Princess Margriet Research Paper

7. THE NETHERLANDS ( HOLLAND )

CANADA, HOLLAND AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR

• following the German occupation of the Netherlands, in June 1940, the Dutch royal family took refuge in Canada. Princess Margriet was born in exile on January 19, 1943 while her family lived in Ottawa. The maternity ward of the Ottawa Civic Hospital, in which the princess was born, was temporarily declared to be extra-territorial by the Canadian government, thereby allowing her citizenship to be solely influenced by her mother's Dutch citizenship. To commemorate the birth, the Canadian Parliament flew the Dutch flag over the Peace Tower. This is the only time a foreign flag has flown over the Canadian Parliament Building.
• Every year since the end of the war , the Netherlands send tens of thousands of tulips ( the Dutch national flower) to Ottawa, in appreciation for Canada's sacrifice in liberating the country from the Nazi yoke and for providing safe harbour to the Royal Dutch family who lived in exile during the war. .
• During the “ Hungry Winter of 1944-45, food supplies were exhausted, with many people reduced to
The German forces finally surrendered on May 5, 1945. Immediately following the surrender , Canadian units were able to move into the Randstad and rapidly distribute desperately needed food supplies, causing many to see the Canadians not only as liberators but as saviours. This victory came at a terrible cost. More than 7,600 Canadians died in an effort to free the country. They are buried in the official war cemeteries across the country. Each year the Dutch people care for the burial places of our war