Februaristaking (February Strike): A labor strike on February 25 and 26, 1941, that started in Amsterdam and spread to the rest of the Netherlands. The strike was the only massive and open protest against the persecution of the Jews in occupied Europe. The strike was triggered by the first raids in Amsterdam, in which hundreds of Jewish men were arrested.
Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo): The secret political police in Nazi Germany. The Gestapo fell under the SS.
Grüne Polizei (Green Police): The Ordnungspolizei, police units that carried out the day-to-day policing tasks in Germany and occupied countries. Due to the green color of their uniforms, they were nicknamed Grüne Polizei. SD officers were often mistakenly called Grüne Polizei.
Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theater): A theater on Plantage Parklaan in Amsterdam. It was situated in the Jewish Quarter established by the Germans during the occupation of the Netherlands. In 1942, it became a gathering place from which Jews were deported via Camp Westerbork and Camp Vught to extermination camps. It is now a memorial site.
De IJzeren Garde (Iron Guard): A small fascist splinter party that had broken away from the somewhat larger Nationaal-Socialistiche Nederlandsche Arbeiderspartij (NSNAP). The movement was strongly anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi.
Het Joodsche Weekblad (The Jewish Weekly): A weekly magazine published by the Jewish Council that appeared in the Netherlands during the Second World War. The weekly was the only permitted Jewish publication. It appeared every Friday from April 1941 to September 1943 and was used to proclaim the anti-Jewish measures imposed by the Germans. Since it was distributed only to Jews, the measures could be hidden from non-Jews, and thus it was a means of further isolating the Jews from Dutch society.
Joodse Co?rdinatie Commissie (JCC) (Jewish Coordination Commission): A Jewish organization founded immediately after the German occupation to provide support to the Jewish community. The committee offered advice, organized cultural activities, and provided financial assistance. The JCC refused to negotiate directly with the Germans since it felt that only the Dutch government could do so. After the Jewish Council was established, the JCC was disbanded by the Germans.
Joodse Ereraad (Jewish Honor Council): An organization that called to account Jews thought to have collaborated with the Germans. Established at the beginning of 1946, it continued until 1950. The council had no legal authority, but it published its verdicts and could call for people’s expulsion from the Jewish community.
Joodse Raad/Judenraete (JR) (Jewish Council): A Jewish organization established on German orders in February 1941 to manage and control the Jewish community. It started in Amsterdam but soon gained influence over the rest of the Netherlands.
Jordaan: An old neighborhood in the center of Amsterdam where Otto’s business/annex was located. It was a typical working-class neighborhood with many craftsmen and small businesses, with housing in poor condition and many people unemployed. But it was known for its distinct culture.
Kopgeld: The name of the bounty that was paid to Jew hunters and police officers for Jews they arrested. The amount varied from 7.50 guilders at the start of the war to as much as 40 guilders at the end.
Landelijke Knokploegen (KP, LKP): An armed resistance group founded by the Landelijke Organisatie voor Hulp aan Onderduikers (LO). People in hiding urgently needed all kinds of documents, such as identity cards and coupon cards, and the KP seized those items by robbery or violence.
Landelijke Organisatie voor Hulp aan Onderduikers (LO) (National Organization for Aid to People in Hiding): A Dutch resistance movement that from 1942 until the end of the war was active in helping people who needed to go into hiding.
Lippmann-Rosenthal bank/LIRO bank: A formerly Jewish bank that was confiscated and turned into a Nazi bank that registered Jewish property and subsequently robbed Jews. The stolen assets were used, among other things, to finance the Holocaust.
Mapping Project: An investigative initiative by the Cold Case Team in which all registered addresses of NSB members, SD informants, and V-people living in Amsterdam were identified. Xomnia used this data for the interactive digital maps.
Mauthausen concentration camp: A concentration camp near Linz, Austria. The camp was established in 1938. Almost one hundred thousand people died in the camp. It was well known in the Netherlands even during the war, since most of the Jews who were arrested in February 1941 were sent there and died within a couple of months. The name “Mauthausen” became synonymous with “death.”
Mischling: A legal term used in Nazi Germany to denote persons who were deemed not fully Jewish. Mischlinge were classified into various categories depending on the number of their Jewish ancestors.
Mittelbau (Mittelbau-Dora) concentration camp: A concentration camp and labor camp in central Germany that became operational in August 1943 and consisted of many dozens of subcamps. Primarily a labor camp where prisoners produced V1 and V2 rockets, it was also a site where twenty thousand people died.
Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB) (National Socialist Movement): The Dutch National Socialist movement, which was led by Anton Mussert and existed from 1931 to 1945. Before the war it had some thirty thousand members; during the occupation it grew to around one hundred thousand members at its peak in 1943. In the beginning it was not anti-Semitic and even had Jewish members, which changed in 1938. At the end of 1941, all political parties except the NSB were dissolved.
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) (National Socialist German Workers’ Party): The formal political party of the National Socialist movement in Germany, established in 1920. Adolf Hitler was the head of the party.
Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps (NSKK) (National Socialist Motor Corps): A military unit that with the help of motorized transport supplied the various fronts. During the war the corps was filled with people from the occupied territories.
Nederlandse Beheersinstituut (NBI) (Netherlands Administrative Institute): The institute established in August 1945 that was charged with tracing, managing, and possibly liquidating traitors’ assets, enemy assets, and the assets of persons who had disappeared during the war.
Neuengamme concentration camp: A concentration camp near Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1938 and run by the SS. Around forty-three thousand people are estimated to have been murdered there.
Nürnberger Gesetze (Nuremberg Laws): A collection of anti-Jewish racial laws introduced in Germany in 1935. The laws were intended to legislate the deprivation of the rights of Jews. During the occupation of the Netherlands, the population was also subject to measures based on these laws.
Opekta/Nederlandsche Opekta Maatschappij: A subsidiary of the German company Opekta GmbH of Cologne, founded in 1933. The company was managed by Otto Frank for twenty years. During the war the company was renamed Gies & Co. The company sold pectin products that were used in the production of jam.
Oranjehotel: The nickname of the police prison in Scheveningen during the war. More than twenty-five thousand people were imprisoned there, accused of various crimes including resistance, derogatory language toward Germans, and economic crimes, such as theft and war profiteering. Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roma, and Sinti were also imprisoned there.
Ordedienst (OD): One of the biggest resistance groups in the Netherlands prior to the LO. It was founded in 1940 with the aim of filling the power vacuum that the Germans would leave behind after their departure. During the war, the OD was involved in sabotage and providing intelligence to the Allies.
Het Parool (The Password or The Motto): One of the most famous resistance newspapers in the Netherlands. What started as a short newsletter developed into a real newspaper in February 1941. During the war, about ninety people working for the newspaper were arrested and murdered. Het Parool still exists and is a Social Democratic newspaper in the Amsterdam region.