Published in The Hague Times, January 13th 2006:
"Football fans to don Nazi helmets during World Cup
Thousands of Dutch football fans travelling to Germany this summer to support the national football team will wear orange plasic helmets designed to resemble those worn by Nazi soldiers occupying the Netherlands during World War Two. The helmets will have fan slogans painted on them, such as "Hup Holland Hup" (Go Holland!), "Aanvalluuuh" (attack!) and "jetzt geht's lossss" ("let's go for it " in German). The first 15,000 helmets have been sold already. The "helmpje" company which produced this supporter's hat sees it as a joke, and denies allegations it exploits painful memories in a negative way."
The extent of the dutch stupidity will always surprise me when it comes to football...and the relationship of the Dutch to their history. I had doubts about posting this message considering I do live in the Netherlands and I have many Dutch friends but there is a time when ENOUGH is ENOUGH! For the past five years I've spent in the Netherlands, whether in Eindhoven, Helmond or The Hague, I have come across Dutch people who expressed their hate of the German people/culture in many different ways: by taging or damaging cars, by insulting tourists, by insulting my region (which was torn appart between France and Germany for almost a century)...I was shocked to notice that this hate was the matter of people who belong to my generation, i.e. they do not know the attrocities of WWII. I do know that the Netherlands were annexed by Hitler who exhausted the country from its manpower and its ressources for more than 5 years. Hundreds of thousands died in the Nazi camps...Is it a reason for the Dutch people to transmit this hate of Germany to their kids? One can remember this dark period and can still forgive I think! It seems to me that this is something beyond the capacity of the average Dutch citizen...can you imagine that some Dutch even do refuse of speaking German (though 95% of the population does understand the language)? When it comes to making business with the German tourists, the Dutch however seem to be more pragmatic...There is no wonder why Romano Prodi, the new italian PM, has called for an advanced European Union core without the Netherlands (see this review article in the Dutch Newspaper Telegraaf)
The dutch politics do seem to silently ackowledge the Helmet initiative...Jan-Peter Balkenende, the Dutch PM, who by the way does not speak any word of German (or at least so he claims), has not reacted to this "helmpje" story. Frank Huizinga, the president of the KNVB (the Dutch football association) though showed signs of concern by emphasizing that those helmets were not matching the spirit of the World Cup...Finally, someone with guts...!!! On March 7th 2006, the helmets were forbidden from the Dutch stadiums...by order of the KNVB. France 3 TV however reported about those same helmets on April 15th and mentioned that 250,000 had already been sold around the world (but mostly in the Netherlands). Free Time Products, the company incriminated, indeed tries to diversify its public by selling blue helmets to the French supporters and golden ones to the....German fans....Looks like the word "stupid " is written on my forehead!
I sincerely hope that the European parliament will react and send a strong message to the Netherlands...I find it outreagous that a country which hosts so many international organizations, such as the International court of Justice or Europol, does allow such behaviors and shows so little respect of its neighbours. It is maybe time for those organizations and their thousands of expats to go somewehere else...We'll see then if the Dutch will still shout "Aanvalluuuhhhh".....
Jerome Remy, The Hague, April 24th 2006
