Dutch news in brief, 13 February 2006

Museum has ‘unique’ Jewish stamp

The Resistance Museum in Friesland claims to have a unique example of a stamp of the letter J that was used during the occupation in the Second World War to stamp the identity documents of Jews. The stamp came into the possession of Wim van Mourik shortly after the end of the war. Van Mourik was active with in the military force that Prince Bernhard used to restore public order after the Germans were driven out of the Netherlands. Van Mourik was mayor of the town of Achtkarspelen. As no Jews lived in the area, the museum believes the stamp came from the Sneek. Van Mourik was also in this town, where 50 Jews lived prior to the Nazi invasion.

Ski holiday traffic jams on the way

Motorist organisation ANWB reminded drivers on Monday that highways in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be very busy due to the start of the winter sport season next weekend. Dutch motorways will not be as busy but an estimated 700,000 people are expected to take advantage of the school holidays in the North and Central regions of the country. Half will go abroad.

Man injured in explosion

A 40-year-old man from the Dutch city of Zwolle was injured at the weekend when he tried to drill a hole in a small grenade from the Second World War. The device exploded and the man was hit in the head and body by shrapnel, the police said on Sunday. The incident took place in a workshop in Hasselt. The owner of the premises said the man often came into the workshop to tinker with cars or motorbikes.

German killed in fall from train

A man, 19, from Mönchengladbach in Germany died in a fall from a train near the Dutch city of Venlo on Friday. Police believe the man was secretly hitching a ride on the goods train that was travelling from Germany in the direction of Venlo. The driver did not see the accident and the incident only came to light when a replacement driver noticed blood on one of the carriages.

Body found next to Tropen Institute

Police suspect the man, 53, found dead near the entrance to the Tropen Institute in the Oosterpark district of Amsterdam on Sunday morning was murdered. Detectives sealed off the area to hunt for clues.

Burger King evacuated after illness

The Burger King restaurant on the Nieuwendijk in Amsterdam was evacuated for a short period on Sunday after two of the 80 patrons reported feeling unwell. Fire Brigade officers took readings but did not discover anything unusual. Ambulance personnel examined the two customers at the scene and they did not have to go to hospital.

Subject: Dutch news