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In the archives and collections at the IISH, the anti-war movement occupies a large place. This massive presence of archives from the peace movement is obviously a result of traditional...
[Collection guide]
The U.S. waged war in Indochina, especially in Vietnam in the sixties. In the years round 1970 the anti-war movement was at its peak. Even conscripts were sent to the frontlines. Large sections of...
[Collection highlight]
On 24 September 2003 the Total Objectors Archive was officially handed over to the IISH. The archive is a remarkable collection of archival material from and about total objectors to military service...
[Collection highlight]
Recently, the IISH acquired and arranged a vast and colourful collection on resistance within the American Army during the Vietnam era. Approximately 50,000 American conscripts deserted during the...
[News]
Formal military conscription had started in the French colonies in Africa before the First World War. Unlike Britain, France sent African conscripts to the main fighting front in France as of 1915....
[Item of the Day]
On October 5, 1850, the governor of Aleppo, present-day Syria, prescribed the recruitment of young men between 20 and 25 years for the Ottoman army. On the next evening, inhabitants of the city...
[Item of the Day]
Pacifists in New Zealand were forced to lead an illegal underground existence during the Second World War. The first legal issue of the New Zealand Christian Pacifist appeared in October 1945 and it...
[Item of the Day]
In 1916 Harold Bing (1897-1975) refused to serve in the army because he was a conscientious objector, and was imprisoned in Winchester for three years. The young man was allowed to write a long...
[Item of the Day]
On 1 February 1996 the compulsory attendance for the Dutch Army was suspended. In fact, this put an end to the draft, and with it, removed the need for conscientious objection. The first Dutch...
[Item of the Day]