The Dutch government-in-exile (Dutch: Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet (Dutch: Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the German invasion of the country during World War II on 10 May 1940. The government had control over the Free Dutch Forces.
The ABCD line (ABCDライン, Ēbīshīdī rain) was a series of embargoes against the Empire of Japan by foreign nations, including the United States, Britain, China, and the Dutch. It was also known as the ABCD encirclement (ABCD包囲陣, Ēbīshīdī hōijin). In 1940, in an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, these nations and others stopped selling iron ore, steel, and oil to Japan, denying it the raw materials needed to continue its activities in China and French Indochina. In Japan, the government and nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy, let alone its military, would grind to a halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the "ABCD ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch") encirclement" or "ABCD line".
Faced with the possibility of economic collapse and forced withdrawal from its recent conquests, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters began planning for a war with the Western powers in April 1941. This culminated in the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Thailand, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The Wiardi Beckman Stichting (The Wiardi Beckman Foundation) is a Dutch think tank linked to the left-of-centre Labour Party (PvdA).
The foundation is named after Herman Bernard Wiardi Beckman, a member of the Dutch Senate, who during the Second World War was summoned by Queen Wilhelmina to become a member of the war cabinet, but who was caught by the Sicherheitsdienst and who died in the Dachau concentration camp.