10 May 1940
On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. The Dutch in the East Indies were shocked. Members of the Dutch National Socialist Movement (NSB) and Germans living in the East Indies were immediately imprisoned as enemies. Contact with relatives in the Netherlands was no longer possible. The Dutch government moved to England. In the East Indies, Dutch nationals and Dutch East Indians organised all kinds of aid campaigns in support of the government in exile. They raised funds for the war effort, collected aluminium and knitted clothes for the allied soldiers.

Japan
The Dutch East Indies government prepared for the war to spread to Asia. Japan was an ally of Germany, and threatened to attack the East Indies. All Dutch and Dutch East Indian people became eligible for civil conscription, and the KNIL (Royal Dutch East Indies Army) boosted its forces. Trenches were dug and air-raid shelters built. After a KNIL parade, the Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad newspaper confidently headlined ‘The East Indies are prepared!’ (‘Indië is paraat!’)