Aug 23, 2011
Throughout 2020, the Netherlands is celebrating 75 years since liberation from Nazi Occupation.
Media Network on Radio Netherlands was famous for doing documentaries about broadcasting during the Second World War and using recordings from both public and private archives that you don't normally hear in UK/US documentaries. To celebrate 750 editions of Media Network on May 4th 1995, we told the story of the station that predated Radio Netherlands, Radio Herrijzend Nederland. At the Philips Radio Factory in Eindhoven, a radio transmitter had been built in secret. When the Allies liberated the South of the Netherlands in September 1944, the transmitter was quickly prepared for action. The first programmes were broadcast on October 3rd 1944 by the broadcasters from Radio Oranje (Orange) who had travelled back from London to report from liberated Europe. Broadcasts were led by the journalist H.J. van den Broek, who led Radio Oranje. The station started from North Brabant with makeshift equipment while the North of the Netherlands was still under Nazi Occupation. Full liberation of the Netherlands only came in May 1945. The station was renamed Radio Nederland Wereldomroep in April 1947, with studios in the Bothalaan in Hilversum. But that is another story.... Photo credit to wikipedia/Dutch National Archives.
Other programmes in English from Radio Netherlands are being released on Radio Netherlands Archives. Please spread the word via Facevook, Twitter, or Instagram.