BECAUSE WE NEED THEM German-Dutch relations after the occupation: economic inevitability and political acceptance, 1945-1957 Martijn Lak
BECAUSE WE NEED THEM German-Dutch relations after the occupation: economic inevitability and political acceptance, 1945-1957 Omdat we ze nodig hebben Duits-Nederlandse betrekkingen na de bezetting: economische onvermijdelijkheid en politieke acceptatie, 1945-1957 PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op gezag van de rector magnificus Prof.dr. H.G. Schmidt en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties. De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op donderdag 8 december 2011 om 09.30 uur door Martijn Lak geboren te Amersfoort
Promotiecommissie: Promotor: Prof.dr. H.A.M. Klemann Overige leden: Prof.dr. A. de Jong Prof.dr. F. Wielenga Prof.dr. C.W.A.M. van Paridon 4
Contents Acknowledgements... 6 Chapter 1 Introduction, historiography and composition of the study... 8 1.1 International relations theory... 8 1.2 Dutch-German relations 1945-1957: historiography... 16 1.3 Central research question and subquestions... 21 1.4 Composition of the study... 24 Chapter 2 Dutch-German relations 1945-1949: a troublesome era... 26 2.1 Introduction... 26 2.2 Dutch wartime views of Germany... 28 2.3 The Netherlands in May 1945... 40 2.4 Germany in May 1945... 44 2.5 Dutch demands... 50 2.6 Annexation of Germany territory... 53 2.7 Dutch-German economic relations intersected... 58 2.8 The Memorandum of 14 January 1947... 68 2.10 A decisive policy shift... 72 2.11 Conclusions... 75 Chapter 3 Financial problems, 1945-1957... 77 3.1 Introduction... 77 3.2 Dutch investments in Germany before and during World War II... 79 3.3 The Allies and their policy... 84 3.4 Consequences of the Allied policy to the Netherlands... 88 3.5 Conclusions... 103 Chapter 4 Dutch-German trade relations, 1945-1957... 105 4.1 Introduction... 105 4.2 Dutch-German trade relations until 1945... 106 4.3 Post-war reorientation of Dutch trade?... 110 4.4 The Ruhr area at a standstill... 112 4.5 Dutch-German trade... 115 4.6 A Dutch credit for Germany?... 120 4.7 Trust Company... 124 4.8 Liberalisation of German imports... 134 4.9 EPU-problems between the Netherlands and Germany... 141 4.10 Conclusions... 153 Chapter 5 Rotterdam, Rhine, and the German hinterland, 1945-1957... 156 5.1 Introduction... 156 5.2 The Rhine and Germany in ruins... 158 5.3 The Allies discriminate against Dutch sea ports... 163 5.4 Rotterdam ruled out as port for the German hinterland... 165 5.5 Dutch Rhine shipping barred from Germany... 169 5.7 The hinterland and the German partition... 172 5.8 Bonn continues Allied policy... 174 5.9 Freedom on the internal German waterways?... 175 5.10 Traffic plummets... 180 5.11 Pragmatic policy gains the upper hand... 185
5.12 Conclusions... 188 5
Chapter 6 Dutch-German political relations, 1949-1957... 191 6.1 Introduction... 191 6.2 Du Mont sensitive of Dutch anti-german feelings... 192 6.3 World War II and Dutch-German political relations... 195 6.4 Dutch-German political ties on a low level... 196 6.5 Du Mont: the first consular German representative in the Netherlands... 200 6.6 The Cold War... 203 6.7 Tensions endure in Dutch-German political relations... 207 6.8 Bonn hardly responsive?... 211 6.9 The Hague, West German rearmament and European integration... 217 6.10 Conclusions... 221 Chapter 7 Conclusions: political consequences of Dutch-German economic interwovenness, 1945-1957... 224 Primary sources... 232 Bibliography... 236 Summary in Dutch... 261 Curriculum Vitae... 269 6
Acknowledgements Writing a PhD-thesis is considered by many to be a lonesome, arduous, frustrating, irritating, but, most importantly, rewarding personal and intellectual process. In retrospect, I can fully agree with the last two observations, but I do not subscribe to the less attractive sides of writing, although I can not speak for others. I consider writing this PhD as one of the most rewarding and interesting periods of my life. In October 2006 I started my research under the supervision of Hein Klemann, who kept me on track all the time, saved me from many pitfalls and mistakes, gave invaluable comments and advice on earlier versions of this thesis and was always positive. In 2006 and 2007 the Posthumus Institute PhD course and its European counterpart, the ESTER network, was of great importance for streamlining my research, formulating research questions, finding additional sources and broadening my scope. I am grateful to all who attended these sessions, but especially to Oscar Gelderblom, Friso Wielenga, Margrit Müller, Jeroen Touwen, Ben Gales and Herman de Jong, whose comments were very helpful and stimulating. I also learned at lot at two conferences of the European Business History Association, and at a workshop of the German History Institute in Washington D.C. The conference Deutsch-niederländische Wirtschaftsbeziehungen im 20. Jahrhundert in Münster offered me the first occasion to present some preliminary results of my research. I have warm memories of this 2008-meeting. Many peopled and institutions helped me along the way. I d like to name of number of them in person, although I m sure to have forgotten someone. On multiple occasions, parts of this study were critically and fundamentally assessed by Ben Wubs and Jeroen Euwe. Ben learned me a lot about the four large Dutch multinationals in Germany, whereas Jeroen was invaluable in helping processing all my data and figures. I m much indebted to them. Of course, responsibility for the text and the calculations is totally mine. Most of the time, however, the progress of my thesis was discussed by Hein in the comfort of his own house. It were long days of hard work, but I ve found them to be extremely helpful and rewarding, not to mention the great lunches and dinners Hein served on these occasions. There was also more than enough time to discuss other things that are important in life. I felt very much at home. Many thanks go to the staff of the National Archives in The Hague, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam, the Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Düsseldorf and the Bundesarchiv in Berlin and Koblenz. They were of great help in finding the correct and interesting documents and files. Hilde Dotting of TNS-NIPO gave me access to its small, cosy archive. My research in Berlin and Koblenz was partly made possible by a grant of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, for which I m very grateful. Ellen Spielmann was so kind to rent me a room in her beautiful apartment in Berlin. 7
Writing a PhD-thesis is also partially a matter of logistics. Mark de Jong has been of invaluable help when troubles with my computer arose and drove me to madness. Like a wizard, he was in no-time able to solve all these problems. Theresa Oostvogels was of great assistance with all the paperwork which has to be completed when finishing your PhD-thesis. Liz van Weezendonk edited the English. She did a great job and her emails were a joy to read. Over numerous cups of tea and tosti s, Suzanne Lommers and I discussed our research and progress, and, even more importantly, other aspects of life. These gettogethers were a great breakaway from work and PhD-troubles. I thank all my friends for hearing my stories on the post-war Dutch relations and their interest in my work. Maarten Huikeshoven, although a true bèta, showed much interest and asked many provocative and stimulating questions, most of the time with the comfort of a nice fire, and music the Rolling Stones! playing in the background. Finally, there are some people I want to thank specifically. Jacqueline and Irene Kool were always enthusiastic and curious about my progress. Their emails and talks over a cup of tea were of great support. My great indebtedness and love go to my parents, Jaap and Margo, who always encouraged me to follow my own path and taught me to be critical and full of trust. My warmest love and thanks go to my wife, Willemien, my joy of life and future mother of our child. During the writing of my thesis, she was of great support, supplying me with drinks, drop, warmth and love, giving me the space to do my thing and reminding me in time that there is more to life than writing a thesis. On 3 July 2010, René Dammen, my former high school History teacher, passed away. As he intoxicated me with the history virus, he had a great influence on my path of life and the choices I made. I consider him to be my father of history. Therefore, I dedicate this thesis to him.