Molotov

The hardships which The Netherlands had to face due to fascist aggression and occupation are finally at an end. Rising from the ashes, the Dutch people prevail stronger than ever. After extremely harsh winters in both 1944 and 1945, food supplies became scarce in our country, especially in the densely populated western provinces where the largest cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague are located. With the benefit of hindsight, the causes of these difficulties can now better be understood. The defeat of the forces of fascism in Italy and France, resulted in the supply of coal, fuel, and other raw materials coming from Italy and southern France to the German-occupied Netherlands being cut off. Another issue were the reprisals ordered by the German occupiers, as ordered by Arthur Seyss-Inquart as 'Reich Commissioner' of the Netherlands.




As a twisted form of revenge for the brave and valiant activities of the Dutch resistance, the Germans started blockading important transports across The Netherlands, which meant food could no longer be transported to the major cities. Furthermore, the German army destroyed docks and bridges to flood the country and impede the Allied advance, in a futile attempt to delay their defeat. The destruction of infrastructure however further contributed to the hardships in The Netherlands, resulting in food supplies dwindling as conditions grew increasingly bad in the German-occupied Netherlands.




With the defeat of the German oppressors however, the supply lines could once again slowly be re-established. Whereas fascist and other anti-national propaganda continued to exaggarate the famine and scarcity of food in The Netherlands, fact is that the harvests in especially the northern provinces of The Netherlands were plentiful, but due to problems concerning logistics and destroyed infrastructure, the food supplies weren't able to reach some parts of the country. Because of this, The Netherlands would still like to voice its appreciation to the Soviet Union, United States, and all other countries who have contributed food supplies to the Dutch people in those places that couldn't immediately be reached. Their humanitarian efforts and solidarity with The Netherlands will never be forgotten.

Yesterday at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the leading Dutch psychoanalyst Joost Meerloo presented the results of his study and analysis of the strange psychological phenomenon that has been occurring more frequently lately, where people sometimes recall things that did not happen or that some things happened differently from the way it actually happened. Continuing to build on previous works, after this phenomenon was initially investigated years ago by psychological pioneers like the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud and French psychologist Pierre Janet, doctor Joost Meerloo explained that suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformation and especially source misattribution are believed to be a leading cause of a wide variety of types of false memory phenomena.




Doctor Meerloo has colloquially dubbed this shared false memory phenomenon the "Patton Effect", named after the American general George Patton, in reference to a false memory that has reportedly been shared by thousands of people worldwide of the death of general Patton in December 1945 after a car accident in Germany. Besides that George Patton would clearly have no reason to be in Germany in the first place, the general is in fact reportedly alive and well in the United States. The increased public interest within the Netherlands for the results of doctor Meerloo's study can be explained by the recent spike of this false memory phenomenon in The Netherlands. More recent examples of the "Patton Effect" within the Netherlands are memories of the execution of dozens of Dutch partisans such as Jan Braams, Hannie Schaft and Binnert Philip de Beaufort, after communist resistance forces quite suddenly increased their armed resistance activities to near-suicidal levels during the final weeks of the 2nd World War, due to the fear that waiting for a Dutch liberation by British or American forces would destroy any chance of communism and socialism in the Low Countries, even though it was in fact very obvious ever since the end of 1944 that the brave soldiers of the Soviet Red Army would clearly be the ones to arrive first in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and help its people in the post-war rebuilding of their countries, removing any reason for Dutch partisans to take insane risks or otherwise increase their activities against the Germans towards the end of the war.




As to the claims of several reactionary and anti-revolutionary sources, who have started to print libelous slander in relation to the recent retirement of several members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands, even though the official press releases have stated clearly and unmistakably that the retiring comrades are "thanked for their services" and that their retirement is due to the effects of old age, a desire to spend more time with family after the stressful and mentally draining years of German occupation, and other reasons of personal nature. Whether these claims are more examples of the "Patton Effect" or that they are the result of anti-revolutionary slander by foreign elements seeking to bait conflict remains to be seen, although the CPN has warned its cadres that those found to be spreading libelous propaganda against fellow comrades will face harsh consequences.