page_title: Dam Square
section_title: Dam Square shooting, 1945
hierarchical_section_title: Dam Square / History / Dam Square shooting, 1945
caption_attribution_description: English: Netherlands. [Injured persons on a city street.] German military started shooting into crowds on Dam Square; more than twenty people were killed.Nederlands: Op 7 mei 1945, dus al na de overgave door de Duitsers, schoten Duitsers in de volksmassa op de Dam, waarbij meer dan 20 doden vielen.
context_page_description: Dam Square or Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city and the country.
context_section_description: During World War II, the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. On 7 May 1945, two days after German capitulation, thousands of Dutch people were waiting for Canadian troops to arrive on the Dam square in Amsterdam. In the Grote Club, on the corner of Kalverstraat and Paleisstraat, members of the German Kriegsmarine watched as the crowd below their balcony grew and people danced and cheered. The Germans then placed a machine gun on the balcony and started shooting into the crowds. The motives behind the shooting have remained unclear; the Germans were drunk and possibly angered because contrary to previous agreement Dutch police had arrested members of the German military.
  The shooting finally came to an end after a member of the Dutch resistance climbed into the tower of the royal palace and started shooting onto the balcony and into the club. At that moment, a German officer together with a Resistance commander found their way into the club and convinced the men to surrender. At the brink of peace, 120 people were badly injured and 22 pronounced dead. In 2013, evidence was brought to light that suggested the number may have been higher: possibly 33 people died, and there were 10 more unconfirmed possible victims.
caption: Dam Square just after the shooting, 1945.
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