The National Socialist Movement (NSB), the Dutch political party that sympathised with Nazi Germany, worked together with the occupying forces during the Second World War. During the German occupation of the Netherlands it was the only permitted party in the country.

NSB members wore badges with the NSB logo, or with the so-called Prinsenvlag. This was the orange-white-blue flag that became popular during the Eighty Years' War between 1568 and 1648 which established the Netherlands as an independent country.  According to the NSB this was the real Dutch flag, instead of the official red-white-blue. Or they wore the Wolfsangel (an old heraldic symbol, which the National Socialists interpreted as an ancient Germanic rune sign). The National Socialists in the Netherlands expressed many of their ideas through their clothing and other outward symbols, such as flags and emblems.

The Weerbaarheidsafdeling (WA, 'defence section') was the black uniformed strong arm of the NSB. They normally wore insignia and images of the Wolfsangel and the Dutch heraldic lion on their uniform. The latter is remarkable since the Dutch lion was also used as a symbol of the Dutch resistance against the German occupying forces.

Lace cap worn by Frisian women from the north of the Netherlands; according to the National Socialist Movement, Frisian regional dress was of 'proper' Germanic origin and therefore acceptable (TRC 2016.0756). For more information, click on the illustration.Folk costume

Regional dress was embraced by the National Socialists and consistently referred to as Volksdracht ('folk costume').  This idea fitted seamlessly into their blood and soil theory: the regional costume, according to the National Socialists, was an expression of the soul of the people, and thus linked to their blood line. It was also linked to their particular location, because each region has its own range of clothing.

The Dutch folk costume was said to have many elements that went back to clothing from the Bronze Age, the alleged cultural heyday of the Germanic nations. The Germanic ancestry was therefore preserved, so theu believed, in folk costume. Because the people expressed their character and ‘soul’ with their costume, clothing was therefore an expression of their race. The Dutch costume emphasised the ‘proper’ pedigree and appearance of the "North folk": the hoods and ear irons emphasised, for example, the long oval shape of the typical Germanic head.

According to the National Socialists, this was particularly the case with the Frisian and Saxon costumes; Frisians (in the north) and Saxons (in the east of the country) were regarded as typically Germanic peoples. Their clothes were considered sober and beautiful and were said to reflect an inner sense of propriety. The costumes worn by people in the west, along the North Sea coast and in Zeeland, were also acceptable. The National Socialists explained this by stating that the people of these regions descended from the Frisians. 

A lace cap worn by women from Volendam. The National Socialists regarded the costume of Volendam as being 'non-Germanic' (TRC 2006.0112c). For more information, click on the illustration.However, they found the Zuiderzee costumes (including that worn by people in Volendam) to be unacceptable and ugly. These outfits were said to make the body look large and the garments were regarded as being too complicated and colourful. The caps made the head look small. Since the costume was regarded as an expression of race, the wearers of these "ugly" costumes could not, according to the National Socialists, be descendants of Germanic tribes. To explain this, they invented the old ‘people’ of the Flevons, who were not related to the German tribes, and who were the ancestors of the people living along the Zuiderzee (nowadays the IJsselmeer).

The Brabant costumes, worn by people in the south of the country, were also considered ugly. The explanation that the National Socialists provided for this phenomenon was that the Brabant dress, from the south of the country, had been influenced by the French.

It was disappointing to the National Socialists that much of the folk costume had already disappeared. According to them, this was due to mass production of textiles and clothing. The Jews, accrding to the NSB, played their part in the disappearance of the Volksdracht: most traditional dresses had short sleeves, and girls no longer wanted to wear them because they would then be harassed by Jews.

The political connotation attached to regional dress in the Netherlands affected the appreciation of local dress after the war. For many people in the Netherlands, regional dress was tainted as being 'fascist'.

Cover of the booklet Merklappen. Oud en Nieuw, by Ms H. Bottema (1942; TRC Library). For the contents, click on the illustration.In addition to folk costume, some motifs for embroidery and other forms of decoration were also regarded as an expression of the national character. Germanic (especially the tree of life) and Christian motifs were appreciated and preferred above the "tasteless" decorations on "modern" handicraft work. The TRC library houses a booklet that was published in 1942 entitled Merklappen. Oud en Nieuw ('Samplers. Old and New'). It contains a series of embroidery charts, mainly taken from eighteenth and nineteenth century Dutch sources. For a TRC blog on this brochure, and a PdF file of all charts, see Merklappen Oud en Nieuw (1942). See also another blog, A remarkable sampler booklet from Nazi occupied Holland, by Gillian Vogelsang (8 September 2020).

Winter relief

The National Socialists were committed to some form of charity. Their Dutch aid organisation was called Winterhulp, because there would be no poverty under National Socialism, only during the winter would charity in the form of food and clothing be needed. Winterhulp's sources derived from taxes, lotteries and street collections.

The collections were not very popular. Many people suspected that the money went directly to Germany or the NSB. To make the collections more popular, badges were issued. In exchange for a donation you received a badge. Matchboxes were also distributed during collections.

Stamp issued by the Dutch postal service in 1944 on the orders of the German occupying forces. The stamps were sold with a surcharge for the National Socialist Winterhulp (TRC 2020.3710b). For more information, click on the illustrationDuring a national collection on 14-15 November 1941, terracotta badges were distributed with images of well-known Dutch buildings. The production of the badges was awarded to a Dutch company, namely N.V. Brouwer's Aardewerk in Leiderdorp (the owners of which had strong NSB sympathies). They made 1½ million badges and temporarily hired 55 extra employees. The TRC houses a large collection of these badges, most of them damaged. They were discovered when the site of the former pottery works of the N.V. Brouwer's Aardewerk was prepared for development.

The badges depict well-known monuments in the Netherlands, such as the Westerkerk in Amsterdam, or the Martinitoren in Groningen, again glorifying Dutch history and culture (as long as it was linked to Germanic roots). The same phenomenon, as discussed above, occurred with National Socialist interest in Dutch regional dress and the use of the orange-white-blue flag (the Prinsenvlag).

In 1944, the Dutch postal services issued a series of stamps, whereby a surcharge was paid for each stamp in favour of Winterhulp.

The National Socialists also issued match folders with Dutch and French texts; they were distributed in the Netherlands and Belgium. One of these folders is housed in the TRC collection (TRC 2020.3718).

Those who wanted to qualify for direct support from Winterhulp were first checked for their background, after which they usually received coupons for shoes or clothing. A ration booklet recorded which particular assistance someone had received. 

In 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. He soon abolished democracy, pursued a policy of racial and religious discrimination, and launched an extensive programme of rearmament.

In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria and subsequently claimed Sudetenland, which was part of what was then Czechoslovakia and an area with a dominant German population. At a conference in Munich, in September of the same year, Germany was granted the possession of Sudetenland in exchange for guarantees of peace. In October German forces crossed the Czechoslovakian border.

Despite promises made in Munich, Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, ushering in World War II. At the beginning of the Second World War, the Netherlands was officially a neutral state, nevertheless the country was invaded by Nazi Germany on 10 May 1940. After the bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May, the Dutch troops surrendered to the Germans on 15 May.

Simple, round wooden brooch from the Netherlands, dated 1940 or slightly later, with a depiction of a grave, a helmet, two Dutch flags and a text (TRC 2019.2292). The brooch commemorates those who were killed when the Germans invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. For more information, click on illustration.The Dutch government and the royal family fled to London. Queen Wilhelmina (reign: 1890-1948) subsequently remained in the UK, while her daughter, Princess Juliana, was sent to Canada with her children.

The first year of German occupation in the Netherlands was fairly calm, at least for the majority of the population. From June 1941, however, the regime became increasingly restrictive: oppression intensified, deportation of the Jewish community commenced, and German control over all aspects of life increased.

By 1941, silver coins with the depiction of Queen Wilhelmina were being replaced by zinc coins with a different obverse side. The silver was melted and used in the German war industry.

In the second half of 1944, American, British, Canadian and Polish troops liberated much of the south of the Netherlands. The west and north of the country were still occupied during the winter of 1944 (the "Honger Winter"). This part of the country was liberated after the surrender of the German troops on 5 May 1945.

The rebellion at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 kick started an international move for LGBTQ+ equality. 50 years after Stonewall the struggle for LGBTQ+ equality continues. The year 2019 saw many milestones. Despite official bans, police arrests and tear gas, Pride marches were held in Istanbul and Moscow. Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo, saw its first Pride march. Taiwan, Ecuador and Austria legalized same-sex marriage, while Angola decriminalized homosexuality. A law allowing a third sex option on official documents took effect in Germany. And while Kenyan authorities banned the lesbian film “Rafiki” (“Friends” in Swahili) inside its own country, lead actress Samantha Mugatsia went on to win the best actress award of Africa’s largest film festival.

LGBTQ+ communities have always used dress as a way to negotiate in hostile environments. The use of dress as a means of both individual expression and group identity, of resistance and celebration, also continues. In the words of “Rafiki” director Wanuri Kahiu, after hearing of the best actress award, “The oldest African film festival acknowledged a queer character... So proud! Queerness cannot be silenced!"

Wearing the dress of a different gender, called ‘drag’, has long been a form of entertainment. Drag has been associated with LGBTQ+ communities for an equally long time. “Drag is playing with gender. It can be a satire on gender, it can be a mocking,” says the Amsterdam-based Richard Keldoulis. “When I’m in drag I let myself show my feminine side.” For the last fifteen years he has been performing as drag queen Jennifer Hopelezz. He notes that, while most drag is done by gay men, there are heterosexual male drag queens, and “drag kings (lesbians), lady queens (heterosexual women), and I know at least one trans woman who does drag king—which breaks every boundary.”

Wearing a different gender’s clothes “still surprises and shocks people,” he says. “You literally take on another identity. You begin to wonder why is this me or not me? Some people know me only as Jennifer, others only as Richard. When you’re dressed as non-gender conforming, they react totally differently. People grab you and show you off, which doesn’t happen when I’m not in drag. ” Reactions to his wearing drag range from enjoyment (mostly, he notes, from women and children) to anger or disgust (usually from men).

“That’s the power of drag, because it does bring up all these emotions. You start thinking about how you unconsciously treat genders differently. Gender is something you never think about,” he says, yet it affects all we do and are, the way we look, talk, sit and walk, even the way we move our hands. “Everything goes through a gender filter. I catch myself with my nephews and nieces, saying how pretty you look or how strong you are. We are so strict in what a girl can do and what a boy can do. Drag definitely makes you extremely aware about gender.”

Early 21st century costume that was made for drag queen Jennifer Hopelezz, Church Club, Amsterdam. TRC Collection (TRC 2019.1622). For more information, click on the illustration.While some people listen to his message less when he wears drag, “you get a lot of attention in drag” Keldoulis says. He uses this attention to fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and against the AIDS epidemic. “I didn’t want to be doing lip synch. I see myself as more of a drag activist, a dragtivist, than a performer, celebrating what we’ve achieved but still fighting all the inequalities. There is a history of activism in drag,” he says, noting that the 1969 Stonewall riots were led by butch women, drag queens and transgender people of colour.

Remembering Stonewall was part of Amsterdam Pride’s 2019 celebration, Keldoulis said, noting the theme was “Remember the Past, Create the Future.” “We do have a lot to celebrate,” he said. “We’ve come a long way in the past few years, in terms of marriage equality and more. There’s been huge progress. But these things come and go in waves. I expect that there will always be a fight and a backlash.”

He is well aware of the discrimination LGBTQ+ people face. In 2018, going home after giving a speech at Gay Pride in Amsterdam, a taxi driver refused to let him in his cab. “Three other queens and two men in leather were also refused rides. For me drag is something I can take on and off but if you’re transgender or wearing fetish clothes, there’s a lot of discrimination.”

Jennifer Hopelezz’s costumes come from second hand shops, and off the rack, but are also custom made for her. The black teddy body suit in the TRC collection, with applied silver covered sequins in a motif of stylized flowers (TRC 2019.1621; see illustration on top), was designed for Hopelezz by Spanish drag queen Lola Veneno (aka Sergio Pedrero Santos), while the turquoise net garment (TRC 2019.1622; see illustration above), with hand applied leaves and sequins, was made by Keldoulis’s husband, Elard Diekman.