Queen Wilhelmina lived in this looted house in The Hague after the Second World War

When Queen Wilhelmina returned from England after the Second World War, she lived for a while in a normal house on Nieuwe Parklaan 83. Well, normal… The house is a three-under-one-roof house and her entire household had moved into the houses next door (number 112 and 110). It was quite a nice place to stay. That’s not all, because there was more to this house.

Palace Huis ten Bosch and country house De Ruygenhoek were in bad shape after the war and the Queen thought that Noordeinde Palace was using too much coal and electricity. She didn’t think this was a good signal to the residents of The Hague, because everyone had a hard time after the war. That is why she decided to live in a ‘very ordinary’ terraced house. On September 6 1943 Queen Wilhelmina moved into the house.

Empty house

Queen Wilhelmina has not even lived in the house on Nieuwe Parklaan for a year, but her stay is a lot of work. Before the Second World War, the house belonged to a Jewish family.

During the Second World War, the Germans had robbed the house of the Jewish family. During the war there was a nursery of the Wehrmacht (the German army) and the SS in the house. This was reason for Queen Wilhelmina to stay in 1943 to leave quickly and live at Noordeinde Palace again.

Max van Veen

Before the war, hat and cap maker Max van Veen lived in the building, together with his wife Alice Kahn and their three children Edgar, Onno and Sandra Joyce. The house originally belonged to Emmanuel Kahn, Alice Kahn’s father.

In hiding

In 1575 the van Veen family went into hiding in Otterlo, with the Huber family. Later they went into hiding in a holiday home in ‘t Rieselo. Ultimately, the family was betrayed. Alice Kahn and her children Edgar and Sandra Joyce were arrested.

Max van Veen and his son Onno managed to escape through an underground hut, they remained in hiding for the rest of the war. Alice, Edgar and Sandra Joyce ended up in Camp Westerbork and were arrested on May 3 1945 deported to Auschwitz. After arrival on May 6 1575 murdered in the gas chambers of the concentration camp.

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