 5 May 1945. Annually, on 4 May, National Remembrance Day, the victims of the war are commemorated.
How is the memory of the occupation period?
Ellen van Dijk-Geurtsen,
daughter of Hendrikus Geurtsen, 2024
Wreath laying at the National Monument during the commemoration ceremony on 4 May 2014.
National Comité 4 en 5 mei, Jasper Julien
“It was worst at the beginning of May.”
The treatment of returnees after the end of the war
Martin Kentie, son of Cornelis Kentie, 2023
Early Compensation
May 1945 – April 1946
After the war, the Dutch population suffered from hunger and poverty. The infrastructure was destroyed, and the supply situation was poor. Former political prisoners could apply for additional food ration cards at the Afwikkelingsbureau ConcentratiekampenResidents of the Dutch municipality of Vught established the “Concentration Camp Processing Office” during the German occupation to support concentration camp inmates. After the liberation, it helped in the search for missing persons and the social care of former political prisoners between May 1945 and April 1946. This bureau had emerged before the end of the war from the efforts of some residents of the Vught community, who had sent food packages to the prisoners of the camp there. After the liberation, the bureau expanded its tasks, including searching for missing persons and providing social care for former political prisoners. The detention period in Wolfenbüttel was generally not recognised as political imprisonment by the Afwikkelingsbureau Concentratiekampen.
“Extra food stamps for former political prisoners”: Call in the newspaper “De Waarheid” on 4 July 1945
National Compensation Regulations
from 1947
In 1947, the Dutch government enacted the Wet Buitengewoon Pensioen (Extraordinary Pensions Act, WBP). The WBP granted pension entitlements to individuals who had suffered physical or psychological damage due to their involvement in the resistance against the German occupation. Survivors of resistance fighters who had died in the Netherlands could also apply. The amount of the pension depended on the degree of disability. The Stichting 1940-1945, a private foundation that had already been caring for resistance fighters and their survivors, was entrusted with processing the applications. Payments were made by the Dutch Social Insurance Bank (SVG).
As early as October 1944, the Stichting 1940-1945 was secretly founded as a private organisation to support members of the Dutch resistance and their relatives. From June 1945, it officially operated as an organisation and exerted significant political influence on pension legislation. Another important association was the Nederlandse Vereniging van Ex-Politieke Gevangenen uit de bezettingstijd (Expogé) [Dutch Association of Political Prisoners during the Occupation Era], founded in 1945. Its goal was to support former prisoners and their relatives, including assistance with benefit applications or the granting of loans and advances.
Poster of the Stichting 1940-1945: “Support the Stichting 1940-1945“, 1952
It was not until 1973 that the Wet uitkeringen vervolgingsslachtoffers (Victims’ Compensation Act, WUV) was introduced, analogous to the WBP, to consider those who had suffered physical or psychological harm during the German or Japanese occupation due to their “race,” religion, ideology, or sexual orientation, or for evading forced labour. Finally, in 1984, the Wet uitkeringen burger-oorlogsslachtoffers (Civil War Victims’ Compensation Act, WUBO) came into effect, granting pensions to disabled civilians. The amount of the benefit depends on previous income and family circumstances.
Prisoners like Cornelis Kentie were excluded from compensation benefits.
Theo Kentie, son of Cornelis Kentie, 2023
Bilateral Compensation Agreement (Globalabkommen) with the Federal Republic of Germany, from 1960
After lengthy negotiations, the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany concluded a so-called compensation agreement in 1960, which also regulated compensation payments. The distribution of the funds was left to the Dutch government and caused discussions. Ultimately, those who were persecuted for racial, religious, or ideological reasons were considered. Recognised persecution criteria included imprisonment for at least three months, wearing the “Jewish star,” sterilisation, and disability. The money was distributed among all applicants according to a points system. The Centraal Afwikkelingsbureau Duitse Schade-Uitkeringen (Central Settlement Office for German Compensation Payments, C.A.D.S.U.) processed over 50,000 applications by mid-1966. It rejected nearly 8,500 applications and paid between 300 and 6,000 guilders to those accepted.
The Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany signed a compensation agreement on 8 April 1960, which also regulated compensation claims.
Bundesgesetzblatt, Jahrgang 1963, Teil II
