Liberation of Civilians

The seventh and concluding set of Second World War stamps are being issued on March 20, 1995, just before the 50th anniversary of V-E Day, on the theme of peace. After five years of occupation, the Netherlands were about to be liberated! Food shortages bordering on starvation hit the Netherlands in the winter 1944-1945. Malnutrition and disease took its toll as the number of corpses grew. Queen Wilhelmina desperately called for Allied intervention. The 2nd Canadian Corps pushed rapidly, liberating Zutphen, Deventer and Groningen by April 16. The 1st Canadian Corps was simultaneously entering Arnhem and Apeldoorn. The German troops were forced towards Utrecht in the Western Netherlands which held nearly 40 percent of the population in the large cities and where shortages were most severe. General Eisenhower recommended against military operations in the Western Netherlands, since civilian casualties would be high. Instead, he requested that direct negotiations be held with the German Reichskommissar. On April 28, German and Canadian generals met, and the first drops of rations began the next day.