The Great Depression in the Netherlands (, also called the crisis years: de Crisisjaren, de Crisistijd) occurred between 1933 and 1936, significantly later than in most other countries. It was a period of severe economic crisis in the 1930s which affected countries around the world, including the Netherlands.
In the United States, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 is understood as the start of the Great Depression. But in the Netherlands the depression started more gradually, in 1929–1931, while the economy had been in a gradual decline for a longer period. In the Netherlands the depression lasted significantly longer than in most countries, partly because of structural characteristics of the Dutch economy and partly because of the policy of the government. The refusal to drop the gold standard plays a central role. The Great Depression led to political instability and riots, and can be linked to the rise of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands. The depression in the Netherlands lessened at the end of 1936, but real economic stability did not return until after World War II.
Prelude (1918-1929) Because of its neutrality in World War I, the Netherlands did not face the problems of war reparations, war damage and population loss which caused economic problems in other European countries. But because of the international character of the Dutch economy these problems also had their consequences for the Netherlands. In particular, the unrest and economic problems in Germany, one of the Netherlands' main trading partners, in the early 1920s plunged the Netherlands into a severe depression until 1925 (lowest point reached in 1923).
After 1925, partly because of economic improvements in Germany, the post-war depression in the Netherlands ended and the country rejoined the gold standard. However, among others because of strong trade restrictions in Germany, this improvement was limited and did not cause an economic boom as in some other European countries and the United States (associated with the Roaring Twenties). In spite of these slight economic improvements the Dutch economy struggled with structural problems in the period before the Great Depression. Trade restrictions and economic protectionism had not fully disappeared after World War I, and world trade failed to pick up again after the war. The Dutch economy had long been dependent on international trade and finance (in 1929 an estimated 30% of the GNP came from export), and especially the big shipping sector suffered from the lack of trading opportunities. Another problem was the combination of high post-World War I birthrates and increasing labour productivity, which meant that any increase of demand did not cause general welfare increase or a decrease of unemployment.
Poverty and support
Until 1931 the social consequences of the economic crisis had been limited; by decreasing work hours and wages, mass unemployment had so far been avoided in most sectors. However, around 1931 mass unemployment did start and those workers who could keep their jobs often had to accept significant wage cuts. Rough estimates of unemployment show a surge between 1930 and 1932, and a steady increase up to the end of 1936. Not every sector of the economy suffered equally; while the shipping and trading sectors were hit especially hard, some specialised sectors, such as the tobacco industry, survived the first stage of the depression relatively unharmed.
At the start of the depression, employed workers still saw their wage cuts matched by strong decreases of the price of consumption articles. But after the first years of the depression they too suffered from a decrease in real income. For the increasing numbers of unemployed, the situation was much worse. Until the 1930s, Dutch society did not have the experience and infrastructure needed to deal with mass unemployment. In large parts of society, it was felt that unemployed people should above all be stimulated to find work, so only income support at subsistence level should be given. Even though finding work had now become impossible for large numbers of people, social sentiments towards the unemployed changed only slowly.