At 6:00 AM (Amsterdam Time) on 10 May 1940, during the Battle of the Netherlands, the German envoy Count Zech von Burkensroda gave Dutch minister of foreign affairs Van Kleffens the German declaration of war. It was only later interpreted as such by the Dutch; from the German side it was at the time seen as a mere warning, hopefully intimidating the Dutch enough to accept German military protection. At this moment the German troops had already tr...
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At 6:00 AM (Amsterdam Time) on 10 May 1940, during the Battle of the Netherlands, the German envoy Count Zech von Burkensroda gave Dutch minister of foreign affairs Van Kleffens the German declaration of war. It was only later interpreted as such by the Dutch; from the German side it was at the time seen as a mere warning, hopefully intimidating the Dutch enough to accept German military protection. At this moment the German troops had already transgressed the Dutch border.
In the early hours of 10 May the German minister of foreign affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop ordered the German envoy in the Netherlands, Count Julius von Zech-Burkersroda, who had been living in the Netherlands for many years representing the German government, to deliver a message to the Dutch government. Around 04:00 local time the Dutch minister of foreign affairs Eelco van Kleffens was recalled from the Dutch war council to his department in order to receive the message. It was not easy for Van Kleffens to reach...
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