“Framing” the image of Dutch colonial history: For decades, the Netherlands maintained its own narrative about its colonial past, notably over the 1945-1949 war in Indonesia, euphemistically called “police actions”. In reality, it was a major military operation in response to Indonesia’s unilateral declaration of independence in August 1945. This two-part series reveals how far the Dutch government went in “selling” the war as a domestic affair aimed at restoring peace in what it called the Dutch East Indies. The series exposes how propaganda, selective media coverage and historical omission shaped the Dutch collective memory. A wide range of interviewees explain the complex relationships in the former colony and provide a global context. International pressure eventually forced the Dutch government to give up its colonial war, but its carefully orchestrated disinformation campaign still hangs over the public debate in the Netherlands today. This is about how history is written, rewritten and often manipulated to serve powerful vested interests.
