A new group has been formed here to help the children of World War II Dutch Nazi collaborators who are said to be experiencing social and psychological problems derived from their parents’ activities for which they were in no way responsible.
The prime mover behind the “Working Group NSB Children”–the NSB was the wartime Dutch Nazi party– is a Protestant clergyman, the Rev. Arie Klamer, who asserts that children invariably suffer for the misdeeds of their parents. According to Klamer, known as the “Radio Pastor,” a great deal of attention has been paid in Holland to the problems of second generation Jews, the children of Nazi victims and Holocaust survivors, who have experienced problems of adjustment because of their parents’ traumatic experiences.
On the other hand, the problems of the offspring of Dutch Nazis have been completely neglected, he said. Although these children, now adults, were not responsible for the attitudes of their parents, they are still frowned upon by society and have psychological problems.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.