Queen Juliana (1909-2004) and Prince Bernhard (1911-2004)

[An Ard Ri]

Queen Juliana and Princess Christina viewed the wedding portait of Prince William (Willem) of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal
http://www.gettyimages.com/license/1329738777

During a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London in 1964

 

[CyrilVladisla]

When Princess Juliana became Queen Regnant was there any mention the Dutch Royal House name would change to The House of Lippe-Biesterfeld?
Prince Bernhard was of Lippe-Biesterfeld.

 

[Somebody]

When Princess Juliana became Queen Regnant was there any mention the Dutch Royal House name would change to The House of Lippe-Biesterfeld?
Prince Bernhard was of Lippe-Biesterfeld.

No, why would they? They didn't change the name to Mecklenburg-Schwerin when queen Wilhelmina got married...

If they would have wanted to change the name of the royal house, the name would have changed from Orange-Nassau to Mecklenburg-Schwerin at that point. Only when Beatrix ascended the throne, it was the 'house of Lippe-Biesterfeld' from that perspective; and the house of Amsberg when Willem-Alexander ascended the throne. However, unlike their cousins, the three princesses do not carry the name 'van Amsberg' nor the predicate 'jonkvrouw'.

So, it's pretty clear that the royal house will remain the house of Orange-Nassau.

 

[Lee-Z]

Dutch online media platform nu.nl reports today that P.Bernhard's membershipcard of the German NSDAP party was found in his personal archives (membership ended in 1936)
https://www.nu.nl/koningshuis/62837...rtij-zijn-lidmaatschapskaart-is-gevonden.html

Google translated
https://www-nu-nl.translate.goog/ko..._sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp

"Prince Bernhard's original NSDAP membership card has been found.*The map of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party is in the prince's private archives.*According to NRC,*this is stated*in a book that will be published on Wednesday.

Historians have long suspected that Prince Bernhard was a member of the Nazi party.*He himself denied this until his death, even though evidence to the contrary appeared several times in the past.*The discovery of his membership card seems to put an end to all uncertainty."

Several calls for an investigation on the matter
https://www.nu.nl/koningshuis/62838...nhard-na-vondst-lidmaatschapskaart-nsdap.html

google translated
https://www-nu-nl.translate.goog/ko..._sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

[crm2317]

Why on earth would they need an investigation into the matter? The man has been dead for nearly 20 years!!

 

[Stefan]

Why on earth would they need an investigation into the matter? The man has been dead for nearly 20 years!!

Indeed. And when membership ended in 1936 it was before he became a member of the dutch RF

 

[Prinsara]

He joined the SS before the war. How could he have possibly not been a member?

 

[Marengo]

Why on earth would they need an investigation into the matter? The man has been dead for nearly 20 years!!

It is election season and members of parlament want to be on television .

The membership has long been established -despite Bernhard's lies. Annejet van der Zijl did research on the matter and published a book about Bernhards younger years. In 2010 she already discussed his NSDAP membership and found some evidence in the archives of a Berlin university.

Now the membership card has been found too. What is there left to research for an official enquiry? And why would it be relevant? He had no political influence in the Netherlands at the time. And later on his support for the allied and Dutch cause was evident. Leave it to future biographers/ historians I would say.

It is surprising that the card was found and not burnt by Bernhard himself btw - or even by his daughters.

Edit: the NIOD (Dutch Institute for War , Holocaust and Genocide Studies) advises against a research now. They point out that Dik van der Meulen is working on a thorough biography and they want to await his book before advising if additional research is necessary.

 

[Somebody]

The Prime Minister (a historian; just like the king) also stated that he does not support a government-initiated study into the matter. He indicates that earlier research already quite convincingly showed his membership. Therefore, he says that it is up to historians to do any additional research as all relevant sources are publicly available.

 

[Lee-Z]

K.Willem-Alexander's response to the recent newstory
https://www.nu.nl/koningshuis/62840...nder-mooie-kant-verleden-onder-ogen-zien.html

google translated
https://www-nu-nl.translate.goog/ko..._sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp

"King Willem-Alexander believes that "we must face the past, even the less beautiful parts". He said this on Thursday afternoon in response to the news about his grandfather Prince Bernhard. Bernhard's NSDAP membership card surfaced on Wednesday.
"I can well imagine that the news has a major impact and evokes many emotions, especially among the Jewish community," the king said before the presentation of the Royal Prize for Painting in the Royal Palace on Dam Square. "But I am convinced that we have to face the past, even the less beautiful parts of the past."

That is why Willem-Alexander has decided to release the Royal House Archives until September 6, 1948, the Royal House previously announced. From January, researchers can consult letters, documents and other sources from these archives dating back to 1948."

 

[Alison H]

It is surprising that the card was found and not burnt by Bernhard himself btw - or even by his daughters.
.

According to the BBC website:

Flip Maarschalkerweerd says he stumbled on the prince's NSDAP membership card while carrying out an inventory of the prince's archives when he died.

He told NRC Handelsblad newspaper that he also came across a note dating back to 1949 from a US military administrator in Germany called Lucius Clay, who wrote to the prince that he had been about to destroy the card, but then decided "you have earned the right to destroy it yourself".

Yet Bernhard chose to keep it, for whatever reasons of his own.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Wasn't Prince Bernhard's brother an active member if the Nazis party and didn't speak for years.

 

[kalnel]

It's a shame this has to come up while Bernhard's daughters are still alive. It must be painful for them to have to rehash it.

 

[tommy100]

A very... interesting... decision by Bernhard not to destroy his membership card especially after being so adamant he wasn't a member for so long, going as far as to say he'd swear on the bible that he wasn't and that 'he didn't have a membership card'. Even more so when Lucius Clay returned it specifically saying Bernhard had earned the right to destroy it himself.

I guess we'll never know why Bernhard kept the card - a generous explanation would be because he decided it was almost in an attempt to ensure the truth came out. A less generous - maybe more likely - explanation would be it was precious and significant to him, almost treasured.

 

[Somebody]

The fact that the note about (not) destroying it was found means that even if he had destroyed it, it would still have been proven that he did have one.

King Willem-Alexander also touched upon the issue of 'removing things from the archive' (in relation to opening it up until September 6, 1948 (75 years ago - so not randomly chosen). He said that he would not do so as it is important to have complete archives for historiography.

 

[Prinsara]

As part of the worldwide Jewish community, I remain very confused as to how it was already known (or at least listed on his English Wikipedia article) Bernhard was in the SS for a period prior to his marriage and how he was supposed to have done that, without being an NSDAP member.

Aka, I understand the ongoing shame but why exactly is this supposed to be a revelation...?

This is a fictional (Dutch!) production from years ago and this is the first scene in the flashback...

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Given that, as stated in one of the nu.nl articles shared by Lee-Z, a copy of the prince's party membership card was already published in a book in 1996, add me to those who are confused as to why this is being treated as a shocking revelation.

As part of the worldwide Jewish community, I remain very confused as to how it was already known (or at least listed on his English Wikipedia article) Bernhard was in the SS for a period prior to his marriage and how he was supposed to have done that, without being an NSDAP member.

It's interesting that one of the posted nu.nl articles refers to him as an "aspiring member" of the SA and SS, whereas the English Wikipedia page cites a 2007 article on Prince Bernhard written by Rolf-Ulrich Kunze (which has a bibliography listing several biographies of Bernhard) which says outright that he belonged to those forces.

 

[Prinsara]

There is a possibly unintentional note of very black humor in the scene, as well — I'm not sure whether Bernhard actually spent any time at I.G. Farben or not, but they would go on to be chillingly infamous as the manufacturers of poison for the gas chambers.

That is to say, much, MUCH worse than anything Bernhard and his disreputable reputation have been proven to have done thus far.

(Indeed, Juliana was the better choice there.)

 

[iceflower]

Following the discovery of Prince Bernhard's NSDAP membership the "Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund" changed its name to the "Cultural Fund", it was announced today:


"From today we are called the Cultural Fund. “With respect and appreciation for the past, the Cultural Fund will continue from today with a name that fits who we are today and with a focus on our content." - Cathelijne Broers, director of the Cultural Fund" (twitter post, official website)

 

[An Ard Ri]

Footage of Princess Juliana, Prince Bernhard and their children arriving in England in 1940 having fled the Netherlands.