“To Ensure that these Emotions are Passed to the Next Generation”: The Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a site of Transatlantic Memory Diplomacy during George W. Bush’s ‘War on Terror’

This article analyzes President George W. Bush’s 2005 visit to the Netherlands-American Military Cemetery in Margraten as a case study in transatlantic ‘memory diplomacy’ in the context of the ‘War on Terror.’ It explores why, how and to what ends US diplomats in the Netherlands employed President Bush’s visit to Margraten, and the collective memory attached to this place, for transatlantic political-diplomatic purposes. By incorporating the role and agency of Dutch citizens in the development of the local commemorative culture, which in turn informed alternative—‘vernacular’—interpretations o... Mehr ...