Evening edition dated 18 October. The German battleship Schleswig Holstein (1) arrived that day for a visit at Amsterdam and was open for public on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 October between 14.30 and 17.30 o’clock. If desired were oral arrangements possible for private tours. Her crew numbered around 700 men and her measurement was 13,200 ton. Since the visit of the Hannover in December 1926 was this the first large German warship visiting a Dutch harbour. Last night arrested the police of the station Spaarndammerstraat in the western harbour area 3 men who possessed pamphlets appealing for an unfriendly reception of the ship. According to the morning were in the morning when she passed the Hembrug underway to Amsterdam stones thrown from the shore. The morning edition reported that the German consul general at Amsterdam Hahn cared that evening a reception.
Evening edition 20 October 1934. Yesterday morning visited major De Vlugt the Schleswig Holstein after her commanding officer captain Schuster immediately after the arrival at Amsterdam had visited him. During the morning laid the commanding officers accompanied by some of his officers a wreath at the grave of De Ruyter in the Nieuwe Kerk. Pastor Van Hoogenhuyzen thanked him in behalf of the church council. The Schleswig Holstein was to depart next Monday [22 October].
Daily edition dated 22 October 1934. The Schleswig Holstein departed this morning at 07.00 o’clock from Amsterdam towards Kiel. Members of the International Red Cross propagandize Sunday evening on the Nieuwedijk and environment at Amsterdam against the German government among the sailors of the ship. In match-boxes was a pamphlet folded in which the sailors was asked to protest against the regime of Hitler. Some sailors went to the police because they were furious and as a result a large number of police agents left the station at the Warmoesstraat searching for the offenders while a large number of match-boxes were seized. During the visit of the warship went a delegation of the crew consisting of 2 officers, 1 petty officer and 10 sailors commanded by a captain lieutenant towards the common cemetery at IJmuiden. They laid a wreath at the monument for the victims of the German torpedo boat V 69 which were buried there. At the common cemetery was a small speech held in contrary to the catholic cemetery where also one crewmember was buried.(2)
Notes
1. This battleship was part of the Deutschland-class, ordered on 11 June 1904 at the Germaniawerft at Kiel, Germany, laid down on 18 August 1905, launched on 17 December 1906, commissioned on 6 July 1908, sunk on 18 December 1944 at Gotenhafen due to a British air attack but could still use her guns until a fire disabled, she was scuttled by her crew when the Soviet army captured Marienburg, salvaged between 1945-1946 by the Soviet Navy, brought to Cronstadt, shortly serving as a training hulk (as the Borodino?) and broken up at Tallinn. She is common known as firing officially the first shots of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 at the Polish base at Westerplatte.
2. The V 69 arrived heavily damaged during the First World War at IJmuiden and some of her dead crewmembers were buried there while wounded men were nursed.
