1.5 Neutral Netherlands

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• Leerjaar 3

1.5 Neutral Netherlands

Today's lesson=

• review Quiz 
• Question: room for improvement?
• instruction 1.5
• work individually

The Netherlands during the First World War

First World War 1914-18

The Netherlands remained neutral, but was affected by the war.

Neutral = Not choosing sides.

Effects of the war

• Mobilisation
• Belgian refugee crisis
• Wire of Death
• Economic problems (distribution, rationing and smuggling)

Mobilisation

1914

• Although the Netherlands was neutral, the army nevertheless mobilised.
• The Dutch army was not very well trained...........the Germans needed a free port
• Belgium, too, had declared neutrality, but was nevertheless attacked!

1.5 Neutral Netherlands

Today's lesson=

• instruction 1.5
• video
• work individually
• summary 1.5

Belgian refugees

• About 1 million refugees fled from Belgium to the Netherlands (population of 6,6 million).

• Belgians fled because of the war.

• Belgian soldiers were disarmed and imprisoned.

• Required tremendous organisation of supplies and shelter.

Wire of Death

• Construction began in the spring of 1915.  The Wire consisted of over 200 km (125 mi) of 2,000-volt wire with a height ranging from 1.5 to 3 m).

• An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people fell victim to the wire or were executed by German border patrols because they came to close to the border.

Death Wire

• Also called: The Wire

• The Death Wire was constructed by the Germans between Belgium and the Netherlands.

• Germans wanted to prevent Allied soldiers, German deserters, spies or war volunteers from travelling to, from or through Belgium.
• 
  

Contact with the Death Wire, which had 2,000 volts on it, meant death by electrocution...

...so smugglers came up with all kinds of ways to avoid touching the wires.

Economic problems

• Before the war Dutch trade flourished (import/ export of goods).

• During the war the government put the neutrality policy into practice.

• At first the Dutch were succesful. Competition was gone and products were scarce. A lot of money was earned.

 

Economy

• War is bad for trade: scarcity arises in the Netherlands too

• Dutch ships are also victims of the Unlimited Submarine War...

• ...but sometimes also of acts of war by the Allies
  
• .........

The Netherlands: spy's nest

Mata Hari 

Guilty or not guilty ???

Work individually....!!

• HW for Friday (learn/make 1.4)
• Read 1.5
• Do exercises  1-4 up till 8
•        Write down your feed-forward for your next test
• Make a summary of 1.5

1. wire of death
2. Mata Hari
3. Wilhelm II
4.  Ration stamps
5. black market
6. The port of Rotterdam
7. U-boats

a. stop deserters

b. Germany's lifeline

c. avoid a rise in prices

d. some smugglers became very rich.

e. died as refugee

f. convicted and executed

g. Dutch trade nearly ended