SS Nieuw Amsterdam was launched on April 10, 1937 the largest liner to be launched by Holland America Line at the time.The Nieuw Amsterdam was the Netherlands' "ship of state" and was considered a statement like the Normandie was for France. During WW 2 she served as a troop ship and would return to transatlantic service on October 29, 1947. In the 1960's she became a cruise liner in the caribbean for a while, the SS Nieuw Amsterdam was scrapped in 1974.