Netherlands’ Darkest Days: 1934-1936 Depression in Color!

This captivating colorized footage unveils the gripping reality of the Netherlands during the pre-war depression years of 1934–1936, a period marked by economic hardship and social unrest. Motion-stabilized, speed-corrected, and enhanced with A.I. restoration, the film reveals haunting scenes: unemployed men queuing for bicycle registration plates, chained ships decaying in harbors awaiting better times, and dole recipients fishing to survive. It captures the tense streets of Amsterdam’s Jordaan neighborhood, where police and Dutch military forces struggled to quell riots, as well as infrastructure efforts like workmen driving piles for housing and riveting the Moerdijk Bridge’s steel framework. A poignant window into the Great Depression’s toll—where xenophobia and the rise of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) peaked in 1936—this restored archive grips history buffs and those moved by the Netherlands’ resilience amid austerity, all in vivid color.