Editing Bonaire (section)

====World War II====
During the [[German occupation of the Netherlands]] during World War II, Bonaire was a protectorate of Britain and the United States. The American army built the [[Flamingo International Airport|Flamingo Airport]] as an air force base. After Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, authorities declared [[martial law]], and many German and Austrian citizens, as well as Dutch thought to be German sympathizers, were interned in a camp on Bonaire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=van der Horst |first1=Liesbeth |title=Wereldoorlog in de West : Suriname, de Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba, 1940-1945 |date=2004 |publisher=Verloren |location=Hilversum |isbn=9789065507945 |pages=69–74 |language=nl}}</ref> Some of these remained in this camp for the war's duration, and others were transferred to new camps built on the mainland in the first year of the war.<ref>{{Cite news | author = Anonymous | title = Imprisoned Innocents | url = http://bonairereporter.com/news/007PDFs/06-15-07.pdf | publisher = Bonaire Reporter | page = 7 | date = 15 June 2007 | access-date = 19 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110708082341/http://bonairereporter.com/news/007PDFs/06-15-07.pdf | archive-date = 8 July 2011 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sint Jago |first=Junnes E. |title=Wuiven vanaf de waranda |year=2007 |publisher=Gopher |location=Utrecht |language=nl |isbn=9789051794960 |oclc=150262823}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Captain |first1=Esther |title=Oorlogserfgoed overzee : de erfenis van de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Aruba, Curaçao, Indonesië en Suriname |date=2010 |publisher=Bakker |location=Amsterdam |isbn=9789035135840 |language=nl |chapter=De interneringen in Suriname en de Nederlandse Antillen}}</ref> In 1944, [[Princess Juliana of the Netherlands|Princess Juliana]] and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] visited the troops on Bonaire.<ref name="Helm" />

Bonairean sailors made an above-average contribution during World War II. German U-boats tried to eliminate shipping around the Aruba and Curaçao refineries and thus eliminate the island's considerable fuel production for the Allies. Bonairean-crewed ships also took part in these battles. Among the many missing after the war, were the 34 Bonaireans who died on these ships (more than on the other islands of the then Dutch West Indies). During hostilities, the site where the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino now stands served as an internment camp for Germans and Austrians living in the Antilles, mainly because they were distrusted. There were fears they could have sabotaged the giant oil refineries on Aruba and Curaçao that were supplying paraffin to the Allied air fleet.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

The camp was in operation from 1940 to 1947. In total, 461 people were interned during this period without trial, most of them completely innocent. Among them were Medardo de Marchena and also the photographer Fred Fischer, then still an Austrian citizen. Many German internees had just fled Nazi violence. But there were also German prisoners of war, some of whom remained after the war. In September 1943, the father of [[George Maduro]], after whom Madurodam is named, asked Queen Wilhelmina to exchange his son for the German internees on Bonaire. The government did not grant the request. After the war, the empty barracks became Bonaire's first hotel: Zeebad.
[[File:Aankomst van het koninklijk paar op het vliegveld van Bonaire, Bestanddeelnr 252-3827.jpg|thumb|Royal visit of [[Queen Juliana]] and [[Prince Bernhard]] in 1955]]