Parool-archive to IISH
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The Stichting Het Parool (Het Parool Foundation), publishers of the Dutch daily Het Parool, donated its archive to the IISH. The Parool-archive covers the period 1945 to 1981, the heyday of Het Parool. This newspaper started publishing in February 1941 and today is still associated with resistance, freedom, and democracy.
From its establishment in September 1944, the Parool Foundation continues to practice its mission: "to influence public opinion by publishing writings in the spirit of the ideas proposed by the illegal newsletter Het Parool." This 'spirit of ideas' was certainly progressive, but it had no connection with any prewar leftist political current in the Netherlands. After the liberation, Het Parool promoted renewal of social and industrial relations and the enhancement of public spirit as a condition for democracy.
But it refused to be the voice of two major political organizations with these same ideas, the Nederlandse Volksbeweging (Dutch Peoples Movement) and the Partij van de Arbeid (Labour Party), although some of its editorial staff also worked for these organizations. The tremendous popularity of this daily during the fifties and sixties was probably not related to its political mission or its news coverage. Three special columns made it very attractive to the public. In these columns, the favourite Parool themes of freedom, equality, and democracy may be discerned.
In December 1945 the cartoon Kapitein Rob was introduced, which showed the hero, a captain, wandering about in his yacht 'Freedom'. From 1947 Henri Knap edited the Amsterdams Dagboek, a diary of events in Amsterdam. The famous author of many children's books and poetry, Annie M.G. Schmidt, was a contributor to Het Parool from its beginnings and from 1946 impressions of ordinary people in Amsterdam cafe life were provided by Simon Carmiggelt in his column Kronkels. The women's- and childrencolumn of Wim Hora Adema was also very much appreciated.
Former staff members affectionately speak about the informal, friendly atmosphere at work during the fifties and sixties. Life centered around roaring parties, romance, and a careless consumption of gin. Salaries were low, which led to conflicts with the directorate. In the archive of the Parool Foundation reminiscences of all this can be found. The archive of the editorial staff itself is not included.
The archive of the Foundation shows the continuous struggle to keep the newspaper alive financially.
The archive holds the research material and documentation of five historians who studied the Parool. The series was started in 1948 with Gerard van het Reve, and was completed in the nineties by Gerard Mulder and Paul Koedijk.
Furthermore, the archive holds records and correspondence of the board, folders about staff members, correspondence of directors and editors, analyses of the financial situation and marketing possibilitie, and case studies about discussions such as "Het Parool too far to the left" (1966) or "Het Parool too far to the right" (1968-1969). The archive measures 28 meters. Access is restricted.
Further reading:
Lambiek Berends, Het Parool 1940-1990. Amsterdam 1990
Madelon de Keizer, Het Parool 1940-1945: verzetsblad in oorlogstijd. Amsterdam 1991.
Gerard Mulder en Paul Koedijk, Léés die krant! Geschiedenis van het naoorlogse Parool 1945-1970. Amsterdam 1996.
Archive and documentation of Het Parool 1940-1945 at the NIOD