Holland
From the the 1500s Jews began to arrive in Amsterdam, the main commercial city of Holland.
They were more free there than in the rest of Europe.
By 1796 Jews were granted equal rights in Holland but popular discrimination still existed.
In the 1800s, like in Britain, a large number of poorer Jews began to arrive.
Holland kept detailed records on their citizens including their ethnic and religious beliefs.
When the Nazis occupied Holland they given access to the records which allowed them to round many of the Jews.
Some did go into hiding helped by non Jewish friends.
As resistance to the Nazi occupation grew,so did the Nazi terror.
Some people gave into that terror and severe food shortages by betraying the Jews in hiding.
The Anne Frank family were betrayed in1944.
The Diary of Anne Frank is the most famous account of Jewish life during the Holocaust.
Holland: More
Holland (The Netherlands)
The Jewish population of Holland began to significantly increase with the influx of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal after their expulsion around 1500. Many of them eventually went to live in Amsterdam, the main commercial centre of Holland.
In 1796, Jews were granted full citizenship rights and this attracted Jewish Ashkenazi immigration from Eastern Europe. However, anti-Semitism persisted and Jews were still subjected to discrimination. Also, Holland had a detailed record of all of its citizens which included ethnic and religious details. In 1939 Holland had a significant Fascist pro Nazi party.
In 1940 Nazis occupied the country, Dutch officials allowed the Nazis full access to this data. Dutch police helped the Nazis to round up the majority of the 140,000 Jews for deportation and then extermination.
But some Jews did go into hiding like the Anne Frank family. Although Germany and Holland are neighbours and shared cultural and language similarities, the Nazi occupation became ruthless, especially as the Dutch resistance gained support. When 30,000 railway workers went on strike against the Nazis there was extreme repression and and actual starvation as food supplies were cut off. That meant the atmosphere of terror was very high.
Some people gave in to the terror and actually betrayed some of the Jews in hiding like the Anne Frank family. But others like Corrie ten Bloom did help save Jewish lives.