HOLLAND WILL BE FREE

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1940, Page 2

HOLLAND WILL BE FREE

DUTCH OFFICER’S DECLARATION LONDON, August 10. A Dutch officer, Lieutenant Leonard Rodrigues, of the Fifth Regiment, Dutch Artillery, who escaped from his country after the German occupation and managed to reach Lisbon, declared this week that Holland would prove the most difficult of all the occupied countries for the Nazis to handle. “We Dutch are rugged, single-minded people, singularly resistant to any kind of propaganda,” he said. To-day, he said, the majority of Dutch are absolutely determined that they will not remain under German control. But there is a minority who say: “Well, Britain left us in the lurch, and we might just as well save ourselves trouble and accept whatever our powerful neighbours offer us.” Every newspaper has a German chief editor in its office. Jewish journalists were dismissed by telephone after the Germans came in. The Handelsblad gave them two months’ pay. I do not know what the rest did. Curiously enough there are still two Jewish radio speakers. Just before the invasion the Dutch, to avoid confusion from outside radio transmitters pretending to be Dutch, picked three speakers and made their voices thoroughly familiar to Dutch listeners. The .Germans kept them on.' It is forbidden to listen to foreign radios, though many do. BRITISH RESIDENTS. There are still a few British in I was able to help one member family who was left behind when the rest left. Finally he returned to his post in a Dutch factory, and I believe he was not molested. Some industries are being closed down, on the pretext that Germany can supply these goods. The Dutch are encouraged to produce eggs, butter, potatoes and other vegetables and fruit. One of the first things the Nazis did after arriving was to buy and send to the Reich all early vegetables and fruit. Philip’s radio factory is running normally. The Fokker and Ford works have been taken over by the Germans. . Many thousands of Dutch workers have gone into Germany to work, especially railwaymen and land workers. I met one who came home for a few days. He said he was well paid and was contented. Many thousands —I was told 8,000 or 10,000 —of young Germans being trained as airmen are now in Holland. It is interesting to note that such large numbers of new German aviators are being trained. Almost every night R.A.F. planes drone.over Amsterdam on their way to Western Germany but they are very high and German A.A. guns do not shoot. The blackout prevails, but unlike France and Belgium there is no curI few so that cafes- and cabarets go on as usual. Some cabarets are forbidden to German soldiers, apparently in order to avoid incidents.