Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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down their alms and refuse to serve. The IAMV also spread anti-military propaganda and
tried to subvert soldiers into reneging on their duties.
While the civilian and military authorities tended not to have any problems with
peace movements as such, they were concemed about the possible ramifications of the
strong anti-militaristic tones of organisations such as the IAMV and SA V. The govemment
worried that public support would translate into political support for the revolutionary
parties, which was, of course, one of the SA V's primary raisons d'etre. High Command,
meanwhile, feared that suppOli among conscripts might lead to widespread military
dissension. Any movement that expressed opposition to the mobilisation, was, in their eyes,
not only undesirable but also highly dangerous. As a result, High Command did everything
possible to quell the movements. It denied entry to anarchist and revolutionary speakers in
"state of siege" areas and banned the distribution of their newspapers and pamphlets among
soldiers. Intelligence agents even took note of the coming and goings of prominent
"revolutionaries" and tapped their telephone conversations. 64
Such fears were not completely unfounded. Initially, the radical nature of the
IAMV and like-minded groups did not have a significant impact. In fact, if the war had not
broken out it is conceivable that the IAMV might have disappeared altogether, since
support for the cause was so low in 1912 and 19l3, its annual congress was cancelled. 65
However, their popularity grew in response to general dissatisfaction with the war situation
and some highly successful publicity campaigns. 66 Membership of the IAMV reached a
peak of 3,200 in 1918, where in 1913 it counted only a few hundred, while circulation of its
64 For examples, see: correspondence between military and civil authorities regarding the movements and removal of
the Christian-Socialist preacher, A. R. de J ong in September 1914, in ARA, "Archief van het Hoofdkwartier
Veldleger" entry no. 2.l3 .16, inventory no. 263, and in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf" entry no. 2.l3.70,
inventory no. 1; Correspondence between military and civil authorities about how to deal with the writers of the
anarchist publication Soldaten-Tribune (Soldiers' Tribune) and with associated mobilisation clubs in October 1918,
in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no. 2.l3.70, inventory no. 5; Head of Police (Leiden) to Director of
Police (The Hague), 16 March 1915, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no. 2.l3.70, inventory no. 2;
Territorial Commander in Zeeland to Commander-in-Chief, 16 July 1915, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star'
entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 203; Minister of Justice to Minister of Foreign Affairs, 30 April 1915, in ARA, "A­
Dossiers van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken 1871 - 1918" archive no. 2.05.03, inventory no. 191;
Commander-in-Chiefto military authorities, 20 May 1915, in ARA, "Archiefvan het Hoofdkwartier Veldleger" entry
no. 2.13 .l6, inventory no. 280; Commander-in-Chief to Army authorities, 1 December 1916 in ARA, "Archieven van
de Generale Star' entry no. 2.l3. 70, inventory no. 3; correspondence between Commander ofthe Internment Depot
Groningen and Commander-in-Chief, February 1918, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no. 2.l3.70,
inventory no. 779.
65 Heijmans et. a1. De I.A.M. V. p. 51.
66 Ibid. p. 66.