Dutch-German Marriages after World War II: trials, experiences and the question of belonging
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2021-08-31
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en
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Central to this research is the goal to gain more insight into the Dutch post-war anti-German
atmosphere and its consequences on everyday life by studying Dutch-German marriages in the
aftermath of World War II. Marriages and sexuality delimited national and regional community
boundaries. The choice for a partner inside or outside one’s community could reveal the social
process of inclusion and exclusion. Moreover, after the Second World War, Dutch society was
saturated with anti-German feelings and the Dutch national identity was constructed in contrast
to Germany. Therefore, opinions about Dutch-German marriages expose the existing ideas of
national belonging and the demarcations of the Dutch national community. Furthermore, the
experiences of Dutch-German marriage couples between 1945 and 1970 will provide insight
into the societal processes of conflict, assimilation and adaption. This research incorporated
both top-down as well as bottom-up perspectives on the macro-, meso- and micro-level. Using
laws, national policy papers, newspaper reports and semi-structured oral history interviews, this thesis sheds light on the question how the post-war anti-German atmosphere affected Dutch-German marriages in the Netherlands in the first twenty-five postwar years. The underlying hypothesis of this study is that the negative influence of World War II was stronger in the immediate post-war years than in the decades that followed, and it will use the concept
of ‘gendered citizenship’ as an analytical tool. Not only does this thesis show how gender,
marriage and the construction of the Dutch national community are interconnected, but also
that the demarcations of national communities are fluid depending on the passing of time, the
changing of norms and values and the dynamical social processes of inclusion and exclusion.
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