In the summer of 1992, when the nomination by the Bush administration of an American named Donald Alexander for the post of Ambassador to the Netherlands was retracted, possible reasons that the candidacy had run into trouble in Washington and elsewhere were mentioned in Dutch newspapers. First of all, it is clear that there were objections on the basis of the fact that Alexander had made sizable political contributions, and secondly that Alexander was also Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Kansas, a fact which was thought to create a possible conflict of interest. A third possible reason was mentioned in NRC Handelsblad : Alexander, whose last name at birth had been Buitenhuis, was the son of a man who had been indicted in the Netherlands after World War II as one who had collaborated with the Germans. However, a brief mention of the retracted nomination in the Volkskrant the next day mentions the issue of his political contributions and the potential conflict of interest due to his history as Honorary Consul, and then ends the report with the curious statement that knowledge of his father's war history had had no bearing on the decision.

The apparent contradiction among these reports is interesting. It suggests that the events of World War II still played an important role in Dutch, even Dutch-American relations, nearly 50 years after the fact. As for collaboration, Donald Alexander had committed no crime, except to be his father's son. And although one might readily understand why an infamous name might be a burden – Germany, for instance, might not nominate a person named Himmler as ambassador – in this case the family name had been changed to one which nobody would associate with war crimes. Nevertheless, the issue had been raised, and it may have hurt Alexander's chances. This story points to two facts about the history of World War II as it is remembered in the Netherlands: first, what happened fifty-odd years ago is still quite relevant to many people. But second, individuals often have mixed feelings, and many Dutch citizens disagree with each other about whether the history of half a century ago still matters and what its meaning should be.

The effects and aftereffects of World War II are not limited to those actively engaged in combat, but touched civilians to an unprecedented degree as well.