Suicide in the Netherlands in World War II

During World War II, the Netherlands experienced a significant increase in suicide rates. The largest surge occurred immediately following the German invasion of the Netherlands from 10 to 15 May 1940. During this period, 388 individuals committed suicide, with hundreds more attempting to do so.^[3] The majority of these suicides, 211 in total, were among the Jewish population.^[4] The implementation of measures against Jews, particularly the deportations, contributed to subsequent peaks in suicide rates.^[5] Around the end of the war, at least 113 collaborators committed suicide in the Netherlands.^[6]

Suicides in the period 1936-1949^[1][2]

Year	Total	Jews[a]
1936	767	avg. 29
1937	749
1938	833
1939	745
1940	1046	257
1941	661	37
1942	901	247
1943	855	169
1944	653
1945	1011
1946	852
1947	701
1948	697
1949	674

May 1940

211 Jews committed suicide in May 1940.^[4] Notable Jews who committed suicide during these periods included Emanuel Boekman,^[7] Jacob van Gelderen^[7] and Louis Fles.^[8]

177 of those who committed suicide were not of Jewish decent. Among them were Menno ter Braak and Willem Adriaan Bonger.^[7]

Collaborators

In the period 1944-1947, 113 collaborators have been identified who committed suicide.^[9] Notable examples were Meinoud Rost van Tonningen and Robert van Genechten.^[6]

See also

• Mass suicides in Nazi Germany

References

• Ligtenberg, Lucas (2017). Mij krijgen ze niet levend: De zelfmoorden van mei 1940 (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Balans. ISBN 978-94-6003-845-7.
• Ultee, Wout; Luijkx, Ruud; Van Tubergen, Frank (2009). "The Netherlands and World War II, Jews and suicide". War and Suicide. Nova Science Publishers. pp. 73–92.
• Van Tubergen, Frank; Ultee, Wout (2000). "Zelfdodingen onder politieke delinquenten in Nederland 1944-1947" (PDF). Mens en Maatschappij (in Dutch). 75 (3).