The secret of Oss

The secret of Oss writes the history of a group of inspired young people from the Brabant factory town of Oss, who in 1970, on the initiative of eighteen-year-old Jan Marijnissen, joined the forerunner of the Socialist Party (SP). Although the revolution they were about then never broke out, almost 40 years and many hundreds of actions later, they are the largest political party in this city.

The secret of Oss is the story of a city and a group that were the cradle and learning ground of Jan Marijnissen, political leader of the SP from 1994 to 2008. This book uses the closed archives of the Socialist Party for the first time. In addition, the author based his search for the secret of Oss on extensive interviews, both with party members from the first hour, with people who dropped out and with political opponents. At a time when many a party has shaken off its last ideological feathers, The Secret of Oss tells how it is still possible, even in a Catholic stronghold without any left-wing tradition, to gain the confidence of the population and thus a large following for socialism.