My inlaws used to own a restaurant called the Pentagon. One time a customer came in, handen them these “Pentagon” cigarettes which according to this man were handen out to Dutch citizens by the US Army when the Netherlands was freed from German occupation.
The “20 sigaretten” and “50 ct” doesn’t quite add up though so we’re curious to see if anyone here could help us find out the origins of these!
The 50ct / 20 sigaretten band is in fact a Dutch tax seal proving that tax was paid on the tobacco to the Dutch government. This particular seal was not used until 1959, that in combination with the appearance of the package makes the story of it being given away after the liberation in 1945 questionable at best.
I think, though I have not found evidence as of now, that these cigarettes were imported by/for US troops stationed in the Netherlands during the Cold War era. For instance:The USAF 32nd tactical fighter squadron was stationed at the Dutch military airfield Soesterberg between 1954-1994