A report from the NL Instances.
The ambassador of Suriname, Rajendre Khargi, unveiled a memorial stone for the Paramaribo-born author, activist and World Warfare II resistance member Anton de Kom throughout a ceremony in De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. He was joined by De Kom’s daughter, Authorized Safety Minister Franc Weerwind, and Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema.
De Kom, who was born in 1898, wrote the 1934 guide We Slaves of Suriname, which is thought to be an vital indictment towards racism, exploitation, and colonial rule. The guide was rereleased in 2020. Throughout World Warfare II, whereas De Kom was nonetheless thought-about a hero particularly to Surinamese folks, he joined the resistance within the Netherlands towards the Nazis. He was captured and died in April 1945 within the focus camp Sandbostel Neuengamme.
For 2 years now, De Kom has been included within the Canon of the Netherlands, the seminal listing of vital occasions, folks and objects in Dutch historical past. There’s additionally a statue of him in Amsterdam-Zuidoost.
On Thursday, Halsema stated that with the memorial stone De Kom is now additionally receiving an honor reserved for outstanding writers. The literary honor, which thus far had not achieved, is totally deserved, Halsema stated. “Did Anton de Kom ever suppose that this present day would come? That his memorial stone can be positioned in the identical church because the tomb of Michiel de Ruyter, the Dutch ‘sea hero’ about whom Anton needed to find out about a lot at college when little?” she stated. Halsema famous that when he was a schoolboy, “The colonial authorities impressed upon the Surinames the supposed superiority of the Dutch.”
In his work, De Kom opposed the notion of superiority. Suriname continues to cross on a huge non secular heritage, Halsema stated. “Amsterdam can not acceptable that legacy of Anton de Kom, however it may embrace it passionately. By paying tribute to him right here, by persevering with to learn his work and, above all, by persevering with to combat all types of superiority considering.”
Well-known authors similar to Joost van den Vondel, PC Hooft, Hella S. Haasse, Johan Huizinga, Multatuli and Willem Frederik Hermans are both buried in De Nieuwe Kerk, or have related memorial stones.