Second World War · 1940-1945

The Netherlands under occupation

In May 1940 Germany conquered the Netherlands in five days. Five years of occupation followed: persecution, adaptation, collaboration and resistance, the Hunger Winter and finally liberation. Students locate key places on the map and explore the choices ordinary people faced.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1938 to AD 1945
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In May 1940 Germany conquered the Netherlands in five days. Five years of occupation followed: persecution, adaptation, collaboration and resistance, the Hunger Winter and finally liberation. Students locate key places on the map and explore the choices ordinary people faced.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe how Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands in May 1940.
  • Give examples of collaboration, adaptation and resistance during the occupation.
  • Explain how the Netherlands was liberated in 1944-1945, and why the west suffered a Hunger Winter.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1938

Five days in May

Open the map in 1938 and zoom in on the Netherlands. Find the Grebbeberg near Rhenen, Rotterdam and The Hague. Ask the atlas: "Why did the Netherlands surrender on 15 May 1940?"

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1938

A bridge too far

Find Arnhem on the Rhine and follow the road south to Eindhoven. Ask the atlas: "What was Operation Market Garden?" Why were the bridges so important?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1945

Free again

Find Wageningen, east of the Grebbeberg, where German commanders agreed to surrender in May 1945. Then set the year to 1945: what does the map show next door in Germany?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Queen Wilhelmina and the government fled to London in May 1940. Was that the right choice?
  2. Most Dutch people tried to carry on with daily life. What choices did ordinary people face under occupation?
  3. The February Strike of 1941 was a protest against the persecution of Jews. Why was it so rare and so brave?
  4. About three in four Jews living in the Netherlands were murdered in the Holocaust, more than in most of western Europe. Historians give several reasons. Which can you think of?
  5. In the Hunger Winter people ate tulip bulbs to survive. Why did the west of the country starve while the south was already free?
4

Game round

10 min

No ruler in Rule History lived in this period. Play one round as Elizabeth I, who supported the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule. Then compare: who helped the Dutch in 1940-1945, and what could people in an occupied country still decide for themselves?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.