Besides a happy period, it was also a grim period. The Cold War divided the world into two back-to-back spheres of influence, and the threat of nuclear violence was never far away. The parallel with the current situation is urgent, but the initiators of the SAM monument did not have a crystal ball, says Carel Bense. “On the contrary, we hoped to convey the relaxed atmosphere of the Americans. Unfortunately, the other side of the monument has also become very topical, the threat and military defence. That’s deeply sad, shocking actually.”
Monument to the American period in Soesterberg: ‘Barbecuing! Nobody did that in 1954’
