The destruction of the Netherlands during WW-II in color, Part-4: Zeeland, Brabant & Limburg (1945)
Zeeland is a province in the South West of The Netherlands consisting of many large islands.
There is a lot to tell about what happened in Zeeland during the war, but that will be a topic for another series about WW-II.
Main towns like Middelburg, Vlissingen and Breskens were severy damaged and hardly inhabitable anymore
After the Dutch government's capitulation on 15 May 1940, fighting still continued in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Some French troops were still present there and trying to halt the German onslaught.
After Antwerp was liberated in early September 1944, the German authorities also decided to carry out large-scale inundations in nearby Zeeland.
Flooding large areas was aimed at trying to hinder and halt the advancing allies. This led to mass evacuations: on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland, as many as three-quarters of the population had to leave their homes.
There was a lot of resistance, especially among farmers especially because they knew that the salt sea water would make the soil infertile. In the province of Zeeland, more than 43,000 hectares of land was flooded as a result of German inundations.
However, not only the Germans were responsible for the floading of Zeeland but also the allies.
On 3 October 1944 the RAF bombed the dykes around Walcheren from three directions thus floading the entire region. Twice a day eb and flood had free game to overflow and retract from the island thus rapidly raising the groundwater level. It did contribute to the withdrawal of the Germans to higher ground.
The many Dutch inhabitants had hardly anywhere to go and many fled to higher ground in cities like Middelburg.
Later on, after Walcheren was captured, the allies forced the local population to evacuate. About half of them (27.000 in all) left.
It took until 1946 before all dykes were repaired.
The Zeelanders suffered a lot and were attacked several times by both German and Allied inundations. The swirling seawater that flowed through the deliberately broken dikes caused a large flow of refugees that continued until after the liberation of the Netherlands.
Travelling too and from Zeeland was difficult because important bridges like the Moerdijkbrug were partially destroyed as seen earlier.
The island of Tholen was flooded too, as can be seen here.
The two other Southern provinces of the Netherlands, Noord Brabant and Limburg suffered badly too as these pictures will show.
The South of the Netherlands was captured by the allies by late autumn 1944.
The rest of the country had to wait until the next spring and endured a terrible famine, the Hongerwinter, as shown in detail in one of my other videos.
Being a thrifty and entrepreneurial country, the Netherlands soon started to restore the war damage. To finish this part-4 of my series, here are some glimpses of these activities.
This series will be extended with one or two more episodes. Part-5 will deal with the war destruction of Arnhem and Nijmegen.
Source: Beeld En Geluid
Music: Trevor Kowalski
Пікірлер: 43
Yess een nieuwe video. Heel dankbaar voor deze content.. ga zo door! 💯
@Rick88888888
7 ай бұрын
Dank je wel!
Thank you so much for sharing this video. One line of my Dutch ancestors are from Limberg where you mentioned. I recall when young the damage in certain cities still being repaired in the 1970's.
Thanks! All Respect for your work!
Every frame is precious.
Great video Rick, amazing work,so sad seeing all the destruction of this beautiful country 😔
Thanks for reminder us of the evil not so long ago, as some today are determined to repeat it.
@JJ-Toreddie
5 ай бұрын
Yes, it is terrible to lie for so long
Amazing video footage. Thank you for another great one. It is especially important for people to see the devastation of war in Europe. Sadly, it is happening again.
Echt weer heel mooi getoond en verteld Rick. Dit zijn de mensen die echt hebben moeten afzien. Dankjewel voor de upload!
Every time I see one of your documentaries, I have tears in my eyes: flooding the country should be seen as "crimes against humanity". Thank you Rick.
Great stuff, as always. Thank you!
I remember Roermond from the 1950’s, no sign of damage as far as I recall, in fact all of Holland I saw looked clean and prosperous. Thanks for the video.
Weer een mooie video. In het begin met die ondergelopen polders, zitten ook beelden bij van de Wieringermeer
Thanks so much for your painstaking work - quite remarkable footage.
In de laatste 5 seconden, het meisje met een knuffeltje.. zo ligt mijn dochtertje er ook bij. Maar dan in een warm bedje, in een huis met een dak, verwarming en stromend water. Jouw vrijheid is niet gratis. Anderen hebben dat betaald.
@p_mouse8676
6 ай бұрын
Helaas bekruipt mij vaak het gevoel dat niet iedereen hier meer bij stilstaat. Alsof we de laatste 78 jaar niks geleerd hebben. :(
Wat een geweldige beelden weer Rick, bedankt!!!
8:29 to 8:58: the railway was part of the tramway between Nijmegen and Venlo, filmed north of Gennep near Milsbeek.
Indrukwekkende beelden, het geeft een heel sterk beeld van wat mijn ouders meegemaakt hadden in de oorlog in Midden en Zuid Limburg. Mijn moeder met een deel van haar broers en zussen overleefden de oorlog als wezen, haar ouders en 3 van haar broers en zussen zijn om het leven gekomen tijdens bombardementen door de geallieerden in oktober 44 en januari 45.
@Rick88888888
7 ай бұрын
Dank je. Een triest verhaal
Rich i loved those episodes, so sad though in that war. Holland means so much to me, keep those great videos coming. Nige in the UK.
9:11 Not North-Limburg, but The Hague.
Wonderful videos, by the way, it is possible to put the link of the soundtrack? I search the author of the songs but i can't actually find these songs, thank you
@Rick88888888
7 ай бұрын
No indeed you won't find them because they are part of a subscription on copyright-paid-for music especially for KZread content providers.
@henriquesa2384
7 ай бұрын
@@Rick88888888oh OK, thank you
The destruction of innocence by evil leaders.
@IcelanderUSer
10 күн бұрын
You mean leader.
Interresant om eens beelden van de Moerdijkbruggen te zien en de STUG's die in West-Brabant werden ingezet door de toenmalige bezetters.
At 3:49 you see Westkapelle (walcheren)
Geweldige video reeks! Enorm boeiend om alle oorlogsschade te zien en de weerbaarheid van het volk. Bestaat de kans dat je een gelijkaardige reeks maakt voor België? Of misschien zelfs ook Frankrijk, Duitsland,... ?
@Rick88888888
6 ай бұрын
Dank je wel. Helaas heb ik geen idee waar ik dit soort materiaal over België kan vinden. Het zit wellicht diep weggeborgen bij partijen als Cinematek. Al die archieven (ook Beeld En Geluid in NL) zijn slecht toegankelijk. Het lijkt wel of ze het geheim willen houden (totdat straks niemand meer interesse er in heeft).
@sandorpap
Ай бұрын
@@Rick88888888 Tisztelem,hogy szereti az egyenességet. Ez a munkáin is látszik. Feliratkoztam,köszönöm a🎨
And has mankind learned anything since these horrible years? No, nothing.
@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373
7 ай бұрын
Yes sane people don't vote for far right parties
@granmabern5283
7 ай бұрын
Be GRATEFUL,! It’s been 80 years since WWII, what have you DONE to thank God for all this peace and prosperity??? What have you DONE to raise holy, intelligent, just citizens who will NOT go down the same road as their violent ancestors???
@Rick88888888
7 ай бұрын
So a large contingent of the Dutch voters/people are insane? No, what happened last night is highly understandable and should have been predictable too. For years the current government has been totally out of touch with its population. There is one excellent English word that describes their attitude: *COMPLACENCY* combined with arrogance, ignorence, incompetence and blindness, lead by a politician who believes a *vision* is something you can only get from an optician. The Netherlands collectively believes it is *Time for change* !
Je kunt je dit nu gewoon niet meer voorstellen...
Hey man this video real colour
@Rick88888888
7 ай бұрын
Sorry but no, this was originally B&W footage, A.I. colorized by me.