In 1944, the paper, albeit illegal and vigorously persecuted, reached a circulation of approximately 100,000, and it was distributed by the Dutch resistance.

[1] Other important contributors were Simon Carmiggelt and Max Nord, who lived with Van Norden and their families on the Reguliersgracht, in the headquarters of the paper, which was never discovered by the German occupiers.

These local publications were all discontinued in the late sixties, early seventies, or (in the case of Het Flevoparool) eighties.

In the 1990s, Het Parool started turning a loss, due to stiff competition and a lack of investment by PCM.

PCM was subsequently acquired by British-based investment group Apax Partners, which led to substantial debts and significant problems for the company.

As a stand-alone newspaper, Het Parool remained national, yet with a focus on its Amsterdam home base.

For Belgium-based De Persgroep, Het Parool served as a first foothold in the Netherlands, leading to the acquisition of a majority of the struggling PCM in 2009.

In February 2012, Het Parool acquired Amsterdam-based commercial television station AT5[13] with public broadcaster AVRO and regional TV station RTV Noord-Holland to form a new multimedia corporation, which will also include online activities of both Parool and AT5, within De Persgroep.