Because We Need Them…

BECAUSE WE NEED THEM… German-Dutch relations after the occupation: economic inevitability and political acceptance, 1945-1957 Martijn Lak BECAUSE WE NEED THEM… German-Dutch relations after the occupation: economic inevitability and political acceptance, 1945-1957 Omdat we ze nodig hebben… Duits-Nederlandse betrekkingen na de bezetting: economische onvermijdelijkheid en politieke acceptatie, 1945- 1957 PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op gezag van de rector magnificus Prof.dr. H.G. Schmidt en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties. De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op donderdag 8 december 2011 om 09.30 uur door Martijn Lak geboren te Amersfoort Promotiecommissie: Promotor: Prof.dr. H.A.M. Klemann Overige leden: Prof.dr. A. de Jong Prof.dr. F. Wielenga Prof.dr. C.W.A.M. van Paridon Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 Introduction, historiography and composition of the study ................................ 8 1.1 International relations theory ......................................................................................... 8 1.2 Dutch-German relations 1945-1957: historiography .................................................... 16 1.3 Central research question and subquestions............................................................... 21 1.4 Composition of the study .............................................................................................. 24 Chapter 2 Dutch-German relations 1945-1949: a troublesome era ...................................... 26 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 26 2.2 Dutch wartime views of Germany ............................................................................... 28 2.3 The Netherlands in May 1945 ...................................................................................... 40 2.4 Germany in May 1945.................................................................................................... 44 2.5 Dutch demands ............................................................................................................. 50 2.6 Annexation of Germany territory ................................................................................. 53 2.7 Dutch-German economic relations intersected .......................................................... 58 2.8 The Memorandum of 14 January 1947 ......................................................................... 68 2.10 A decisive policy shift .................................................................................................. 72 2.11 Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 75 Chapter 3 Financial problems, 1945-1957 .............................................................................. 77 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 77 3.2 Dutch investments in Germany before and during World War II ............................. 79 3.3 The Allies and their policy............................................................................................ 84 3.4 Consequences of the Allied policy to the Netherlands .............................................. 88 3.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 103 Chapter 4 Dutch-German trade relations, 1945-1957 .......................................................... 105 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 105 4.2 Dutch-German trade relations until 1945 .................................................................. 106 4.3 Post-war reorientation of Dutch trade? ..................................................................... 110 4.4 The Ruhr area at a standstill ...................................................................................... 112 4.5 Dutch-German trade ................................................................................................... 115 4.6 A Dutch credit for Germany? ..................................................................................... 120 4.7 Trust Company ........................................................................................................... 124 4.8 Liberalisation of German imports .............................................................................. 134 4.9 EPU-problems between the Netherlands and Germany ......................................... 141 4.10 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 153 Chapter 5 Rotterdam, Rhine, and the German hinterland, 1945-1957............................... 156 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 156 5.2 The Rhine and Germany in ruins .............................................................................. 158 5.3 The Allies discriminate against Dutch sea ports ...................................................... 163 5.4 Rotterdam ruled out as port for the German hinterland .......................................... 165 5.5 Dutch Rhine shipping barred from Germany ........................................................... 169 5.7 The hinterland and the German partition ................................................................. 172 5.8 Bonn continues Allied policy ..................................................................................... 174 5.9 Freedom on the internal German waterways? .......................................................... 175 5.10 Traffic plummets ....................................................................................................... 180 5.11 Pragmatic policy gains the upper hand ................................................................... 185 5.12 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 188 4 Chapter 6 Dutch-German political relations, 1949-1957 ..................................................... 191 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 191 6.2 Du Mont sensitive of Dutch anti-German feelings .................................................. 192 6.3 World War II and Dutch-German political relations................................................ 195 6.4 Dutch-German political ties on a low level ............................................................... 196 6.5 Du Mont: the first consular German representative in the Netherlands ................ 200 6.6 The Cold War .............................................................................................................. 203 6.7 Tensions endure in Dutch-German political relations............................................. 207 6.8 Bonn hardly responsive? ............................................................................................. 211 6.9 The Hague, West German rearmament and European integration ....................... 217 6.10 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 221 Chapter 7 Conclusions: political consequences of Dutch-German economic interwovenness, 1945-1957 .................................................................................................... 224 Primary sources ..................................................................................................................... 232 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 236 Summary in Dutch ................................................................................................................ 261 Curriculum Vitae ................................................................................................................... 269 5 Acknowledgements Writing a PhD-thesis is considered by many to be a lonesome, arduous, frustrating, irritating, but, most importantly, rewarding personal and intellectual process. In retrospect, I can fully agree with the last two observations, but I do not subscribe to the less attractive sides of writing, although I can not speak for others. I consider writing this PhD as one of the most rewarding and interesting periods of my life. In October 2006 I started my research under the supervision of Hein Klemann, who kept me on track all the time, saved me from many pitfalls and mistakes, gave invaluable comments and advice on earlier versions of this thesis and was always positive. In 2006 and 2007 the Posthumus Institute PhD course and its European counterpart, the ESTER network, was of great importance for streamlining my research, formulating research questions, finding additional sources and broadening my scope. I am grateful to all who attended these sessions, but especially to Oscar Gelderblom, Friso Wielenga, Margrit Müller, Jeroen Touwen, Ben Gales and Herman de Jong, whose comments were very helpful and stimulating. I also learned at lot at two conferences of the

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