Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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Dutch agreed to let intemees go to school- around 6,000 Flemish soldiers leamed to read
and write, while some attended universities in Delft, Wageningen and Utrecht. 80 Others
worked for nonnal wages, although there were some limitations on employment: often
municipalities would only let intemees do work for which there were no Dutch employees
available and they definitely could not work in any war industry (for fear of violating
neutrality).81 Mostly, intemees filled labouring positions as coal miners, factory workers,
and farm hands. 82 They could live outside the main camps, although many remained under
guard. For example, the owners of a zinc factory in Dorplein built a mini-internment camp,
which housed anywhere between 50 and 100 intemees at a time. 83 In Eindhoven, around
350 Belgian intemees working in the city stayed in barracks near the railyards in the
township of W oensel. The intemees had to pay for the privilege of staying at the barracks,
but this was compensated by the advantage of eaming a regular income. By September
1918, 11,432 intemees (nearly 35 per cent of all intemed Belgians) worked in small groups
outside the main camps and another 3,012 (nine per cent) were employed individually, with
the result that some camps closed down completely, including Gaasterland and
Oldebroelc. 84 By November 1918, only Hardewijk was still fullyoperational. 85
Most of the workers were Belgians, who had fewer problems with the Dutch
language than their British and Gennan counterparts. Their employment opportunities only
improved in April 1916, once the Belgian govemment guaranteed that any escaped
intemees would be retumed to the Netherlands. 86 The declaration also allowed some to send
for their families in Belgium and live at private addresses. 87
Even with the closing and scaling down of many intemment camps, the military
commitment to intemees remained high. Before 1916, local troops (whether in the
landstorm or landweer) tended to guard intemment camps, which were deliberately built
away from key strategic points, ensuring that few soldiers in front-line positions or in the
80 Bossenbroek et. al. (eds.), Vlllchten voor de Groote Oorlog p. 53.
81 Commander-in-Chiefto Commander of the Air Branch, 12 November 1914, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale
Star' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 75; Treub, Oorlogstijd p. 170; Ritter, De Donkere Poort Volume 1, p. 233.
82 Kleijnge1d, Gemobiliseerde militairen in Tilbllrg p. 29.
83 H. Jaspers, "Ret interneringskamp in Dorplein" [The internment camp in Dorplein] Aa Kroniek. 7, no. 4, December
1988, pp. 224 - 234.
84 Bossenbroek et. al. (eds.), Vlllchten voor de Groote Oorlog p. 64; Wielinga, "Military refugees in the Netherlands"
no page numbers.
85 Bosboom, In Moeilijke Omstandigheden p. 344.
86 Ibid. p. 331.
87 Wintermans, Belgische vluchtelingen in Eindhoven p. 55.