“What story are you telling, and what is your message?”
Interview
Floris van Dijk Head of historical research and collection National Monument Kamp Amersfoort
Floris van Dijk is head of historical research and collection at National Monument Kamp Amersfoort. Between 1986 and 1992 he studied Archaeology at VU Amsterdam. “It's bizarre when you realise what happened in Nazi Germany in just 12 years. That has no precedent in the history of mankind.”
During the tour of the camp, he pauses at the photo wall with hundreds of photos of men and women who were detained there. “This is a hugely charged place. Here, 47,000 people suffered from a structural system of hunger, forced labour, ill-treatment and executions. So that also means that you have 47,000 individual stories, stories that are all equally horrible.” A little later he points to one of the photos: “That man over there, that's my wife's grandfather.”
"Here in this camp, the best friendships were broken for an extra slice of bread."
Since Floris van Dijk started working at National Monument Kamp Amersfoort, he, along with a large number of volunteers and a small team of dedicated colleagues, has been trying to give a face to the 47,000 prisoners. They aim to understand their personal stories, provide context and reconstruct their lives and fate. Almost all employees have a personal connection to the camp. However, that was not the main reason Floris applied when there was a vacancy. So, how does an archeologist end up in this job?
Images: Yvonne Compier
Images: Yvonne Compier
“Be critical of yourself and also of others. I think that's what you get in the humanities.”
The cradle of our civilisation
It was obvious that he would study history or archaeology. As a child, he loved historical stories. At secondary school he was introduced to classical antiquity and was hooked. He consciously chose Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: “I didn't want to end up in a learning factory”, and pledged his heart to the Ancient Near East. “I have a weakness for things that are relatively unknown and need to be investigated further. The Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, is the cradle of our civilisation. So much has been developed and discovered there. Huge conceptual ideas such as city formation, domestication of animals, cultivation of crops, the sexagesimal system, international trade with India in the third millennium BC, but also very concrete inventions. For example, the Pythagorean theorem is not Pythagoras' at all.” It taught Floris not to trust just any source, to always look further: “Be critical of yourself and also of others. I think that's what you get in the humanities.”
He graduated with a major in Cultural History of the Ancient Near East and Monument Policy. Because there was no money to be made in his field, he became a process specialist at the GAK and later a policy advisor for enforcement in the national government. “I found that very interesting. When you study antiquity, you somehow reconstruct pieces of the past. In fact, that's kind of what you do in investigations, only then it concerns the reconstruction of a criminal offense.”
“Hitler was a dictator, but one who came to power democratically and then showed his real face."
Floris ended up working for the national government for more than twenty years. He was intensively involved in the fight against human trafficking, both nationally and internationally, and in 2014 he switched to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, focusing on the Second World War and its impact. “A fascinating field of interest with questions such as: what story do you tell about the war, what is the message?”
Image: Yvonne Compier
Image: Bram Petraeus
Images: Yvonne Compier
Message
Remembering and especially not forgetting is the message that the people in National Monument Kamp Amersfoort want to convey. “Hitler was a dictator, but one who came to power democratically and then showed his real face. It's bizarre when you realise what happened in Nazi Germany in just 12 years. This has no precedent in the history of mankind, with probably 85 million deaths as a result. It has defined modern society and permanently changed international cooperation. So you can see what it can lead to when one such demagogue, using the means offered by the rule of law and playing on certain feelings, comes to power. You always have to be very alert. Take a good look at what certain people say, including Dutch or foreign representatives.”
Contemporary dilemmas
Information for young people is very important in this regard. “We try to explain what dilemmas in society can be, that choices can lead to completely different things. Here in this camp, the best friendships were broken for an extra slice of bread. But there were also guards who, after the war, were acquitted because they received messages of support from former prisoners. That makes young people think. We can see that and we get that back as reactions. Be aware of your freedoms and of your possibilities, but never forget that there are always people who profit by creating unrest and all for personal power.”
Kamp Amersfoort
The history of Kamp Amersfoort is still relatively unknown to the general public. The camp was notorious for its poor living conditions, heavy forced labour and 383 executions. About 70 percent were sent as forced labourers to the German war industry, 15 percent never returned. From Amersfoort, the men from Putten, among others, who were arrested during a raid, were sent to Neuengamme concentration camp. Of that one transport, 82 percent never returned. In 2004, the former camp became a memorial center. Since 2021, there has been an underground museum of 1100 square meters.
magazine for humanities alumni december 2023