Rotterdam Raid

The Rotterdam Raid was the largest deportation operation during World War II in the Netherlands: In just two days, on November 10 and 11, 1944, some 52,000 men between the ages of 17 and 40 were arrested from the port city in the southwest of the country (as well as the suburb of Schiededam) and deported for forced labor for the Nazi regime. The raid had been precisely prepared by the German occupiers as “Aktion Rosenstock” and hit the Rotterdam population completely unexpectedly. 8,000 German soldiers sealed off the city, the entire telephone network was shut down, and due to curfews in effect, personal communication was severely limited, making it easier for the Nazis to make arrests. There was hardly any resistance. 10,000 of the prisoners were deported to the east of the Netherlands, 42,000 to the German Reich.