In Holland stands a house, YES - YES!!!

In Holland staat een huis, JA - JA!!!.jpg


This postcard is based on an old Dutch song for children ‘In Holland stands a house’. Soldiers of all belligerent nations are pictured dancing around the Dutch Peace Palace, a symbol of the pre-war belief in international rights.


The postcard evokes a popular Dutch image of that period, namely the Netherlands as a beacon of international rights and peace. Nineteenth-century pacifist ideals culminated in the organisation of two international peace conferences in 1899 and 1907 in The Hague. These gatherings led to the Hague Conventions and the construction of the Peace Palace in 1913 in the same city. These events strengthened the allegiance of many Dutch intellectuals to pacifism and anti-militarism, which was connected firmly to a Dutch preferment for neutrality.
Faced with the war and an increasing depreciation for neutrality by belligerent nations, attitudes of the Dutch towards pacifism became divided. On the one hand, pleas for strong nationalism grew, as the pacifists' ability to prevent war was mistrusted. On the other hand, Dutch pacifist and anti-militarist organisations mushroomed. It was in these circles that Dutch intellectuals promoted the Netherlands, and particularly the Peace Palace, as a venue for post-war peace negotiations, as illustrated by this postcard.