After World War II was over, many people wanted to start a new life across the ocean. Five years of war had destroyed the Dutch economy, and it would take years to recover. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many Dutch people emigrated to Australia, Canada and the United States.

Foreign soldiers and Dutch girls

Starting in September 1944, the allied forces had liberated parts of the Netherlands. It took until 5 May 1945 for the Germans to capitulate and the entire country was free again. The foreign solders, from countries like Poland, Canada, the United States, Great Brittain and Russia, were received very warmly. The Dutch girls were attracted to these brave men in uniforms. Many soldiers had Dutch girlfriends. Several of these romances led to lasting relationships.

Poster welcoming the allied forces

Several of these women found themselves with child, and tried to get in touch with the baby's father. Some of these unexpected fathers sent for their girlfriends and their babies. Other women bore their 'liberation children' alone, because they couldn't find the father or the father wouldn't recognize the child.

After the war was over, some of these soldiers arranged for their girlfriends to come to them. This happened so often, that the Dutch government made an arrangement with the Canadian government. Canada sent a ship to take the Dutch girlfriends of their soldiers, sometimes together with their Dutch-Canadian babies, to Canada.

Starting a better life

For others began the difficult task of rebuilding the country. The winter of 1944/1945 had been especially severe, and caused many problems in the parts of the Netherlands that had not been liberated yet. Everything that would burn was used for fuel, everything that could be traded for food was traded.

Even though the Marshall Plan helped to rebuild the country and create jobs, many people were unemployed. Through their contacts with their liberators, they knew things were different elsewhere in the World. Many people, especially young families, emigrated to countries such as Australia, Canada or the United States. An article about Dutch emigration to Australia can be found elsewhere on this site.

Advertisement for English lessons to prepare for emigration

The trip

Most of the emigrants who emigrated after World War II, left by ship from Rotterdam. The Holland-Amerika-Lijn, a Dutch shipping company, had ships that could transport as much as 2,000 passengers at once. A few years later, flights became affordable. This not only enabled new emigrants to get to their new country quicker, but also enabled the emigrants to visit their relatives in the Netherlands.

Links

• Polygon Journal: Canadian brides (real video)
  This Dutch news broadcast video shows the farewell of the Dutch girls who travel to Canada to be with their boyfriends. In Dutch, but the images speak for themselves.

Last week, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online.

I've just added a Dutch genealogy store to the site. In this store, visitors can buy books, DVDs and prints about Dutch genealogy, history and culture. I've selected publications that I think would benefit somebody researching his Dutch roots. The store is powered by Amazon. This website receives a commission for all sales, enabling this website to remain free.

Have you ever wondered why first names seem to run in Dutch families for generations? In the Netherlands, people used to name their children after family members. This way, first names can stay in the family for centuries.

The best known example of naming children is when a child is named after it's grandparent. But other forms of naming are possible too.

Birth records are a part of the civil registration. A birth record lists the following data:

• Place, date and time of birth
• Names of parents
• Name, profession and age of the one registering the birth (often the father)
• Names, profession and age of the witnesses
• Often: address where the birth took place

Overijssel is a province in the east of the Netherlands. It borders on Germany in the east, Drenthe and Friesland in the north, Gelderland to the south and Flevoland and Gelderland to the west.

The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle. The largest towns are:

• Enschede
• Almelo
• Hengelo
• Oldenzaal
• Deventer

Lammert Oberink and Willemina Hofs were devout Christians in Varsseveld where Lammert was a member of the Seceder Church. The family emigrated in 1847 and unfortunately ended up on the Phoenix. When this ship perished, the entire family died except daughter Gerritje. She was the only survivor of the entire Varsseveld group of emigrants.

The first larger emigration wave from the Netherlands took place in the seventeenth century. A new colony was established in the Americas, which was called the New Netherlands. After a rough start, this colony attracted emigrants from all over Europe.