Commissie voor Oorlogsvluchtelingen

The Commissie voor Oorlogsvluchtelingen (Commission for War Refugees) was established by the Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken (Ministry of the Interior) on 18 September 1939. After the outbreak of the war, a refugee flow of approximately 20,000 people from Germany, consisting of Dutch and foreigners, was taken into account. In the eastern provinces (Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland and Limburg), government commissioners were appointed and had to organize and coordinate the reception of refugees in the particular provinces. They had to ensure a rapid transport of the refugees to the west of the country, so that the Dutch army could not be hindered by streams of refugees.