'The weirdest of all wars'. An examination of Dutch identity and neutrality in the summer of 1916.
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2023-08-25
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en
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In the summer of 1916, German and Belgian children were invited to spend some time in the Netherlands to recover from the hardships at home. At this time, the Great War was raging on throughout Europe, the Netherlands however had managed to remain neutral. Nevertheless, this humanitarian initiative evoked a fierce debate in Dutch newspapers, especially the arrival of German children. Towards the end of the debate, it was dubbed ‘the weirdest of all wars’. This is a bold statement compared to the actual war raging through Europe, however the debate did cause controversy. Using this debate as a case study, the thesis will research how popular opinion in the Netherlands perceives Dutch identity and neutrality during the First World War. During the research emphasis was placed on the context of neutrality in relation to a ‘Dutch identity’.
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Faculteit der Letteren