Jacobus Jan Vorrink, better known as Koos Vorrink (7 June 1891 – 19 July 1955), was a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

leader in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early life

Koos Vorrink was born on 7 June 1891 in

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a large town and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality admin ...

, in the Dutch province of

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

. He started his career as a schoolteacher. On 1 November 1920 he became secretary of the Arbeiders Jeugd Organisatie (AJC), the Dutch socialist youth movement. On 11 May 1924 he became chairman of the socialist youth movement. On 13 July 1916 he married Irene Hendrika Bergmeijer. Together they had two daughters. Only one daughter survived, Irene Vorrink (7 January 1918 - 21 August 1996), who would become

minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

in the cabinet Den Uyl (1973–1977). Vorrinks career progressed as he became chairman of the SDAP, the Dutch socialist party before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on 1 April 1934. He would remain chairman of the SDAP until January 1946.

Life during World War II

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

occupied the Netherlands in 1940 Vorrink tried in vain to escape to England. After his failed attempt to escape he went into hiding to avoid being taken prisoner by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupational forces. He was a member of the Dutch resistance, notably as an editor of the underground newspaper "

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

". On 1 April 1943 he was interned by the German occupational forces, first in the Scheveningen prison, later on in the

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

Sachsenhausen, near

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Later life

In July 1945 he was appointed as a civil servant by prime-minister

Willem Schermerhorn Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (; 17 December 1894 – 10 March 1977) was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. He was a member of the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and later ...

. Vorrink was charged with the arrest and prosecution of Dutch war criminals and political delinquents. Together with

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 – 12 March 1997) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the Sorbonne University i ...

, Vorrink was the first Dutch civil servant with a political background (nicknamed 'The Schermerboys"). After the elections of 1946 he became a member of parliament, as a member of the social-democratic PvdA. He remained a member of parliament until 1954. As a member of parliament he was well known for his

anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

. Vorrink therefore became the subject of a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

campaign of slander. As his rhetorical qualities were famous, in parliament he acted as the defence spokesman of the PvdA. In February 1955 Vorrink suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. He died on July 19, 1955, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

External links

Profile on Parlement.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vorrink, Koos 1891 births 1955 deaths Dutch educators Dutch resistance members Dutch political party founders Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Chairmen of the Labour Party (Netherlands) People from Vlaardingen Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands) politicians Labour Party (Netherlands) MPs Dutch MPs 1948–1952