The German occupation of the Netherlands brought great uncertainty among the Dutch in Dutch Indonesia. The immense Indonesian archipelago was now cut off from the motherland.

The threat of imperial Japan, allied with Hitler-Germany, grew noticeably. The Dutch government in Indonesia mobilised the armed forces and did everything to improve morale of the - Dutch - population. After the Japanese occupation in March 1942, the Dutch were completely finished in Indonesia.

Japanese propaganda between 1942 and 1945 was aimed at obtaining the grand ideal: establishing the 'Great Asian sphere of prosperity'. Confidence in the 'invincible' Japanese armed forces and Japan's leading role in Asia was pictured in propaganda posters. Japanese policy regarding the Indonesian population was aimed at the expulsion of western influences and the mobilisation of the population for the Japanese war efforts.

After the German occupation was ended in May 1945, the Netherlands became a unified front for the liberation of Indonesia. With posters bearing slogans like 'And now Indonesia, enlist as a Volunteer', a liberation army was quickly recruited.