Item Description
Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a genuine original M34 Dutch WW2 helmet. Steel construction with hand painted multi-color camo, correct three section leather liner, with central draw string. The inlaid copper shield depicting the Dutch Republic Lion or the Coat of Arms of the Netherlands was removed indicating this was used by resistance fighters after occupation by the German forces. Overall condition is very good, size is approximately 7 1/4 (58cm). Chinstrap is partially present.
The history of the Netherlands from 1939 to 1945 covers the events in the Netherlands that took place under the German occupation that started on May 10, 1940 with the Battle of the Netherlands. The Netherlands hoped to stay neutral when World War II broke out in 1939 but this hope was ended when NSDAP Germany invaded in May 1940. On May 15, 1940, one day after the Bombing of Rotterdam the Dutch forces capitulated. Subsequently the Dutch government and the royal family went into exile in London.
The occupying forces were supported by a minority of the Dutch. Active resistance was carried out by a small minority which grew in the course of the four-and-a-half years of the occupation. The Germans deported the majority of the country's Jews to prison camps, with the assistance of the Dutch police and civil service: the Netherlands had one of the highest levels of collaboration with the NSDAPs during the Shoah. 75% of the country’s Jewish population were exterminated, a much higher percentage than countries like Belgium and France.
Most of the south of the country was liberated in the second half of 1944. The rest, especially the west of the country, suffered from the Hunger Winter. On May 5, 1945, the whole country was liberated by the Allied Forces.
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