Vrede en Recht Festival in de Bunker Film: De Droom van Den Haag

• Date: 20 September
• Time: 13:00 - 14:00
• Location: Seyss-Inquart bunker Landgoed Clingendael, Open tent

Last year, Benjamin Duerr wrote an exciting history of the greatest diplomatic event in Dutch history, The Dream of The Hague. His book made the shortlist for the Libris History Prize, and deservedly so! He tells, with equal skill, the story of this remarkable event that took place in The Hague and from which the city, among other things, owes the Peace Prize. The Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907 laid the foundation for today’s world order.

Modern weapons, international conflicts, and increasing mistrust formed a dangerous combination at the end of the nineteenth century. To curb this looming spiral of violence, around 1900 a diverse group of diplomats, lawyers, and activists gathered in The Hague. At two international peace conferences, they worked on treaties and organizations intended to lead to a more peaceful world. In terms of grandeur and ambition, the conferences were unparalleled; for a brief time, The Hague was the center of the world.

Through key figures such as the famous peace activist Bertha von Suttner and the proud Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Willem Hendrik de Beaufort, Benjamin Duerr tells the story of the two landmark conferences. He shows how they fought for disarmament, rules in times of war, and the establishment of international courts, but also how their idealism clashed with the realpolitik of the great powers. After two world wars, many labeled the Hague conferences a failure, but in The Dream of The Hague, Duerr convincingly demonstrates that it was here that the foundation for today’s world order was laid.

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