Die 5 dagen in mei 1940
       (Those 5 days in May 1940)

In the early morning of May 10, 1940 the German army crossed the Dutch borders. Four days later the German occupation of the Netherlands was a fact. The film tells the story of these 5 days of the German invasion region by region following the most important directions of the attack.

DE INVAL VOLGENS TOPPER (The Raid According to Topper - by Thom Verheul) follows the German army through the provinces of Overijssel, Drente, Groningen and Friesland to the Afsluitdijk. HELDEN ZONDER GLORIE (Heroes Without Glory - Hans Pool) is about the battles in Gelderland and Utrecht, the fights along the IJssel river and on the Grebbe mountain.
DE VERLOREN OVERWINNING (The Lost Victory - Tonko Dop) is about the airborne troops that landed near the Residence. GOED VOLK (Good Neighbours - Hans Heijnen) follows the Germans through Limburg and Noord-Brabant heading for Zeeland, and DE ONDERSTE STEEN BOVEN (Looking for truth) finally, focusses on the battle for Rotterdam, culminating in the devastating bombing of the city.

Developed with support from the
Dutch Cultural Media Fund.