Maarten Rudelsheim (25 April 1873 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

– 10 September 1920 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

) was a ''

flamingant The term ''flamingant'', in both Dutch and French, refers to an adherent of the Flemish Movement. Originating as a pejorative term use by Belgian nationalists, it may be equally used as an adjective or substantive and the term ''flamingantisme' ...

'' of Jewish-Dutch descent. Rudelsheim was born in the

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 ...

, of a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

father and a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

mother. In 1885, the family came to Antwerp. Maarten Rudelsheim studied at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

and became

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

. In 1898, Maarten Rudelsheim was naturalized as a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

citizen. In 1900, he became assistant

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

in Antwerp. Like Louis Franck,

Nico Gunzburg Nico Gunzburg (2 September 1882, Riga, Russian Empire – 5 March 1984, Antwerp, Belgium) was a Belgian lawyer, criminologist and centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldw ...

and , Maarten Rudelsheim was one of a number of Jewish

s who were engaged in the

Flemish movement The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...

. He devoted himself to the Dutchification of

, then still a French-speaking university in a Flemish city. After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, Rudelsheim was condemned to ten years' imprisonment for involvement in

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

during the war. He died in Antwerp prison.

Sources

Rudelsheim’s biography
1873 births 1920 deaths Dutch Jews Flemish activists People from Amsterdam Ghent University alumni {{Activist-stub