Browse Topics
Tools
Editor's choice

Learning Dutch is a must!

Sint comes to town

A guide to childcare in the Netherlands

Dutch u-turn on soft drugs tolerance

Yoga--a beginner's guide and where to take classes in the Netherlands

Report: Expatica's "i am not a tourist" Fair 2009

A parent's guide to the Dutch education system

Amsterdam grapples with integration since filmmaker's murder

Wilders debate: shouting or convincing?

Internaxx Stock Market
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.3 0.50
DAX 5252.45 1.50
IBEX 30 10726.8 0.59
CAC 40 3377.59 1.40
FTSE 100 4564.5 0.79
AEX 276.85 0.95
DJIA 9096.72 -0.13
Nasdaq 1975.51 0.39
FTSE MIB 20341.67 1.65
TSX Composite 10570.54 -1.74
ASX 4148.9 -0.60
Hang seng 20135.5 -2.37
Straits Times 0.00
ISEQ 20 442.48 0.27
You are here: Home Life in News Focus The February strike

News Focus

archive
Print Email Comment Subscribe
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size

21/07/2003The February strike

Every year a gathering is held at the statue of a dockworker in Amsterdam's Jonas Daniel Meijerplein to commemorate the general strike of 25 February 1941. Unlike other strikes, this one was not for higher pay or world revolution. Instead for the first time in the occupied Netherlands, a city revolted against the Nazis' treatment of the Jews.

 
In the face of mounting attacks and raids on Dutch Jews, council workers in Amsterdam held a meeting on 24 February 1941 in the Noordermarkt district and decided to strike. That night the illegal Communist Party delivered a manifesto to all parts of the city, calling on the population to: "strike, strike, strike". Tram drivers, dock and metal workers, civil servants and factory employees of all persuasions — Christians, Liberals, Social Democrats and Communist — answered the call and brought the city to a standstill the next day. The work stoppages even spread to Zaanstreek, Kennemerland and Utrecht. The German authorities were taken by surprise as nothing similar had happened in the other countries they occupied in the early part of the Second World War. They responded with arrests, bullets and grenades. The strike was called off after two days. Nine people were dead, 50 injured and another 200 people were arrested, some of whom were to die in the concentration camps.
The dockworker
The Nazis went on over the next few years to round up 110,000 of the 140,000 Dutch Jews. Only 5,000 Dutch Jews returned from the concentration camps at the end of the war. The first strike commemoration was held in 1946 and has been associated every since with the need to protect the population against discrimination. The statue of the dockworker in Amsterdam's Jonas Daniel Meijerplein was erected in 1952 and gatherings have been held there ever since. The first article of the Dutch Constitution, according to the February strike remembrance committee, embodies this sentiment as it guarantees equal treatment and outlaws "discrimination based on religion, philosophy, political persuasion, race, sex, or any other grounds".
Have your Dutch News delivered straight to your inbox - sign up for our e-mail newsletter now!

Print Email Comment Subscribe

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating

0 reactions to this article

Reply
Life in essentials
Life in forums
participate in the forums
Life in expert Q&A
ask your question
Life in A-Z listings
find the business you need
Discussion Forums

Housing in the Netherlands

Short term rental, by neil f

Girls Only - The Netherlands

beauty specialist Amsterdam, by svetulian

Netherlands Soapbox

Random Thought of the Day, by miss_blue

Netherlands Soapbox

I like my man Like I like my chicken..., by miss_blue

Discuss Dutch Culture

What do people of Africa descent think of Zwarte Pete?, by wesley-nl

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Healthcare in the Netherlands

Healthcare in the Netherlands

Here’s a current guide to health insurance, doctors, dentists and pharmacies.

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Lost in the Dutch immigration system? Look no further than this guide compiled for our Survival Guide 2009.

The Netherlands at a glance

The Netherlands at a glance

Some basic facts and figures about living and working in the Netherlands.

Giving birth in the Netherlands

Giving birth in the Netherlands

The challenges and benefits of the maternity system in the Netherlands and how it differs to other countries.