The suffering caused by the bombing of Nijmegen on February 22, 1944, was not discussed for decades because it was carried out by a friendly nation. The government also failed to recognize it for a long time. This was stated by outgoing State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Public Health, Welfare, Sports) on Thursday in Nijmegen at the 80th commemoration of the city bombing.
Last week researchers in the Netherlands and Indonesia finally laid out the ways in which the Dutch state both condoned and concealed its systematic use of “extreme violence” during the Indonesian war of independence. In response, the Dutch prime minister apologised. But the findings focus on laying out the facts and skirt any issues of criminal responsibility.