Radio address by Queen Wilhelmina on
7 December 1942
Today it is a year ago that the Japanese,
without previous declaration of war, launched their treacherous attack on our
Allies. At that time we did not hesitate for a moment to throw ourselves into
the struggle and to hasten to the aid of our Allies, whose cause is ours.
Japan had been
preparing for this war and for the conquest of the Netherlands Indies for years
and in so doing sought to follow the conduct of its Axis partners in attacking
one country after another. This plan we were able to prevent, thanks to our
immediate declaration of war. After a year of war we can bear witness that the
tide is turning and that the attacker, who had such great advantages, is being
forced on the defensive.
It is true that
the Netherlands Indies, after defending themselves so heroically are, for the
most part, occupied by the enemy, but this phase of the struggle is only a
prelude. The Japanese are getting ever nearer the limit of their possibilities
as our ever-growing might advance towards them from all sides. They have not
been able to break China's courage and endurance and Japan now faces the ebbing
of her power in this self-willed war, which will end with her complete
downfall.
At this moment
my thoughts are more than ever with my country and my compatriots in the
Netherlands and the Netherlands Indies. After an age-old historical solidarity,
in which had long since passed the era of colonial relationship, we stood on
the eve of a collaboration on a basis of equality when suddenly we were both
confronted by the present ordeal. The treacherous aggression on the Netherlands
in 1940 was the first interruption in the process of development; the heroic
battle of the Netherlands Indies, followed by the occupation of the major part
of this territory in 1942, was the second.
At the time
when the Indies were still free and only Holland was occupied, the vigor of our
unity became apparent and on both sides a feeling of stronger kinship developed
more rapidly than it could have in peacetime. Now, however, this mutual
understanding has been deepened still further because the same struggle is
shared in all its agony and the same distress is suffered in all its
bitterness. In the Netherlands as well as in the Netherlands Indies the enemy,
with his propaganda for the so-called new order, has left nothing untried to
lure the spirit of the people and to disguise his tyranny and suppression with
the lies of his promises for the future. But these lies and this deceit have
been of no avail because nearly all have seen through them and have understood
that our enemies have as their aim nothing but slavery and exploitation and
that as long as they have not been driven out and defeated there can be no
question of freedom.
In previous
addresses I announced that it is my intention, after the liberation, to create
the occasion for a joint consultation about the structure of the Kingdom and
its parts in order to adapt it to the changed circumstances. The conferences of
the entire Kingdom which will be convoked for this purpose, has been further
outlined in a Government declaration of January 27th, 1942. The preparation of
this conference, in which prominent representatives of the three overseas parts
of the Kingdom will be united with those of the Netherlands at a round table,
had already begun in the Netherlands Indies, Surinam and Curacao, the parts of
the Kingdom which then still enjoyed their freedom. Especially in the
Netherlands Indies, detailed material had been collected for this purpose and
it was transmitted to me in December 1941 by the Governor-General. The battle
of the Netherlands Indies disrupted these promising preparations.
We can only
resume these preparations when everyone will be able to speak his mind freely.
Although it is
beyond doubt that a political reconstruction of the Kingdom as a whole and of
the Netherlands and the overseas territories as its parts is a natural
evolution, it would be neither right nor possible to define its precise form at
this moment. I realize that much which is great and good is growing in the
Netherlands despite the pressure of the occupation; I know that this is the
case in the Indies where our unity is fortified by comon suffering. These
developing ideas can only be shaped in free consultation in which both parts of
the Kingdom will want to take cognizance of each other's opinions. Moreover,
the population of the Netherlands and of the Netherlands Indies has confirmed,
through its suffering and its resistance, its right to participate in the
decision regarding the form of our responsibility as a nation towards the world
and of the various groups of the population towards themselves and one another.
By working out
these matters now, that right would be neglected, and the insight which my
people have obtained through bitter experience, would be disregarded.
I am convinced,
and history as well as reports from the occupied territories confirm me in
this, that after the war it will be possible to reconstruct the Kingdom on the
solid foundation of complete partnership, which will mean the consummation of
all that has been developed in the past. I know that no political unity nor
national cohesion can continue to exist which are not supported by the
voluntary acceptance and the faith of the great majority of the citizenry. I know
that the Netherlands more than ever feel their responsibility for the vigorous
growth of the Overseas Territories and that the Indonesians recognize, in the
ever-increasing collaboration, the best guarantee for the recovery of their
peace and happiness. The war years have proved that both peoples possess the
will and the ability for harmonious and voluntary cooperation.
A political
unity which rests on this foundation moves far towards a realization of the
purpose for which the United Nations are fighting, as it has been embodied, for
instance, in the Atlantic Charter, and with which we could instantly agree,
because it contains our own conception of freedom and justice for which we have
sacrified blood and possessions in the course of our history. I visualize,
without anticipating the recommendations of the future conference, that they
will be directed towards a commonwealth in which the Netherlands. Indonesia,
Surinam and Curacao will participate, with complete self-reliance and freedom
of conduct for each part regarding its internal affairs, but with the readiness
to render mutual assistance.
It is my opinion that such a combination of
independence and collaboration can give the Kingdom and its parts the strength
to carry fully their responsibility, both internally and externally. This would
leave no room for discrimination according to race or nationality; only the
ability of the individual citizens and the needs of the various groups of the
population will determine the policy of the government.
In the Indies, as in the Netherlands, there
now rules an oppressor who, imitating his detestable associates and repudiating
principles which he himself has recognized in the past, interns peaceful
citizens and deprives women and children of their livelihood. He has uprooted
and dislocated that beautiful and tranquil country; his new order brings
nothing but misery and want. Nevertheless, we can aver that he has not
succeeded in subjugating us, and as the ever-growing force of the United
Nations advances upon him from every direction, we know that he will not
succeed in the future.
The Netherlands Indies and the Netherlands
with their fighting men on land, at sea and in the air, with their alert and
brave merchantmen and by their dogged and never-failing resistance in the hard
struggle, will see their self-sacrifice and intrepidity crowned after the
common victory with the recovery of peace and happiness for their country and
their people in a new world. In that regained freedom they will be able to
build a new and better future.
Some Comments
1. Quoted from
AUTONOMY FOR INDONESIA by A. ARTHUR SCHILLER 1944 - Pacific Affairs,
vol. 17, no. 4, Dec. 1944, pp. 478-488.
‘In 1936 the so-called Sutardjo motion was laid before the Council,
calling for autonomy of the Indies within the Kingdom, particularly by
fostering greater political activity in Indonesian society, by establishing an
imperial council with representation of the four territories therein, by
enlarging the numbers and powers of the People's Council and making department
heads — as ministers —
responsible thereto. This precursor of the promises recently made was adopted
by the Council. But in November 1938 a royal decree disposed of the matter, on
the ground that "clarity of aim is lacking in its formulation, and that
the calling of a conference in the manner visualized would be contrary to
existing constitutional law."’
‘It was just a year after the invasion of Holland that the Queen and
officials of the Netherlands government first promised far-reaching
reorganization of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and of the component
territories thereof — the Netherlands, Netherlands East
Indies, Surinam and Curacao —upon the termination of
the war. In the words of the Governor-General of the Indies,' on June 16, 1941:
"Immediately after the liberation of the mother country, the adaptation of
the structure of the Kingdom to the demands of the times will be considered,
the internal constitutional form of the overseas territories constituting an
integral part of the program." Shortly thereafter, the Queen promised that
a conference would be held to advise the Crown upon the relation of the parts
of the Kingdom to one another, and upon the revision of the Administrative Acts
(constitutions) of the four territories? Details of the future conference were
announced in January 1942: fifteen delegates from the Netherlands, fifteen from
the Netherlands Indies, and three each from Surinam and Curacao. Ten of the
Indies members were to be appointed upon recommendation by the People's
Council, the central representative body of the Indies, the other five to be
named by the Government of the Netherlands Indies independently. Queen
Wilhelmina's radio address of December 6, 1942, was, accordingly, but a
confirmation of a course of conduct outlined earlier.’
2. Quote from Imperialism
in SE Asia- A Fleeting Passing Phase by Nicholas Tarling p. 262
The Dutch had … begun to prepare the way for their return as early as 1942 by an
attempt to 'counter American attitudes toward colonialism'. A broadcast by
Queen Wilhelmina in December alluded to 'a commonwealth in which the
Netherlands, Indonesia, Surinam and Curacao will participate' in 'a combination
of independence and collaboration'. Talking to the British, H. J. van Mook, the
wartime Colonial Minister, had envisaged a Netherlands government and a
Netherlands Indies government, with equal status, and, above them, responsible
for defence and foreign policy and matters of general interest, an Imperial
government. The speech has been called 'a poorly designed and unrealistic
proposal ... better characterized as an improvised concession to the language
of the times rather than a map of the road to independence'. It echoed the
proposals made by the moderate nationalists in the 1930s in the Soetardjo
petition of 1936, for example and then rejected. It was, however, a belated
attempt at a new form of post-imperial state-building that, unless it was
developed in a liberal way, would have little appeal in 1945, and perhaps not
sufficient even if it were.
3. Quote from
Troubled days of peace: Mountbatten and South East Asia Command, 1945-46, by
Peter Dennis, Manchester University Press, 1987 pp. 74-75.
American approval of Dutch colonial policies and their
future application was the sine qua non for access to American military
largesse, and when Roosevelt suggested that the Dutch make some announcement
about the postwar status of the NEI and other Dutch colonies, Van Mook was
among the ministers consulted on the thrust of the speech.'
It was timed to coincide with a meeting in Quebec of
the influential Institute of Pacific Relations, which had organised a
conference to discuss the postwar colonial situation. When she broadcast on 7
December 1942, the Queen promised to convene a conference as soon as possible
after the end of the war to discuss the reorganisation of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands into a Commonwealth in which relations between the four component
parts (the Netherlands, the East Indies, Surinam and Curacao) would be based on
the twin principles of 'complete partnership' and 'self-reliance' and freedom
of conduct for each part regarding its internal affairs.' Although Roosevelt
and American public opinion seemed reassured by these promises, the speech
merely stored up troubles for the Dutch. It offered little concrete information
about the postwar status of the East Indies, and gave even fewer substantive
concessions to reformist let alone nationalist opinion. Van Mook's attempts to
spell out the details to a number of American journalists were purely personal;
others, including the Dutch prime minister, Professor P.S. Gerbrandy,
maintained in private that the speech in no way represented any diminution of
the powers of the central government over colonial affairs. Promises of a
postwar conference locked the Dutch government into the vagueness of the speech
and prevented them from advancing further initiatives as the wartime situation
unfolded. The speech was delivered in
English – for primarily American consumption – and thus was largely unknown to the very audience to which it was
theoretically designed to apply. When the Dutch finally straggled back to the NEI in
September 1945, they were no longer part of an American-dominated theatre, but
were clinging to the coat-tails of the hard pressed British, who had colonial
problems of their own. Furthermore, all the Dutch had to offer was a shadowy
plan for reform that was almost three years old. Conditions in the NEI had
changed dramatically since 1942, and had rendered the vague promises of the
Queen's speech all but irrelevant.
The Dutch, however, did not realise this. Throughout
the war information on the NEI was scanty and, as later events showed, often
completely unreliable.
See also
- Dutch Proposals for Indonesian
Settlement 6 November 1945
- Dutch Proposals for Indonesian
Settlement 10 March 1946
- Text
and critique of the Linggadjati Agreement
- Text
and Comments on the Renville
Political Principles