Allen Tegen Allen

In-depth and eye-opening documentary about the rise of fascism in the Netherlands prior to World War II. Unique archive footage gives a frightening account of how nationalism can derail.

Allen Tegen Allen draws an as yet unknown portrait of fascism gradually taking hold in the Netherlands. Numerous nationalist organisations were founded and gained public support in the 1920s. The Dutch fascist movement’s leaders were inspired by the ideas of Mussolini and Hitler. Voters were considered to be easily manipulable and in need of strong leadership to protect them from outside influences.

It took director Luuk Bouwman years of research to come up with audio material and film footage that had never been shown before. Collectors display rare objects of Dutch origin, including uniforms and fascist magazines filled with hateful rhetoric and anti-Semitic cartoons. The film shows how the Netherlands became a breeding ground for National Socialism, leading up to the German occupation in the 1940s.