A Dietsland Empire? The international and transnational dimensions of Dutch fascism and the NSB, 1922-42

Abstract

Dutch fascism was marked by an international outlook and character from the outset in the 1920s. Rather than a purely Netherlands affair, it had proponents in multiple countries, particularly Belgium and the East Indies (Indonesia). For many of these, the idea of a Great Netherlands territory uniting all Dutch-speaking nations – Dietsland – was central to their international vision. There were a number of Dutch fascist parties and other organisations spread across the globe which experienced limited success throughout the 1920s, notably Flemish fascists in Belgium, and the reactionary Fatherland Club in the Dutch Indies. The latter was the most important, successfully mobilising the white settler population against perceived weakness in the face of Indonesian nationalism and communism. In the early 1930s they became influenced by fascism. The dominant fascist force of the 1930s however was Anton Mussert’s National Socialist Movement, which became a considerable force in the Netherlands, but proportionally even greater in the East Indies. Permitting mixed-race members in the party, it established integrated branches in the colonies where it became the largest political party. An inclusive culturalist notion of Dietsland was central to the party’s international vision and plans for a future fascist Imperium. It took a broadly positive stance towards the colonial administration, pointing to it as a model of fascist rule. This international Dutch fascism was underpinned by a transnational network of members and colonial administrators and army veterans which moved around the Dutch empire. This had a real impact on the development of party ideology, as leaders had to reckon with the influence of the transnational fascist network. However, ultimately metropolitan chauvinism and white supremacism determined the ultimate failure of Dutch fascism in the Indies and the hollowness of the Dietsland myth.