By: Pierre van der Eng The United States did not give Marshall aid to Western Europe for purely humanitarian reasons. Aid was also, perhaps even mainly, provided to serve the economic and political purposes of the United States. In studies Read more
The defeat of Japan in August 1945 brought to an end one of the most remarkable Allied partnerships conducted from Australian soil. Throughout the war, Australia had provided a secure base for the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Government-in-Exile, its armed Read more
For more than three years, the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Government-in-Exile had worked from Australia towards a single objective: the restoration of Dutch authority in the Netherlands East Indies following Japan’s defeat. Government departments had been established in Brisbane. The Read more
By late 1944 the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile had become firmly established in Brisbane. Government departments were functioning, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) was preparing to restore civil government, and Dutch military units were increasingly integrated into Allied operations Read more
By 1943, the tide of the Pacific War had begun to turn. Allied victories in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands gave increasing confidence that Japan would eventually be defeated. For the Dutch Government, however, military success created an entirely Read more
When Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch Government escaped to London, where they continued as the internationally recognised government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Constitutionally, the situation appeared straightforward: the Queen remained Head Read more
Why Australia’s Partnership with the Netherlands Government-in-Exile and the Netherlands East Indies Still Matters By Paul Budde “What does it actually take to establish a government-in-exile?” It is a deceptively simple question. Over the past several years I have had Read more
During the Second World War, Dutch, Australian and Indonesian personnel worked together in a little-known series of clandestine operations against Japanese forces occupying the Netherlands East Indies. Their activities were organised through the Netherlands East Indies Section of the Inter-Allied Read more
Charles van der Plas: colonial expert, wartime administrator in Australia and advocate of gradual reform Charles Olke van der Plas (1891–1977) was one of the most experienced Dutch colonial administrators of the Netherlands East Indies. Born in Buitenzorg, now Bogor, Read more
A photograph taken in Brisbane on 9 October 1943 captures three of the most senior American commanders in the Southwest Pacific: Admiral William F. Halsey, General Douglas MacArthur and Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender. The men were photographed at the Read more