Dutch Annexation Of German Territory After World War II
At the end of World War II, plans were made in the Netherlands to annex German territory as compensation for the damages caused by the war. In October 1945, the Dutch state asked Germany for 25 billion guilders in reparations, but in February 1945 it had already been established at the Yalta Conference that reparations would not be given in monetary form. The plan which was worked out in most detail was the one made by Frits Bakker-Schut, and hence became known as the Bakker-Schut Plan.
In its most ambitious form, this plan included the cities of Cologne, Aachen, Münster and Osnabrück, and would have enlarged the country by 30 to 50 percent. The local population had to be either deported, or, when still speaking the original Low German dialects, Dutchified. The plan was largely dropped after U.S. dismissal of it. Eventually, an area of a total size of 69 km2 was allocated to the Netherlands. Almost all of this was returned to West Germany in 1963 after Germany paid the Netherlands 280 million German marks.
Many Germans living in the Netherlands were however declared 'enemy subjects' after World War II ended and put into an internment camp in an operation called Black Tulip. A total of 3,691 Germans were ultimately deported. The UK responded by expelling 100,000 Dutch citizens living in occupied Germany.
Read more about Dutch Annexation Of German Territory After World War II: Liberation, Bakker Schut Plan, Dispute, Implementation, Return
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