Dutch anarchist history 1870-1940

The Netherlands has an amazing yet largely obscured history of struggles for a better world. In the last part of the 19th and early 20th century the anarchist movement had a powerful influence at the personal, local, national and international level and a myriad of inspiring and surprisingly relevant stories should be more widely known.

This talk will provide a general overview of the development of the Dutch anarchist movement and single out several stories to give life to a period that feels distant in many ways. Hopefully these histories will enhance our sense of historically rooted activism, help us draw lessons, show how activism is natural and desirable and just be an inspirational interval in everyday capitalist reality.