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Louis de Jong
Louis de Jong (24 April 1914 - 15 March 2005) was a Dutch journalist and historian specialising in the history of the Netherlands in World War II and the Dutch resistance.
His mag...view moreLouis de Jong (24 April 1914 - 15 March 2005) was a Dutch journalist and historian specialising in the history of the Netherlands in World War II and the Dutch resistance.
His magnum opus, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (The Kingdom of the Netherlands During World War II), in fourteen volumes and 18,000 pages, is the standard reference on the history of the Netherlands during World War II.
He has also contributed to many other histories on the Netherlands and was a speaker at symposia on the European resistance. In 1988 de Jong was awarded the Gouden Ganzenveer for his contributions to Dutch written and printed culture. In 1963 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Amsterdam, de Jong was Jewish by birth. He lost the greater part of his family, including his parents and his twin brother, during the Second World War. He managed to escape the Holocaust by fleeing to England, together with his wife, when the Germans invaded the Netherlands. During this time he worked for Radio Oranje, broadcasting out of London to the occupied Netherlands.
De Jong died in Amsterdam in 2005, three weeks shy of his 90th birthday.view less