Two-thirds of Dutch in favor of national museum on the history of slavery

Around two-thirds of the Dutch are in favor of the establishment of a national museum on the history of slavery, EenVandaag reported based on a survey among 30 thousand respondents.

This week the slavery exhibition at the Rijksmuseum ended. The advisory college Dialoggroep Slvernijverleden advocated for a permanent Dutch museum on the history of slavery.

Around 67 percent of the respondents were in favor of such a museum.

Among the 800 respondents with a Surinamese or Antillean background, 91 percent were in favor of a museum on slavery. “It’s time that people understand what it is like to be a black person and where that comes from”, one respondent with a Surinamese background said.

“You cannot correct the past, but you can be aware of it”, one member of the advice college wrote. “I think we will then get more respect for someone with a different skin color.”

Respondents who were critical of a slavery museum worried that it would paint a one-sided picture.

“It is a good idea but I’m afraid that the history of slavery will only be shown from one side”, one respondent said. “That all the blame is put on white Europeans, while they alone were not responsible.”

Respondents critical of the museum on the history of slavery said they also wanted slavery to be contextualized in the past, for example, by also informing about the African tribes that captured and sold people to slave traders.