Other deportees: Roma and Sinti, convicted Dutch citizens, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, forced labourers, prisoners of war (in numbers)
Roma and Sinti
Of the 245 Roma and Sinti deported to Auschwitz, only thirty returned, as far as we know. (B.A. Sijes, Vervolging van zigeuners in Nederland 1940-1945 (‘Persecution of Gypsies in the Netherlands 1940-1945’), The Hague, 1979, p. 134)
German concentration camps
Approximately 11,000 non-Jewish Dutch people were transported to concentration camps in Germany. It is estimated that about 800 of them were released during the war, and about 4,000 perished. In addition, it is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 Dutch people were locked up for some time in so-called Arbeitserziehungslager (‘labour reform camps’). (L. de Jong, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (‘The Kingdom of the Netherlands During the Second World War’), vol. 8, p. 887)
German prisons and penal institutions
About 2,500 non-Jewish Dutch people were transported to prisons and detention centres in Germany. Between 4,000 and 6,000 Dutch people who had been arrested and tried in Germany also ended up there. Hundreds of people from these two groups died. (L. de Jong, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (‘The Kingdom of the Netherlands During the Second World War’), vol. 8, p. 886-7)
Jehovah’s Witnesses
It is estimated that about 500 Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested in the Netherlands in 1940-1945. Over 300 of them were taken to German camps, and about 130 died from disease and deprivation or were – in some cases – executed. (Tineke Piersma, Getrouw aan hun geloof; De vervolging van de Nederlandse Jehovah’s Getuigen in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (‘Loyal to their Religion; The Persecution of the Dutch Jehovah’s Witnesses During the Second World War’), Diemen/Koog aan de Zaan, 2005, p. 93)
Homosexuals
The systematic persecution of homosexuals by the German authorities never materialised in the Netherlands. The number of Dutch people who fell victim to the Nazi’s anti-homosexual measures is conservatively estimated at several hundred. At least 138 of them were taken to court in the Netherlands, where 90 were found guilty; an unknown number was sentenced by German courts. An unknown number of others were dealt with outside of court. The prison sentences imposed by German courts in the Netherlands could sometimes be served in prisons and houses of detention in the Netherlands, but for the most part in prisons and detention centres in Germany. The information available seems to indicate that the prisoners were released from prison or penitentiary after they had served their sentences without further consequences. There are no indications that men of Dutch nationality arrested on counts of homosexuality were sent to German concentration camps in the Netherlands or elsewhere. (Sources: Yvonne Scherf, De vervolging van homosexualiteit tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog (‘The Persecution of Homosexuality during the Second World War’), pp. 57-58; Pieter Koenders, Tussen christelijk reveil en seksuele revolutie (‘Between Christian Revival and Sexual Revolution’), p. 840)
Arbeitseinsatz
It is estimated that between 600,000 and 681,000 Dutchmen worked in Germany during the war. Some went voluntarily, but most went against their will and some were taken there by force. In the long run, especially at the end of the war, the occupying forces even rounded up workers in the streets. Many of the workers transported to Germany eventually fled or returned ‘legally’. By the end of the war, there were probably still more than 381,000 Dutch workers in Germany. The exact number of workers who succumbed in Germany is not known. It is estimated at 8,500. (Sources: B.A. Sijes, De arbeidsinzet; De gedwongen arbeid van Nederlanders in Duitsland 1940-1945 (‘The Arbeitseinsatz; The Forced Labour Carried out by Dutchmen in Germany 1940-1945’), p. 605, 624-625; J.C.H. Blom, Crisis, bezetting en herstel (‘Crisis, Occupation, and Recovery’), p. 86)
Soldiers
In May 1940, more than 20,000 Dutch soldiers were transferred to prisoner-of-war camps in Germany. However, in the first half of June 1940, they were sent back to the Netherlands and demobilised. In July 1940, the released professional soldiers among them had to give their word of honour that they would no longer take part in the fight against Germany and that they would not commit any act or omission that could harm the German Reich. The army command recommended signing the statement, but 58 soldiers (mostly officers) refused. The ones who refused were sent back to a POW camp. In September 1940, five more officers withdrew their declarations. In May 1942, after the Germans had discovered that released officers had engaged in resistance work, another 1,800 officers, more than 60 midshipmen, and close to 90 cadets were taken into captivity. Another 140 officers of the reserves were added in March 1943. Finally, from May through August 1943, 11,000 professional soldiers and conscripts were deported to German prisoner-of-war camps. Together, these groups numbered over 13,000 men; between 2,000 and 3,000 were later released, and some 300-400 likely died in captivity. At least 16 Dutch officers who had tried unsuccessfully to escape captivity were killed in the Mauthausen concentration camp. (L. de Jong, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (‘The Kingdom of the Netherlands during the Second World War’), vol. 8, pp. 122-125, p. 886)