Dutch SS members were actively involved in the Holocaust during World War Two. Research carried out by historian Evertjan van Roekel contradicts the accounts of Dutch veterans of the Waffen SS who, in the past, repeatedly claimed they were just "ordinary soldiers" fighting at the front.
The dairies of three Dutch SS members tell another, more sinister tale. The three men were part of the "Wiking Division" (Viking division). The atrocities they tell of occurred in Ukraine in July 1941, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. One of the diarists mentions, almost as an aside, the murder of 13,000 Jewish inhabitants of Mariopol.
The three diaries are not new: they have been part of the collection of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) for many years. They were also mentioned in earlier publications about the role of Dutch SS members.
However, the details about the killing of Jews had so far not been noticed. Evertjan van Roekel published his findings in the Dutch history magazine Historisch Nieuwsblad on Thursday, and also talked about them in this video interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
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They look intense and serious. People should see this to find out what they're talking about. hammock
Does anyone have information about a rumoured Dutch informer who alerted the German SS of Operation Market Garden in September, 1944?
Hi Lynrock,
Slightly off-topic, but there was, indeed, a Dutch double agent who alerted the Germans (not specifically the SS) about the upcoming offensive, in particular about the 'Garden' (ground offensive) part. However, much more important for the outcome of the operation was that 'London' (read: Field Marshall Montgomery) ignored information from a Dutch resistance network about the presence, near Arnhem, of two SS divisions. They were there for R&R, but immediately swung into action when Market Garden began. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden.
I think it is good that we should always be reminded of our past so we can educate our children so it never happens again.
The Dutch SS was of course not "better" than the German SS. They were "Waffenbrueder". In violence we forget who we are.
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