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

- Conclusion -
Caught Between the Devil
and the Deep Blue Sea:·
The Paradox of Neutrality
The desire for neutrality cannot be superior to the interests of the
nation.
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (1942)1
Between 1914 and 1918, although the Netherlands remained neutral, it could not
escape unscathed from the war waged on its very doorstep. The Great War affected the
concerns which neutrality was supposed to safeguard for the Dutch, including their
economic stability, independence and security. In 1917 and 1918, the domestic economy
slowed down, trade decreased, links with the colonies were cut, and the population dealt
with shortages of many essential goods. In these last two years of war, the government
came under considerable pressure from both belligerent sides to accept their demands,
which encroached increasingly on the neutral's international rights and ability to assert its
independence. Neutrality stopped being the vibrant and attractive foreign policy it seemed
before the outbreak of war. Moreover, the ability of the nation and especially its armed
forces to uphold neutrality and security virtually disappeared.
The Allied seizure of Dutch ships in March 1918, followed by Germany's
insistence on unlimited transit trade access in April, brought the Netherlands to the verge of
war. If Germany had invaded in 1918, there was little the neutral could have done. It did not
have the armed might to withstand a concerted attack by its neighbour. The Allies were also
in no shape to come to the Netherlands' rescue. In fact, it was the express desire of the
Allies not to have Germany in control of the country that enabled them to reach a credible
compromise, which defused the situation. Yet, at the same time, it clearly indicated how
much the warring sides had interfered with the supposed inviolability of Dutch neutrality
1 Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, 25 June 1942, as quoted in Leitz, Nazi Germany and Neutral Europe p. 189.