Germanic Brothers? The Dutch participation in the colonization of “the occupied Eastern Territories” of the Nazi-empire

In my presentation I will discuss the Dutch contribution to the German exploitation and colonization of occupied Eastern Europe (1939-1944), with a particular emphasis on Ukraine. Contrary to other “Germanic” countries, support in the Netherlands was quite substantial – which makes one curious for the possible reasons why. As I will argue, shared political beliefs only offer a partial explanation: by participating, the Dutch also saw a chance to solve national issues; the occupied East offered land to Dutch farmers who had no future in their densely populated homeland and substituted the loss of the Dutch East Indies and thereby restored the nation’s colonial grandeur. But were expectations met? The presentation will end with an evaluation of the experiences of “pioneers” on the spot.