Germany–Netherlands relations


German–Dutch relations refer to diplomatic, military and cultural relations between the bordering nations of Germany and the Netherlands. Relations between the modern states started after Germany became united in 1871. Before that the Netherlands had relations with Prussia and other, smaller German-speaking nations.

History

During World War I, the German army refrained from attacking the Netherlands, and thus relations between the two states were preserved. At war's end in 1918, the former Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands, where he lived till his death in 1941. The German army occupied the Netherlands during World War II and kept the country under occupation in 1940–1945. Adolf Hitler had considered the Netherlands suitable for annexation within the Greater Germanic Reich, viewing the Dutch as a related Germanic people. During this period, nearly three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish population perished in the Holocaust. Anne Frank was the most famous victim, as her diary survived and was published after the war. The Dutch famine of 1944–45, known in the Netherlands as the Hongerwinter, was a famine that took place in the German-occupied Netherlands, especially in the densely populated western provinces north of the great rivers, during the winter of 1944–45, near the end of World War II. A German blockade cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns. Some 4.5 million were affected and survived thanks to soup kitchens. At least 18-22,000 deaths occurred due to the famine. The famine was alleviated by the liberation of the provinces by the Allies in May 1945.

Present

Germany has an embassy in The Hague and consuls in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Maastricht, Noord-Beveland, Rotterdam, while the Netherlands has an embassy in Berlin and consuls in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart. Both nations are members of the European Union and NATO.
According to the official website of the Dutch government, relations between the two are currently "excellent", enjoying "close political, economic, social, cultural, administrative and personal ties". Germany is also by far the Netherlands’ main trading partner, both in imports and exports.

Emigration

, around 164,000 people with a Dutch migration background resided in Germany.

Country comparison

Embassies

The Embassy of Germany is located in The Hague, the Netherlands. The Embassy of the Netherlands is located in Berlin, Germany.