# 1945 in the Netherlands

Events in the year 1945 in the Netherlands.

## Incumbents

* Monarch: Wilhelmina
* Prime Minister: Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (until 25 June); Willem Schermerhorn (from 25 June)

## Events
### January

* 2 Jan: Special meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss the position of the Militair Gezag
* 11 Jan: The cabinet accepts that the queen does not sign the arrangement for the emergency parliament.
* 14 Jan: Commencement of the evacuation of Venlo.
* 20 Jan: Commencement of the evacuation of Roermond.
* 22 Jan: The ministers approve a letter from Gerbrandy warning the queen against the formation of a royal cabinet.
* 23 Jan: Gerbrandy dismisses Burger from the cabinet due to a radio speech and tenders the resignation of the cabinet.
* 31 Jan: A delegation invited by the queen from the liberated South arrives in London.

### February

* 5 Feb: Minister van Kleffens refuses to form a cabinet.
* 8 Feb: The queen instructs Gerbrandy to form a new cabinet.
* 10 Feb: The arrestation regulations for the area to be liberated are established.
* 15 Feb: Minister van Heuven Goedhart inaugurates the first Tribunal.
* 23 Feb: Announcement of the composition, to the extent completed, of the third Gerbrandy cabinet.
* 24 Feb: Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy urges Eisenhower's Chief of Staff Bedell Smith for a separate offensive for the liberation of the Netherlands north of the major rivers.

### March

* 1 Mar: Liberation of Roermond and Venlo.
* 3 Mar: Bombing of the Bezuidenhout quarter in The Hague.
* 7 Mar: Rauter is seriously wounded in an ambush at Woeste Hoeve; two hundred and sixty-three death-row candidates are executed.
* 14 Mar: The Combined Chiefs of Staff instruct Eisenhower to launch a separate offensive for the liberation of West Netherlands.
* 18 Mar: J.J.F. Borghouts ('Peter-Zuid') arrives in occupied territory as the Commander of the Fighting Section of the BS (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten/Interior Forces).
* 30 Mar: Commencement of the liberation of East and North Netherlands.

### April

* 2 Apr: In a conversation with Hirschfeld, Seyss-Inquart suggests the idea of a ceasefire that would allow large-scale assistance to the famine-stricken provinces.
* 4 Apr: Mussert flees over the Afsluitdijk to The Hague.
* 6 Apr: Start of the Georgian uprising on Texel.
* 7 to 8 April – Operation Amherst
* 9 Apr: Consultation between the Trusted Men and members of Koot's staff regarding Seyss-Inquart's offer.
* 11 Apr:
** Buchenwald is liberated as the first concentration camp not completely evacuated by Allied forces.
** Canadians cross the IJssel near Brummen.
* 12 Apr:
** Montgomery cancels the separate offensive for the liberation of the famine-stricken provinces.
** Seyss-Inquart meets with Van der Vlugt and Six as representatives of the College of Trusted Men and Colonel Koot.
* 12 to 16 April – Liberation of Arnhem
* 14 Apr:
** Himmler issues the order: 'No prisoner may fall into enemy hands alive.'
** Arrival of Trusted Men, Van der Gaag and Neher, in the liberated South.
* 15 Apr: Gerbrandy meets with Churchill to discuss Seyss-Inquart's offer.
* 17 Apr: Inundation of the Wieringermeer.
* 18 Apr: The entire East and North of the country is liberated except for the area near Delfzijl and the Wadden Islands.
* 21 Apr: The resistance sends its first telegram to London, protesting against the negotiations with Seyss-Inquart.
* 23 Apr: The Combined Chiefs of Staff authorize Eisenhower to conclude a ceasefire with Seyss-Inquart.
* 28 Apr: In Achterveld, the German Schwebel and Montgomery's Chief of Staff de Guingand reach an agreement for a conference with Seyss-Inquart.
* 29 Apr:
** Hitler appoints Admiral Dönitz as his successor.
** First food drops in the famine-stricken provinces.
* 30 Apr:
** Suicide of Adolf Hitler
** In Achterveld, Seyss-Inquart approves arrangements for rapid assistance to the famine-stricken provinces.

### May

* 2 May: First food transports to the famine-stricken provinces by road, via Rhenen.
* 2–3 May: Seyss-Inquart departs for Flensburg for discussions with Dönitz.
* 4 May:
** Montgomery accepts the capitulation of the 'Wehrmacht' in Northwest Europe, including the Netherlands.
** 'Mobilization' of the BS (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten/Interior Forces) in the famine-stricken provinces.
* 5 May:
** General Johannes Blaskowitz receives the capitulation order presented by General Foulkes at Hotel 'De Wereld' in Wageningen.
** Radio speech by Queen Wilhelmina.
** The first food ships arrive in Rotterdam.
** An Allied vanguard arrives in Copenhagen.
* 6 May: General Blaskowitz signs the capitulation order presented to him the previous day in the auditorium of the Agricultural College in Wageningen.
* 7 May:
** First 'general' German capitulation at Reims.
** Shooting incident on Dam Square in Amsterdam.
** Arrest of Mussert.
* 8 May:
** Entry of the two divisions of the 1st Canadian Army Corps in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam.
** General Kruis, Chief of Staff Military Authority, arrives in The Hague.
** An Allied vanguard arrives in Oslo. Second 'general' German capitulation in Berlin.
* 13 May: German deserter execution
* 16 May: Dissolution of the College of Trusted Men.
* 20 May: A Canadian force arrives on Texel and the local German forces surrender, ending the Georgian uprising on Texel. The Georgians are allowed to retain their arms.

### June

* 3 Jun: German forces on the island of Ameland surrender.
* 11 Jun: The last 600 active German troops in the Netherlands, on the island of Schiermonnikoog, surrender to the Canadians and are evacuated from the island, completing the liberation of the Netherlands.
* 16 Jun: The Georgian Legion is evacuated from Texel.

## Births

* 4 January – Jean Bessems, carom and artistic billiards player
* 6 January – Anja Meulenbelt, politician and writer
* 10 January – Henri Bol, still life painter (d. 2000)
* 25 January – Lennaert Nijgh, lyricist (d. 2002)
* 3 February – Willeke Alberti, singer and actress
* 16 February – Toon van Driel, cartoonist, comics writer and comics artist
* 16 February – L. H. Wiener, writer
* 17 February – Chris Dolman, martial artist and professional wrestler
* 3 March – Gee van Enst, rower.
* 14 March – René de Boer, sculptor
* 14 March – Herman van Veen, stage performer, actor, author, singer/songwriter and musician
* 28 March – Bert Groen, corporate director, civil servant and politician
* 29 March – Willem Ruis, game show presenter (d. 1986)
* 4 May – Jan Mulder, footballer, writer, columnist, and TV personality
* 8 May – Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, politician, jurist and civil servant
* 20 May – Saskia Holleman, actress, lawyer and model (d. 2013).
* 25 May – Nicolaas Matsier, novelist
* 12 June – Gaby Minneboo, cyclist
* 15 June – Corrie Bakker, track and field athlete.
* 16 June – Roy Ho Ten Soeng, politician
* 20 June – Jan Dietz, information systems researcher
* 9 July – Erik van der Wurff, pianist, composer, arranger, producer and conductor (d. 2014)
* 17 August – Rudi Lubbers, boxer.
* 27 August – Jan Sloot, electronics engineer (d. 1999)
* 28 September – Vincent Mentzel, photographer
* 24 October – Ernst Jansen Steur, neurologist
* 30 October – Fred Rompelberg, cyclist
* 2 November – Cees Stam, track cyclist
* 19 November – Hans Monderman, road traffic engineer and innovator (d. 2008)
* 27 November – Phil Bloom, artist, entertainer and actress

### Full date missing

* Christian Dumolin, businessman
* Henk van der Flier, psychologist
* Jan Plas, kickboxer (d. 2010)
* Madelon Vriesendorp, artist

## Deaths

* 2 January – Arie Bijl, physicist (b. 1908)
* 30 January – Jur Haak, footballer (b. 1890)
* 1 February – Johan Huizinga, historian (b. 1972)
* 9 February – Piet Klijnveld, accountant (b. 1874)
* 12 February – Walraven van Hall, banker and resistance leader (b. 1906)
* 17 February – Gabrielle Weidner, resistance fighter (b. 1914)
* 1 April – Piet Tekelenburg, footballer (b. 1894)
* 15 April – Joannes Cassianus Pompe, pathologist (b. 1901)
* 17 April – Hannie Schaft, communist resistance fighter during World War II (b. 1920)
* 28 May – Lothar van Gogh, footballer (b. 1888)
* 16 August – Nico Richter, composer (b. 1915)
* 25 August – Henriëtte van der Meij, feminist (b. 1850)
* 7 September – Harry Kuneman, governor (b. 1886)
* 22 October – Jac. van Ginneken, linguist, priest and Jesuit (b. 1877)
* 13 November – Albert Heijn, entrepreneur (b. 1865)

### Full date missing

* Anne Frank, diarist (b. 1929)
* Margot Frank (b. 1926)