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The Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales Incorporated
The Netherlands at War: 1940-1945
By: Walter B. Maass (437/36058)
Publisher: Aberlard-Schuman From the John Laffin Library
In May, 1940, Hitler invaded the Netherlands. After a long period of peace, this small country was suddenly faced with aggression and five years of occupation by a totalitarian power. The Netherlands was ill-prepared for such an ordeal. But when oppression mounted, the Dutch, one of the oldest democratic nations, rose to the occasion.
The story of those years is a tragic one. The Netherlands suffered invasion, air attacks, oppression, and famine. In 1944, when liberation seemed at hand, military events prolonged the horror for eight more terrible months.
This book is a first hand account of the largely unknown tragedy of a small nation during World War II. Particular attention is paid top the underground struggle; the intricate work of German and Allied espionage unfolds in all its cruelty. The bombardment of Rotterdam, the deportation of Jews, the battle of Arnhem, the flooding of Walcheren, the “hunger winter,” and, finally the liberation are chapters in a chronicle of unmitigated drama.
March 2009
