On 20 October 1944, anticipating the end of the Second World War, the Dutch government-in-exile in London promulgated het Besluit Vijandelijk Vermogen ('the Decree on Enemy Property'). The Decree classed al nationals of Germany, Italy and Japan as enemies of the state, or vijandelijke onderdanen ('enemy citizens'), and entitled the Dutch State to confiscate all assets belonging to enemy citizens within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Thousands of German civilians who resided and worked in th...