''Het Vrije Volk'' was a Dutch social-democratic daily newspaper. It was the successor, after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, of the socialist daily '' Het Volk''. The paper appeared legally 1 March 1945 in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and at its peak it had over 300 editors and reporters. After 1958, the number of subscribers decreased rapidly. The newspaper disappeared in 1970 as a national newspaper from Amsterdam, only regional editions remained and at the end of 1971 only Rotterdam was its home base. The last edition entitled ''Het Vrije Volk'' appeared on 30 March 1991 and it was merged with the ''

Rotterdams Nieuwsblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

'' into the ''

Rotterdams Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

''. That newspaper was merged with the ''

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

'' in 2005.

Het Volk

''Het Volk'' was a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

newspaper from the Netherlands. It was published in Amsterdam, beginning on 2 April 1900, by the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). Preparations for publishing ''Het Volk'' began in 1899. Financial support was provided by the older

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

. A publishing company was established under the name

De Arbeiderspers De Arbeiderspers is a Dutch publishing company, started as a socialist enterprise. The name means 'The Workers' Press'. History The company was started in 1929 as a combination of the publishing firm N.V. Ontwikkeling and the Dutch Social Dem ...

. Its first Editor-in Chief was the head of the SDAP,

Pieter Jelles Troelstra Pieter Jelles Troelstra (20 April 1860 – 12 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the ...

. In 1903, after some disagreements arose, he was replaced by the journalist, Pieter Lodewijk Tak. In 1902, a contest was held to find an artist for the front-page cartoon in the weekly Sunday supplement. The winner was

Albert Hahn Albert Pieter Hahn (17 March 1877 – 3 August 1918) was a Dutch political cartoonist, caricaturist, poster artist and book cover designer; well known for his socialist and Antimilitarism, antimilitaristic viewpoints. Some of his drawings, espec ...

, who was later signed to a permanent contract. Among the others who contributed regularly were (also a cartoonist), (a sportswriter) and the playwright Inte Onsman (under the pseudonym "Leckie Down"). In 1931, the paper moved into a new building, designed by

Jan Buijs Jan Willem Eduard Buijs, sometimes written Jan Buys (26 August 1889 – 19 October 1961) was a Dutch architect, best known for his De Volharding Building. His works include manufacturing, commercial, residential and municipal buildings. Styli ...

, which came to be known as the "Red Castle". A sister edition called ''Vooruit'' (Forward), was published in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

under the direction of

Simon Carmiggelt Simon Carmiggelt (7 October 1913 – 30 November 1987) was a Dutch writer, journalist, and poet who became a well known public figure in the Netherlands because of his daily newspaper columns and his television appearances. Biography Simon Johann ...

. After the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

in 1940, the paper's management vainly attempted to maintain some degree of independence. However, on 20 July 1940,

Meinoud Rost van Tonningen Meinoud Marinus Rost van Tonningen (19 February 1894 – 6 June 1945) was a Dutch politician of the National Socialist Movement (NSB). During the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, he collaborated extensively with the German ...

of the

National Socialist Movement National Socialist Movement may refer to: * Nazi Party, a political movement in Germany * National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962), a British neo-Nazi group * National Socialist Movement (United Kingdom), a British neo-Nazi group active during the lat ...

began to oversee their operations. After the war, it was re-established under a new name: ''Het Vrije Volk''.

Chief editors

External links

Articles from ''Het Volk''
@

Delpher Delpher is a website providing full-text Dutch-language digitized historical newspapers, books, journals and copy sheets for radio news broadcasts. The material is provided by libraries, museums and other heritage institutions and is developed and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrije Volk, Het 1945 establishments in the Netherlands 1991 disestablishments in the Netherlands Defunct newspapers published in the Netherlands Dutch-language newspapers Mass media in Eindhoven Mass media in Rotterdam Daily newspapers published in the Netherlands Newspapers established in 1945 Publications disestablished in 1991