Dutch History and Geography

Tweede Wereldoorlog (World War II)

• The Holocaust: the systematic murder of Jewish people happened during WWII
• Many Jewish Dutch people (Joodse Nederlanders) were sent to camps and killed
• Not during WWI or the Cold War — this is a common exam trap

Dodenherdenking and Bevrijdingsdag

Dodenherdenking (Remembrance Day)

• 4 mei (May 4th)
• Remembers all victims of WWII
• Two minutes of silence at 8:00 PM

Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day)

• 5 mei (May 5th)
• Celebrates the end of Nazi occupation in 1945
• National holiday (though not everyone has the day off)

Deltawerken (Delta Works)

• Built to protect the Netherlands from the sea (beschermen tegen de zee)
• Not for fishing or building cities
• Built in response to the 1953 flood disaster (Watersnoodramp)
• The Oosterscheldekering is the largest storm surge barrier — 9 km long with 65 pillars

Nederlandse Kolonies (Dutch Colonies)

• Suriname was a Dutch colony
• Not Argentina or Venezuela
• Suriname became independent in 1975

Geography and National Symbols

De hoofdstad (the capital) is Amsterdam, in the province of Noord-Holland. Zuid-Holland is where Rotterdam and Den Haag (The Hague) are. Gelderland is the largest province by land area; its capital is Arnhem. Noord-Holland's capital is Haarlem.

VN / Verenigde Naties (United Nations): The goal is peace and security (vrede en veiligheid) — not education or nature protection.

Het Wilhelmus is the Dutch national anthem (volkslied) — not the constitution or the football team.