# A piece of the Netherlands becomes a piece of Germany in the mid 60's. Why and how? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603 "2018-04-01T22:37:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/21 "2018-04-02T22:40:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > This bit of land at [51°49’57.4"N 6°21’49.5"E](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8322286,6.3642434,15.56z/data=!5m1!1e4) used to belong to the Netherlands; How did you become aware of this particular border change? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/22 "2018-04-02T22:51:58Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > How did you become aware of this particular border change? I was browsing some of the local landholdings in both early maps and modern ones. My family came from that general area. I noted that in my antique netherlands land atlas, that bit belonged to NL, while in the modern land atlas, it was german. I’m a map geek, what can I say? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/23 "2018-04-02T22:55:33Z")
I think you can probably delete the word “map” from that sentence, or replace it with any of a wide variety of other words, and still have a true statement. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/24 "2018-04-03T00:28:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think you can probably delete the word “map” from that sentence, or replace it with any of a wide variety of other words, and still have a true statement. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/25 "2018-04-03T12:44:03Z")
As in, you’re also a maritime geek, and a history geek, and a Tolkien geek, and a science fiction geek, and just a geek in general. I hope you didn’t take that as an insult? ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/26 "2018-04-03T14:48:40Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > A bit of googling turned up [this](https://books.google.ie/books?id=gaxzAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT406&lpg=PT406&dq=mettmeer+grens&source=bl&ots=GGZhwyn5MH&sig=pNVMI2mwggWcuCwOf5dig5RuhkU&hl=ga&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio_OnJlZraAhWKC8AKHZtIBgQQ6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q=mettmeer%20grens&f=false) Google Books result in Dutch. > > (I hope the link works but if not my search terms were “Mettmeer grens”.) A more precise translation (not literal) is that the source states that in order to build that highway (one I use kind of a lot btw), some pieces of land needed to be traded between Germany and the Netherlands. An interesting point, and public secret, is that the Netherlands got the short end of the stick in these trades (literally: the Germans got the longer part). Then they mention that those animals are now cut off from the Netherlands. There is no real explanation on why this is relevant for any of the previous statements. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/27 "2018-04-03T16:12:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As in, you’re also a maritime geek, and a history geek, and a Tolkien geek, and a science fiction geek, and just a geek in general. I hope you didn’t take that as an insult? Just don’t call me no pencil-necked geek! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/28 "2018-04-03T16:20:28Z")
[Hell Keukens, right nearby](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.9047984,6.1510264,3a,59.7y,206.15h,90.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOFvHGur2QnTIRNWWIlHNKQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) (Keukens means kitchen or cuisine) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/29 "2018-04-03T17:16:59Z")
As the stork flies, that bit of neo-Germany is less than 10 miles from the Mercotan ancestral home! The Netherlands best not give _that_ up!! Thanks for the more nuanced translation, **polar bear**! ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/30 "2018-04-03T18:53:23Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Just don’t call me no pencil-necked geek! 😛 Ok, we will cross that one off the list. But it is a long list! 🙂 In the land of geeks, that is a compliment (I hope). ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/31 "2018-04-04T02:00:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Highways might isolate pieces of land as far as wildlife is concerned, but as far as humans are concerned, they do the opposite. And a highway that ran right down the border between two states would be an administrative nightmare. And then there’s [Canusa Street.](https://goo.gl/maps/Y4afBjMztkR2) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/32 "2018-04-04T19:27:34Z")
> [@pdhenry](#): > > And then there’s [Canusa Street.](https://goo.gl/maps/Y4afBjMztkR2) I have **got** to visit that street someday. 🆒 My Nexus card should make the visit a little easier . . . ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/33 "2018-04-04T21:03:02Z")
Check the border between Belgium and the Netherlands in Baarle-Hertog and despair… https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.4359311,4.9321449&z=13&output=embed&dg=ntvb ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/34 "2018-04-04T21:52:22Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Check the border between Belgium and the Netherlands in Baarle-Hertog and despair… > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4359311,4.9321449,13z/data=!4m2!7m1!2e1) An oldie but a goodie, I’ve done a walk thru that area via Google streetview before. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/35 "2018-04-04T21:58:53Z")
What did they do there, ask each and every individual homeowner which country they wanted to be part of? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603/36 "2018-04-04T22:10:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What did they do there, ask each and every individual homeowner which country they wanted to be part of? There’s a long, involved history, but it comes down to two feudal landlords who ended up with interleaved holdings due to reasons too picayune to remember. And no one felt like smoothing the border out when they separated Netherlands and Belgium, so they ended up with that hodgepodge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-piece-of-the-netherlands-becomes-a-piece-of-germany-in-the-mid-60s-why-and-how/811603.md?page=1)