2020 Paley Archive Elements 3840x1536 Banner2

WORLD AT WAR, THE, PART 18: OCCUPATION (TV)

Summary

Part eighteen in this twenty-six-part documentary series chronicling the history of World War II. In this installment, the Nazi occupation of Holland from 1940 to 1944 is depicted. Highlights include the following: on May 19,1940 the German Wehrmacht initiates a bliztkreig invasion of the Netherlands; Rotterdam is easily captured, and after five days of fighting, Holland capitulates; Arthur von Seyss-Inquart is appointed Reich Commissioner of the Netherlands and assumes control of the government, which he subordinates to the demands of the German war effort; Dutch Nazis renew interest in the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB), which slowly infuses Nazi ideology into the day-to-day lives of the Dutch population; as a conciliatory gesture, Hitler releases all Dutch prisoners of war; a network of opposition to the NSB grows and many citizens feel an impending sense of doom; Briun Slot and Jan Kilkens comment on Holland's stance of neutrality and its unpreparedness for war; T. Van Ralte and Rita Bous Koupman talk of their short-lived confidence in the new regime and their fears as Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland; R.M. Van Der Veen recalls his apprehension at the introduction of identity cards and racial questionnaires; a communist street cleaner remembers urging the citizens in Amsterdam to resist Nazi occupation; as Jews are rounded up and deported, the resistance movement organizes a strike of public services; Gerben Wagener talks of his efforts in protest of Jewish prosecution; Florrie Rost Van Toningen talks of joining the NSB, which appealed to impoverished children through its ideals of physical superiority and progress through teamwork; R.B. Woudenber, whose father was a prominent Dutch Nazi, remembers being sent to an elite school for SS officer candidates; Mossert rallies support for Germany's invasion of Russia in June of 1941; J.B. Roodbol remembers the illegal broadcasts of "Radio Oranje," a resistance-oriented program from England; Luis De Jong recalls the political cabarets indicative of "Radio Oranje" programming, in which popular Dutch songs were reworded for the benefit of resistance-minded listeners; Yetje Pearl, one of the singers on Radio Oranje, considers the impact of her notorious voice on the occupied audience; under the patronage of Seyss-Inquart, Willem Melgenberg presents symphonic concerts; the Nazis seize control of the cultural guilds in Holland and exert considerable influence over the arts, including a ban on Jewish performers; mandatory screenings of the propaganda film "The Eternal Jew" are instituted in all cinemas; anti-Semitic pogroms are unleashed as Jews are ordered to wear the yellow Star of David in May 1942; Koupman tells a story of how her brother saved the drowning son of a local Nazi official; 25,000 Dutch men volunteer for service in the Wehrmacht; ration books are forged by resistance fighters while saboteurs target Nazi positions; as war rages on the eastern front, thousands of able-bodied Dutch men are conscripted into service; as the Allies push through the Low Countries, the southern city of Maastricht is liberated on September 13, 1944; at the urging of the Allies, Dutch transportation workers go on strike, halting German defense efforts; and Bernhard, Prince of the Netherlands, recalls his countrymen's anticipation of total Allied liberation, which was hindered by Nazi victories in theaters like Ardenne. Commercials deleted.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Hearst Corporation, 1998.

Details

  • NETWORK: Thames (United Kingdom)
  • DATE: March 13, 1974
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:50:29
  • COLOR/B&W: Color and B&W
  • CATALOG ID: T82:0210
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: International Collection - United Kingdom; Netherlands - History - 1940-1944; Thames Collection; World War II
  • SERIES RUN: Thames (United Kingdom) - TV series, 1973-1974
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Jeremy Isaacs … Producer
  • Michael Darlow … Producer, Director
  • Noble Frankland … Production (Misc.), Historical Adviser
  • Charles Bloomberg … Writer
  • Carl Davis … Music by
  • Laurence Olivier … Narrator
  • Bernhard, H.R.H., Prince of the Netherlands
  • De Jong, Luis
  • Jan Kilkens
  • Rita Bous Koupman
  • Yetje Pearl
  • J.B. Roodbol
  • J.A.H.J.S. Briun Slot
  • Gerben Wagener
  • Van Der Veen, R.M.
  • Van Ralte, T.
  • Van Toningen, Florrie Rost
  • Gerben Wagener
  • R.B. Woudenber
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Artur von Seyss-Inquart