De razzia van Rotterdam. 10-11 november 1944 - KNAW

SUMMARY 2 6 9
Between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning all outer suburban districts of Rotterdam,
including the area of Schiedam, had been occupied by German detachments. The
town’s central districts had been isolated. On November 10 the razzia was carried
out in the suburbs, on November 11 it was the turn of the centre. The German
organisation was such that it was impossible to move from one district to another.
The bridges and the tunnel linking the town’s Southern and northern part were
occupied by the Germans. Both Rotterdam and Schiedam were divided into different
areas each under the command of a German officer, who in his turn had a number
of detachments under his control. Thus each area was subdivided into sub-areas,
which were so small that the closing off of streets and blocks of houses offered no
special difficulties.
The Rotterdam districts south of the river Maas might have been difficult to comb
through. Many possibilities for escape were offered by the extensive harbour works.
This part of the town, however, had a particularly dense population.
Methods of intimidation were to be most effective here. House-block after house-
block was encircled and searched. People were unable to contact each other. No
systematic plans could be made. In several places the Germans occupied the rooftops.
Usually the decision whether or not to obey the printed German order — which had
been distributed from house to house — had to be taken within the family.
Possibilities for hiding were few. After the razzia many ingenious hiding-places
were constructed, but these could not be improvised.
These material factors combined with the emotional pressure exerted on the
population of Rotterdam by over four years of war enabled the Germans to capture
several tens of thousands of men relatively easily.
How did the razzia present itself to the people?
Those who had been working in the town’s central districts in the night preceding
the razzia tried to regain their homes as quickly as possible. Most of them were unable
to do so. Their nervousness increased as they became aware of the fact that the areas
where they lived had been cordoned off. A few people succeeded in rowing across
the river Maas. This method of communication was quickly stopped by the Germans,
who started patrolling the river.
At about 7 o’clock in the morning the first large groups of the working population
left their homes and entered the streets. They intended to go to work, but they quickly
discovered that a razzia was being held. In some streets these people were told to
go to a given spot, in others they were sent back home without any explanation being
given. Those who returned home, warned their friends and neighbours, some of whom
were still sleeping. Others woke up as a result of the excited talking of their neighbours.
No one knew what was really going on. The only thing that was clear was that
nobody was allowed to leave the Street where he was living. In many cases the tension
caused by uncertainty decreased only when the German order to report for “work”
was issued or announced.
In some parts of the town the Germans had started early distributing the handbills.