Rights list 2018 Boom uitgevers Amsterdam

Boom Publishers Amsterdam Philosophy & History Rights List 2018 - 2019

Boom Publishers Amsterdam

Philosophy René ten Bos – The People in the Cave Paul Frissen – The Secret of the Last State Paul Frissen – State and Taboo Hans Dooremalen – Descartes in Amsterdam Gerard Visser – Acquiescence. Meister Eckhart’s heart and spirit Gerard Visser - Acquiescence in Art. Nijhoff, Braque, Kawabata

History Auke Zeldenrust – The Jewish wedding / Die jüdische Hochzeit / ‫החתונה היהודית‬ Philo Bregstein – Stolen Time Remy Limpach - The Burning Kampongs of General Spoor Johannes Houwink ten Cate – The Secret Diary of Arnold Douwes, Rescuer of Jews Roel van Duijn – A Son for the Führer. The Nazi utopia of Julia Op ten Noort Jeroen Koch – Orange in Revolution and War

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Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

Dear reader, Before you is the Rights List for Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019, taken from the philosophy and history books of Boom Publishers Amsterdam. In this Rights List we present some of our most important authors, and our most important books from recent years.

Each of these books transcends the Dutch perspective, and we strongly feel that the authors deserve to be heard beyond our borders.

Take, for instance, René ten Bos, the Philosopher Laureate of the Netherlands. He has written a highly original new book about ‘the people in the cave’. Ten Bos uses Plato’s allegory to explain why the cave dwellers are so content to live in the cave. Despite being urged by the sophisticated man to leave the cave, the people feel absolutely no need to do so. Ten Bos argues that the classical ideal of paideia has always been a hopeless cause.

Another excellent example of our catalogue is The Jewish Wedding by Auke Zeldenrust.

This is a unique history book with an international profile – we can provide you with sample translations in English, German and Hebrew – that gives a personal face to the story of WWII and the mass extermination of the Jews. By means of first-hand accounts, we follow the bridal couple and their relatives and friends as they experience antiSemitism, go into hiding, are sent off to concentration camps and participate in the resistance.

We very much hope that our authors will also find an audience in your country.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to know more about the authors and the books we are very proud to publish.

Niels Cornelissen Publisher Tijn Boon Deputy publisher Eva Wijenbergh Foreign rights

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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René ten Bos René ten Bos (1959) is Professor of Philosophy at Radboud University Nijmegen and has been a columnist for Het Financieele Dagblad newspaper for many years. Ten Bos’ work is characterised by a deep-rooted engagement with contemporary issues: capitalism, bureaucracy, ecology, non-human animals, water, sexuality and labour.

He is the author of numerous books and articles. Among them are Bureaucracy is an Octopus, for which he received the Socrates Challenge Cup 2016 and Water (2015), which was nominated for the above award as well as the prestigious ECI literature award for the most literary book. He has written frequently for English-language journals in the fields of philosophy, geography and organisation.

His book Bureaucratie is een inktvis (2016) has been published in French by Le Pommier (Bureaucratie: encre, paperasse et tentacule, 2017).

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Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

The People in the Cave The word ‘people’ plays an important role in contemporary debate regarding the social elite, as it represents everything the elite is not. In this book, Ten Bos shows us that the distinction between the ‘elite’ and the ‘people’ is as old as our culture itself.

Both play a central role in Plato’s famous cave allegory.

Ten Bos uses this allegory to explain why the cave dwellers are so content to live in the cave. Despite being urged by the sophisticated man to leave the cave, the people feel absolutely no need to do so. Ten Bos argues that the classical ideal of paideia (i.e. the schooling and socialisation of the ‘people’) has always been a hopeless cause. According to him, we have to engage in some serious spelunking if we want to understand what the people are and what the people want. While this requires us to delve deeper into the minds of the cave dwellers, it does not mean that we have to become like them.

‘René ten Bos makes quick work of the

Trouw newspaper, 29-3-2018 – interview by Henk Steenhuis, including mention of appearances during the Month of Philosophy

false superiority of the “open-minded

‘These are not the words of a cynic who has

intellectual”.’ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶

turned away from deceitful politicians in

De Morgen newspaper, 4-4-2018 - interview:

disappointment. This is the current “Thinker Laureate” attempting to fathom how truth in politics so often gets the short end of the stick.’

original title

Het volk in de grot • 2018 • 192 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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Paul Frissen Paul Frissen (1955) is dean and chair of the Dutch School of Public Administration (NSOB) in The Hague and professor of Public Administration at Tilburg University. His previous publications include De staat van verschil (2007), Gevaar verplicht (2009) and De fatale staat (2013).

Quotes about The Secret of the Last State: ‘I found this book enthralling.’ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ – Stephan Sanders in De Volkskrant newspaper

‘An important contribution to the debate on democracy and democratic processes’ – Dirk Verhofstadt

‘A critical review of the desire for openness.’

- Filosofie Magazine 6

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

The Secret of the Last State In this provocative book, Paul Frissen presents a fundamental critique of the desire for transparency. The Secret of the Last State is intended for everyone who wants to look beyond the notion of transparency and reflect on what the state needs in order to protect our freedom.

The civil liberty of citizens is based on a fundamental right to secrecy. At the same time, citizens expect transparency from the state. And yet the state itself also needs secrecy in order to protect civil liberty. This political-philosophical paradox is the subject of The Secret of the Last State. Paul Frissen formulates a culturally critical view of the desire for transparency, which can be traced back to classical antiquity and achieves its apex in modernity.

For a ‘small anthropology of state secrecy’, the author conducted interviews with current and former employees of the secret services and other members of the intelligence and security services.

original title

Het geheim van de laatste staat • 2016 • 272 pages

State and Taboo Paul Frissen shines a new light on the current debate regarding ‘completed life’.

What role does the government play when it comes to making decisions about life and death?

From time immemorial, the state has had a monopoly on violence, meaning that it has the power of life and death over its citizens. The state can send its citizens to war, use violence against them and, in earlier times, could even impose the death penalty. In the current debate regarding ‘completed life’, some would propose a further transfer of this power to self-determining citizens, who would then be entitled to professional assistance to end their lives. In light of the state’s monopoly on violence, the debate on completed life has not only an ethical dimension, but also a political dimension: how autonomous should a citizen be allowed to be in making decisions about his or her life? In other words: who has the right to kill?

In State and taboo, Frissen reveals the role that taboos, prohibitions and limits play in the tense relationship between state and citizen. As in his earlier works, Frissen combines real-life research with philosophical reflection.

original title

Staat en taboe • 2018 • 200 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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Descartes in Amsterdam A philosophical crime novel set in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age, with French philosopher René Descartes in the role of detective.

Amsterdam, October 1634. A naked corpse is found outside the Westerkerk church, clutching a rapier in its fist. A strange symbol has been traced in the freshly fallen snow next to the body. After more bodies are found under similar, mysterious circumstances, a famous resident of the city is called upon for help: René Descartes. The French philosopher proceeds to employ his renowned method to unravel the mystery.

Descartes in Amsterdam is not only a gripping whodunit, but also a philosophical and historical novel. The book serves as an introduction to the early Cartesian method and plunges the reader head-first into the social and political life of 17th-century Amsterdam, populated by famous Dutch histo­rical figures such as Caspar Barlaeus, Andries Bicker and Nicolaes Tulp.

‘Sherlock Holmes meets René Descartes: an ingenious plot in a 17th-century setting,

HANS DOOREMALEN

is a philosopher

affiliated with Tilburg University. He is co-author of the successful books Wat

and the reader learns something at the same

een onzin! (‘What nonsense!’) and Exploring

time’ – René Appel

Humans.

‘The author, himself a philosopher, paints an affectionate portrait of the city and its free-spirited citizens.’ - Ons Amsterdam

original title

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Descartes in Amsterdam • 2018 • 256 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

Acquiescence Meister Eckhart’s heart and spirit Gerard Visser explores the mystical concept of Meister Eckhart’s empty spirit and juxtaposes it with Aristotle’s reflections on the affective.

The history of the relationship between thought and feeling in European philosophy is yet to be written. This book illuminates a small, yet influential historical event: Meister Eckhart’s translation of the Latin concepts of man or animus as ‘gemüete’, and his identification of the spark of ‘intellectus purus’ in man with a ‘ledic gemüete’ – an empty spirit.

While the medieval master upholds Aristotle’s teleological thought on the one hand, he also breaks away from it on the other hand in a way that has radical consequences.

Acquiescence is more than an exploration of the essence of the affective: the book also serves as a philosophical introduction to Eckhart’s thought.

Acquiescence in Art Nijhoff, Braque, Kawabata The second part of the trilogy on Acquiescence was published in 2018.

In this book, Gerard Visser explores how the originally mystical acquiescent attitude to life reappeared in art. As examples of this he discusses Nijhoff, Braque and Kawabata.

‘Visser’s greatest achievement is impressing upon the reader the timeless urgency of Eckhart’s work.’ - Filosofie Magazine

GERARD VISSER

(1950) earned a PhD, cum laude, in 1987 for a

dissertation entitled Nietzsche and Heidegger. A confrontation. He taught cultural philosophy and was co-founder and chair of the Dutch and Flemish Society for Phenomenological Philosophy.

He has written studies on Benjamin, Dilthey, Eckhart, Hei-

‘Just based on its broad aim and ambition

degger and Nietzsche for German journals and collections. Two

alone, Acquiescence is an interesting and

of his books have also been translated into German: Erlebnisdruck. Philosophie und Kunst im Bereich eines Übergangs und Untergangs,

exceptionally rich book,.’ - Filosofie

and: Nichts ist geschenkt. Ein philosophisches Essay über die Seele.

Gelatenheid • 2018 • 258 pages Gelatenheid in de kunst • 2018 • 576 pages

original title original title

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original title

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De Joodse bruiloft • 2018 • 232 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

The Jewish Wedding The Jewish Wedding (2018) is a unique book with an international profile. Its launch in the former synagogue of Leeuwarden (the capital of the northern Dutch province of Friesland) where, in 1939, the wedding of the title took place, was, to quote Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, a ‘historic sensation’. Many people from around the world had travelled to the Netherlands, not only the relatives of the protagonists but also of those who had helped them hide during WWII. What is this book about? WWII has ended and a Jewish couple, Barend Boers and Mimi Dwinger, starts a new life in Amsterdam. They raise three children, decide to keep the past to themselves and pack away into a suitcase everything that reminds them of this dark period. This includes an 8mm film, shot on their wedding day, 18 April 1939. Barend and Mimi would never show the footage to their children. The couple survived the war by a whisker following a nerve-wrecking escape lasting months, unlike many relatives who were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Sobibor and can be seen in the wedding film alive and well. Too traumatic, too sad, too confrontational for Barend and Mimi.

As well as images of their wedding, they kept numerous documents, letters and photos from a shrouded past. The suitcase full of war secrets is locked up and will remain so, if Barend and Mimi have their way. This is how they lug their unbearable past along with them. Until they have both passed away; it’s only then that their children open the mysterious case. Springing from Barend and Mimi’s case a never told and unique family chronicle unfolds and is made manifest here.

press comments

‘An extraordinary life story.’

AUKE ZELDENRUST

is a journalist and

author of several books about, amongst – EenVandaag

other things, homeless, people with addictions and daily life in prison. He

‘The reader is faced with the facts.’

– Friesch Dagblad

studied Classics at the University of Groningen. He is currently a reporter with Friesian regional broadcasting corporation Omrop Fryslân and teaches media studies at Beyers Naudé Grammar School in Leeuwarden.

‘Fascinating and phenomenally interesting.’ - Radio 1

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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Die jüdische Hochzeit Die jüdische Hochzeit (De joodse bruiloft – 2018) ist ein einzigartiges Buch von internationalem Interesse. Die Buchvorstellung in der ehemaligen Synagoge im niederländischen Leeuwarden, wo 1939 die besagte Hochzeit stattfand, war – um mit den Worten des Kulturwissenschaftlers Johan Huizinga zu sprechen – eine ‘historische Sensation’. Viele Menschen, nicht nur Verwandte der Protagonisten, sondern auch Angehörige derer, die ihnen Unterschlupf gewährt haben, waren dazu aus aller Welt angereist.

Wovon handelt das Buch? Der Zweite Weltkrieg ist gerade vorbei und in Amsterdam fangen die jüdischen Eheleute Barend Boers und Mimi Dwinger ein neues Leben an. Sie bekommen drei Kinder und beschließen, die Vergangenheit ruhen zu lassen und alles, was an diese dunkle Zeit erinnert, in einen Koffer zu packen und wegzuschließen. Auch einen 8mm-Film, gedreht an ihrem Hochzeitstag, dem 18. April 1939, verwahren sie in dieser Truhe. Ihren Kindern haben Barend und Mimi die Aufnahmen nie gezeigt. Das Ehepaar hat den Krieg, nach einer monatelangen, abenteuerlichen Flucht, nur knapp überlebt, im Gegensatz zu vielen ihrer Angehörigen, die in den Gaskammern von Auschwitz und Sobibor ermordet wurden und auf dem Hochzeitsfilm feiernd zu sehen sind. Für Barend und Mimi sind diese Erinnerungsstücke zu traumatisch, zu schmerzhaft, um sich damit zu konfrontieren.

Nebst den Bildern ihrer Hochzeit heben sie zahlreiche Dokumente, Briefe und Fotos auf Zeug­nisse ihrer geheim gehaltenen Vergangenheit. Barend und Mimi beschließen die Truhe mit den Kriegsgeheimnissen zu verschließen – für immer, wenn es nach den beiden ginge. Die quälende Vergangenheit schleppen sie auf diese Weise mit. Bis zu ihrem Tod. Erst danach öffnen ihre Kinder den mysteriösen Koffer. Damit beginnt eine einzigartige und nie erzählte Familiengeschichte, die nun in dem Buch Die jüdische Hochzeit nachgezeichnet wird.

pressestimmen

Eine außergewöhnliche Lebensgeschichte.

AUKE ZELDENRUST

– EenVandaag

Büchern, unter anderem zu Themen wie Obdachlose,

ist Journalist und Autor einer Reihe von

Drogenabhängige und der Alltag im Gefängnis. Er studierte Altphilologie an der Universität Groningen und arbeitet heute

Ein faktenreiches Buch, das einem die

als Reporter des regionalen friesischsprachigen Fernseh- und

Augen öffnet. – Friesch Dagblad

Hörfunksenders Omrop Fryslân sowie als Gymnasiallehrer im Fach Medienkompetenz in Leeuwarden.

Faszinierend und äußerst fesselnd. – Radio 1

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Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

‫החתונה היהודית‬ ‫החתונה היהודית )‪ (2018‬הוא ספר יחיד במינו עם נגיעה בינלאומית‪ .‬השקתו בבית הכנסת לשעבר בליוורדן‪ ,‬שבו‬ ‫נערכה החתונה היהודית שעל שמה נקרא הספר‪ ,‬הייתה רגע של "מגע ישיר עם ההיסטוריה"‪ ,‬אם להשתמש במונח‬ ‫שטבע ההיסטוריון האוזינחה‪ .‬אנשים רבים מרחבי העולם באו לכבודו להולנד‪ ,‬לא רק בני משפחה של הדמויות המרכזיות‬ ‫אלא גם אנשים שהסתירו יהודים במלחמה‪.‬‬ ‫ארנד בּוּרס ומימי ְדווינגֶ ר‬ ‫על מה הספר? מלחמת העולם השנייה הסתיימה‪ ,‬ובאמסטרדם מתחילים בני הזוג היהודים ָבּ ֶ‬ ‫בחיים חדשים‪ .‬הם מביאים לעולם שלושה ילדים ומחליטים לא לדבר על העבר‪ ,‬ולהסתיר במזוודה את כל מה שמזכיר‬ ‫ארנד‬ ‫את אותה תקופה אפלה‪ .‬הם גונזים במזוודה גם סרט ‪ 8‬מילימטר שצולם ביום חתונתם‪ ,‬ב‪ 18-‬באפריל ‪ָ .1939‬בּ ֶ‬ ‫ומימי מעולם לא הראו את התמונות לילדיהם‪ .‬הזוג הצליח אך בקושי לשרוד במלחמה‪ ,‬אחרי חודשים של מנוסה מורטת‬ ‫עצבים‪ .‬בניגוד לבני משפחה שנרצחו בתאי הגזים של אושוויץ וסוביבור‪ ,‬ועדיין נראים במלוא חיותם בסרטון החתונה‪.‬‬ ‫ארנד ולמימי‪.‬‬ ‫לבּ ֶ‬ ‫טראומטי מדי‪ ,‬עצוב מדי‪ ,‬מעמת מדי ָ‬ ‫לצד תמונות החתונה הם שומרים אינספור מסמכים‪ ,‬מכתבים ותצלומים מן העבר שהושתק‪ .‬המזוודה המלאה בסודות‬ ‫ארנד ובמימי‪ .‬כך הם גוררים אחריהם את העבר שאין לשאתו‪ .‬עד‬ ‫בבּ ֶ‬ ‫המלחמה ננעלת‪ ,‬ונשארת נעולה ככל שהדבר תלוי ָ‬ ‫מותם‪ .‬רק אז פותחים ילדיהם את המזוודה המסתורית‪ .‬מתגלה בה כרוניקה משפחתית ייחודית שלא סופרה מעולם‪,‬‬ ‫ארנד ומימי‪.‬‬ ‫והיא הופכת לספר‪ ,‬החתונה היהודית‪ ,‬שצמח מתוך המזוודה של ָבּ ֶ‬

‫הדים בתקשורת‬ ‫לדנריסט הוא עיתונאי וסופר שחיבר בין היתר ספרים על חסרי בית‪,‬‬ ‫ַא ֶוּקה זֶ ֶ‬ ‫על מכורים לסמים ועל חיי היומיום בבית סוהר‪ .‬הוא למד לשונות קלאסיות‬ ‫הפריזית ומלמד‬ ‫באוניברסיטת כרונינגן‪ .‬כיום הוא עובד ככתב בטלוויזיה ְ‬ ‫תקשורת בגימנסיה בליוורדן‪.‬‬

‫‪13‬‬

‫"סיפור חיים יוצא‬

‫דופן‪(EenVandaag) ".‬‬

‫"העובדות מוטחות‬ ‫"מרתק ומעניין‬

‫‪Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History‬‬

‫בפניך‪(Friesch Dagblad) ".‬‬

‫להפליא‪(Radio 1) ".‬‬

Stolen Time In search of my Jewish family During the first half of his life, Philo Bregstein (1932) often felt ‘alone in the world’. His Jewish father did not speak about the past and focused on his career, until a fateful day in 1957 when he fell out of a hotel room window and died. His mother, who had suffered from severe psychosomatic problems, died shortly afterwards. It was only when Bregstein read Dutch historian Jacques Presser’s The Destruction of the Dutch Jews at the end of the 1960s that he was ‘shocked awake’. This led him to produce a series of highly praised movies and books about the persecution of the Jews, but yet for decades he did not delve into his own personal history.

Bregstein’s personal quest to learn about this ‘stolen time’ began in the 1990s, when he discovered the horrors of the Holocaust in Lithuania. It was there that some of his family had been murdered, not only by the Germans but also by Lithuanians. He met his cousin Grisha, who had been deported by the Soviets to Siberia in 1941. Grisha became his ‘guide on his descent into hell’. Together, they travelled to Israel, where

‘An overwhelming family history in the

they met surviving Lithuanian Jews who had not been able to

style of a novel.’ – Wim Hazeu

find a home anywhere but there. In North and South America, Bregstein also tracked down presumed lost family members

‘Philo Bregstein has written his own

who gave him insight into his family history.

His travels through space and time brought the author to

origin story.’ – Abram de Swaan

an inescapable conclusion: a ‘Kaddish in Lisbon’ in honor of his grandfather who had died there while fleeing from the

PHILO BREGSTEIN

Nazis. At long last, Bregstein learned about the circumstances

(1932) is a filmmaker and writer. He

completed a law degree in Amsterdam and a degree in film

which, on the same day that the Netherlands capitulated in

direction and script writing in Rome. As a filmmaker, he has

May 1940, led to his grandfather leaping out of a window –

received international recognition for his film portrayals of

a striking parallel with his own father’s death. This discovery

Jacques Presser, Otto Klemperer, P.P. Pasolini and Jean Rouch.

helped him to posthumously reconcile with his parents,

He has also written a number of novels, essays and interview

who had been so traumatized by the war.

books about literature and film, anti-Semitism and the persecution of the Jews. Stolen Time is his magnum opus.

original title

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De gestolen tijd • 2018 • 350 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

The Burning Kampongs of General Spoor Between 1945 and 1949, hundreds of thousands of Dutch soldiers fought against Indonesian independence. For a long time, this conflict was regarded as a relatively ‘clean’ war, until very different reports came to light in 1969. Even after this, however, the impression remained that Dutch soldiers only used exces­sive force in exceptional cases.

In this pioneering book, Rémy Limpach proves the oppo­ site. Based on his study of sources previously ignored by other historians, the image emerges of an army under command of General Spoor that used extreme violence as a weapon on a massive scale.

The words of Multatuli from 1860 about a Sumatran village that had been taken by the Dutch ‘and was thus in flames’ proved to be no less apt ninety years later. The Burning Kampongs of General Spoor is more than just putting the record straight on a distorted version of history. The book gives us pause for thought and strikes a nerve in the debate regarding Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies. The book was the final impetus that led to the government financing a broad, international investigation of the period.

In response to all the attention and commotion surrounding its publication, The Burning Kampongs of General Spoor sold out in five days.

‘Limpach convincingly shows how deeply rooted the violence was in the system’

RÉMY LIMPACH

earned his PhD from the University of Bern on

the subject of extreme Dutch military violence during the Indonesian War of Independence. He now works for the

– Geschiedenis Magazine

Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH).

‘A jet-black page in history now finally described in detail’ - Historisch Nieuwsblad

original title

De brandende kampongs van Generaal Spoor • 2016 • 870 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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The Secret Diary of Arnold Douwes, Rescuer of Jews In 1985, the Dutch village of Nieuwlande in the Province of Drenthe was the first community in the world to be awarded the Yad Vashem distinction from the State of Israel. During the German occupation in World War II, over 250 residents had worked together to hide Jews from the Nazis. The brain behind the plan was Arnold Douwes, a minister’s son who had been recruited by legendary resistance fighter Johannes Post.

Douwes helped hundreds of Jews go into hiding before he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944. In the two years leading up to his arrest, he kept detailed notes of his resistance efforts, stashing them in jam jars which he buried in his garden – in clear violation of all rules and regulations.

Douwes survived the war and reworked his notes into a story in diary form that, strangely enough, has not been previously published. No diary from another European rescuer of Jews is known to exist. As such, the NIOD puts the diary’s historical significance on par with the diaries of Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum.

Excerpt from the diary “Work wasn’t possible that day. The sky was filled with airplanes. The radio quickly put an end to any doubt: war was upon us! It was the Germans! What we could have predicted yet didn’t want to believe had become a reality: we were at war. We couldn’t wrap our minds around it, it was incomprehensible. Being at war with the Nazi savages, that is – the fact that they were savages was something we’d already known for a long time.”

Press quote ‘Douwe’s diary – which comes with a neatly structured introduction by the editors – is detailed, at times exciting and provides a fascinating look into the life of a man who risked his life to save Jews and his relations with other resistance fighters and those in hiding. No such account from another European rescuer of Jews is known to exist’.

Geschiedenis Magazine

original title

16

The book is annotated by prof. JOHANNES HOUWINK TEN CATE (Dutch Institute of War History) and BOB MOORE , professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield. On behalf of Yad Vashem, the preface was written by Mordecai Paldiel, who knew Arnold Douwes personally.

The book will be published in English by Indiana University Press in 2019.

Het geheime dagboek van Arnold Douwes, Jodenredder • 2018 • 352 pages Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

A Son for the Führer The Nazi utopia of Julia Op ten Noort This is the biography of the most significant Dutch female Nazi. No, it is not about Florrie Rost van Tonningen, the ‘Black Widow’ who remained doggedly devoted to Nazi ideals long after the war; rather, it is about a woman who took more of her own initiative and whose life took a much more interesting path.

Julia Op ten Noort was provocative, attractive and creative.

She was a founder of the National-Socialist Women’s Organization (NSVO) and a special protegé of Himmler. She devoted every fiber of her being to two unconscionable Nazi projects: the eradication of one human race and at the same time the creation of a new, ‘superior’ race. In a secret Lebensborn clinic, she offered her own body for the purpose of bearing a racially pure baby: a ‘son for the Führer’.

In personal afterthought, Roel van Duijn – who conducted thorough historical research for this book – writes about his fascination with this woman who was attracted to the wrong kind of men. A risky business due to the chance of identifi­ cation: after all, if you try to catch a shark, it could devour you.

‘Julia’s impatient perfectionism reminds me of my own. And it makes me a bit ROEL VAN DUIJN

uncomfortable: if I had been born a bit

(1943) is known as the

founder of the Provo counterculture

earlier, to a different family, would I

movement as well as the Kabouter

have also become a Nazi?’ – Roel van Duijn,

anarchist movement, which took place in the Netherlands during the 1960s and

founder of the Provo movement and pacifist

1970s. He served as a municipal ­and alderman in Amsterdam on behalf of the Green Party. He

‘Roel van Duijn is a great man, who was on the front page of The New York Times.’

studied art history, political science, history and law. His previous publications include De boodschap van een wijze kabouter and Spitten voor de moffen.

- Max Pam in Het Parool original title

De brandende kampongs van Generaal Spoor • 2016 • 870 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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original title

18

Oranje in revolutie en oorlog •

nyp

• 500 pages

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

Orange in Revolution and War A European history, 1772-1890 A follow-up to the three acclaimed royal biographies of Kings Willem i , ii and iii .

These regents of the House of Orange-Nassau ruled the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1813 and 1890, but little about their reign could be taken granted. Willem i (1772-1843) was in line to succeed his father, stadtholder Willem v, as stadtholder of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands when the family was driven out of the country. For nearly two decades, the family drifted around a Europe that had been thrown into turmoil by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In Orange in Revolution and War, historian Jeroen Koch explores the history of the monarchs from the later days of the Republic to the beginning of the Netherlands as we know it today, putting the account of the Orange dynasty into a European context for the first time.

‘From the places of exile in London and Prussia, via the battlefields of Waterloo and Brussel, to the tedious court life of The Hague. Precisely because of his focus on the international dimension of the dynastic politics of the Oranges, the author succeeds in illuminating the marvel of the Dutch royal house.’ – Diederik Smit in Geschiedenis Magazine

JEROEN KOCH

(1962) studied history at

Utrecht University from 1980 to 1988 and has held the post of university lecturer at the same institution since 1992. As a

‘In this brilliantly written book about the adventures of the Orange family in the nineteenth century, Jeroen Koch builds on the acclaimed biographies of the Kings William I, II, and III (the first of which he wrote himself), which were published in 2013, the 200th anniversary of the Orange monarchy.’ – Sander van Walsum in De Volkskrant ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶

student, his primary research areas were contempo­rary history, American history and the history of European expansion and colonisation. As a writer and his­torian, Koch has gradually become more interested in Dutch history – an interest which led to the publication of King Willem i, 1772-1843 (2013), a work described by the NRC Handelsblad newspaper as ‘a masterful, fluently written biography’.

Boom Publishers Amsterdam | Philosophy & History

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contact information

Boom uitgevers Amsterdam Niels Cornelissen, publisher Philosophy: n.cornelissen@bua.nl Tijn Boon, publisher History: t.boon@bua.nl Eva Wijenbergh, foreign rights: e.wijenbergh@bua.nl v i s i t i n g a d d r e s s

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