Veteran Institute Interview 247: Dutch Military Chaplain in Cyprus

An oral history interview with a Dutch military chaplain conducted by the Veterans Institute. The interview details the chaplain's deployment to Cyprus with the airmobile brigade, covering his training, daily work in the buffer zone of Nicosia, and reflections on his role. The dataset was last updated on October 24, 2025, and is hosted by the DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities Collection.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the role and daily activities of military chaplains based on the detailed description of pastoral work in a conflict zone.
• Studying soldier morale and informal support structures based on mentions of daily conversations and the appreciation for organized services.
• Researching cultural and religious interactions in peacekeeping missions based on descriptions of contact with local clergy and the local population.
• Examining post-deployment reintegration and unit dynamics based on the interviewee's reflection on returning to the Netherlands.

Strengths

• Interview provides a first-person, detailed narrative of a specific military deployment and role.
• Data is curated and preserved by a recognized institution (Veteranen Instituut) and a national data archive (DANS).
• The description offers specific contextual details such as locations (Venlo-Blerick, Ede, Cyprus, Nicosia buffer zone) and unit (airmobile brigade, Charlie company).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The interview is a single case study, limiting generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Veteranen Instituut

Collection Method

Oral history interview.

Freshness

Last updated 2025-10-24 03:58:36; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Netherlands (Venlo-Blerick, Ede) and Cyprus (Nicosia buffer zone).