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Title: Anarchism in the Netherlands Author: Bert Altena Date: 2009 Language: en Topics: Netherlands, history Source: Retrieved on 22nd November 2021 from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0065 Notes: Published in The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest.
In 1885 anarchism gained a foothold in the Netherlands and by the late
1880s groups were active in Amsterdam, the Hague, and Rotterdam. From
January 1888 they published Anarchist, which survived eight years
without charging subscription fees.
In the Netherlands, all shades of anarchism developed. Whereas Anarchist
was social-anarchist, other journals spread individualist, Christian, or
Tolstoyan anarchism. When Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis joined the
anarchists in 1898, his De Vrije Socialist (The Free [i.e., libertarian]
Socialist) became the leading anarchist journal in the Netherlands.
Because of Domela Nieuwenhuis, Dutch anarchism as such was not very well
organized. Dutch anarchists founded single-issue organizations that
promoted teetotalism, anti-militarism, vegetarianism, free thought, or
neo-Malthusianism. This gave the movement a moralistic overtone.
However, in 1901 the socialist trade union federation Nationaal
Arbeidssecretariaat (National Labor Secretariat) (NAS) adopted a
revolutionary syndicalist program.
Dutch anarchism was particularly strong between 1898 and 1919, although
the precise number of activists and sympathizers is unknown. The
movement published at least five weeklies (De Vrije Socialist was twice
a week) plus several other periodicals. It spread over the whole
country, although it was weak in the two Catholic southern provinces of
Brabant and Limburg.
During World War I the anti-militarist movement became very active. The
number of war resisters grew considerably. In the first decade after the
war it kept its strength with Bart de Ligt, Albert de Jong, and Arthur
Lehning as important representatives. After 1936 discussions about aid
to the Spanish Republic fatally divided the movement; only in the
northern province of Friesland did it manage to retain its strength.
This typifies the development of Dutch anarchism during the interwar
years. At the end of the 1920s the anarchosyndicalist movement, also led
by De Jong and Lehning, dwindled. Younger comrades either joined the
communist movement or took a more individualistic stance with a
preference for direct action. They also had broader cultural interests,
such as sexual politics: during the 1930s Anton Constandse and Gé
Nabrink introduced the ideas of Wilhelm Reich.
Anarchists took part in the resistance during World War II. Afterwards,
the movement was rather weak, but a new generation continued the
publication of De Vrije Socialist while Albert and Rudolf de Jong
published the syndicalist Buiten de Perken (Outside the Markers). Most
anarchists adhered to a traditional anarchism and found it difficult to
accept newer forms like Provo.
During the 1970s the movement regained momentum thanks to young
adherents. Next to De Vrije Socialist the more theoretical de AS (The
Anarcho-Syndicalist) was founded. Anarchism inspired many squatters.
Through the Onkruit movement, radical anti-militarism was renewed. New
journals came into being during the 1980s. Ravage and Bluf! catered for
a young public and Buiten de Orde (Out of Order) is the journal of a new
anarchosyndicalist trade union, De Vrije Bond.
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REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Bogad, L. M. (2005) Electoral Guerrilla Theatre: Radical Ridicule and
Social Movements. New York: Routledge.
De Jong, R. (1971) Provos and Kabouters. In D. Apter & J. Joll (Eds.),
Anarchism Today. London: Macmillan.
Nettlau, M. (1996) A Short History of Anarchism. London: Freedom Press.
Ramaer, H. (1977) De piramide der tirannie. Anarchisten in Nederland.
Amsterdam: Wetenschappelijke uitgeverij.