Film/Cinema (The Netherlands)

Abstract

Film did not undermine Dutch neutrality during the First World War, but Dutch cinema culture was an important hub for propagandistic messages from most warring parties. Although British and French film propaganda in the Netherlands could be considered far more successful than that of the Germans, their films were used and interpreted in ways that did not always match their original intentions. Dutch cinemas functioned as a site of political affiliation and contestation, allowing audiences to rethink their political identities and the relationship between war, film, and the “real”.