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Awas, ploppers! - Dutch East Indies, 1948

Introduction

This article is about the diorama I built for my grandpa. He served in the Princess Irene brigade (which was formed during World War 2 under Allied command), during the war of independence in the former Dutch East Indies, now better known as Indonesia.

This was one of the dirty wars which the Dutch government rather likes to forget. While WW2 veterans of the Princess Irene brigade get attention every year around Liberation Day (the day the Netherlands were officially free again from German occupation), the Dutch East Indies veterans are mostly forgotten. Of course the WW2 veterans need to receive the praise they deserve, but so do the Dutch East Indies veterans, as they fought and died for their country just as well.

Therefore, this article is not only to tell you something more about the history of the Dutch East Indies, the independence war and the diorama I built, but it also reminds us we should not forget about the black pages of our history, but learn from it.