Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis - Volume 132, Issue 1, 2019

How a violent past necessitates self-exploration. The Indonesian war of decolonization (1945-1949) and the debate about war crimes on radio and television

In 2005 the Dutch government for the first time denounced the position it held during the Indonesian war of decolonization (1945-1949). In Jakarta the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ben Bot, declared that in those years the Dutch had been ‘on the wrong side of history’. Until then Dutch governments had been reluctant to publicly address the war and the crimes committed therein, even though these crimes had been brought into the open from 1969 onward in radio and television broadcasts. This article argues that as long as the violent past is not rethought, that past keeps on being news. Individuals may rethink their past in private. Governments have to do it publicly. Rethinking the past, Eelco Runia argued, is addressing the question, who are we that this could have happened? The Dutch do not need to rethink their past to reconcile themselves with the Indonesians, but to reconcile themselves with themselves.

Political offenders or dishonorable criminals? The impact of the revolutions of 1848/9 on the rulings on infamy in Dutch and German penal law

This article tries to explain why the notion of infamy was removed from the Dutch penal code of 1886, whereas this notion was still prominently defended in the German Reich Penal Code of 1871. The explanation is sought in the circulation of books containing reports of participants in the 1848/9 revolutions in the German states and their subsequent incarceration. It is argued that accounts of the suffering of these political prisoners made such a lasting impression on German legislators that they decided not to remove the rulings on infamy from the Reich Penal Code. The absence of such accounts in the Dutch national context, however, enabled Dutch legislators to continue along a path taken earlier towards abolishment. In the end, the analysis provides an alternative perspective on the relationship between the experience and mediation of suffering and the historical development of penal reform in western Europe.

The impact of the fire in the A l’Innovation department store. Disasters and risk prevention in political-historical perspective

This article examines how the fire in the Innovation department store in Brussels (1967) influenced the politics of risk management in Belgium. I rely on the frameworks of disaster and risk studies and a historical focus on temporality and actors. The Innovation fire was a decisive part of a longer political and societal process within Belgium’s risk community. After the disaster, political changes occurred in the domains of fire prevention regulation, coordination of first aid organisations, and local traffic regulation. In addition, the catastrophe provided an opportunity for Brussels’ city planners. The perception of the fire as a national disaster, abundant media coverage, and a public debate on the risks of long-term modernisation made the catastrophe an opportunity for change. However, many regulatory changes had already been instigated, making the disaster an accelerator rather than a cause of change. Four actors who set the agenda and implemented the new legislation are identified: politicians, journalists, experts, and insurance companies. In sum, it is argued that the Innovation disaster is a model case study for both disaster research and political history.

Rising tensions in Spain’s memory wars: Catalan nationalist memories and the Salamanca papers (2001-2006)

This contribution examines how conflicting memories of the Spanish civil war (1936-1939) and Franco’s dictatorship (1939-1975) represent the Spanish nation. In concrete terms we examine the social and political debate surrounding the return of the Salamanca documents to Catalonia (2001-2006). This case reflects the painful handling of Spain's war past, and the controversial place it occupies in Spanish democracy. The study of a journalistic discourse on the Salamanca issue shows how social, cultural, and political issues have shaped the Spanish nation.

The ‘gentrification’ of Niccolò Machiavelli

There is an ongoing debate on the nature and relevance of the political work of Niccolò Machiavelli. This debate has always been deeply influenced by the ideological spirit of the time. In our time Machiavelli is reinterpreted again. His ideas seem to be being cleaned up, sanitized from the unpleasant and objectionable aspects that for a long time were considered almost proverbial. In current historiography Machiavelli is widely seen as a precursor of republican, even democratic governance. On the basis of a review of prominent recent studies into his life and work, this literature essay concludes that the gentrification of Machiavelli is in full swing.