The Indies Monument () is a memorial in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in memory of all Dutch citizens and soldiers killed during World War II as a result of the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) of the former

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. It is dedicated to all who died in battle, in prison camps or during forced labor. As stated in the mission statement of the 15 August 1945 Commemoration Foundation, it is also:

A place where you can pass on to your children the part of your childhood spent in the Dutch East Indies

The monument is unique, due to the fact that earth from the seven war cemeteries in Indonesia has been placed in an urn mounted on a small column at the front of the monument. In fall 2008 a second urn, with earth from the Galala Tantui war cemetery on

Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon, Maluku, Ambon to the south, and three districts (''k ...

, was placed behind the column. Before the annual

National Remembrance 15 August 1945 The National Remembrance 15 August 1945 () is an annual event at the Indies Monument in The Hague, the Netherlands, to commemorate the end of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the end of World War II. Taking place every 15 August ...

, the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia lays a wreath at the

Menteng Pulo War Cemetery Menteng Pulo War Cemetery, also Dutch Field of Honor Menteng Pulo (, ), is a War grave, war cemetery at Jl. Menteng Pulo RT. 3 RW. 12, Menteng Dalam, Tebet, South Jakarta, Tebet, Jakarta in Indonesia. It is one of two Dutch war cemeteries in Jakar ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

in cooperation with the Foundation. Once every five years (in 2010 and 2015), in coordination with the Dutch embassies and the Dutch War Graves Foundation, wreaths are also laid at all other war cemeteries in Indonesia, Australia and Southeast Asia where Dutch victims of war are buried. In addition to this monument a commemoration site in Bronbeek,

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

was established in 2010.

Design

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

. It consists of 17 bronze sculptures, a map of Southeast Asia and the inscription, "The spirit conquers". Its design was chosen in 1986 by the Mayor of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(a former government official in the Dutch East Indies) and the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam (a former resistance fighter). The commission for the design stated:

Recognition through a representation of the struggle and the conquest. The humiliation, the repression, hardship, pain and despair. But also the hope, perseverance, courage and solidarity. Acknowledgement through a portrayal of our understanding today of the causes, the circumstances and consequences of that suffering.

Development

It took the Netherlands 43 years to erect a national monument to its war victims in the Dutch East Indies. Until 1961, the National

Remembrance of the Dead Remembrance of the Dead () is held annually on 4 May in the Netherlands. It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the beginning of the ...

Day (May 4) and

Liberation Day Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...

(May 5) were primarily dedicated to the Dutch victims of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Since 1962, they include soldiers and civilians who fell during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

. Memorial Day at the Indies Monument is August 15, the date of the Japanese surrender. Unlike May 5 (the date of the German capitulation), it is not a public holiday in the Netherlands.

In the years following the transfer of sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to Indonesia (1949) the political climate in the Netherlands was marked by sensitivity in relation to Indonesia and a sense of shame about the Netherlands' colonial past. As a result it took a long time before there was any interest in the war victims of the former Dutch East Indies colony.The Indisch Monument, official publication (15 August 1945 Commemoration Foundation, The Hague, 2008) online:

Kaifu incident

Three years after the monument was unveiled, Japanese Prime Minister

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Born in Nagoya, Kaifu graduated from Waseda University and was first elected to the Diet in 1960 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as educ ...

laid a decorative garland at the monument on July 19, 1991 during his state visit. Later that day, the wreath was thrown into the water by a Dutch

Indo INDO stands for Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap. It is a semi-empirical quantum chemistry method that is a development of the complete neglect of differential overlap (CNDO/2) method introduced by John Pople. Like CNDO/2 it uses zer ...

demonstrator. Prime Minister

Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refug ...

expressed his regret about the incident to Kaifu, which led to further angry reactions from Indo survivors of the Japanese occupation.

Anniversary

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Japanese surrender on July 27, 2005 a smaller version of the monument was unveiled in

Madurodam Madurodam () is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments. The par ...

, a

miniature park A miniature park is a display of miniature buildings and models, usually as a recreational and tourist attraction open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, o ...

created in memory of the Antillian World War II hero

George Maduro George John Lionel Maduro (15 July 1916 – 8 February 1945) was a Dutch law student who served as an officer in the 1940 Battle of the Netherlands and distinguished himself in repelling the German attack on The Hague. He was posthumously award ...

Images

File:INDIES MEMORIAL MONUMENT-003.jpg, alt=Head-on photo of Indies Monument, Indies Monument, August 2011 File:INDIES MEMORIAL MONUMENT-009.jpg, alt=Dutch East Indies map inscribed on monument, Indies Monument map of the

(now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

), August 2011 File:INDIES MEMORIAL MONUMENT-010.jpg, alt=Inscription "The Spirit Overcomes" in Dutch on monument, Indies Monument inscription ''"De Geest Overwint"'' ("The Spirit Overcomes"), August 2011

References

Notes and citations

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Website ‘Stichting Herdenking 15 augustus 1945’

Website about national war monuments ‘Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei’
Dutch East Indies Aftermath of World War II in the Netherlands Indo people World War II memorials in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in The Hague