This month it will be 10 years ago that Queen Juliana died. The NOS will broadcast a programme about Juliana during the war. Sociologist and historian Jolande Withuis is writing a biography about Queen Juliana. Her conclusion about this perdiod is that the ideas that we have about her role during the war years is inaccurate. It was believed that Juliana mainly stayed at home in Ottawa, taking care of her children. This image was provided by historian Lou de Jong (who wrote the most important history of the second world war), who wrote that: 'her place was with the children'. De Jong mainly focussed on the roles of his great heroine Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Bernhard, even though he must have known what Juliana did and that his conclusion was false as he wanted to portray her as a house wife.
Withuis shows that Juliana was very active, made a lot of travels. To the US, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, the Antilles etc etc. She gave a lot of speeches too, always focussing on the war in Europe. And she knew how to strong bond with president Roosevelt and especially with his wife Eleonor. The historian said that Juliana was fascinated by Eleonor Roosevelt, 'it was the kind of woman she would never in a million years meet in The Netherlands'.
ROYALBLOG.NL: 'Juliana was een strijdbare vrouw'
Prof. Fasseur (biographer of Wilhelmina and of the Greet Hofmans crisis) and Withuis claim that she becae stronger and more independent in this period, without her dominant mother and husband close by. Unsurprisingly Bernhard didn't appreciate this new found independance of his wife and he is critical of her in letters.Juliana communicated with her mother about Wilhelmina's plans for after the war. Bernhard asked his mother-in-law to make sure that Juliana would spend enough time at home with her family. Juliana doesn't agree and writes her mother: 'make sure that I will have a real role and that I don't turn out to be the refrain in the song that sings Bernhard'.
Fasseur suspects that Juliana's speeches are less remmebered as Queen Wilhelmina's speeches were more explicit, with stronger. Though pacifist Juliana also disappeared in these years and she is talking about
: 'getting the Germans by the throat'.
Berhard had a relationship that started in the war and lasted in the years after. Juliana's hope of comradery and forming a team together in the Netherlands were crushed: 'she was very lonely'.
The documentary was broadcasted yesterday and can be wached here:
The documentary had some new clips.
Again it reaffirms that Bernhard was the worst thing that happened to the Dutch monarchy in the 20th century. I am very curious about the complete biography, esp. after the very one-sided view of Prof. Fasseurs book about Greet Hofmans, who was very much on Bernhards side. I suspect that this book will show the other -neglected- side.