Soon after the end of the Second World War, Dutch science was reconstituted by novel funding agencies with well-filled coffers. In this book, the two largest and most influential institutions in physical research are the main focus of attention. The first one, the Foundation for Fundamental Research of Matter (FOM), which was to coordinate nuclear research, was founded in 1946. As in many other countries, a serious effort in fundamental physics was deemed necessary as a precondition for technological development. In the same year, and with almost the same enthusiastic support from political circles, the second institution, the National Defense Organisation (RVO) was established. Its task was to set up a serious program for defence research in the Netherlands. As in the field of fundamental physics, the Dutch wanted very much to remain within the purview of the new hegemon in defense research, the United States. Most leading Dutch physicists were involved in these new organizations. What were the goals they aimed for? Did the context of the early Cold War play an important role in their motivations and scientific accomplishments? In the current historiography about Dutch post-war science three themes can be identified. The first is stressing the ideological continuity with the 1930s: the new institutions were created on the basis of technocratic ideals dating back to the interwar years. Secondly, in most existing historiography Dutch post-war science is presented as idealistic, internationalist and anti-militaristic. This is, to a certain degree, in line with the perceived continuity with the interwar years. And it aligns perfectly with the critical attitude that prevailed among many scientists in relation to the military applications of nuclear science right after the summer of 1945. Finally, Dutch nuclear science is supposed to have been developed in the first post-war decade in an almost autonomous manner. This 'Alleingang', as it has been called, was mainly due to the secrecy that characterized the American ...