Mouwband Command Dutch Forces 1945

Curator: The Rijksmuseum holds this artifact—a print and photographic reproduction of the “Mouwband Command Dutch Forces,” dated to 1945. The image shows an armband with the letters "CD" prominently displayed. My first thought goes to what the symbolism could signify for those who witnessed or wore such a potent item of apparel. Editor: There's a somberness to its stark simplicity, almost clinical. A dark band with plain letters—not exactly stirring, at least initially. I immediately start to consider this against a broader context: What narrative does such starkness embody in relation to its wartime context, as we approach liberation and victory? Curator: Consider, those letters likely signaled a specific authority. The band indicates order being restored or overseen. “CD” most plausibly standing for Command Dutch. This armband representing an official delegation signals the end of occupation, transition, and perhaps even the fragility of regained self-governance. It embodies a shift of control, the old order displaced. Editor: Precisely, and to add layers: The fact that the photograph reproduced an actual armband provides the garment and insignia a status elevated to some symbolic plateau of resistance but also national anxiety as control is in transition. In some ways, a garment serves as both utility and representation of a political situation. How were they perceived? And for whom? This also highlights issues about power. Curator: The materiality, or at least the *reproduction* of the materiality speaks volumes. One wonders if we were viewing the real textile versus the documentary print/photo; there is a tension of authority that’s inherent to its moment, and it is now compounded by historical distance. I suspect the print itself functions now to make these types of social conditions evident and worthy of debate. Editor: Yes, absolutely. A potent discussion about identity, the weight of wartime experiences, all distilled down to something quite pragmatic at first blush; though now we can both recognize something so profoundly potent.