Retired General Peter van Uhm is the guest speaker at the Special United Assembly in the Grote Kerk on Thursday, November 20. War and peace have been a recurring theme throughout his life. His speech will focus on what freedom means to him. A conversation about his motivations.
You were asked to speak at the Special United Assembly on November 20, 2025, why did you say yes?
‘It is an honor to be asked to address members of parliament and other dignitaries, I do such things with pleasure. To be honest, I hesitated for a moment. As a military man, I do not like to step into a political arena. I have been reserved about that my whole life. The President of the Senate, Mei Li Vos, eventually persuaded me. She thought it was a good idea that I shared my perspective on freedom and democracy.’
The Special United Assembly commemorates 80 years of freedom. What does freedom mean to you?
‘For me, freedom means that you can be who you are, say what you think, and do what you want. But always with the understanding that your freedom limits that of another. So, consideration for each other is important.’
What does consideration for each other look like?
‘Very simple. I can want many things, but another person must not be bothered by it. Trying to live together is the core. That is also what I find beautiful about democracy, that you set the course together. It also means that you cannot always get your way. Many people think freedom is something natural that requires little effort, but the opposite is true: freedom requires effort – and sometimes you have to give something up for it.’
What should people do for freedom?
‘Contribute to democracy and society. It really doesn’t have to be grand or sweeping, everyone can contribute. Where can you volunteer, where do you stick your neck out for someone else? We need to bring it back to simple things. Faith in the good cause and shared values must return. Studies often talk about willingness to sacrifice, which is said to be low in the Netherlands. I have always found that a rather silly concept. In the army, there is no soldier who gets out of bed in the morning and tells his superior that he is willing to sacrifice himself. That’s not what it’s about in the end. In the past, we had “civilian protection.” People were trained to help others, for example on the way to shelters. That system needs to be fully rebuilt.’
On November 20, 1945, the States General met for the first time after World War II. What is your connection to World War II?
‘It has always fascinated me. As a teenager, I devoured the entire war library, also because my father was a conscript soldier during the war. In 1940, there was the famous radio speech by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In it, he addressed the country and said he had only blood, toil, tears and sweat to offer, but that they would fight to the bitter end. I found that very inspiring. That I became a soldier is indirectly related to that war: my parents were in their twenties then and valued service to society, which they passed on to the three Van Uhm children. I wondered what my contribution would be, and it became the armed forces.’
In your career, you have witnessed many historic events, including the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
‘That was an almost euphoric event. The idea that we, the West, had “won” against the Russians was never my conclusion. The threat from Russia was perhaps less manifest then, but I still believed we had to have our security in order. As a general, I had intense discussions with politicians about this at the time. In my career, I had to implement the largest defense cuts. I thought that was unwise; we need to be a resilient society.’
How does a society become more resilient?
‘Through good preparation. You have to break things down; how do we ensure supplies? For your family, an emergency kit, but what about supermarkets and food suppliers? How do we manage infrastructure and ICT? These are things you need to think about carefully. You sometimes hear that young people are less involved than previous generations. I experience the opposite: during the Veldheren theater tour, I met many young people who are very engaged. For example, with climate. And we often speak negatively about the Netherlands, but did you know that our country is a champion in informal care? We don’t tell each other that.’
Have we become too accustomed to our freedoms?
‘Precisely because it has been 80 years since our country experienced war, we are not really prepared for a crisis. While a war has been raging on our continent for three years, just a few hours’ flight away. People find it difficult to conform and there is dissatisfaction even though we have never had it so good here. On the other hand, many young people have signed up for defense, which I find positive.’
What is your main message on November 20?
I have enormous respect for politicians; they are dealing with solving many complex issues. I want to tell them that there are two issues that transcend multiple generations: climate and security. We must not neglect these, or we pass these problems on to our children. In my speech, I try to make politicians clearly understand that they must take responsibility to stand for all our citizens. So that a good future is possible for the next 80 years as well.’
What would you like to change about the way things are now?
‘I advocate for more dialogue and connection. Many people have withdrawn into the trenches of their own righteousness. That does not help in solving problems that span multiple generations.’
Who is Peter van Uhm?
Retired General Peter van Uhm was Commander of the Armed Forces. One day after his appointment, on April 18, 2008, his son First Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm died at age 23 in Uruzgan due to a roadside bomb attack. Since 2023, he has been making the podcast Veldheren together with Mart de Kruif, also a retired general. Books about his life include Notes of a General and I Chose the Weapon.
More information about the program can be found here.
