Camiel_Oomen - Research School Political History

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE REPERTOIRE USED BY DUTCH YOUTH MOVEMENTS IN THEIR QUEST FOR ‘POPULAR UNITY’ (VOLKSEENHEID) IN THE INTERWAR YEARS. INTRODUCTION 1 PACIFIST AND NATIONALIST DUTCH YOUTH MOVEMENTS 4 THE YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS AS PART OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FROM PERFOMANCES TO REPERTOIRES 6 7 PERFORMING PACIFISM AND NATIONAL UNITY 8 EFFORTS TO FOUND A WORLD YOUTH FEDERATION FOR PEACE, 1928 / 1929 THE STUDENT PETITION CONCERNING SCIENCE AND WAR, 1934 PLEDGE FOR PACIFISM AND INFORMATION AGAINST WAR, 1934-‐1936 MASS-‐MEETING FOR NATIONAL UNITY, 1933 8 9 10 13 CONCLUSION 15 Camiel Oomen
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INTRODUCTION In Germany generation studies have secured the Kriegsjugendgeneration of the First World
War a permanent place in history. It concerns the male generation of those who grew up
during the First World War, but were too young for active duty. The research hitherto has
identified some common features of this Kriegsjugendgeneration of the Weimar Republic,
like for example the experience of a lost childhood and youth during the First World War, as
well as an appetite for new political concepts after the catastrophic event (Mommsen 2003,
115-116). The making and unmaking of political generations after the Great War is the
greater topic of this PhD-project, which deals with the question, whether a similar
development can be distinguished the Netherlands which might be likened to the style of
political generation of the German Kriegsjugendgeneration, and takes a closer look at the
search for community in the Dutch “youth generation” of the interwar years.
This period after World War I seemed a time beneficial for the development of parliamentary
democracy. However the significance of this development, at the same time crisis, uncertainty
and political instability are characteristic for this period. Although the Netherlands was not
directly involved in the Great War, this does not mean that the country was unaffected by its
impact. In the Netherlands, as in other countries, the war was perceived as a cultural crisis,
which did have serious repercussions for Dutch society. Modernisation of the economy and
society, for example, was already on the way but escalated rapidly as a result of the First
World War.
The importance of the German Kriegsjugendgeneration is illustrated by the fact that the
German youth organizations experienced a massive inflow of members in the interwar period.
In the Netherlands an influx of members in youth organizations was also discernible. But it
will be shown that youth politics and youth consciousness was primarily dependent on the
social organisation and political imagination which reworked the experience of the Great War
in ways incompatible with the national mission of the German young generation who came to
prominence in the shadow of war and defeat.
This project can serve as a mirror to the German dominated debate about “political
generations” in the interwar period and possibly make some corrections. The “young
generation’s” task is mostly referred to in historiography as well as contemporary literature as
a “national task” in restoring the “German Nation” (Bude 2005, 31-33; Weisbrod 2007, 2123). In what lay the collective discontent of the Dutch young adult’s movement?
1
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This research is concerned about two young adult’s movements in particular: the pacifist
Jongeren Vredes Actie (founded in 1924) and the nationalistic Nationaal Jongeren Verbond
(founded in 1925 and restructured in 1927). The concept of ‘generation’ will be used as a
category for the classification of historical mentality and to analyse the historical description
of contemporaneousness with a certain age group, an occurance that can be clearly seen in the
names of the organisations.
Both organisations were unable to exert direct influence on national and international events
and had a rather small number of members with a somewhat bigger following, but their
activities should not be regarded as merely a side issue. Both organisations were able as nonparty-affiliated groups to retrieve some topics out of the ‘political’ and place them in the
societal realm. Sometimes their actions succeeded in leading the Dutch society in
contemplation about certain aspects, such as the idea of ‘national unity’. Until now the legacy
of these ‘political’ young adults has not been systematically and thoroughly analysed.1
Like with the “generation of 1914” (Wohl 1979, 1-5) it should be possible to identify
elements of an ideal-typical if a self-proclaimed ‘political generation’ could in fact be
recognised the Netherlands. It allows for an identification of national specifications and a
closer examination of transnational exchange but it will also search out elements of a common
European youth culture in the interwar period. Through the research of these youth
organisations a catalogue of attitudes, perceptions and activities regarding political core
values can be created and used for the comparative approach. The basic values of the two
antagonistic movements can be best understood as a set of three topical values, firstly the
doubts about the parliamentary system, secondly the longing of the Dutch for more ‘national
unity’ and thirdly the question how best to strive for peace. In this paper the second topic is of
primary concern.
In the interwar years, popular politics in the Netherlands was very much a case of the “moral
communities” (morele gemeenschap, Rooy 2007, 112). Nonetheless, a strong call for more
national or ‘popular unity’ (volkseenheid) was evident in these years and especially in the
1 The research and also this paper is based on the sources in several digital archives: firstly the one of the Dutch police intelligence service – the Centrale Inlichtingendienst (CI) – in the interwar years. The CI monitored all pacifist movements, all the CI reports used in this paper can be examined at: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/rapportencentraleinlichtingendienst; secondly the one of the Peace Palace Library which offers an extensive amount of sources about the peace movement, these documents can be found at: http://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/collection/special-‐collections/peace-‐movement-‐
collection/ and thirdly the newspaper archive of the Royal Library was used, http://kranten.delpher.nl/, lastly the archives of the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam were used. 2
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1930s. The “moral communities” were very good at binding the different communities
internally, or at least they succeeded in creating a strong feeling of emotional differentness
towards the ‘other’.
After the First World War, in which the Netherlands had stayed neutral, the Dutch democracy
expanded its right to vote to all men (1917) and all women (1919), although as a reaction to
World War I the Dutch as a nation became more tangible, the differences were still large and
these years are characterised by the process of Pillarization (Verzuiling) in which the different
moral communities tried to instil differentness into their communities while at the same time
the national feeling as a result of industrialization and modernisation was being strengthened.
These two cultural processes clashed, because the uniqueness of the nation could only be felt
with respect to other nations, while the othering of the moral communities took place in
between the Dutch people. So in 1925, as Van Ginkel points out, the Dutch geographer Blink
reacts: “National unity reveals itself most evident as soon as there is some form of foreign
insolence. Then Dutch feel, despite the distinguished differences in beliefs, that they are of
one nationality.” (Ginkel 1999, 66).2
However, the longing for unity was felt throughout Dutch society, all the more so because of
this feeling of differentness, especially in the 1930s, when the Netherlands were hit hard by
the worldwide economic crisis and the European political turmoil made the future look even
more bleak. Still some Dutch youths or, better put, young adults were trying to instil the
feeling of unity in the Dutch people. Together with others they were gathering to become a
very loosely tied ‘movement’, understood as “the unity-thinkers” (de eenheidsdenkers) by
anthropologist Rob van Ginkel and as “a movement of renewal” (een stroming van
Vernieuwing) by historian Wichert ten Have (Ten Have 1999, 20; Van Ginkel 1999, 132134).
For instance the “Volkseenheidsconferenties van Woudschoten” in the mid-1930s were
gatherings of young adults, mostly students, and their professors who wanted to find ways of
forging a social and socio-economic solidarity among the Dutch people (“Volkseenheid”). As
2 “De nationale eenheid openbaart zich het meest sprekend, zoodra aanmatiging van het buitenland daartoe aanleiding geeft. Dan gevoelen Nederlanders, hoe ook anders onderscheiden in opvattingen, dat zij van één nationaliteit zijn.” originally cited from H. Blink, Opkomst van Nederland als economisch-‐
geografisch gebied. (Amsterdam 1925) 126. 3
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one of the professors stated, that this striving for unity is currently present all around us and to
be seen as a reaction to the rampant fragmentation.3
Some of the participating youth organizations had a longer tradition of presenting themselves
not as neutral as such, but as standing above party lines and religious divides. These
movements in particular are the pacifist Student Action for Peace (Studenten Vredes Actie –
abbreviated: S.V.A.), which was closely aligned with the Youth Action for Peace (Jongeren
Vredes Actie – abbreviated: J.V.A.), and the nationalistic National Youth Association
(Nationaal Jongeren Verbond - abbreviated: N.J.V.) – these antagonistic movements were
both founded around 1925 and consisted of young adults aged between 18 and 35. Although
they were rather small movements, their goals were far-reaching, the J.V.A. worked toward
world peace and the N.J.V. toward spreading the “national Idea” (nationale Gedachte) to the
whole of the Dutch nation.
The repertoire with which these movements made the Dutch people aware of their aims was
quite different, and it is this repertoire that is the main subject of the paper. The paper will
look at various mass manifestations initiated by the N.J.V. in the 1930s that propagated the
idea of ‘popular unity’, and at the efforts put in by the J.V.A. and S.V.A. to unite the different
religious and pillarized Dutch youth and young adults’ movements into a more coherent force
for change of the Dutch society, as for instance the S.V.A. succeeded in forming a General
Democratic Student Association (Algemeen Democratisch Studenten Verbond)4 to propagate
democratic values and counter fascism. A general conclusion will be drawn on the impact the
different forms of repertoire had on the Dutch society of the time.
PACIFIST AND NATIONALIST DUTCH YOUTH MOVEMENTS The movement was founded in August 1924 during the international youth week for peace,
the goal was to promote peace as war was considered a crime against humanity. These ideas
were spread through propaganda evenings and public lectures. The movement consisted of
members from 18 to 35 years of age and it offered the concept of being a means of
cooperation between young people from different ‘moral communities’. This is important
because in the Netherlands these communities generally showed little interchange. The
3 „Prof. Mr. W. Pompe constateerde in het overal levend streven naar éénheid, als reactie op de thans alom heerschende versplintering“, ‚Volkseenheid Studieconferentie voor Studenten van alle richtingen in Zeist. Onze volkskenmerken’, De Tĳd: godsdienstig-‐staatkundig dagblad, 11 May 1934. 4 Annual Report of the CI on leftist worker organisations, 63, xx 1936 (Jaarbericht 1936/b Doc 2142). 4
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pacifist youths represented themselves as a non-partisan youth movement, it was thought that
it was the youth's task to change the world.
The S.V.A. was founded in Amsterdam in 1931 and another three sections were founded
during the next year in Groningen, Utrecht and Leiden.5 The students who joined were just a
small minority of the total Dutch student population, but it was a break with the past, which
means that the passive role of traditional Dutch student life regarding questions of politics and
society was left behind and these students quite actively sought for means of action to bring
about change. One reason for this change was the substantial growth of the numbers of
students in the 1930s, which meant the student population was somewhat more representative
of the whole of Dutch population.6 For instance in 1934 108 of the 257 members of the
S.V.A. took part in a survey and 23 of them stated they were a member of the Freethinking
Christian Student Society (V.C.S.B.), 18 of the Social Democratic Student Clubs (S.D.S.C.),
17 of the (traditional) student societies (Corpora) and 11 of the J.V.A., so only a small
minority belonged to traditional student societies.7 It is clear that the S.V.A. was formed of
students with different political and religious backgrounds.
The movement of the young pacifists is still largely ignored in historical research, only one
small monograph along with some detailed descriptions in a few monographs have been
publicised (Gasenbeek en Hietland 2012; Jochheim 1977; Harmsen 1975).
Beginning in the 1920s, a sustained campaign against national disarmament was staged, in the
wake of this and also as a reaction to the activities of the emerging J.V.A., the ‘youth
association against unilateral disarmament’ was founded in 1925. Becoming the N.J.V. in
1927, it was reorganized to meet the requirements for effectively propagating the ‘national
Idea’ their activities focused on influencing public opinion for the purposes of the ‘national
Idea’, particularly in the Dutch youth. The N.J.V. stated its aims were neutral in reference to
political and religious beliefs, but its affiliation to the Dutch Monarchy and military was
close, as can be seen in their extensive propaganda activities for the military aviation and the
Royal Navy. Various higher military officials were active advocates of the nationalistic
5 Annual report of the Studenten Vredes Actie (Peace Palace Library Doc E28-‐17-‐006) E28.1-‐4.11. 6 “Het studentendom is tot op zekere hoogte een getrouwe afspiegeling van de burgerwereld, alles vindt er zijn aanhangers, links tot uiterst rechts, ernst tot boertige scherts.” Adrianus Vrankryker, Vier eeuwen Nederlandsch studentenleven (Voorburg 1939) 355. 7 'Van de Studenten Vredes Actie', Vredesstrijd No. 1, 11 January 1934, 7. 5
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youths.8 Nevertheless it was not formally connected to a greater whole and mainly dependent
on the voluntary work of its members. The number of members amounted to about 4000 to
5000 youths (Engelsman 1979, 8, 27). The N.J.V. did not have followers everywhere in the
Netherlands but mainly in The Hague, the seat of the government, and in the east of the
Netherlands. The work of the N.J.V. was particularly opposed to that of the pacifist youth and
the Social Democrats’ youth movement.9 As is the case with the pacifist youth, very little has
been published about the history of the N.J.V. with just one non-published Master’s thesis
from 1979 and a resulting article (Engelsman 1979; Engelsman 1980, 49–71).
THE YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS AS PART OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Can the pacifist youth and the nationalistic youth be understood as part of distinctive social
movements? The J.V.A. and S.V.A. could be perceived as part of the peace movement and
the N.J.V. of a much more loosely tied nationalistic movement. As Tilly points out social
movements combine three major elements: (1) sustained campaigns of claim-making; (2) an
array of public performances including marches, rallies, processions, demonstrations, public
meetings, delegations, statements to and in public media, petition drives, letter-writing,
pamphleteering, lobbying, and creation of specialized associations, coalitions, or fronts; and
(3) repeated public displays of worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment (WUNC) by
wearing colors, marching in disciplined ranks, sporting badges that advertise the cause,
chanting slogans etc. (Tilly 2006, 183-4).
We can determine the sustained claim-making campaigns for the peace movement as an
incessant call for peace and (national) disarmament, looking at the interwar years this
campaign in the Netherlands was always present, so it can be called sustained. There were
different groups of self-designated claimants (the J.V.A. being one of them), some objects of
claims, the Dutch state for one, and a public of some kind, basically the Dutch population.
There was an array of public performances during this time, for instance petition drives
against funding for the navy in 1923 and 1930 (Beunders 1984), gatherings during Armistice
Day, November 11th (Meek 2009) and processions for peace10. Concerning WUNC-displays,
the political claims made by the peace movement were declaring an identity: “us pacifists”,
this contributes to a standing of some sort: sensible citizens of the nation and the peace
movement made program claims such as support for national disarmament, claims against the
8 For instance the senior officer in the Royal Dutch Navy, J.T. Furstner; See: Ph.M. Bosscher, 'Furstner, Johannes Theodorus (1887-‐1970)', in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland. URL:http://www.historici.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn2/furstner [13-‐03-‐2008] 9 W. Inden, Onze taak (Den Haag 1933) 11. 10 ‚VROUWEN-‐VREDESGANG.’, De Telegraaf, 2 May 1938. 6
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governmental air protection program and in the second half of the 1930s a program of
nonviolent national defence.11
The social movement for spreading the ‘national Idea’ of a community of the Dutch united by
a common bond with the Orange Monarchy was a very loosely tied one and it may not be
possible to define it as a social movement. The longing for a definitive national character or
national idea grew stronger in the interwar years. Although the program claim of
strengthening the “national Idea” held a strong appeal for many, it was open to a plethora of
meanings. To spread this “national Idea” a lot of the social movement-repertoire was used,
mass demonstrations such as during the Willem of Orange commemoration year 1933,
marches by the N.J.V.12 and the creation of specialized associations such as political parties
(Vossen 2005). And in these instances WUNC-displays were often to be seen. The problem
was that the program claim, strengthening the national unity, was also the root of difference,
as the ‘national Idea’ was open to interpretation. The strength of the moral communities as
emancipation movements for Catholics and Social Democrats lessened the power of one
uniting “national Idea” considerably. Even in the 1930s with the economic world crisis and
the political tension in Europe growing, the longing for “Volkseenheid” was not enough to
bring a fully-fledged social movement about.
FROM PERFOMANCES TO REPERTOIRES When the performances of the two youth movements are scrutinized, the resulting repertoire
will help to understand how the claims of the two were propagated to their public, the Dutch
people. For that the definitions made by Tilly will be used, he defines performances and
repertoire as follows: in collective claim-making, particular instances improvise on shared
scripts constituting a performance linking at least two actors, a claimant and an object of
claims, these performances clump into repertoires of claim-making routines that apply to the
same claimant-object pairs (Tilly 2006, 35). When looking at the performances of the two
youth movements, some of these pairs constitute: Pacifists - „Militarists“ for the J.V.A and
S.V.A., and Dutchmen instilled with the right „national Idea“ - „defeatists“ for the N.J.V.
What accounts for the clustering of claim-making performances in repertoires? Tilly sorts the
causes in three main categories. Firstly everyday social organization, secondly the cumulative
experience with contention, and thirdly regime intervention. The changing interaction of these
three elements produces incremental alterations in contentious performances. And at any
11 Jongeren Vredes Actie, Pacifistische volksverdediging (Amsterdam 1937). 12 De N.J.V. marsch op Hemelvaartsdag, Het Vaderland: staat-‐ en letterkundig nieuwsblad, 27 May 1938. 7
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given moment that interaction promotes the clustering of claim-making in a limited number of
recognizable performances, a repertoire (Tilly 2006, 38).
PERFORMING PACIFISM AND NATIONAL UNITY The analytical framework will be used to analyse some performances conducted by the Dutch
pacifist and nationalist youths. To make the most use of the analytical framework some very
different forms out of the large array of performances have been chosen. Firstly the
international direction of the pacifist youth is exemplified, then a performance by the student
pacifists is closely looked at and lastly a performance that is an example of an initiative by the
pacifist youths to create a concerting effort of different organisations of the peace movement
against a governmental program is looked at.
Interestingly mass meetings for peace with tens of thousands of people gathering were
uncommon, the Dutch pacifist movement did hardly ever succeed in such. Mass meetings for
‘nationa Unity’ on the other hand were regularly held in the 1930s, one of these was initiated
by the N.J.V. and a mass meeting in honour of the Dutch Queen will therefore also be a
subject.
EFFORTS TO FOUND A WORLD YOUTH FEDERATION FOR PEACE, 1928 / 1929 An important aim during the early years of the J.V.A. was the founding of a World Youth
Federation for Peace. This aim was first articulated at the congress of the überbündische
Jugend at the Freusburg in Germany in August 1927 (Piecha 2005, 133).13 A year later the
World Youth Peace Congress followed, organised and hosted by the J.V.A., it was held at
Eerde / Ommen in the Netherlands from 17th to 26th August 1928.14 More than 500 youths
with very different political and religious backgrounds from nations all over the world,
including the colonies, gathered to discuss the possibilities for international action for peace
by the youth. And again at the Freusburg from 28th July to 4th August 1929 an
überbündisches Weltjugendtreffen was organised.15 However, these efforts did not lead to
concrete results for a world youth association for peace and the endeavour slowly withered
away. The performance of staging international youth conferences was a time-consuming and
13 Für einen Weltbund der Jugend: Bericht über das Weltjugendtreffen auf der Freusburg; Wege zu einem Weltbund der Jugend für Frieden; eine überbündische Aussprache, (Frankfurt/M 1927). Continuation Secretariat of the World Youth Peace Congress, Report of the World Youth Peace Congress, 1928. [Held at Eerde, ..., 17th to 26th August, 1928]. (Bilthoven 1928 [1929]). 15 “Einladung zum Überbündischen Weltjugendtreffen 1929” (IISH Nederland. Vredesbeweging. Doc 6.6-‐
JVA). 14 8
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costly affair with little tangible results.16 Although the J.V.A.’s committee did continue
sending delegations to international peace conferences, the aim of creating an international
formation had lost its importance.
In 1934 an important member of the early years stated severe criticism against the J.V.A. for
losing this international aim and subsequently also judged the repertoire as inadequate: “A
movement that is ignorant of its international task, that by definition of its limited national
playing field looks to radicalism as a solution and bloats insignificant actions … into
importance.”17 So what performances were composed of these “insignificant actions”? But
first a performance by the S.V.A. is exemplified and analysed with Tilly’s method.
THE STUDENT PETITION CONCERNING SCIENCE AND WAR, 1934 One performance by the S.V.A. aimed at influencing people by stating the right example was
getting students and professors to pledge not to use their scientific knowledge in the services
of war or war preparation. This action was successful in attaining nationwide attention and
questions were asked in parliament about the legality of this action – wasn’t this an act of
defiance to the government and a possible call for sabotage?18 Unfortunately one of the
participating professors immediately withdrew his signature after learning about the criticism,
stating, “Would the Netherlands, of course without any blame, be involved in a war, I would
very much agree to use my scientific knowledge to help my suffering people.”19
The debate in the Parliament also showed strong disapproval of this action by the professors,
especially because they were professors and had strong moral influence over their students.
Senators from different political parties firmly demanded government action to discipline the
professors and have their signatures retracted. Although no formal disciplinary action was
taken, the professors themselves had already reacted before the parliamentary hearing and
stated that they had not intended to instil ‘acts of sabotage’ and consequently had the further
spreading of the petition stopped. From the pacifists’ point of view this rebuttal was a harsh
defeat, especially because of the professors’ yielding. To make matters worse, the opinion
16 Annual Report of the Central Comitte of the Jongeren Vredes Actie; ‘Voortzettingsecretatriaat van het Wereldcongres van Jongeren voor den Vrede 1928’ and ‘Brief aan de begunstigers en donateurs van het centraal comite der Jongeren Vredes Actie 1929’, in: Archief Jongeren Vredesactie, 92-‐97, 98-‐99 and 104-‐
105, IISH, Amsterdam. 17 L. Vooys: “Een beweging, die haar internationale taak verwaarloost ; die door haar beperkt nationaal arbeidsveld haar heil zoekt in radicalisme en die punten van ondergeschikt belang als Roode Kruis-‐actie en speelgoed-‐actie opblaast tot buitengemeen belangrijk.” Vredesstrijd No. 7, 5 April 1934, 53. 18 parlementair redacteur, ‘AFKEURING VAN ANTI-‐OORLOGSCIRCULAIRE. SCHERPE CRITIEK IN DE EERSTE KAMER. Minister Marchant zegt. dat wij allen pacifisten zijn. DE HEER VAN CITTERS NIET VOLDAAN.’, De Telegraaf, 14 March 1934. 19 T.J. Stomps, 'Mag dat wel?', N.R.C., 16 Februar 1934. 9
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stated in the newspapers was positive towards the government’s disapproval of the petition.20
Although in a high capacity democracy very few performances are not permitted, the action
taken by the parliament shows that it is possible for the Dutch government to counter a
performance like this with moral sanctions. But disciplinary action was also taken; the J.V.A.
and S.V.A. were placed on the list of “forbidden associations” for state officials to be part
of.21 The Dutch central police intelligence service kept a close and wary eye on the pacifist
youth.22
But the cumulative experience is shown in the fact that the S.V.A. together with the J.V.A.
continued trying to reach out to intellectuals, engineers and such, and get them to give the
right moral example by refusing to work for any war effort: in May 1935 an address was sent
to the Dutch Chemical Association concerning the (im-)possibility of the governmental air
protection program.23 No professors were asked, but 135 ministers and 29 writers signed the
address.24 Also, in 1935 a campaign of “Writers speaking out against militarism and war” was
launched and a number of well-known Dutch writers participated.25 “Volkseenheid” as an aim
was included in this action, because the pacifist youth intended to provide the Dutch people
with a symbolic bloc of non-partisan intellectuals for moral guidance concerning militarism
and war.26
PLEDGE FOR PACIFISM AND INFORMATION AGAINST WAR, 1934-‐1936 An example of performance aimed directly at the public was the tour of public meetings
carrying the topic: People, Fatherland, War (“Volk – Vaderland – Oorlog”) organized by the
J.V.A.. This Tour was quite successful; on Armistice Day, 11th November 1934, some 1200
20 ‘EERSTE KAMER De anti-‐oorlog-‐circulaire SCHERPE AFKEURING Militairen hebben zich onvoorwaardelijk aan gezag en gegeven bevel te onderwerpen Geen disciplinair optreden’, De Tĳd: godsdienstig-‐staatkundig dagblad, 14 March 1934; ‘EERSTE KAMER PROFESSORALE ACTIE AFGEKEURD Vergadering van Woensdag 14 Maart’, Limburger koerier: provinciaal dagblad, 15 March 1934; parlementair redacteur, ‘Afkeuring van Anti-‐oorlogscirculaire’; o.N., ‘Wetenschap en Defensie. Bevredigende verklaringen van den Minister’, Het Vaderland: staat-‐ en letterkundig nieuswblad, 17 March 1934. 21 Report by CI of arguments about the list of forbidden associations for government officals, 3 December 1934 (Doc 1360). 22 In this document some leading persons of the J.V.A. are psychologically characterised: [Vergadering J.V.A.te Den Haag op 5-‐11-‐1934.] 10, 19 November 1934 (Doc 150). 23 Adres to the Dutch Chemical Association of 1 May 1935, E28.1-‐4.8 (Peace Palace Library Doc E28-‐17-‐
004). 24 DE LUCHTBESCHERMING, Het Vaderland : staat-‐ en letterkundig nieuswblad, 11 July 1935; HET VRAAGSTUK DER LUCHT BESCHERMING. Actie van letterkundigen.’, Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 12 July 1935. 25 Nico van Suchtelen en Menno ter Braak, Schrijvers getuigen tegen oorlog en militarisme. Published by the Jongeren Vredes Actie (Rotterdam 1936). 26 Letter of the executive committee of the JVA about participation at the Writers' Congress 16 May 1936 in Amsterdam, J26.4-‐39, (Peace Palace Library, P54-‐2-‐43-‐007). 10
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people attended such a meeting in Haarlem.27 A total of eleven such meetings in eleven
different cities was held between the 10th May and 12th December 1934, some 232.000
pamphlets were distributed and a total of 6500 people attended the meetings.28 The first of
these took place in Rotterdam on 10th May, and was successful with over 700 people
attending. Ten more such meetings followed this success. As the preparation time was just
four weeks, in a meeting of the J.V.A.’s national committee on 7th and 8th April 1934 the
decision was taken to hold such a meeting. The main reason was the concern about the
receding enthusiasm for pacifism in the Netherlands, the J.V.A. meant to counter this with
their propaganda and to lead the Dutch peace movement out of despair by showing their will
and determination. The success of the first meeting in Rotterdam led to the decision to hold
more, exemplifying that incremental experience led to more of these performances.29 As can
be seen, meetings with speakers from different backgrounds have become a regular part of the
J.V.A. repertoire. In 1935 a tour of meetings “About the state of the war preparation” (Inzake
de stand der oorlogsvoorbereiding) with a similar performance was held, different speakers
spoke about themes of war preparation: political-economically, military-technically and
spiritual-morally.30 And at the same time in 1935 the “Writers speaking out against war and
militarism” were staged in the Netherlands. The central police intelligence service noticed the
vigorous action the J.V.A. showed outwardly in 1935. And depending on the intent, this
service divided the meetings into three categories: a) evening meetings in which a personal
pledge to fundamental pacifism is performed by J.V.A.-members, as of November 1935 these
meetings were given an extension as people of different intellectual groups outside of the
J.V.A. (artists, clergy, business leaders, etc.) spoke out against war and militarism, b) public
information evenings in which speakers treat issues concerning the state of the war
preparations and c) writer meetings, where a number of known Dutch writers address the
meeting and bear witness to their interpretation of the peace issue and speak out against
militarism.31
At these meetings the protest against ‘air protection’ (Luchtbescherming), the governmental
program to organise protection for the civil population against air attacks, was a regular part.
This program was a matter of opposite beliefs between the pacifist and the nationalistic
27 Annual Report of the CI on leftist worker organisations, 109-‐115, xx 1936 (Jaarbericht 1936/b Doc 2142). 28 Guide for the general assembly of the J.V.A. 26 and 27 January 1935, 2, Archief J. Pront, Congresgidsen en ander materiaal inzake algemene vergaderingen. 1932-‐1936, IISH. 29 JONGEREN VREDES-‐ACTIE. Propagandavergaderingen te Gouda en Utrecht, De Telegraaf 13 June 1934. 30 Inzake de stand der oorlogsvoorbereiding, 4 April 1935, (IISH Collection H. van Wijk BG E35/665). 31 Annual Report of the CI on leftist worker organisations, 109–111, xx 1936 (Jaarbericht 1936/b Doc 2142). 11
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youths. The pacifists were very much against it and were convinced this government program
was foolishness and led the people into submission for future war. “Air protection makes
every citizen a conscript” was a slogan the peace movement used.32 For one thing the pacifists
were convinced it was an impossibility to protect the civilian population from attacks with
bombs and gas from the air, secondly, they regarded the program as a form of war preparation
and thirdly there was no legal possibility of refusing this duty, unlike the possibility of
refusing conscription on the grounds of religious principles.
In 1936 the J.V.A. could use its influence in the Dutch peace movement to unite its forces, a
number of Round Table Conferences were initiated by the J.V.A. and almost all organisations
of the Dutch peace movement participated.33 At these conferences different aspects of the
actions for peace were looked at, in the case of the governmental air-protection program, the
peace movement concluded that this program was morally wrong and practically ineffective.
The struggle against the official air-protection, now that it had the power of law, should
concentrate on the notion that this program is a form of psychological war preparation and the
population is used by the military apparatus and given a false sense of security. The
propaganda thus has to aim for the prevention of war and help spread this consciousness in
the people. So instead of spreading fear of a coming war, the positive struggle for peace
should be placed emphasis on, and in doing so show that the peace movement is indeed
movement!34
During these conferences the methods of action against the governmental air-protection
program were evaluated, and thus giving a good indication of the repertoire used. The
performances can be divided in four different forms, depending on the recipient and means.
Firstly the public manifestations, a distinction was made between: Public meetings, which
were deemed as ineffective because the peace movement reach the same people over and
over, and: Public debates, because the pacifists’ point of view is not understood, public
debates were seen as a means of turning people’s view. Secondly manifestations for the
members and inner circles, these included: Lectures for the members of the peace
organisations, to increase their knowledge and strengthen their conviction, and: Family and
small circle meetings to spread the pacifists’ conviction through personal relations. Thirdly
the means of written propaganda to reach the masses, as included: Pamphlets in a continuing
32 Stamp on a letter. LUCHTBESCHERMING, P54.2-‐5.5 (Peace Palace Library Doc P54-‐2-‐43-‐007). 33 Report of the CI on a conference by the Jongeren Vredes Actie, 1, 29 Februar 1936 (Doc 161). 34 Emphasis in original document. Mevr. P. Smit-‐Schuckink Kool e.a., Rapport van de commissie tot onderzoek inzake het vraagstuk der luchtbescherming aan de Tweede Ronde Tafelconferentie 1936, 5, 19 Oktober 1936 (Peace Palace Library Doc P54-‐1-‐43-‐011). 12
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effort of raising the public’s awareness and: Brochures, as an effective means of distributing
knowledge, it was thought that ignorance strengthened ‘militarism’, the commission regarded
the available material of excellent quality. New means were explored in peace exhibitions and
films.35 To summarize these different means of performance, the noticeable common element
is ‘spreading knowledge’ in order to convince people; informing, convincing, preaching, these
were common activities in the pacifists’ repertoire, in the 1930’s not much cause for
celebrating was given for the pacifists.
MASS-‐MEETING FOR NATIONAL UNITY, 1933 In 1934, the 10th year of its existence, the N.J.V. celebrated with festivities that were attended
by government officials and military dignitaries, for this public the chairman reminisced
about the efforts the national youth made for the national revitalization. 36 One of these efforts
initiated and organised by the members of N.J.V. was the ‘parade of national homage’
(nationaal huldigingsdefilee). This homage consisted of Jubilee celebrations for the Queen
and are an interesting object of study for shaping national unity, since they were intended for
all if only patriotic Dutchmen, in contrast to the many mass events at the time which were
carried out on the initiative of organizations bound to one of the ‘moral communities’, which
ostensibly demonstrated the acknowledgment of one's community. In addition, the N.J.V. was
no mass organization, but they succeeded demonstrably in addressing a large number of
people.
In April 1933 the Amsterdam section of the N.J.V. had taken the initiative for a ‘parade of
national homage’ to the Queen on 9 September 1933 to be held in the Amsterdam Olympic
Stadium in honour of her 35-year jubilee. The call for celebration stressed that the preserving
of state power, the unity of the Dutch people, the nation, and the state community was only
given by the means of the bond the Dutch people held to the Orange monarchy.37
At this event the ‘national idea’ should be expressed by means of a parade, thus forming a
performativity. The approximately 30,000 delegates from many different societies,
corporations, associations, regions of the country and large cities marched with flag and
pennant past the Royal Family and some 40,000 spectators to honour the Queen. 400 girls
formed a living Dutch banner and the Dutch maid rode on a chariot into the stadium, patriotic
35 Ibidem. 36 W. Inden, Jaarrede uitgesproken op de algemeene vergadering van het Nationaal Jongeren Verbond, te Zwolle op 7 Oct. 1933 (Zwolle 1933) 2. 37 NATIONAAL HULDIGINGSDEFILE. Een oproep aan de Oranje-‐gezinde organisaties, Algemeen Handelsblad, 20 juli 1933. 13
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songs were sung and finally, greeted with great jubilation, the royal family departed from the
stadium. By means of this manifestation of people honouring the Orange monarchy it should
be demonstrated that the Netherlands was a true nation.
The press reactions suggest that this community was desired, the following observation is
indicative: “This was terrific and it was convincing, and it was impressive because out of the
people quite clearly the desire for total allegiance to and honour for our Orange monarchy had
spoken.”38 And “Therefore today the whole of the Netherlands is one enormous stadium.”39
However, the performative demonstration of unity revealed at the same time the existing
differences, as the parade was a staging of differently dressed and clearly distinguishable
groups. The contemporary spectators would have had no trouble assorting the many different
groups to their respective ‘moral communities’. But its contemporaries regarded this clear
inhomogeneity precisely as proof of unity, as the participants were united as one in this
national demonstration and thus ‘remembering’ they were Dutch. 40 However in this
celebration the large social democratic ‘moral community’ was completely left out.41
In several impressions this event was commented on as a result of the national ‘awakening’,
indicative of the view is the somewhat arbitrary statement that “the true unity of a free people
can only be found in the people's soul buried deeply under all its differences”.42 Beforehand it
had already been made clear that politics was not welcome: no political party or movement
could participate as such; the parade should be an image of national unity.43 So the political
was denied throughout the event: “A non-partisan, jubilant people has united as one today in
Amsterdam Stadium in national honour of Her Majesty.”44
38 „Dit was grootsch en het was overtuigend, en het was indrukwekkend, omdat uit het volk hierbij overduidelijk de wil sprak onverbiddelijk aan ons Oranjehuis … eer en trouw te belijden...“ in: Terug van het Stadion, Algemeen Handelsblad, 10 September 1933. 39 Clinge Doorkxbos, Grootsch Nationaal Huldebetoon aan H.M. de Koningin, De Telegraaf, 10 September 1933. 40 Persoverzicht. Rondom de Nationale huldiging, Leeuwarder Courant 12 September 1933; J.F.K.: Individu en volkseenheid. Bindende krachten, De Tijd: godsdienstigstaatkundig dagblad, 29 September 1933 and De Vuure, Aan weerszijden van de Nationale Scheidslijn, Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, 27 September 1933. 41 Nationale eenheid Hoogtij-‐stemming en werkelijkheid, Het Volk. Dagblad voor de Arbeiderspartij. Stadseditie Amsterdam, 14 September 1933. 42 „De ware eenheid in een vrij volk ligt onder alle verschil diep in de volksziel“ in: Binnenland. Nationale Eenheid, Algemeen Handelsblad, 11 September 1933. 43 „Geen politieke groepen nemen er als zoodanig aan deel. Dit defile wil een beeld zijn van nationale eenheid. Uit alle geledingen van ons maatschappelijk leven komen de deelnemers“ in: Amsterdam. Nationale Hulde, De Tijd: godsdienstig-‐staatkundig dagblad, 11 August 1933. 44 „Een eenig, partijloos juichend volk heeft zich heden in het Amsterdamsche stadion vereenigd om aan Uw Majesteit een nationale hulde te brengen“ in: Het Nationaal Huldigingsdefile te Amsterdam, De Tijd: godsdienstig-‐staatkundig dagblad, 9 September 1933. 14
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CONCLUSION In a comment by the Catholic newspaper De Tijd in 1933 it was hoped that the celebrations
for the Queen would go down in history as the “days of revitalization and strengthening of the
binding force of “our national popular unity”.45 In general, this hope was confirmed by the
central police intelligence service: a report of 9 March 1938 informed the Government that
the reason for the relative tranquillity in Dutch political affairs as compared to other European
nations was the revival of the ‘national Idea’ since 1933 and more yet the rebirth of a sense of
community was attributed to the strong bond between the Orange monarchy and the Dutch
people.46
The young pacifists did succeed in bringing more collaboration into the Dutch peace
movement, but it appears that the celebrations initiated by the N.J.V. had a greater impact
than the performances by the pacifist youths. As for the recognition of the performances by
the N.J.V. most newspapers assessed the activities of the association positively, the ones of
the J.V.A. did not get the same appreciation.
45 „Als dagen der verlevendiging en versterking van de bindende kracht onzer nationale volkseenheid“ in: J.F.K., Individu en volkseenheid. Bindende krachten, De Tijd: godsdienstig-‐staatkundig dagblad, 29 September 1933. 46 Assesment of the CI about the political situation in the Netherlands, 3, 9 March 1938 (Doc 1536). 15
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Engelsman, Rob, 'Voor koningin en vaderland: de geschiedenis van een jeugdbeweging',
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Ginkel, Rob van, Op zoek naar eigenheid: denkbeelden en discussies over cultuur en
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Wohl, Robert, The Generation of 1914 (Cambridge, Mass 1979).
16
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