Anton de Kom professorship at VU
The Dutch cabinet will fund a research chair named after the Surinamese-Dutch resistance hero and writer Anton de Kom. The professorship will focus on studies of colonial history, the history of slavery and its consequences.
As a communist, Anton de Kom (1898-1945) strongly criticised the colonial Dutch government in Suriname. In the 1930s, he wrote a book on the Dutch oppression of Surinamese and advised workers on their rights. He was imprisoned and later forced to leave for the Netherlands. During the war, he joined the Dutch resistance and died in a German concentration camp.
To honour him, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is funding a chair to “promote history education and transatlantic academic cooperation”, reports the Free University (VU). A professor will be appointed next academic year. (HOP)
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