From Invasion to Liberation: WWII in the Rivierenland Region
This timeline takes you through the dark years of the Second World War in the Rivierenland region. The story begins in 1933, when Adolf Hitler comes to power in Germany. He exploits the German people’s discontent over their defeat in the First World War and the economic crisis, placing much of the blame on the Jewish population. Hitler dreams of a great and powerful German empire, with a leading role for his National Socialist party.
28 August 1939 – Mobilisation
On 28 August 1939, the Netherlands declared a general mobilisation in response to the international threat. The army called up 280,000 Dutch soldiers, who began strengthening defensive lines, as seen in this photo. The soldiers are working at the Linie de Spees in Opheusden. Three days later, Germany invaded Poland, officially marking the start of the Second World War.
10 May 1940 – Invasion
On 10 May 1940, German troops invaded the Netherlands. In the Betuwe region, it was mainly the aircraft in the first few days that made it clear war had begun. Pilots used the rivers as navigation points. The inhabitants of the villages around the Betuwestelling – an extension of the Grebbe Line – had to flee in haste. When the Germans threatened to bomb Utrecht after Rotterdam, the Netherlands surrendered on 15 May 1940.
1940
After the occupation, life in 1940 initially seemed to return to normal. Reich Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart first attempted to win over the Dutch, but when this failed, repression increased, and resistance grew. In 1941, the Germans tightened their grip on the Netherlands by banning all political parties except the NSB. NSB leader Anton Mussert, regarded by the Germans as the leader of the Dutch people, visited Tiel in April 1944.
1941
At the municipal border between Zoelen and Tiel, a handmade sign reads “Jews not welcome”. On 29 June 1941, the Bartels brothers from Tiel, Levie and Joop, had a defiant photo taken here with their friend from Amsterdam, Eric Sanders. Later that year, official signs stating “No entry for Jews” began appearing at public places throughout the country. From May 1942, Jewish residents were required to wear the yellow Star of David marked with the word ‘Jew’—one of the final steps before the deportations began.
1942
In 1943–1944, the Dutch resistance began to take clearer shape. Johannes van Zanten, commander of the Betuwe sabotage group, led the famous ‘Tilburg stamp heist’ and helped dozens of Allied soldiers escape. In 1944, he was executed by firing squad, leaving behind his wife Adriana and their five young children in Kesteren. The photo shows the reburial of Johannes van Zanten at the old cemetery in Kesteren.
1943
On 13 May 1943, the occupier ordered everyone to hand in their radios. The Germans wanted to prevent the Dutch from listening to Radio Oranje. Radios were certainly not the only things the occupier had its eye on—horses, bicycles, cars, and even church bells from Elst were taken to Germany. As the war dragged on, shortages increased. Food, building materials, paper, and metals became scarce.
1944
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, Allied troops landed in Normandy. Through Radio Oranje, this news also reached the Betuwe. A rapid advance through France and Belgium followed, raising hopes that the war would be over before Christmas that year.
1944
On Mad Tuesday, 5 September 1944, rumours spread like wildfire that the Allies would liberate the Netherlands at any moment. Many Germans and collaborators panicked, hastily gathering their belongings and fleeing towards the ‘safety’ of Germany. This woman in Culemborg was also about to flee.
1944
On 17 September, Operation Market Garden began—an Allied attempt to push through to Germany and liberate the whole of the Netherlands. After more than a week of fighting, the German resistance proved too strong, forcing the Allies to retreat towards Nijmegen. The south of the Netherlands was liberated, but the rest of the country faced a long and harsh Hunger Winter.
1944
In the autumn of 1944, Schoonderlogt Estate, located between Elst and Valburg, became the northernmost Allied command centre in the Betuwe. The area between the rivers was referred to as ‘The Island’. Only military personnel and around a thousand local civilian men—who remained to care for the livestock—were allowed to stay there. Following the example of the Allied troops, the Betuwe men in the photo grew moustaches.
1944
A German tracked vehicle and a cart loaded with supplies became stuck in the water near Ingen. After the Germans blew up the Rhine dike at Elden on 2 December, large parts of the Betuwe were flooded. This was part of Plan Stork, intended to halt the Allied advance.
1945
On 8 February 1945, Operation Veritable began. From the Netherlands, the Allies launched a massive offensive to drive the Germans out of the Reichswald. Although the advance was slow due to continuous rain, the troops paved the way for further liberation.
1945
Only Heerewaarden and Dodewaard were liberated as early as April 1945, with other places following after the German surrender on 5 May. The liberation was celebrated extensively.