Photos Highlight IOM's Role in Resettling Europeans After the Second World War
IOM the Netherlands developed out of the Dutch Emigration Service of the Ministry of Social Affairs in a drive to privatise public tasks in 1991. The office inherited a large archive of historical photographs documenting government sponsored emigration from the Netherlands, as well as the activities of IOM's predecessor ICEM in resettling Europeans after the Second World War.
Tens of thousands of people left the Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s. In those years overpopulation was a serious concern: there was not enough land to farm and not enough work in the Netherlands.
The Dutch government actively promoted emigration. The Dutch Emigration Service organized information sessions for Dutch citizens interested in emigration. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Brazil offered better opportunities and were in dire need of manpower for their own economic development.
The photo archive has been transferred to the National Archive to complete its own Dutch Migration Section. A selection of the photos is presented here.