Mauritshuis exhibition reveals Dutch families hid in attic to avoid conscription to Germany in second world warThe 13-year-old boy answered the doorbell. “Tell your dad I’m here,” said a man, who stored his bicycle and then disappeared upstairs.It was 1944, and right under the noses of Nazi command, people were hiding in the attic of The Hague’s Mauritshuis museum from forced labour conscription – Arbeitseinsatz – under which hundreds of thousands of citizens from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands were conscripted to work in Germany. Continue reading...
During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, The Hague's Mauritshuis museum secretly sheltered people avoiding forced labor in its attic. Director Wilhelm Martin hid artworks, including Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring," and allowed resistance activities such as secret concerts and support for those in hiding, all while outwardly complying with Nazi demands.