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Lezing: De andere kant van de oorlog

• 6 November 2026
  • 19:15

During ‘The Other Side of the War’, attention is paid to the question of how we view the choices Dutch people made during the war today. Were people simply ‘right’ or ‘wrong’? Or was the reality more complicated? And what did it mean for children and grandchildren when their parents or grandparents stood on the wrong side of history?

On Friday, November 6, 2026, a special lecture at the Medemblik War Museum will focus on Dutch people who sided with the occupier during the Second World War, and especially on the consequences of this for their descendants.

Regular speaker Koos Schipper takes the audience into the debate about right and wrong, the grey past, and the discussion that is still being held about it.

Werkgroep Herkenning is also discussed. This self-help group, founded in 1982, is for the surviving relatives of people who were considered ‘wrong’ during the war. Koos discusses this with Alex Dekker, a board member of Werkgroep Herkenning. Topics covered include the significance of the working group today and the discussion surrounding the public release of the CABR archives.

Looking for a German grandpa

After the break, Alex Dekker is given ample opportunity to speak. He talks about his personal search for his German grandfather, his mother’s father. In 2011, Dekker published *Mijn opa was een Duitser* (My Grandfather Was a German). The book is about the relationship between a Dutch woman and a German soldier during World War II and has since been translated into French and published in France.

Dekker speaks from personal experience about the consequences a family’s war past can have and about how his search ultimately moved him forward. In doing so, the major historical question takes on a personal face.

The lecture thus shows that the Second World War did not end in 1945. The choices made back then could have repercussions for generations to come. Can the descendants of people who stood ‘on the wrong side’ also be considered war victims? And how do we view that today, so many years later?

The lecture starts at 20:00, doors open at 19:15.

You can also come and have a nice dinner beforehand at 18:00,

Before the lecture, you can enjoy a delicious 1, 2, or 3-course buffet prepared on authentic WWII field kitchens. From 18:00, you can watch the Live Cooking and learn how they managed to keep feeding our Liberators on the West Front for months. The main course we prepare is the Blauwe Hap, a very tasty nasi goreng platter with a story. Come and experience this unique event before the lecture and book it with your lecture ticket.