The Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) was overrun by the Japanese Empire the end of
1941 / early 1942 and remained occupied for the rest of the war. What happened
in the Dutch colony of Suriname during WW2? I am here in Paramaribo in front of a World
War II monument and in this video I'm going to tell you about Suriname during World War II.
When World War II broke out Suriname was in the hands of the Dutch for centuries. On May
10th 1940 Germany invaded the motherland, the Netherlands. The Dutch governor in Suriname,
his name was Johannes Kielstra, he proclaimed martial law and he ordered the arrest of German
citizens within the colony: a number of 73 Germans as well as political opponents were arrested.
Thereafter nine more German men, 45 women, and 35 children were incarcerated, regardless whether
these supported the Nazis or not. German men over the age of 15 were detained in Fort Zeelandia,
while women and children were sent to the old sugar plantation Mariënberg. A malaria plague
was soon discovered so therefore the women and the children were reunited with the men;
unlike the men the women in the children were allowed to walk free. They caused
actually not much problems and as time progressed they received less restrictions
they were allowed to receive money, books and organized their free time. A few restrictions
reappeared when the governor was told that books on weapons and warfare were smuggled to the men.
The German crew of the vessel Goslar, that was in the harbor of Paramaribo, sunk its ship. Suriname
bordered French Guiana that came in the hands of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. By the inhabitants
of the colony, both Surinamese and Dutch, there was an active support for the Allied war effort
and a lively interest in the situation in the Netherlands. Money was raised to support the Red
Cross, buy war material and send relief packages. In January 1942 the country faced a new problem. A
ship with 146 possible NSB members (Dutch members of the Dutch Nazi Party) that came from the Dutch East Indies, arrived
in the port of Paramaribo. Governor Kielstra did not know what to do with this group and
tried to seek advice from the Minister of Overseas Territories. Kielstra would receive documents with
proof whether these men were actually NSB members, but the documents were never received by Kielstra.
The governor now had to make decisions and make the choice whether he would let these men go or not.
He chose not to take this risk and not let the men
go, so in 1942 he set up a camp for them as well. Local civil defense groups, organized in 1942,
called for men of all ethnicities to work together to protect the country from potential attack and
civil unrest, and to help with the rationing and distribution of food and fuel. At its peak,
the so-called Schutterij (some kind of Home Guard) numbered about 5,000 men. Initially,
most Javanese and Hindustani recruits were not accepted because they did not speak Dutch. In 1943
this requirement was dropped; in addition, religion and diet were also taken into account. About 1,400
Javanese and Hindustanis served in the Schutterij. The government initially objected to this inclusion,
but for the Asian migrants and their descendants, the defense organizations were an important
vehicle for social emancipation. See, Suriname by now was a melting pot of different cultures.
There were the Creols, those with African roots, as well as Javanese and Hindustanis that came to
Suriname as contract labourers after slavery was abolished. Also females could join a female home
guard. This unit had around 300 women. Most of the recruits were
part of the Creole middle class and between 18 and 22 years old, but also included Surinamese Jews.
For Jews, whose lives became unbearable during WW2, some of them came to Suriname.
There already existed Jewish community within the colony; more came later as Hitler ended the
so-called independence of Vichy France at the end of 1942 and in Suriname they were well received.
While some served in the Schutterij others served in the bauxite industry, because the bauxite mines
were vital for the American aircraft industry. It is estimated that 82 percent of the bauxite that
was used for the building of American aircraft came from Suriname and this was actually before
the US officially chose sides the end of 1941. The Dutch government signed an agreement with the
US. The US could station 2 000 troops in Suriname to protect the American interests.
The harbor of the capital Paramaribo became a base for the US Navy to combat German U-boats
that targetted Allied ships in the Caribbean. The Surinamese airport Zanderij grew in size
and was modernized. It functioned as a staging area for US planes that flew to North Africa.
48 planes crashed in Suriname during WW2.
These industrial and military activities created more jobs for the local population:
“The war affected the whole of society as thousands came
to Paramaribo as a result of the draft or in search of work in, for example,
the construction of defense works. Others found employment in the bauxite industry
or the service sector. The work was more attractive than agriculture,
while often little education or experience was needed to obtain a relatively well-paid job.”
The war also brought negative aspects: blackouts, inflation, food rationing,
but in the end WW2 brought many positive changes for the country. As one remembered:
“World War II, well we have celebrated . . . The
Americans were here . . . there were parties . . . we lacked nothing.”
Suriname as a whole behaved loyal towards the Dutch government-in-exile. Dutch administration
decreased and coupled to economic growth nationalist feelings among the educated
population grew. People from this class were closely related to Dutch cultural identity. They
strived for more autonomy after the war. This was fueled by the authoritarianism of governor
Kielstra. Kielstra used his authority – increased to martial law – to eliminate
political opponents. The Creoles accused him of wanting to make Suriname an 'Asian colony',
based on the Dutch East Indies. Surinamese politician Wim Bos Verschuur petitioned to
replace him. Kielstra had him arrested but was later relocated to Mexico to
work as an ambassador there. He was succeeded by Johannes Cornelis Brons.
Kielstra was also blamed for creating the lack of willingness of Surinamese
troops to fight in the Netherlands East Indies. Colonial Minister H. J. van Mook
in London explained that “that it doesn’t make sense to fight dictatorship abroad
when one experiences dictatorship within one’s own borders”. But even after Kielstra was gone,
enthusiasm to join the forces remained small. Racism was another obstable. I read
15 Surinamese participated in Operation Overlord. Around 200 Surinamese joined the navy and 450-500
volunteered to fight in the DEI against Japan. They fought alongside Australian troops on Borneo.
And I did want to mention Anton de Kom. An anti-colonial writer who was exiled to the Netherlands before the war,
joined the Dutch resistance during the war, was arrested and perished in a German concentration camp.
Although the war, in addition to prosperity, also brought a lot of suffering, Suriname has made considerable progress after the Second World War. Many young men and women went to assist
the Netherlands and left everything behind, and they realized things could do different.
The circumstances of the war ultimately ensured that Surinamese became increasingly detached
from the colonial motherland.
Now how Suriname became independent is what I will discuss in a future episode. If you want to
learn about other countries during World War II, click here. Thank you for watching; see you later!