Hoog Spel in de Oost

Hoog Spel in de Oost is a Dutch documentary which aired on NPO 2. The series premiered on August 23, 2023.

In 1949, the Netherlands and Indonesia sign the transfer of the colony of the Dutch East Indies, but the Netherlands keeps the islands of New Guinea and calls it Dutch New Guinea. Because, according to the Netherlands, New Guinea is far from being independent and must first help the country from the Stone Age to the modern atomic age. What the Netherlands did not know at the time is that this decision almost leads to a catastrophic war with Indonesia. And when Russia gets involved, becomes a possible trigger for a Third World War. How do the Dutch - mostly conscript - soldiers look back on this period? And what does this still mean for the Papuans to this day?