Memory, Myth and Forgetting: The Netherlands and the World Wars

The Netherlands’ escape from the ’hard hand of war’ in 1914-1918 was explained until this century through several myths, all of which painted the country as a passive player during the war. That these myths are now discredited is not new. What has been given little attention, however, is the impact of these myths on the Netherlands’ preparation for the next war, which it would not escape. The consequences of the country’s faulty historical memory would have an impact well beyond its own borders.