Why Did the Netherlands Send Soldiers to The East Indies In 1945? | Not Just Greed?

In 1945, just months after the liberation of the Netherlands from German Occupation in World War 2, Dutch soldiers were dispatched to its colony, the Dutch East Indies, roughly today's Indonesia, to put down an independence movement led by the likes of Sukarno and Hatta. This was the Indonesian National Revolution, while for the Dutch their concerted efforts to suppress it with military force were called the Politionele Acties - Policing Actions. This video is a direct response to a strain of comments on my first video on the "Netherlands' Vietnam" and specifically looks at why economic incentives and continued colonialism or greed were not the only reasons that the Dutch sent soldiers to the East Indies in 1945. This isn't to say that economic incentives were not a major factor for their involvement, and continued campaigning there through to 1949, however it's important to remember that in this conflict there were no real "good guys," and that this period of history saw great upheaval and tragic mass murders that have largely gone forgotten today in the country where they occurred. I feel it's important not to simply paint this conflict with the narrative of coloniser vs freedom fighter as this greatly oversimplifies the truth. Nor, I should add, should it be seen as barbaric rebels vs heroic Dutch saviours. This isn't a particularly lighthearted video and there are some rather gruesome details included.

Link to my video on "The Netherlands' Vietnam" | Dutch War in Indonesia:
   • What was the "Netherlands' Vietnam?" | Dut...  

Link to William H. Frederick's Article on The Bersiap Genocide:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...

Link to Elly Touwen-Bouwsma's Article on Indonesian Nationalists' Collaboration with the Japanese Occupation:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20071754...

Link to Robert Cribb's article on The Bersiap Genocide:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...

Inside Indonesia's article on the Bersiap Period and how it's been forgotten in modern Indonesia:
https://www.insideindonesia.org/the-f...

Raid the Merch Market:
https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/hi...

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Music Used:
Opium - Kevin MacLeod
Ether Vox - Kevin MacLeod
Pyre - Kevin MacLeod
Piano Concerto 23 - Mozart
"Sunday Dub” - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

#Nederland #Indonesia #WW2