Events in the year 1944 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

: Wilhelmina *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (born Pieter Gerbrandij; 13 April 1885 – 7 September 1961) was a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 3 September 1940 until 25 June 1945. He oversaw the government-in-exile ...

Events

*17 to 20 September –

Battle of Nijmegen The Battle of Nijmegen, also known as the Liberation of Nijmegen, occurred from 17 to 20 September 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden during World War II. The Allies' primary goal was to capture the two bridges over the Waal River at N ...

*17 to 26 September –

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity fro ...

*30 September to 18 October –

Battle of Overloon The Battle of Overloon was a battle fought in the Second World War battle between Allied forces and the German Army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south-east of the Netherlands between 30 September and 18 October ...

*3 October to 8 November –

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies ...

*27 to 30 November –

Battle of Broekhuizen The Battle of Broekhuizen, a Dutch village near the Meuse, was a small but bloody battle which took place late in 1944 as part of the Allied campaign to liberate the left bank of the Meuse in the Netherlands (Peel marshes). Background In the fi ...

Dutch famine of 1944–45 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Births

*2 January –

Willy Dobbe Willy Dobbe (born 2 January 1944 in The Hague) is a Dutch television announcer and former television presenter. She was the host of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest and also presented the Dutch national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest 1971, ...

, television presenter and announcer *23 January –

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

, actor, writer and environmentalist (d. 2019) *16 March – Pieter de Zwart, sailor. *1 April –

Theo Hiddema Theo Upt Hiddema (born 1 April 1944) is a Dutch lawyer, media personality and politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2020. A member of Forum for Democracy (FvD), he became a member of the Senate in 2021 foll ...

, lawyer, media personality and politician *5 April –

Willeke van Ammelrooy Willy Geertje van Ammelrooij (born 5 April 1944), known as Willeke van Ammelrooy, is a Dutch actress and director. Life and career Willeke van Ammelrooy was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She attended drama school in Amsterdam. Van Ammelr ...

, actress and director *26 April –

Huib Ruijgrok Huib Ruijgrok (born 26 April 1944) is a Dutch people, Dutch former football coach (sport), coach. He coached Molde FK, Fredrikstad FK, De Graafschap, Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging, and HBS Craeyenhout (football club), HBS Craeyenhout. Reference ...

, footballer *20 May –

Boudewijn de Groot Frank Boudewijn de Groot (, born 20 May 1944) is a Dutch singer-songwriter, known for "''Welterusten Meneer de President''" (1966). Biography Youth Boudewijn de Groot was born in wartime occupied Dutch East Indies in 1944 in a Japanese concentr ...

, singer-songwriter *24 May –

Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg Heleen W.A.M. Sancisi-Weerdenburg (23 May 1944, in Haarlem – 28 May 2000, in Utrecht), was a Dutch ancient historian, specializing in classical Greek and Achaemenid history. Sancisi-Weerdenburg began her studies in ancient history at the Univer ...

, ancient historian (d. 2000) *10 June –

Eegje Schoo Eegje Marjolein Schoo (born 10 June 1944) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 4 November 1982 until 14 July 1986 in the Cab ...

, politician and diplomat *15 July – Klaas de Vries, composer *27 July –

Philip Freriks Philip Freriks (born 27 July 1944) is a Dutch journalist, columnist and television presenter. He is known for presenting the ''NOS Journaal NOS Journaal is the umbrella name for the news broadcasts of the Dutch public broadcaster NOS on radio ...

, journalist, columnist and television presenter *3 August – Willem H. Vanderburg, engineer *11 August –

Bean van Limbeek Bean van Limbeek (August 11, 1944–November 22, 2014) was a Dutch sport shooter. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 19 ...

, sport shooter (d. 2014). *30 August –

Freek de Jonge Frederik "Freek" Jan Georg de Jonge (born 30 August 1944) is a Dutch cabaret performer and writer. Biography Early life and career De Jonge was born in Westernieland as son of a pastor. His family moved to Workum, and later to Zaandam and G ...

, cabaret performer and writer *13 September –

Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau (13 September 1944, Leiden – 2 April 1998, Weteringbrug) was a Dutch biomechanist. He made large contributions to the field of biomechanics, particularly muscle coordination, energetics of movement, and the fun ...

, biomechanist (d. 1998) *23 September –

Jan Dijkema Jan Dijkema (born 23 September 1944) is a Dutch politician, sociologist and President of the International Skating Union. Career Dijkema studied sociology at the University of Groningen and was at the age of 32 in 1978 the youngest Member of th ...

, politician, sociologist and sports director *15 October –

Vilma Henkelman Vilma Maria Helena Henkelman (born 15 October 1944 in Rotterdam - died 20 March 2023) was a Dutch sculptor, ceramist, and photographer.Robbie van Leeuwen Robbie van Leeuwen (born 29 October 1944) is a Dutch musician who was a guitarist, sitarist, background vocalist and main songwriter for Dutch bands, including The Motions and Shocking Blue. In 1967 he played guitar on the only single ever rele ...

, musician *5 December –

Jeroen Krabbé Jeroen Aart Krabbé (; born 5 December 1944) is a Dutch actor and film director with a successful career in both Dutch and English-language films. He is best known to international audiences for his leading roles in the Paul Verhoeven films ''So ...

, actor and film director

Full date missing

* Max Bolleman, jazz drummer, audio engineer and record producer *

Kommer Damen Kommer Damen (born 1944) is a Dutch billionaire, and the chairman of the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards. Damen Shipyards was established in 1927 in the Dutch town of Hardinxveld-Giessendam by brothers Jan and Marinus Damen. In 1969 Jan Damen's ...

, businessman *

Tim Griek Tim Griek (1944, Haarlem – 13 February 1988, Ursem) was a Dutch people, Dutch musician and producer. Griek played the percussions in the Netherlands, Dutch music group The Jokers, in 1967 renamed to Ekseption. He left the group in 1968 to beco ...

, musician and producer (d. 1988) *

Sytse Strijbos Sytse Strijbos (born 1944) is a Dutch academic, former lecturer of Philosophy of technology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and at Potchefstroom University in South Africa, and chairman of the International Institute for Development and Ethi ...

, academic * Tjebbe van Tijen, sculptor, performance artist, curator, net artist, archivist, and media theorist

Deaths

*1 February –

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

, painter and theoretician (b. 1872) *2 February –

Tjapko van Bergen Tjapko Antoon van Bergen (March 26, 1903 in Heiligerlee, Groningen – February 2, 1944 in Krakolye, Leningrad, Russia) was a Dutch rower. He competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the men's coxed pair with Cornelis Dusseldorp; their bo ...

, rower and SS

Rottenführer ''Rottenführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of ''Rottenführer'' was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) an ...

(b. 1903). *8 February – Joop Kolkman, journalist and diplomat (b. 1896) *20 February – Albert Heijnneman, sprinter (b. 1896). *29 February – Abraham Mok, gymnast (b. 1888). *6 March –

Eva and Abraham Beem Eva and Abraham Beem were Dutch Jewish siblings and victims of the Holocaust in the Netherlands. They had been given new identities with a Christian family in an attempt to evade deportation by the Nazis, but were discovered and deported to Au ...

, Jewish siblings and victims of the Holocaust (b. 1932 and 1934) *6 March –

Simon Okker Simon Okker (1 June 1881 – 6 March 1944) was a Dutch Olympic epee and foil fencer, who was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Biography Okker was Jewish, and was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He participated in the 1906 Intercal ...

, fencer (b. 1881). *9 March –

Casper ten Boom Casper ten Boom (18 May 1859 – 9 March 1944) was a Dutch Christian who helped many Jews and resisters escape the Nazis during the Holocaust of World War II. He is the father of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom, who also aided the Jews and were sen ...

, helped many Jews and resisters escape the Nazis during the Holocaust of World War II (b. 1859) *6 April – W. F. Gisolf, geologist (b. 1884) *13 April –

Friedrich Gutmann Friedrich Bernhard Eugen "Fritz" Gutmann (15 November 1886 – 13 April 1944) was a Dutch banker and art collector. A convert from Judaism, he and his wife were murdered by the Nazis in 1944, and parts of his art collection stolen by the German occ ...

, banker and art collector (b. 1886) *30 May –

Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek the Younger Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek, known as The Younger (29 January 1873, Amsterdam - 30 May 1944, Amsterdam) was a Dutch animal painter, who specialized in birds. He is referred to as "the younger" to distinguish him from his great-uncle, the landscape ...

, painter (b. 1873) *10 June –

Willem Jacob van Stockum Willem Jacob van Stockum (20 November 1910 – 10 June 1944) was a Dutch mathematician who made an important contribution to the early development of general relativity. Biography Van Stockum was born in Hattem in the Netherlands. His father wa ...

, mathematician (b. 1910) *10 June –

Gerrit van der Veen Gerrit van der Veen (26 November 1902, Amsterdam — 10 June 1944, Overveen) was a Dutch sculptor. He was a member of the Dutch underground, which resisted the German occupation of Amsterdam during World War II. The historian Robert-Jan van Pe ...

, sculptor (b. 1902) *18 July –

Wim Anderiesen Willem Gerardus "Wim" Anderiesen (27 November 1903 – 18 July 1944) was a Dutch footballer. Club career Born in Amsterdam, he played for Romein and 't Gooi before being admitted to Ajax, where he would play from 1925 to 1940, winning five ...

, footballer (b. 1903) *31 July –

Settela Steinbach Anna Maria (Settela) Steinbach (23 December 1934, Buchten – 31 July 1944) was a Dutch girl who was gassed in Nazi Germany's Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Initially identified as a Dutch Jew, her personal identity and association ...

, holocaust victim (b. 1934) *4 August – Hans Mossel, clarinetist and saxophonist (b. 1905) *7 August – Johannes Scheuter, sport shooter (b. 1880). *11 August – Joop Westerweel, schoolteacher and World War II resistance leader (b. 1899) *18 August – Dirk Boonstra, resistance membe (b. 1920) *2 September –

Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz (18 September 1871 – 2 September 1944) was a Dutch explorer in New Guinea and diplomat in South Africa. He was born to Theodorus Apolonius Ninus Lorentz, a tobacco grower in East Java who had returned to the ...

, explorer and diplomat (b. 1871) *3 September –

Ernst de Jonge Ernst Willem de Jonge (22 May 1914 – 3 September 1944) was a lawyer and Rowing (sport), Olympic rower who volunteered to serve in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. He was captured in May 1942, interrogated and moved through seve ...

, lawyer, Olympic rower and member of the Dutch resistance (b. 1914). *6 September –

Lion van Minden Lion van Minden (10 June 1880 – 6 September 1944) was a Dutch Olympic epee fencer, who was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Early life Van Minden was born in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Ams ...

, fencer (b. 1880). *8 September – Jan van Gilse, composer and conductor (b. 1881) *9 September – Dirk Boonstra, police commander (b. 1893) *15 September – Walter Middelberg, rower (b. 1875). *19 September –

Jan van Hoof Jan Jozef Lambert van Hoof (7 August 1922 – 19 September 1944) was a member of the Dutch resistance in World War II, who cooperated with Allied Forces during Operation Market Garden. He is credited with disabling explosives placed by the Ger ...

, resistance member (b. 1922) *4 October –

Maurits van Löben Sels Maurits van Löben Sels (1 May 1876 – 4 October 1944) was a Dutch épée, foil and sabre fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved ...

, fencer (b. 1876). *7 October –

Jacobus Kann Jacobus Henricus Kann (The Hague, 12 July 1872 – Theresienstadt, 7 October 1944) was a Dutch Jewish banker and partner of the Lissa & Kann banking house. He was among the main leaders of the early Zionist Movement Life and work At the Seventh ...

, banker (b. 1872) *18 October –

Juda Lion Palache Juda Lion Palache (October 26, 1886 – October 18, 1944) was a professor of Semitic languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic) at the University of Amsterdam and a leader of the Portuguese Jewish community in that city. He came from the Pallache family ...

, linguist (b. 1886) *21 October –

Adri Bleuland van Oordt Adri Bleuland van Oordt was a Dutch artist and draftswoman who was active from around 1877 until her death in 1944. Biography Adriana Maria Hendrika Bleuland van Oordt (known as Adri Bleuland van Oordt) was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands on ...

, artist and draftswoman (b. 1862) *5 November –

Willy Dols Willy Dols (Sittard, 21 March 1911 – Schwesing, 5 November 1944) was a Dutch linguist, dialectologist and phonologist. He was the first one to make a profound study of the diphthongization which is typical for the Sittard dialect, in his disserta ...

, linguist (b. 1911) *6 December – Boy Ecury, resistance member (b. 1922) *16 December –

Betsie ten Boom Elisabeth ten Boom (19 August 1885 – 16 December 1944) was a Dutch woman, the daughter of a watchmaker, who suffered persecution under the Nazi regime in World War II, including incarceration in Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she died ...

, resistance member (b. 1885) *18 December – M. H. J. Schoenmaekers, mathematician (b. 1875) *28 December –

Tjeerd Pasma Tjeerd Pasma (24 June 1904 – 28 December 1944) was a Dutch modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross co ...

, modern pentathlete (b. 1904).

References