Figure 1.--The caption read here, "Members of the NSB (Dutch national socialist party) and shaven 'kraut girls' are being brought in by members of the Dutch Resistance." This does not look accurate to us. The youths look too young for this. We suspect that their parents may have been NSB members and they had joined the Jeugdstorm. Notice the sign the boy is holding. We are not sure yet what the significance of that is. One reader tells us it seems to be a donkey--presumably making out to be an ass. Note that there are three adult men behind the teenager boy. The photograph was taken April 11. We were not at first sure where it was taken, but we believe somewhere in the eastern Netherlands north of the Rhine. A HBC reader has confirmed this. The town is Deventer. Source: Dutch National Archive.

The caption read here, "Members of the NSB (Dutch national socialist party) and shaven 'kraut girls' are being brought in by members of the Dutch Resistance." This does not look accurate to us. The youths look too young for this. We suspect that their parents may have been NSB members and they had joined the Jeugdstorm. Notice the sign the boy is holding. We are not sure yet what the significance of that is. One reader tells us it seems to be a donkey--presumably making out to be an ass. Note that there are three adult men behind the teenager boy. The photograph was taken April 11. We were not at first sure where it was taken, but we believe somewhere in the eastern Netherlands north of the Rhine. A HBC reader has confirmed this. The town is Deventer.

A French reader writes, "This image is unbearable! See those guys who fixed their guns on these kids! They are doing like the Nazi towards Jews, and are not more civilized than themselves, I hope they have shame."

For HBC, we post images as we find them, trying to show history from all sides. The image looks like the gun men are there for the children. But look carefully, behind the boy are at least three adult men. What the image does not show is what these men did during the occupation. It is not unlikely that they hade blood on their hands. I disagree about the Jews. There are major differences. This sort of thing went on for years against the Jews and then after arrest they were beaten, starved, shot and gassed. And Jewish children were a priority target, including much younger children than the youths seen here. Jewish children were immediately selected for death by the NAZIs. I do not have info on these children, but they almost certainly not killed. Also this was immediately after lineration when the Resistance was venting 4 years of anger and frustration. And don't forget this is the Netherlands north of the Rhine where the Germans brought about a famine. Thousands of children staved to death or were permanell\y damaged. Fascist collaborators got food. It seems to be a little outrage is understandable, especially in the immediate aftermath of liberation. The same occurred in France.

Another reader tells us that it looked like scenes in Denmatk. He tells us, "I dare not suppose that I am correct about this, but the man wearing a combat style helmet (under the Zeiss Optical sign), appears to be wearing a distinctive Danish helmet, known as the M1923. The lack of an emblem in the front probably means it is a civil defense version. After 1941 a lighter weight helmet was introduced. Unlike Norway and the Netherlands, Denmark continued to operate its own government under a German "protectorate" from 1940, and even under full occupation in 1943. The government had recommended that business leaders "work with" the Germans, to avoid further restrictions, perhaps explaining the Zeiss Optical store. On 5 May 1945, Denmark was officially free of German control. Citizens all over the country took black shades used to cover their window during bombing raids, and burned them in the streets. Allied troops (mostly Soviet soldiers) were released from prisons all over the country and paraded down streets in Copenhagen, Aarhus, and other cities. In Aarhus, young girls known to have had relationships with German soldiers were dragged into streets by citizens in front of crowds of people, and had most of the hair on their heads cut off. They would then be forced to march down streets to be humiliated. I think you actually have a picture from Aarhus, perhaps April 11, 1945. The sign the boy in the wooden shoes (not just a Dutch thing) is holding over his head looks like a map of the region (there is a long curved arrow pointing up to the dark area, and possibly many smaller arrows pointing from right to left towards the dark area), probably representing Allied war progress against German occupation. I do not think that looks anything like a Donkey's private part or whatever was suggested in the captions." [Hindley] We think that this is a Dutch image. The caption from the Dutch National Archives. And the Dutch had a military helmet similar to he Danes. But our reader is correct, scenes like this also occured in Denmark.

Sources

Hondley, David C. E-Mail message, January 27, 2018.

Created: 9:59 PM 6/9/2013
Last updated: 11:03 PM 1/27/2018