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

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refugees of all nationalities streamed into the country. 155 At the same time, refugees and
internees who had resided in the Netherlands during the war began returning home. 156 A
military presence to supervise this flow of border traffic was absolutely essential, if only to
keep any undesirables out. Explicit orders existed to try prevent Russian POW sand
"communist elements" entering and as much as possible was done to persuade those already
in the Netherlands to leave again. 157 On 7 December 1918, the Commander-in-Chief even
reminded the Commander of the Field Army that his troops should be extra vigilant on the
borders as there were rumours of Lenin and Trotsky escaping Russia (if Allied troops were
successful in their military campaigns against the Bolsheviks). 158 Both exiles were to be
denied entry, as there were already far too many influential "refugees" in the Netherlands.
Smuggling and illegal trade across the borders remained a security concern as well.
Since the Allied blockade continued to be in force until the signing of the Treaty of
Versailles, the Dutch government had to prevent its citizens smuggling. Again, this ensured
that many of the extraordinary customs officers appointed from military ranks during the
war remained on the borders for a few more months. While the government had managed to
renegotiate its trade agreements with several belligerents in the weeks preceding the
Armistice,159 and obtained greater leniency in importing goods, its trading situation
remained precarious.
Although the govemment intended to dispense with the "state of war" and "state of
siege" as soon as possible,160 the practicalities of smuggling, refugees, internees and other
neutrality matters after November 1918 made this rather difficult. The staat van oorlog and
beleg declared in so many areas during the war, therefore, remained in place for several
more months, although the measures in effect there were alleviated considerably.161 Now
155 Borselen claims that 120,000 POWs in Germany and Austria-Hungary used the Netherlands to get home,
including British, French, American, Italian, Portuguese, Belgian and Serbian troops (Aallslag op het Spoor p. 46).
For more information on the movement of POW s through the Netherlands in November and December 1918, see:
ARA, "Archiefvan het Hoofdkwartier Veldleger" entry no. 2.13.16, inventory no. 322.
156 Nagelhout, "De toelating en internering van belligerente troepen" p. 57.
157 Commander-in-Chiefto Commander of the Field Army, 14 November 1918, in ARA, "Archiefvan het
Hoofdkwartier Veldleger" entry no. 2.13.16, inventory no. 322.
158 Commander-in-Chiefto Commander of the Field Army, 7 December 1918, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale
Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 1484.
159 Frey, "Trade, Ships, and the Neutrality ofthe Netherlands" p. 561.
160 Minister of War to Commander-in-Chief, 20 November 1918, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry
no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 708.
161 Commander-in-Chief, "Regeling betreffende de uitoefening van het militair gezag in verband met uitgebroken of
dreigende binnelandse onlusten" [Regulations regarding the exercise of military authority in relation to existing or