Cornelis Soeteman

Cornelis Soeteman also: Cor Soeteman (born July 19, 1912 in Rotterdam ; † November 11, 2005 in Oegstgeest ) was a Dutch German studies specialist .

Life

Cornelis was the youngest of five children of the coal merchant Bastiaan Cornelis Soeteman (* May 27, 1868 in Rijswijk; † March 22, 1949 in Voorburg) and his wife Anna van Rossem, who was married on May 12, 1898 in Rotterdam (* around 1876 in Rotterdam; + April 20, 1953 in Voorburg). After attending elementary school in Rotterdam, he graduated from the Lyceum Maerlant in The Hague in 1930 . He then studied German at the University of Groningen , where Johannes Marie Neele Kapteyn (1870-1949) and Theodorus Cornelis van Stockum (1887-1969) were his formative teachers. At that time he found a certain liking for the writings of Thomas Mann . He then continued his studies in Berlin with Andreas Heusler and, when he returned to the Netherlands, became a teacher of German in Middelharnis . In 1936 he passed his doctoral examination and obtained his doctorate in 1939 in Groningen with the subject of studies on Otfrid von Weiszenburg's translation technology as a doctor of philosophical sciences.

In 1940 Soeteman switched to teaching German at the grammar school in Delft and from 1941 worked as a German teacher at the Maerlant Lyceum in The Hague. During the time of the German occupation of the Netherlands, he had to fend off some hostility towards collaboration with the Germans. On the other hand, he earned a lot of recognition because he campaigned for the interests of the Dutch and also gave lessons in English and French. Even after the war he continued to teach the German language in The Hague. When in 1956 the American professor Taylor Starck (born October 15, 1889 in Independence / Mo; † May 30, 1974 in Cambridge) initiated the course of German studies at Leiden University as a visiting professor, Soeteman was given a position as a lecturer. On March 23, 1957, he was appointed associate professor of German language and literature at the Leiden University, which he took up on May 1 and gave the introductory poetry speech on October 11 of the same year . Enkele beschouwingen over vorm en betekenis van een Duits zelfstandig naamwoord (German: poetry. Some thoughts on the form and meaning of the German noun ) held.

On May 8, 1959, he became a full professor of German studies. In the academy year 1970/71 he became rector of the Alma Mater , for which he gave the rector's speech Elke tijd heeft de universiteit die hij on February 8, 1971 (German: every time has the university it deserves ). On June 9, 1978, he gave his farewell lecture Een eeuw Nederlandse Germanistiek (German: A Century of Dutch German Studies ) and was retired from his professorship on September 1, 1978. Soeteman had received a lot of recognition in the course of his academic career. In 1969 he was honored with the gold Goethe Medal of the Goethe Institute in Munich, in 1971 he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1976 he was made Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion .

family

Soeteman married on December 22, 1939 in Groningen with Wea Greta Bouwman (* around 1916/17; † June 8, 1991 in Oegstgeest), the daughter of the Groningen family doctor Hendrik Kornelis Bouwman (* February 25, 1887 in t Maar; † 7 December 1975 in Groningen) and his wife Margaretha Henriette Weijer, who married on November 16, 1915 in Veendam (* May 22, 1888 in Zuidwending; † March 25, 1970 in Groningen). A daughter and a son result from the marriage. The daughter Margreet H. Soeteman (born October 6, 1941) married steel manager Jasper J. Heusdens (born November 5, 1942 in The Hague). The son G. Aad Soeteman (* around 1947) married Carien G. Oostveen on June 16, 1972 in Groningen.

Works (selection)

• Investigations into the translation technique of Otfrid von Weiszenburg. Groningen 1939
• Latijn en Duits. Groningen 1949
• Het Nederlands, a dialect van het Duits? Groningen 1956
• Seal, enkele beschouwingen over vorm en betekenis van een Duits zelfstandig naamwoord. Groningen 1957
• German sacred poetry of the 11th and 12th centuries. Stuttgart 1963; 1971
• Elke tijd heeft de universiteit who deserves hij. Leiden 1971
• German language and literature at the Dutch universities. Bonn 1974
• Een eeuw Nederlandse germanistiek. The Hague 1978
• De societeit Amicitia te Leiden 1768-1993. Leiden 1993

literature

• Norbert Voorzüge: Cornelis Soeteman (Rotterdam 19 July 1912-Oegstgeest 11 November 2005) In: Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde te Leiden, 2005-2006. Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, Leiden, 2007, pp. 83–91 ( online )

Web links

• Soeteman at the Digital Library of Dutch Literature (DBNL)
• Soeteman in the professorial catalog of the University of Leiden