Het project Ooggetuigen van de Gaswinning legt de komende twee jaar (vanaf april 2024) de verhalen van ten minste 100 mensen op video vast. Zo wordt op een unieke manier de recente geschiedenis aan de hand van persoonlijke verhalen verteld. De afgelopen jaren zijn al veel verhalen verzameld. Maar niet eerder zijn de getuigenissen van de inwoners en betrokkenen bij de gaswinning op een systematische en wetenschappelijke wijze vastgelegd. Dit initiatief wordt geleid door onderzoeker Nienke Busscher en geestelijk verzorger Marjo van Bergen. De interviews worden vanaf april 2024 opgenomen en gepubliceerd in de colectie van de filmbank Groningen. U kunt dus nog meedoen aan dit project! 

Hier kunt vindt u meer informatie over dit project.

En hier kunt u contact opnemen om mee te doen aan de interviews.

Hier is een (NPO-)interview met de leiders van het project.

Ooggetuigen van de Gaswinning is een initiatief van negen organisaties met wortels in Groningen naar een idee van Diepduik Media. Iedere partij brengt eigen expertise in, waardoor de (wetenschappelijke) kwaliteit wordt gegarandeerd. Speciaal voor dit project wordt een stichting opgericht. Zo wordt de onafhankelijkheid geborgd en kan de opbrengst van het project goed en zorgvuldig worden beheerd.

This interview series contains two series. See the hyperlinks for the Sound and Vision archive.

The first series is called “De schatkamer – De eerste getuigen van onze eeuw”:

Paul Julien 1901-2001

Interview with 93-year-old anthropologist and chemist Paul Julien. Julien talks about: his childhood in Utrecht; his exclusively science-oriented interest, as a result of which social and political developments during his youth eluded his observation; his expeditions to Africa and what he sees as the positive influence of colonialism on tribal war-torn Africa. Julien shows gloom about the future due to the decline in moral awareness and does not even consider it out of the question “…that we are heading for a Third World War.”

Hilda Verwey-Jonker 1908-2004

Interview with sociologist and former Member of Parliament Hilda Verwey-Jonker (1908) about her childhood on Zuid-Beveland and in Zwolle; the SDAP milieu in which she grew up; the position of women in the early twentieth century; sexuality as experienced by students; her grandchildren; the rise of right-wing extremism in the 1930s and her functioning in male-dominated strongholds such as the SER and the United Nations. Verwey-Jonker fears the consequences of the aging of Western society. According to her, poorer peoples will take over some of the prosperity without having the technical and scientific knowledge to deal responsibly with the environment.

Emile Schüttenhelm 1909-2003

Interview with former NTS president Emile Schüttenhelm (1909) about: the Catholic environment in which he grew up; World War I; rise and fall of communism; the rise of right-wing extremism in the 1930s; his participation in the World Jamboree in 1937 and his meeting with Lord Baden-Powell; his liberation in 1945 and the presidency of the NTS, for which he was asked because, according to Minister Cals, he was the only one who had a chance to “survive” in Hilversum.

Schüttenhelm reminisces about Henk Terlingen and looks positively to the future, since, according to him, every generation has the commitment and creativity the future needs.

The second series is called “De eerste getuigen van onze eeuw”:

Jan Tinbergen 1903-1994

Interview with Jan Tinbergen a.o. about his youth, the end of WW I, his study of physics in Leiden and his contacts with his teachers Paul Ehrenfest and Albert Einstein; his work at the Central Bureau of Statistics mn the fight against the crisis in the thirties; about his transfer in 1936 to the League of Nations in Zurich and the cooperation during WW II with experts on international law like Van Asbeck and van Eysinga t. His research into the role of international treaties; his passivism and anti-colonialism; the research by the CBS into the economic consequences of overseas territories and his criticism of Min. Drees’ attitude regarding de-colonialization policy. He also talks about his research into world issues such as developing countries and environmental problems, which according to him require a global approach through a world government and about receiving the Nobel Prize in 1969. Finally, he gives his vision of the future in terms of an economic balance between production and fairer income distribution and his desire for a more sober and idealistic society.

Willy Corsari 1897- 1998

Interview with Willy Corsari about her unhappy childhood, the artists’ milieu in which she grew up, the origin of the name Corsari, her studies of piano and singing and writing girls’ books, her memories of The Hague and Berlin where she took singing lessons, her life with Jean-Louis Pisuisse’s cabaret company and the history of his murder. She tells about the publication of her first books, including about euthanasia, and her love for the theater, which she stopped attending as a matter of principle during the war; the work of the resistance and helping Jews during the war years and the positive memories of the occupation period regarding mutual human relationships; about the publisher Leopold who committed suicide and her move to cooperative publisher Lubberhuizen/Blommestein (later De Bezige Bij), where she left after conflicts.

Arthur Lehning 1899-2000

Interview with Arthur Lehning about his exciting stay in artists’ and anarcho-syndicalist circles in Berlin in the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of fascism, his views on the political movements of the time, including the Spanish Civil War, his initiative to found the international politically engaged art magazine “i10” and the people, including Mondrian, Kandinsky and Nagy, who contributed to it. He recounts his childhood friend Marsman and the ideological conflict between them in the 1920s; regarding the Spanish Civil War, his reasons for actively supporting the socialist revolution and his stays and encounters there; his experiences in the internment camp on the Isle of Man, England, after the neutralization refusal, regarding his political activities, of the Netherlands, his activities regarding the Cold War and the Paris protest movement ’68. He calls the past century “this terrible age” and sees little positive prospect for the next one.

Jeanne Bieruma Oosting 1898-1994

Interview with Jeanne Bieruma Oosting about her childhood years in the affluence of noble and aristocratic circles; her early love of painting and her studies at the Art Academy in The Hague during which time she met Queen Wilhelmina. She talks about her teacher Van Konijnenburg, her impressionist painting style, her departure in 1929 with Charlotte van Pallandt for Paris and her 11-year stay there where she met Piccaso, among others, and became fascinated by the seamy and nightlife of this city; about her stay in the south of France after the outbreak of the war, the return to occupied Holland and the productive years in Amsterdam. Oosting talks about her painting and graphic work, including the design for children’s stamps and her self-portraits, the stroke that struck her and the happy life she enjoyed.

Chris Walder 1900-1997

Interview with Chris Walder about his childhood in Breda, where he learned to play soccer early on the streets, his first matches, the mobilization and outbreak of WWI and his training to become a notary; playing soccer at NAC, the various matches for the Dutch championship and the various NAC players around 1920-’21; the national championship of NAC, after which he was selected for the Dutch national team. He talks about the fact that back then there was no training program for the team and the big difference with today’s soccer.

He believes he could have come along now as well, because it always remains about the talent.

Cor de Roos-Oudegeest 1899-1998

Interview with Cor de Roos-Oudegeest about her background, memories of the railroad strike of 1903, her father Jan Oudegeest (chairman of the NVV and SDAP politician), WWI and the support committee; the reactions in Dutch socialist circles to the Russian Revolution, her joining the SDAP and her activities for the SDAP women’s union, the rise of communism and fascism and the outbreak of WWII, the occupation years and her husband’s resistance work.

She talks about politics after the war in the Dutch East Indies, about the views of Minister Drees regarding the inferior position of women, her entry into the Lower House for the PvdA in 1956 and the reasons for leaving active politics behind. She sees the greatest changes in this century as the great growth of prosperity and participation, but also a much more selfish society, which makes her feel less positive about the future..

Ten huize van … is a Flemish talk show that first appeared on TV1 (Eén) in 1957.

Each episode, presenter Joos Florquin visited a Famous Fleming or Famous Dutchman and interviewed him in his own home. For three days he installed himself in the home of the person in question, while his camera crew shot footage. Most of the interviewees were from the political or cultural world. The first guest was Gerard Walschap. More than 250 followed. The interviews centered on the interviewees. They were able to talk freely and were only in the picture themselves. In other words, true oral history.

Over the decades, Florquin interviewed an impressive number of people. The interviews were written down afterwards, compiled and published in a series of books. When Florquin died in 1978, the program was also stopped for a long time.

Only in the 1990s did new episodes appear around “At the home of”, this time with Edward De Maesschalck as interviewer (34 episodes). From 2003 Frieda Van Wijck took over the presentation.

An overview of many of the interviewed:

About forty residents of Den Dungen speak bout their experiences during World War II. Several people were interviewed, both resistance members and “ordinary” people.

In Den Dungen, more than 2,000 gliders flew over the village in September 1944. From September 17 to 26, 1944, the Allies wanted to create a bridgehead across the major rivers in the Netherlands with a major offensive (operation “Market Garden”). In a lightning-fast attack, airborne troops had to secure bridges. Ground troops then had to advance from Belgium across these bridges to the IJsselmeer. Three complete divisions were dropped: the 101st US Airborne Division at Eindhoven and Veghel, the 82nd US Airborne Division at Grave and Groesbeek and the 1st British Airborne Division at Arnhem and Oosterbeek. With the Americans, everything went fairly well. The bridges over the Maas and Maas-Waal Canal near Heumen and most of the bridges near Eindboven fell into their hands and after hard fighting also the Waal Bridge near Nijmegen. But the Rhine Bridge at Arnhem proved to be a bridge too far. The British paratroopers were surprised by German armored troops and had to retreat into the Betuwe under heavy losses.

During this massive operation, nearly 800 gliders landed on Brabant soil. In this province, the Den Dungen-Vught-Den Bosch triangle (codenamed ‘Ellis’) was a target for all towing and gliding aircraft. From here they flew to the landing sites.

The cultural heritage of design does not consist only of sketches, models, photographs or correspondence of designers. With design, there is also a strong interaction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge, knowledge that may be passed on but which usually does not receive written expression. That is why the Flemish Architecture Institute conducted interviews with designers, policy makers and craftspeople. As a result, the interviews do not all cover the same topics and time periods. A mix of young and old and of profession was chosen; furniture maker, artist, design connoisseur and director of Design Flanders all have their say.

The following people were interviewed:

• Leonce Dekeijser (1924-2015), interior architect, he explains that in his college days, “interior design” did not actually exist. He took courses with architects and decorative arts and eventually earned a degree in furniture art. He discusses the teaching methods, the subjects and his teachers. He talks about the interaction between design and education

• José Vanderlinden (1920-?), furniture maker, the emphasis in the conversation with José Vanderlinden is, much more than in the conversation with Leonce Dekeijser, on the technical aspects of furniture making.

• Luc (1953-now) and Katrien Mestdagh (1980-now), stained glass artists, the conversation includes the neo-Gothic tradition in Ghent in terms of stained glass painting, and how it lives on to this day in atelier Mestdagh. They discuss the need for commissioning.
• Achiel Pauwels (1932-now), ceramist, he talks about how he learned the craft, how the teachers did not always give away the secrets of the craft just like that, and what the relationship was with the other art craft courses and the sculpture course. The conversation also explores the emphases he placed in his own classes and the importance he attached to drawing in doing so.
• Moniek Bucquoye (1948-2022), connoisseur and promoter of design, the talk provides an insight into how product development education was shaped in Flanders from a historical perspective. She highlights the difference between product development and industrial design.
• Lieven Daenens (1948-now), former director of the Design museum Ghent. Daenens discusses the evolution of the museum, its change of name and position with the advent of the museum decree in the 1990s. He discusses the quality of Belgian design culture and education in Belgium.
• Johan Valcke (1952-now), director of Design Flanders, the conversation with Valcke gives an insight into how art crafts and design were viewed in Belgium and Flanders from an economic point of view and a historical perspective.

The four interviewers were art historians and artists: Katarina Serulu, Marieke Pauwels, Eva Van Regenmortel and Aletta Rambaut

R.L. Schuursma interviewed Karel Nort (1913-1981), who as chief broadcaster reported the news of the German Capitulation via Radio Herrijzend Nederland on May 4, 1945. The interview covered Nort’s role in the resistance, his work at the AVRO and his role as chief announcer at Radio Herrijzend Nederland.

Nort joined the AVRO in 1938 as a sports reporter. After the disappearance of many radio stations, he worked for the nazified (Gleichschaltung) Nederlandsche Omroep until early 1943. When this work became too much for him, he left for Maastricht, where he went to work in the station restaurant. There he became involved in the resistance and was involved in arms smuggling. Then, after the liberation of Eindhoven in 1944, he crossed over at Biesbosch and became a contributor to Radio Herrijzend Nederland. With a makeshift reporter’s truck, he toured the liberated part of the Netherlands. Nort gives an account of this occupation here.

When on Saturday, May 5, 1945, the surrender of the Germans became known throughout the Netherlands, the employees of Radio Herrijzend Nederland were still wondering what would happen to the station after liberation. In the first place, the head of the Military Authority decided that Radio Herrijzend Nederland would be taken off the air immediately after liberation. This would eventually happen only in 1946.

For more information about the interview and the interviewee, see: SFW work issue no. 8 (1995), p.34

Historian R.L. Schuursma interviewed filmmaker Gerardus Johannes (Jan) Teunissen (1898-1975) in 1964 and 1965. Teunissen was a National Socialist filmmaker in the Netherlands. In 1933 he made his first feature film, Willem van Oranje. This was the Netherlands’ first sound film. The interviews therefore provide information about Dutch film history and the role of National Socialism and collaboration during World War II.

On August 27, 1940, Teunissen joined Anton Mussert’s National Socialist Movement (NSB). Soon he became head of the NSB’s Film Service. His star rose quickly and it was not long before he was the most powerful man in the Dutch film world during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945 he was leader of the Film Gilde, a part of the Nederlandsche Kultuurkamer. This was a German institution to which all artists, architects, writers, etc. had to be affiliated in order to work. As chairman of the Rijksfilmkeuring, Teunissen was the personification of collaboration within the Dutch film industry.

After the Allied victory, Teunissen was imprisoned from November 5, 1945 to May 10, 1948. He was subsequently banned from working in the Dutch film industry for ten years.

An article about Teunissen and the first Dutch sound film

Shortly before his death, Ernst Voorhoeve (1900-1966) spoke with interviewers R.L. Schuursma and SJ. Vellenga. He was a Dutch sculptor and painter. During World War II he was, among other things, propaganda director of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) and the Department of Public Information and the Arts. In this 2.5 hour interview, Voorhoeve speaks about National Socialism and the Confederation of Dietsche Nationaal Solidaristen (Verdinaso).

In the early 1920s, Voorhoeve converted to Catholicism. He initially made paintings, drawings, woodcuts and book illustrations, but developed into a sculptor after his conversion. He made (religious) sculptures and crucifixes in wood and bronze, which have a primitive character.

In 1932 Voorhoeve joined Verdinaso out of interest. After attending a speech given by Joris van Severen in 1934, he became active within the movement as a national organization leader. In 1938 the Dutch branch became independent and came under his leadership, but two years later Verdinaso-Netherlands merged into the National Socialist Movement (NSB) under pressure from the occupying forces. Voorhoeve became propaganda director of the NSB and, in 1942, of the National Socialist Department of Public Information and the Arts (DVK). Although he even fought on the Eastern Front for some time, Voorhoeve was not in favor of annexation by the Germans. He lost their approval and had to resign as propaganda leader of the NSB and the DPRK in 1943.

The Special Court in Arnhem sentenced Voorhoeve to 11 years in prison in March 1949.

For more information about the interview and the interviewee, see: SFW work issue no. 8 (1995), p.49.

R.L. Schuursma interviewed F.W. Wessels about fascism, the NSB and World War II. Wessels is known for his flyer called De N.S.B.-Leiding ontmaskerd. De bloem der natie (1936). He also wrote Ik beschuldig! Mijn antwoord aan Ir. Mussert N.S.B.-aanslag op de A.V.R.O. “De Telegraaf” werd misleid (1936).

As a former NSB Propaganda Inspector for Drenthe and North Overijssel, he criticized Mussert in these two writings. He addressed the self-enrichment by the NSB leadership, for example, by revealing Mussert’s salary. Moreover, he revealed that the NSB was trying to get reliable members to infiltrate all possible Dutch associations and clubs. As a former NSB member and whistleblower, Wessels possesses important information about the functioning of the early NSB.

The interview with Piet van der Ham (born 1910) was made as part of Renate Bergsma’s research internship at SFW in 1995. It was incorporated into her doctoral thesis “Do you speak film? The Catholic filmmaker Piet van der Ham, Amsterdam (doctoral thesis Cultural Studies, UvA), 1995. Under the same title she published an article in the 1994 Yearbook Stichting Film en Wetenschap – Audiovisual Archive, Amsterdam: Stichting Film en Wetenschap, 1995, p.75-101.

Piet van der Ham has been characterized as a Catholic filmmaker. His “discovery” in 1936 as an amateur filmmaker by the filmmaker Otto van Neijenhoff was the impetus for a whole series of commissioned films from that angle. He was theoretically influenced by the Catholic ‘film pope’ Janus van Domburg and the writer-poet A.J.D. van Oosten and more generally by the aesthetic views of the Filmliga. With Van Oosten, he founded the Catholic film group Kafilgro. The amateur film Redt Volendam, made by Piet van der Ham and Goof Bloemen, can be found on the website of Beeld & Geluid.

During World War II he experimented with feature films, together with his friend Alfred Mazure, and worked as a photographer for the Internal Armed Forces. Over the years, he made many film journalistic contributions to newspapers such as De Tijd and de Maasbode and was associated with film magazines such as Filmfront and Filmforum. He was also involved in the Catholic Film Censorship Board. After the war, he made a number of films for the KVP, including the well-known De Opdracht (1956). He also made several corporate films and produced news items for Polygoon and the NTS. Finally, Van der Ham taught film and photography in The Hague.