Posters of the Dutch Solidarity Movement with Chile (1972-1990)

Forty years ago on 11 September 1973, the democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a violent military coup, provoking indignation throughout the world. Thus ended the Chilean road to socialism. Indignation was also great in the Netherlands, where solidarity activities to support Allende had already started before the coup. Four days later, 20,000 people took to the streets of Amsterdam to make their protest against the coup. At the centre of the solidarity movement was the national Chili Komitee Nederland (CKN), founded in 1972 to support Allende. One of the founders was Jan Pronk, then a Social Democratic member of parliament and at the time of the coup Minister of Development Cooperation. The movement was a broad one with local Chile committees in 51 municipalities and Chile groups in churches and trade unions. The movement was also politically broad with participation by the Social Democrats and after some time the Christian Democrats. Of the approximately 250,000 people who left Chile as political refugees, more than two thousand arrived in the Netherlands. This relatively small group was highly visible with its political manifestations, mural paintings, music and empanadas. Their presence and activities influenced and strengthened the existing Dutch solidarity movement. Posters are an interesting source for the study of the solidarity movement. The International Institute of Social History (IISH) preserves a collection of some 300 Netherlands-Chile posters, the majority from the seventies. Many of these posters invite participation in the annual national