Presentation about war and exploitation – activism and independence struggle, in the Resistance Museum from October 3, 2024
After the successful reopening of the Resistance Museum Amsterdam at the end of 2022, in which the story about the Second World War is presented in a more nuanced way than before, it was time to revise the view on Dutch colonial history surrounding the Second World War. The renewed permanent exhibition The Second World War and the former Dutch colonies will be opened in the museum on Wednesday, October 2 by Mayor Femke Halsema and can be visited by the public from October 3.
The Second World War brought major changes to the former colonies of Indonesia, Suriname and the six Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten. Changes that stimulated activism and resistance against the Netherlands as a colonial oppressor. Immediately after the war and the capitulation of Japan, most Indonesians wanted to become independent, but the Netherlands waged a bloody war (1945 -1949) in a vain attempt to preserve the colony. The aftermath and the impact of the colonial past to the present day are also discussed.
Personal stories
The exhibition, partly based on new historical research, offers a new, more complete view of colonial history by telling more than thirty personal stories. Attention is paid to well-known aspects such as the cruel Japanese regime and to resistance against centuries of Dutch colonial oppression in Indonesia. But also for lesser known ones, such as the changes and activism in Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Resistance Museum Amsterdam
From its reopening at the end of 2022, the Resistance Museum receives high ratings from many (inter)national visitors and media, with even a praising article in the New York Times. In 2023, the museum got nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award and received a record number of visitors, who provide many five-star Google and Tripadvisor reviews.
Resistance Museum Amsterdam, Plantage Kerklaan 61