Aankondiging van het huwelijk bij volmacht van Charlotte Maria Ottoline Bartels en Herman Carel Haitink op 21 mei 1940 c. 1940 - 1945

This is a marriage announcement printed in the Netherlands on May 1st, 1940. It announces the upcoming marriage of Charlotte Maria Ottoline Bartels and Herman Carel Haitink. However, what makes this announcement particularly striking is its historical context. The Netherlands was on the brink of German occupation at the time. The announcement mentions that the marriage will be performed "bij volmacht," or by proxy, because the groom, Herman Carel Haitink, was managing an estancia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Given the impending war, it might have been impossible for him to travel back to the Netherlands. This simple announcement speaks volumes about the disruptions and anxieties of the time, where even personal events like weddings were affected by larger political and historical forces. To fully understand the significance of this announcement, one could research Dutch society on the eve of World War II, looking at how families coped with separation and uncertainty.