With a whopping 756,316 payments processed, King’s Day 2026 is yet more proof that even on Koningsdag, going Dutch on the bill is a necessity.
Tikkie, ABN AMRO’s payment request app, is used constantly to settle costs here in the Netherlands, with an enthusiasm that borders on religious.
And that fervour only gets stronger on holidays, it seems! According to ABN AMRO, this past Monday, the app saw a 9% jump from last year’s usage on King’s Day, with 45 tikkies per second.
The numbers behind the orange chaos
To put these digits in perspective, the daily Tikkie norm in 2026 is roughly 482,338 payments.
King’s Day nearly doubled that, coming in at 57% above average. Transactions peaked at 45 per second, hitting 1,268 in a single minute.
The typical transaction came to 33.18 euros, well short of the 51.51 euro annual norm. That’s due to countless small purchases, many under 10 euros, and plenty under a single euro.
Tikkie’s continued success
QR code payments also ticked upward, accounting for 37.3% of all King’s Day Tikkies. On an average day, that figure sits at just 5%.
It’s a record that fits a broader pattern: Tikkie volumes have been climbing steadily year on year, and King’s Day has become one of its biggest annual stress tests.
As for this year’s most common payment descriptions? “King’s Day,” “food,” “toilet,” “pizza,” “drinks,” and “beer.” Essentially a bullet-point summary of the holiday.
Did you send or receive any particularly memorable Tikkies this King’s Day? Tell us in the comments.
National Remembrance Day in the Netherlands is dedicated to remembering those who lost their lives in World War II and other war situations or peacekeeping missions since.
Dodenherdenking is held on May 4 each year, when the Dutch commemorate soldiers and civilians who died in WWII and other wars (Japanese Occupation, Indonesian National Revolution) with a two-minute silence at 8 PM.
What does May 4 look like in the Netherlands?
A lot of Dutch people participate in the commemorations on National Remembrance Day.
Apart from the silence, many people hoist their flags at half-mast from 6 PM until the sun sets.
While this signifies a mourning period, the flags are hoisted as usual the next day. On May 5, the Netherlands celebrates Liberation Day.
Official memorial in Amsterdam
An official service is held at the National Monument in Amsterdam’s Dam Square. The King and Queen attend and deliver speeches as people lay wreaths and observe the two-minute silence.
Today on Remembrance Day 🕯️, the Netherlands reflects on how the country was liberated and thanks the liberators for their courage and the sacrifices they have made 🎖️.
— Netherlands Embassy in Kenya (@NLinKenya) May 4, 2025
Dam Square is where the first-ever commemoration took place in 1945.
During the two-minute silence, TV and radio stations broadcast the ceremony, public transport stops, and life in the Netherlands comes to a complete halt.
Important to know: Remembrance Day is not considered a publicholiday.
Why are there two separate celebrations on May 4 and May 5?
Well, there is a good reason for that. After WWII ended, some people deemed it inappropriate to both celebrate their liberation and mourn victims on the same day.
It's National Remembrance Day in the Netherlands for victims of war (WWII initially). Tomorrow we will celebrate our freedom, but for now my thoughts are with all those people who have passed away in defence of our freedom and liberties 🤍☮️
Since these events do not go hand in hand, it was decided that there should be a day dedicated to mourning and a separate day dedicated to celebrating freedom.
Let op: Liberation Day (May 5) is actually a public holiday.
Remembrance Day in the Netherlands: How can I get involved?
On May 4, commemorations are held all over the Netherlands.
Residents also organise a memorial at the war cemetery in Grebbeberg, Utrecht, and Waalsdorpervlakte, The Hague.
The latter is where many Dutch resistance fighters were executed during WWII.
In most cities, commemorations take place in either the city square or outside the city hall. People in small towns place flowers on gravestones and fly their flags at half-mast.
Dokwerker Statue After Memorial Day in Amsterdam. Image: Depositphotos
Do not worry if you are unable to attend a commemoration in person. Most people choose to pay tribute by holding their own two-minute silence.
Sensitivity surrounding Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day in the Netherlands hasn’t been without controversy.
Every year, there’s usually some form of debate over whether the Dutch are mourning the correct victims, whether they should be mourning more victims, or whether they should be mourning at all.
These discussions range from opinions such as “Young people are too disconnected from their history” or “Why don’t we mourn the victims of ongoing wars?”
The discussion on whether Remembrance Day should be dedicated to the past as well as the present continues annually.
Wreaths at the National Monument in Amsterdam for Remembrance Day. Image: Depositphotos
Some people also argue that Remembrance Day focuses too much on White victims and has little consideration for the other victims of the war.
However, the Netherlands does commemorate victims of the Dutch East Indies on August 15. It also has a separate day to remember victims of the Holocaust on the last Sunday of January.
How will you be paying your respects this year on National Remembrance Day in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments below.
The Dutch tax authority (the Belastingdienst) is swapping its main bank from ING to Rabobank from May 1, 2026, which means new account numbers for tax payments and refunds.
If you pay taxes in the Netherlands, it’s worth knowing what’s changing and the steps you need to take.
What’s actually changing?
From May 1, the Belastingdienst will process payments through Rabobank instead of ING, which means the IBAN you send money to will soon be different.
However, if you have a provisional or final income tax assessment to pay, the switch will come even earlier: as of April 20, you can already pay to the new Rabobank IBAN.
The good news is, you needn’t worry about scouring the net for the Belastingdienst’s new IBAN. Every tax notification you receive — whether by letter or email — will include the correct account number to use.
And if you’d like to be doubly sure where your payments are going, the Belastingdienst has now published a list of their new IBANs.
Do I need to update anything?
That depends on how you pay.
If you pay via direct debit (automatische incasso), you don’t need to lift a finger — the switch happens automatically.
Using direct debits for your taxes? You won’t need to change a thing. Image: Freepik
If you’ve set up a recurring bank transfer yourself (a periodieke overboeking through your own bank), you’ll need to update the account number manually once you receive a notification with the new details.
What if I accidentally use their old IBAN?
The Belastingdienst has made arrangements with ING to handle any misdirected payments, so your money will still reach the tax office and be processed correctly.
That said, updating once you receive your new payment details will save you the hassle of needing to communicate with the Dutch tax office.
Keep an eye out for extra phishing attempts
With a bank switch like this comes a great opportunity for scammers.
However, the Belastingdienst will never send payment requests via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or phone.
The Wilhelmus — the Dutch national anthem (and pride), is a hymn you’ve probably seen the Dutch men’s football team (Oranje) sing out loud during international football matches.
The Dutch national anthem is, in fact, unlike any other hymn. Let’s get into it!
So, what’s up with the Dutch national anthem?
Regarded by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest national anthem, the Wilhelmus became the official anthem of the Netherlands only in 1932. While reciting the anthem, it’s understandable if you start to ask yourself a few questions.
What inspired someone to write this hymn that would later become the identity of a nation? Was it written only as a “rebellion song” during the Eighty Years’ War? Who wrote it? And what is the hidden meaning behind the lyrics?
Before we dive into the history, here’s the song as most of you know it:
The origins of the Dutch national anthem and the identity of the writer
As we all know, the Dutch fought the Spanish for their independence under the leadership of Willem van Oranje.
While the author of the Wilhelmus is unknown, it is quite clear that the lyrics were written at the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War.
Some Dutch folks have always believed that the hymn was written by Philip of Marnix of Sint-Aldegonde, an important adviser to Willem van Oranje.
There is, alas, no evidence to support this claim, and until this very day, the author’s identity remains a hot topic of debate.
While some historians continue to mention the names of poets (from the time of the rebellion), such as Dirck Coornhert and Philips of Marnix, neither man ever claimed to have written the hymn, even though it was quite popular at the time.
Recently, due to similarities between the writing style of the Dutch Calvinist theologian Petrus Dathenus and the style of The Wilhelmus, many have begun to believe that he may be its author.
It’s all a bit nebulous, in the end. Perhaps we will never know for sure who the true author is…
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe, the hymn
The origins of the Wilhelmus can be traced back to a very popular Roman Catholic French song called “Autre chanson de la Ville de Chartres assiégée par le prince de Condé.”
How’s your old (ancient, even) Dutch? Image: Adrianus Valerius/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Originally, Catholics wrote this song to make fun of the failed Siege of Chartres in 1568 by the Protestant Prince de Condé during the French Wars of Religion.
Of course, the question would then be, why would a Protestant nation like the Netherlands adopt an originally Roman Catholic melody as its national anthem? It makes sense eventually, just keep reading!
Wilhelmus as a national anthem
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Wilhelmus was still considered “unworthy” of being the national anthem of the Netherlands. This was because it was regarded as a song solely for “Oranje Royalists”,and not everyone was a huge fan of the royal family then.
Many people from the southern part of the country (then part of the Netherlands) didn’t like the hymn because it was seen as a symbol of Protestantism. It’s a little ironic: after all, the melody came from a Catholic French song.
But the Wilhelmus had become so associated with the Protestant Dutch Revolt and the House of Orange that, in the end, Catholics in the south wanted nothing to do with it.
The Dutch found meaning in the Wilhelmus during WWII. Image: Unknown author/Wikimedia Commons/Public domain
In fact, there were widespread protests when the Wilhelmus officially made the national anthem in 1932. Notably, a large portion of the protesters were socialists — largely antimonarchist — who wanted nothing to do with a hymn so closely tied to the royal House of Orange.
However, during the Nazi occupation of World War II, when cities like Rotterdam were completely bombed, and Jewish people were being sent to concentration camps, the Dutch found meaning in their old symbols of national pride as a way to unite and show love for their country.
This period of oppression led to a general acceptance of the Wilhelmus. Eventually, a proud Protestant nation embraced a Roman Catholic hymn. This hymn has withstood the test of time to become both a call to serve the motherland and a song of victory.
Deciphering the lyrics of the Dutch national anthem
When the Wilhelmus was first played, it was done without text. It was mainly played on a trumpet and carillon, as the song turned into a kind of marching melody, later known as the Prinsenmars.
While very few people knew the text back then, the Wilhelmus was one of the most popular hymns amongst the populace.
The man himself, Willem van Oranje. Image: Adriaen Thomasz. Key/Wikimedia Commons/Public domain
The hymn consists of fifteen couplets, the first letters of which form the name Willem van Nassou. It’s written from the perspective of Willem van Oranje as if he sang it. Although it’s worth noting that there is no actual evidence that he ever sang the song.
In the hymn, Willem van Oranje’s conflicted mind comes to light. On the one hand, he wants to remain loyal to the Spanish King, Philip II, but on the other hand, he wants to serve God and lead his people in the fight against tyranny and oppression. The first and second stanzas read:
William of Nassau am I of German blood. Loyal to the fatherland I will remain until I die. A prince of Oranje am I, free and fearless. The king of Spain I have always honoured.
To live in fear of God I have always attempted. Because of this, I was ousted bereft of my land and my people. But God will direct me like a good instrument. So that I may return to my domain. The heart of the hymn still remains:
Like David, who was forced to flee from Saul, the tyrant. I had to sigh, as did many other nobles. But God raised him, relieving him of despair, and gave him a kingdom very great in Israel.
Here, a reference is made to the biblical King David, comparing him to Willem van Oranje as a merciful and just leader of the Dutch Revolt, and another reference is made to the Biblical King Saul’s tyranny, comparing it to the Spanish crown.
There is also a comparison between the promised land of Israel, granted to David by God, and the kingdom granted to Willem van Oranje by God.
You might also notice the term “German.” This is because the original term, Duytschen, didn’t mean “German” in the way we’d use it today. Germany as a country simply didn’t exist yet. It referred to the broader Germanic lowlands, and was basically the anthem’s way of saying: this guy is one of us, not that Spanish king over there.
The Wilhelmus is now played every time the Dutch men’s and women’s national teams play at an international football tournament. It’s also played when the Netherlands hosts a foreign head of state or, you know, other solemn Dutch national moments (they have a few).
A closer look at the Wilhelmus shows it isn’t just an anthem! It has a rich history and a hymn that’s both a rallying cry and a song of victory for the Netherlands. It’s a hymn that holds the Netherlands together and tells a tale of how she came to be.
To understand the Wilhelmus is to understand the history of the Netherlands. What do you think about the Dutch national anthem, and how do you feel about your own?
This year marks 80 years since the end of World War II. Although it has been almost a century, the war left an indelible impact on the Netherlands.
In honour of Remembrance Day (tomorrow), we’ve put together a photo report looking at the war through a Dutch lens. The images are a reminder that history this heavy doesn’t stay in the past: it lives in streets, faces, and stories that still echo today.
Dutch soldiers on guard shortly after the war started, around 1939
bunq has replaced its points-based rewards with something far more entertaining — a Wheel of Fortune that could see you win rewards of up to €2,000 per spin.
Thanks to its easy setup and expat-friendly features, bunq has long been a go-to for internationals in the Netherlands.
Now, their latest app update kicks things up a notch: every time you pay with your bunq card, you earn a spin on a prize wheel. Land on the right slice, and bunq could be sending money straight back to your account.
Spin the wheel, win a prize
The Wheel of Fortune combines the best of bunq’s previous rewards features — bunq Points, cashback, and its grocery win-back promotion — into a single daily rewards system.
Every spin gives you a shot at winning up to 10 times the value of your payment back. If you drop €50 on a big supermarket run, you could theoretically walk away with a whopping €500 as a reward.
You have a chance of winning back ten times the value of your supermarket bill. Image: Freepik
Dying to give the wheel a spin? To access it, tap the Clover Icon 🍀 in the top-right corner of your Home Tab, then hit Spin the Wheel.
If you can’t see the wheel yet, make sure your bunq app is updated to version 30.5.0 or higher.
What can you actually win?
Each spin lands on one of several reward tiers. Cash rewards range from 0.01x all the way up to 10x the value of your payment, capped at a maximum of €2,000 per payment.
You can also win trees to grow your bunq forest, with options to get one, five, ten, or a hundred trees at a time — or a bonus spin to keep the momentum going.
And, best of all, there’s no cap on your total winnings. The more you use your card, the more spins you accumulate, and the more chances you have to win.
How do I qualify for a spin?
If you’re anticipating a lengthy sign-up process, we have good news, as there’s no opt-in required. Spins are earned automatically every time you make an eligible card payment.
Every tap could unlock a reward with bunq’s Wheel of Fortune 💚 Download the bunq app. Only Card payments. Win up to €2,000 EUR. Spins expire weekly. T&C’s apply.
However, let op: iDEAL payments aren’t eligible, and smaller independent shops may not earn spins either, depending on how they’re categorised in Mastercard’s system.
Your bunq plan determines which transactions you’ll earn spins on. The higher your tier, the more transactions qualify:
bunq Free: you earn spins from bar and restaurant payments
bunq Core and bunq Pro: you earn spins from bars, restaurants, and grocery payments
bunq Elite: you earn spins from bars, restaurants, groceries and travel-related payments
Spins expire at the end of each week, so make sure to head over to your bunq app and spin the Wheel of Fortune before 11:59 PM each Sunday.
A blinking red dot will appear on the Clover Icon when your spins are close to expiring — you can think of it as bunq’s polite way of saying “don’t forget about free money.”
And if you want to maximise your spins, referring a friend to bunq earns you 100 bonus spins per sign-up.
Oké, but what’ll happen to my existing bunq Points?
The transition is being handled in phases, so nobody gets left behind.
If you’re an existing bunq user, you kept earning bunq Points until April 13, 2026. After this date, the Wheel of Fortune took over as the only reward system.
And rest assured, any Points you’ve already collected won’t disappear overnight. You’ll have a full year to redeem your existing Points, so just make sure to use them before April 13, 2027.
Have you tried bunq’s new Wheel of Fortune yet? Let us know what you’ve won in the comments below!
If your calendar is looking a little empty, consider this a sign to find a terrasje. Weeronline forecasts a wonderfully sunny stretch, with temperatures potentially hitting 25 degrees by Friday.
While Tuesday starts a tad cloudy, clear skies are pushing in throughout the morning. Eventually, temperatures will reach 15 degrees in North Holland and up to 20 degrees across central and southern regions.
The Wadden Islands will be exempt from warmer temperatures, reaching a rather windy 13 degrees Celsius.
However, throughout the day, there will be strong winds. How strong, you ask? Between 29 and 38 kilometres per hour, so don’t ditch your jackets just yet.
Sunshine from Wednesday to Friday
From Wednesday through to Friday, Weeronline is promising a sunny bonanza with barely a cloud in sight. Blowing from the east to the southeast, the wind will be dry and warm.
Wednesday brings 16 degrees to the north and up to 21 degrees elsewhere. Thursday cranks up the heat further, up to 22 degrees across the country.
Although a bit gusty, Friday is D-day. Think highs of 21 to 25 degrees throughout the Netherlands.
As usual, don’t get too attached to the warm weather. The forecast becomes uncertain from Saturday on, with the stable weather likely giving way to a more uncertain picture.
Rain showers are possible, and temperatures will most likely drop by a few degrees.
So, make the most of the terrasje weather while it lasts.
How will you celebrate the sunny days ahead? Let us know in the comments below!
Behold, the dawn of ‘smart’ traffic lights: cyclists in the Netherlands will soon be able to turn the light green just by downloading an app.
These intelligent traffic control systems (iVRIs) are activated when the navigation system detects an approaching cyclist, without the rider having to do anything.
According to RTL Nieuws, an app called ‘Da’s zo gefietst’ (That’s done easily) has been commissioned by the provinces of Limburg, North Brabant, Overijssel, Utrecht, and South Holland to encourage cycling.
That app will include a feature that enables this communication between smart traffic lights and cyclists. Drenthe, Gelderland, and Groningen are also joining the effort.
Anonymous communication
The app-to-light communication will not be traceable to the specific phone or person, RTL reports.
An anonymous message will be sent to the smart traffic light when a cyclist approaches, causing the light to turn green. Once the cyclist is gone, the signal is cut.
According to Rijkswaterstaat, this complies with the GDPR: the transmission occurs entirely through anonymised data.
There are currently 1,450 such lights in the country, according to the Rijkswaterstaat, and emergency services already use this light-to-vehicle communication.
It’s simply a matter of extending the convenience that smart traffic lights offer to cyclists, as well as to other vehicles.
The hope is that easier passage for bikers and fewer stops will make cycling more attractive overall.
What do you think of this latest development? Let us know in the comments!
An unprecedented event like World War II is bound to be filled with stories of human resilience and ingenuity in the face of adversity.
One such story involves a Dutch ship, which came up with a pretty whack — but somehow successful — plan to survive the war. 🚢
A secret Dutch ship during World War II
The Dutch Navy had ships in the Dutch East Indies when the Japanese invaded in 1941. The Japanese Army was ferocious in its attacks, as part of its broader plan to colonise most of the Pacific Ocean.
By 1942, the Japanese Army had achieved significant victories in Southeast Asia.
All Allied ships in the region were ordered to retreat following Allied defeats during the Battle of the Java Sea and the Sunda Strait in February of 1942.
One of the Dutch ships on the retreat was the Abraham Crijnssen, a minesweeper built in Schiedam in 1936. The ship was supposed to retreat with three others, but it made the voyage alone. 😬
No ship here, just an island
It was quite a long trip to Australia, and the ship was already in trouble, as the waters were filled with Japanese warships. 🌊
Would you be able to spot her amongst the foliage? 🤔 Image: Australian War Museum/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Thankfully, the crew demonstrated some classic Dutch ingenuity and creativity.
They began cutting trees and vegetation from nearby islands, loading them onto the boat, and painting it to resemble stone. They decided the best course of action was to pretend the ship was just an island minding its own business.
This is one of those plans that sounds so ridiculous on paper that it’s bound to work. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it did.
During the day, the ship would pretend to be an island, staying put and just, you know, doing island things — like chilling and probably welcoming crabs on board. 🦀
In the night, the sneaky lads would sail closer to the destination, repeating the process until they managed to put a considerable distance between themselves and the Japanese Navy.
The Japanese Navy missed an island shaped like a boat that would change position occasionally, which is beyond all of us, and probably surprised the Dutch crew as well.
We can only imagine a crew member wiping the sweat off their brow with their hand after they escaped and saying, “Wow, that worked!” 😅
A happy ending for the Dutch island ship
The ship remained in Australia for the remainder of the war. Following the war’s end, it was used for anti-revolution patrols in the Dutch East Indies.
The ship finally made its way back home to the Netherlands in 1951.
This wartime Dutch ship is less exciting without the vegetation, not to mention much easier to spot! Image: Nick-D/Wikimedia Commons/CC3.0
Removed from the Navy list in 1960, the ship moved ports across the Netherlands several times before finally settling at the Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder.
You can visit it (although no, unfortunately, it’s no longer disguised as an island).
Have you heard this story before? Tell us your thoughts on this ingenious Dutch plan in the comments below! 💬
The story of The Hague during World War II is a tumultuous one. From V2 rockets installed in the Haagse Bos to the accidental bombing by the British forces, The Hague was strongly marked by the war.
To better understand the city during the war, we must explore one of the darkest periods of European History.
May 10, 1940, the invasion began
The German invasion of the Netherlands started relatively early in the war. Although the Netherlands was officially neutral, it also expected a German attack.
The Dutch plan was to fall back on their “water” defences in the west of the country at Fort Holland.
German paratroopers over The Hague in World War II, 1940. Image: Nationaal Archief/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
The Germans planned to overwhelm The Hague through an aerial attack and secure the airstrips and the city itself. Part of the plan was also to capture the royal family, who were located in the city.
Early in the morning of May 10, German planes flew over The Hague.
The idea was to deceive the Dutch into thinking they were attacking the United Kingdom, but the planes ended up alarming the Dutch.
The German forces captured airfields in and around The Hague but failed to capture the city and the royal family.
After a Dutch counter-offensive the same day, the German troops retreated and lost their initial progress.
The successful counter-offensive of the Dutch forces in The Hague didn’t last long. On May 14, in the aftermath of the Rotterdam Blitz, the Netherlands capitulated.
The German occupation of the Netherlands
This marked the start of a harsh German occupation.
They deported the Jewish community of The Hague (the second largest in the country) and almost completely exterminated them in Auschwitz and other Nazi camps.
Roma residents of the city also met their demise in extermination camps.
By 1943, the Dutch had begun to construct the Atlantic Wall near The Hague.
The Atlantic Wall provided coastal defences that Nazi Germany made to prevent an Allied invasion from the seas, even though, in the end, it didn’t work.
The construction involved many demolitions around the city’s coastal areas, displacing tens of thousands of residents.
The Atlantic Wall had a great impact on the city. Its legacy is still visible today, whether it’s the bunkers by the coast or the dramatically changed areas following demolitions.
The V2 rockets of the Haagse Bos
By 1944, it was becoming increasingly clear that Nazi Germany was losing.
The German forces pushed hard during the last stage of the war in a desperate attempt to turn the tide. It was only a matter of time until the Allies were victorious.
One of the projects to push back was the infamous V2 rockets. This expensive rocket was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile.
Its development was long and expensive, but starting in September 1944, around 3,000 V2 rockets were launched by the German Army. They targeted London and, later on, Antwerp and Liege in Belgium.
V2 rockets were launched in the Haagse Bos (The Hague) in 1945 from World War II. Image: Ian Dunster/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Due to time constraints, the rocket had technical issues, like all rushed projects. Its guiding system was quite rudimentary, and it wasn’t guaranteed that they would hit their targets.
The Germans launching the rockets could only cross their fingers and hope they successfully passed the North Sea and hit London.
While a formidable weapon, the V2 rockets were less successful in helping the Nazis hold off Allied invasions.
With Allied bombings, the Red Army marching through Eastern Europe, and the D-Day landings on the Western Front, the Axis were on the verge of losing the war.
The accidental British bombing of Bezuidenhout
On March 3, 1945, the British Royal Air Force commenced a mission to bomb the V2 installations in the Haagse Bos. This was around a month before the end of the war in Europe.
The pilots got incorrect coordinates and flew in foggy weather — they ended up accidentally bombing the nearby residential neighbourhood of Bezuidenhout.
The bombings destroyed most of the neighbourhood, killing 511 people. When they realised their error, the Royal Air Force dropped flyers apologising for the mistake.
The 1945 bombing of the Bezuidenhout area in the Hague was actually a British accident in World War II. Image: The Hague Municipal Archives/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Trouw, the Dutch resistance newspaper at the time, wrote the following about the bombings:
“The horrors of the war are increasing. We have seen the fires in The Hague after the terrible bombings due to the V2-launching sites. We have seen the column of smoke, drifting to the south, and the ordeal of the war has descended upon us in its extended impact.”
“We heard the screaming bombs falling on Bezuidenhout, and the missiles which brought death and misery fell only a hundred metres from us.”
“At the same time, we saw the launching and the roaring, flaming V2, holding our breath to see if the launch was successful, if not falling back on the homes of innocent people.”
“It is horrible to see the monsters take off in the middle of the night between the houses, lighting up the skies. One can imagine the terrors that came upon us now that The Hague is a frontline town, bombed continuously for more than ten days.”
“Buildings, burning and smouldering furiously, a town choking from smoke, women and children fleeing, men hauling furniture which they tried to rescue from the chaos. What misery, what distress.”
The ruins of the Bezuidenhout neighbourhood in The Hague after the British bombing. Image: Nationaal Archief/Wikimedia Commons/CC1.0
The war in Europe ended not long after that, on May 8, 1945. The Dutch quickly reconstructed what they lost in the war, notably in Rotterdam.
The areas affected in The Hague were also reconstructed following a construction boom in the 1950s and 1960s.
The war might be long over, yet the scars remain. If you ever find yourself in Bezuidenhout, you’ll find different signs telling the stories of the bombing, and you can go on a little walking tour to find all of them.
Have you learned anything new about the war in the Netherlands? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
