The 1945 shooting on Dam square took place during the liberation of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

on 7 May 1945, in the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in Europe.

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

soldiers fired machine guns into a large crowd gathered on

Dam square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. Location and description ...

to celebrate the end of the war, killing over 30 people.

Background

The German forces 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 ...

surrendered to the Allies on 5 May 1945. However, the western part of the country remained occupied by the Germans until Allied troops could arrive to disarm them.Stichting Memorial voor Damslachtoffers 7 mei 1945
/ref> Local newspapers reported on 6 May that Canadian forces would reach Amsterdam the next day."The events of May 1945 in chronological order"
Stichting Memorial voor Damslachtoffers 7 mei 1945 On 7 May, thousands of people gathered on the Dam, the central square of the city, to celebrate the end of the war and welcome the Allied soldiers. Shortly after noon, a handful of

Humber Armoured Car The Humber Armoured Car was one of the most widely produced British armoured cars of the Second World War. It supplemented the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car and remained in service until the end of the war. Development The Guy company did ...

s of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...

began to approach the Dam by way of the

Rokin The Rokin is a canal and major street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs from Muntplein square to Dam square. The Rokin canal used to run from Muntplein square to Dam Square, but in 1936, the part between Spui square and Dam Square was ...

to carry out

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

. A convoy of German vehicles, also carrying out reconnaissance, narrowly passed the British vehicles near the Dam, but quickly disappeared again. The British, observing that the situation was potentially explosive, decided to withdraw from the city until forces of the Dutch resistance () had successfully disarmed the Germans and taken possession of three key locations: the Royal Palace, the main money office and the main post office (Operation Three Castles).

Shooting

While the local citizens celebrated on Dam square, German soldiers of the Kriegsmarine were trapped inside the (Grand Club) building, a large building at the corner of the Dam and

Kalverstraat The Kalverstraat (, ) is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The street runs roughly North-South for about 750 meters, from Dam Square to Muntplein square. The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping stre ...

. In the nearby Paleisstraat, local forces arrested two German soldiers. One of them refused to surrender his weapon and fired a shot. German soldiers then appeared in the windows, on the balcony and on the roof of the and started firing into the crowd with machine guns."Amsterdam, '7 mei 1945'"
National Comité 4 en 5 mei (Dutch) Large-scale panic broke out on Dam square and most of the crowd dispersed via the Nieuwendijk, Rokin and

Damrak The Damrak is an avenue and partially filled in canal at the centre of Amsterdam, running between Amsterdam Centraal in the north and Dam Square in the south. It is the main street where people arriving at the station enter the centre of Amsterda ...

. Some people sought cover behind street lights and other objects, including a

barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the sam ...

known as and a small truck. After the initial shots, a second round was fired. The Germans and resistance forces then started to exchange fire. In total, the shooting lasted about two hours, until about 5pm. Members of the

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

and nurses attempted to aid the victims. According to some sources, Major Overhoff, who commanded the local forces, persuaded a German officer, Bergmann, to join him in entering the and ordering the German soldiers to cease fire. In another version of events, the shooting had already ended by the time they reached the , after local forces had fired

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

rockets at the building, or threatened to do so.J.Nuis
"Centraal Station Amsterdam, 7 mei 1945"
, Vereniging Dragers Bronzen Leeuw en Bronzen Kruis / Veteranen-online (Dutch) The German soldiers at the remained there until they were taken into custody by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

forces on 9 May and taken back to Germany. German and local forces also exchanged fire at

Amsterdam Centraal station Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, m ...

that day, causing the death of two Dutch soldiers and a number of German soldiers.

Aftermath

The day after the shooting, on 8 May, Canadian forces entered the city. Tens of thousands gathered on Dam square on 9 May to celebrate the liberation and listen to speeches by Prime Minister Gerbrandy and others. The shooting was never fully investigated. After the event, local newspapers reported between 19 and 22 fatalities, but no official list of casualties was ever released. Stichting Memorial voor Damslachtoffers 7 mei 1945, an organisation founded to commemorate the event, has since identified a total of 32 people who died as a result of the event, not including German casualties. Twenty-six died immediately while five more died later of gunshot wounds. The last known victim died on 22 June. The actual number of fatalities may be higher; in some cases, it had not yet been determined whether the death was related to the Dam square shootout. The full number of wounded is also unknown; newspaper reports gave between 100 and 120 wounded.

Remembrance

Two years after the shooting, a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the facade of the at the corner of the Dam and

. Between June 2015 and March 2016, 15,509 virtual stones were placed on the website plaatseensteen.nl / placeastone.nl, shaping the letters of the victims’ names. On 1 March 2016, the end result was transferred to stone reliefs and embedded in the pavement of Dam square. The memorial was unveiled by Mayor

Eberhard van der Laan Eberhard Edzard van der Laan (; 28 June 1955 – 5 October 2017) was a Dutch politician who served as Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration from 2008 to 2010 and Mayor of Amsterdam from 2010 until his death in 2017. He was a member ...

on 7 May 2016 following a ceremony in the Nieuwe Kerk church."Unveil Memorial May 7 2016"
Stichting Memorial voor Damslachtoffers 7 mei 1945 A national

Remembrance of the Dead Remembrance of the Dead ( nl, Dodenherdenking) is held annually on May 4 in the Netherlands. It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since ...

ceremony is held on Dam square every year on 4 May. Carel Frederik Overhoff, who commanded the Dutch forces in Amsterdam on 7 May 1945, received the

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

in 1947 for his efforts to put an end to the fighting,E.H. Müller
"Een ridder verguisd en vergeten: Carel Frederik Overhoff"
Stichting Memorial voor Damslachtoffers 7 mei 1945 (Dutch) but the honour was rescinded in 1952 after Overhoff was convicted of embezzlement and imprisoned.

References

External links