HOLLAND OVERSEAS
By M. VAN BLANKENSTEIN
TNetherlands Government in London is in an extra- '. ordinary position. Their army, cut off from their Allies, had to capitulate. The continuation of the struggle would only have engaged the German troops for a very short time, and for this the Dutch would have had to pay a terrible price. It would have cost the lives of thousands of men. The Germans threatened to destroy Rotterdam if the Dutch did not capitu- late. The Germans not only bombed Rotterdam, but they kept on bombing, even after the capitulation. After Rotterdam, Utrecht was on the list for destruction, followed by nearly every city in the thickly-populated centre of the country. The army capitulated, but the country did not. There was no reason to do this ; it even could not be done. For it would have meant the renunciation of territories which the Government could not renounce, the Dutch East Indies and the Dutch West Indies, and, of course, the Dutch fleet which operates in the Dutch East Indies. The renunciation of the Dutch East Indies would have evoked instant threats by Japan and even the United States. Germany, of course, could not have occupied the Dutch East Indies instantly. The Japanese and the Americans have made it quite clear that they would not and could not tolerate a change in the status quo. The Dutch West Indies are covered by the Monroe Doctrine. The Dutch Antilles are very im- portant for the United States, as they are situated so near to the Panama Canal.
When one considers the position of the Dutch overseas territories, one has to take into account the strange constitutional status of those territories. This is quite different from the status of the parts of the British Empire. The Kingdom of the Netherlands forms, in its international relations and its internal political organisation, an entity. It consists of the territories in Europe, the East and West Indies, Surinam (Dutch Guiana) and Curacao. It is not a State in Europe with " colonies " or " dependencies " overseas, but one State with territory divided over Europe, Asia ami America. The central governing and executive organ of this State is the Crown with its responsible Ministers.
It will be clear that for practical purposes, for actual governing of those far-flung overseas territories, a large measure of administrative autonomy is imperative. Through the years this has acquired a representative form. This is leading to self- government in internal affairs. The position of the Crown, however, remains the same. The occupation of Holland does not even affect the status of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Only a part of the Kingdom is occupied, and the regional administrations in the territories overseas have full constitutional rights to carry on. The supreme authority of the Queen and her responsible ministers is exercised normally. This authority is not hampered in any way, in regard to the Netherlands territories overseas.
The capitulation of the Dutch army was therefore a regional matter. The navy joined the Allied fleets, the Dutch army in the overseas territories, of course, remained intact. And the Dutch navy, which is stationed in the Dutch East Indies, is much stronger than the combined fleets of the other Allies in East Asia. The Dutch Government, now operating from London, has a firm basis in these overseas territories. This situation, however, presents curious problems for the Govern- ment. It governs territories which are situated outside the war- zone, even now that the war has spread to the Near East. The Allies do not wish the war to spread to these parts. The enemy does not want it either, as he would be faced with the danger of being confronted with resistance by Japan and the United States. One still may hope to keep this part of the world out of the struggle, even if Italian warships are in these waters. After the declaration of war by the Italians, the Dutch Government expressed its complete solidarity with the Allies with regard to the new enemy. It has, however, not formally declared war. Mussolini has given the Dutch Minister in Rome his passport, without declaring war on Holland. By this action, he has considerably simplified the questions which may crop up through this anomalous situation, whereby the greater part of the Netherlands (the territories in Asia and those which are covered by the Monroe Doctrine) are not occupied by the enemy.
The population of these overseas territories is loyal to the present Government. The move to seek refuge in London was fully endorsed. It is regarded as a recognition of the import- ance and rights of the parts of the Netherlands which are still free. The Europeans and the intellectual part of the native population take the same view in this matter. For some years Fascism has been rather popular with the " Colonial Dutch- men." Europeans who live in the East are inclined to a totalitarian regime. The German propaganda was very inten- sive, and it used ambitious methods. The Germans have always liked to live in somebody else's colonies, even when they possessed their own. The German propaganda, however, lost its power after the occupation of Prague. This decline of the German influence was accentuated by the fact that the Germans who lived in the Dutch East Indies were too arrogant. They behaved as if they were the " Herren " of the country.
The intellectuals among the native population never liked Fascism. They wanted democracy and democratic institutions. They were democrats and they feared the race theories of the Germans. Curiously enough, however, Fascism was rather popular with the Eurasians, who in every respect are treated as Europeans. This is all the more remarkable, as the leaders of the party in the Dutch East Indies advocated racial theories. Even so they admitted the Eurasians into their ranks. But the Fascist party was on the decline. Important newspapers, which for some time supported the Nazi doctrine, had dropped this policy. So little was the party considered a danger that its membership was not forbidden to civil servants, just as it was not considered a national danger in Holland. In the last few months, however, the Dutch authorities in the Dutch Indies have been worried by the " Fifth-Column " activities of the Germans. who lived there. This has still more reduced the meagre sympathy which was still felt in some circles for Nazism. The dangerous Germans were instantly interned when Germany invaded the Mother Country. The German authori- ties in Holland tried to win the favour of the Dutch in the East by restoring the postal services between the two territories. This was quite possible by the way of East Asia. They dropped the idea, however, under the pretext that the German internees in Java were badly treated and they would only oper. the postal communications when this maltreatment had stopped. This is obviously the most flimsy of pretexts. Concerned as the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies are about the position of their relatives in the Motherland they are not prepared to accept the services of the enemy even to relieve them from thi anxiety.
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