“Here come the Canadians … to restore our freedom to us”: “And we will praise God, when the Canadians … have vanished back to Canada”

Authors

Eric McGeer

Abstract

The following editorials and articles, translated from the Nijmegen newspaper De Gelderlander, offer English-language readers insight into the concerns and perspectives of the Dutch as they dealt with the uneven transition from occupation to liberation and the welcome yet at times troublesome presence of the Allied forces, the Canadians in particular. Although the physical damage inflicted by the war was everywhere visible, it was the moral and psychological effect of the occupation on the young that formed the greatest source of concern, especially when those who had come of age during years of deprivation and disorientation encountered exotic young soldiers eager to enjoy the pleasures of life after years of training and combat. The articles reveal the conflicting reactions of the liberated to their liberators in an extraordinary and unprecedented set of circumstances.

Recommended Citation

McGeer, Eric "“Here come the Canadians … to restore our freedom to us”: “And we will praise God, when the Canadians … have vanished back to Canada”." Canadian Military History 33, 2 (2024)