RZ-100-wt4-E-flipbook-240702 - Flipbook - Page 30
2 | 1940-1945
World War II
On 14 May 1940, the Germans bomb Rotterdam in a bid to force the Netherlands
to capitulate. Four days earlier, on the pretext of protecting Dutch neutrality
Rijk Zwaan’s office and nursery are largely spared.
against Germany’s enemies, Hitler orders his troops to occupy the Netherlands.
The only material damage suffered by the
His intention is clear: after a quick conquest of the Netherlands, he wants to
company is the damage to a carrot seed cleaning
invade France on the north side via Belgium and in that way bypass the heavily
machine, which had been moved to a workshop
defended French Maginot Line on the German-French border.
elsewhere in Rotterdam for repair. A large amount
of paper that is in stock at a printing company
and intended for printing Rijk Zwaan’s catalogues
Rijk Zwaan, now 40 years old, encounters the
is also lost.
German Luftwaffe in a heavy-handed manner
on 14 May 1940. In a bid to force the Netherlands
In material terms, Rijk Zwaan’s seed business
to capitulate, the Germans bomb Rotterdam
may not have suffered much damage, but that
on that day. After threats of treating other large
doesn’t lessen the psychological blow for the
Dutch cities in the same way, the Dutch forces
city of Rotterdam. Much of the inner city is totally
capitulate on 15th May.
destroyed, and a dark, uncertain future looms.
The aftermath
of the
bombing of
Rotterdam
The total death toll after the bombing
is 800, while as many as 80,000 people
have lost their homes. On 13 May,
Queen Wilhelmina flees to the UK
with her government, a journey that
the rest of the royal family had taken
the day before. For the Dutch population, a period of occupation begins,
the duration of which is impossible to
predict in May 1940.
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Rijk Zwaan | Moving forward together
