Rudolph Cleveringa

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Bust of Rudolph Cleveringa at the University of Leiden

Rudolph Pabus Cleveringa (born April 2, 1894 in Appingedam , † December 15, 1980 in Oegstgeest ) was a professor of law at the University of Leiden . He became known for his speech on November 26, 1940, in which he publicly protested against the recall of Jewish colleagues by the German occupation authorities .

Youth and education

Rudolph Pabus was the only son of the lawyer and later judge Jacobus Pieters Cleveringa (born July 17, 1863 in Appingedam; † January 17, 1932 in Amsterdam) and his wife Ludgerdina Catharina Lucretia Schleurholts (born August 18, 1867 in Bedum; † 2. April 1942 in Haarlem). He spent his youth from the age of four in Heereveen, where he made a deep friendship with the future Dutch Foreign Minister Eelco van Kleffens . After attending the higher civil school in Groningen , he enrolled at the University of Leiden on September 17, 1913 to study law. After taking his legal exam and his doctoral exam on June 27, 1917, he received his doctorate cum laude on January 16, 1919 on the subject of De zakelijke werking der ontbindende voorwaarde (German: The commercial effect of the relieving condition ) .

Work and resistance

From 1917 to 1919 Cleveringa worked in an iron and steel company, then for the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij . During this time he published numerous articles on the law of the sea and wrote large parts of a new handbook on the subject, which appeared in Zwolle in 1927 . In later years he was instrumental in the publication of manuals on Dutch civil law.

In 1926 he became a judge at the court of Alkmaar and on October 31, 1927 he was appointed professor of commercial and civil law at the University of Leiden, a task which he carried out on December 7 of the same year with the introductory speech Zeerechtelijke Bijzonderheden (German: Seerechtliche Special features ). There, on November 26, 1940, in his capacity as dean of the law faculty, with the support of his colleague Ben Telders, he gave a fiery speech in which he publicly opposed the dismissal of his mentor and doctoral supervisor Professor Eduard Meijers and other Jewish colleagues, such as Martin David , protested by the German occupation authorities. He consciously abstained from any political arguments and did not go into Meijers' Jewish origins, but emphasized his scientific merits. The room was full and the speech was broadcast outside over the loudspeaker. Then those present sang the Dutch national anthem Wilhelmus , and many wept. That same evening, a group of students made copies of the speech and distributed them to other universities.

Cleveringa and his wife were well aware of the risk he was taking and he had already put his packed suitcase in the hallway at home. The next day he was arrested and imprisoned in the Oranjehotel in Scheveningen until the summer of 1941 . The students went on strike and Leiden University was closed; it did not resume operations until after the end of the war. In 1944 Cleveringa was arrested again and transferred to the Herzogenbusch concentration camp. After his release in July 1944, he became one of five members of the College van Vertrouwensmannen , a body appointed by the Dutch government-in-exile in London to represent the government in the event of liberation until its return.

After the war

Award of an honorary doctorate to Winston Churchill in Leiden (1946)

After the war, Cleveringa - as did Professor Meijers, who had been in the Theresienstadt concentration camp - returned to the University of Leiden. In the academy year 1946/47 he became rector of the Leiden Alma Mater , in which capacity he awarded Winston Churchill an honorary doctorate from the university and, on the occasion of the 372th anniversary of the Leiden educational establishment, dealt with Article 517 of the Dutch Commercial Code in his rector's speech on February 10, 1947. In 1958 he was retired ; until 1963 he was a member of the Raad van State and served as extraordinary secretary of state.

Honors

Poster of the 2003 Cleveringa debate

Cleveringa became a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion in 1949 and Grand Officer of the Order of Oranje Nassau in 1963 . In 1946 he became a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ghent . In 1953, Rudolph Cleveringa was honored by the US government with the Medal of Freedom . In 1970 the University of Leiden established a chair in his honor, which has been filled annually since then. The focus of this professorship is on the topics of justice, freedom and responsibility. In 2013 the chair was filled by the Canadian historian Michael Ignatieff , followed by the American historian Carol Gluck in 2014 . Around November 26th, Cleveringa meetings will be held in several locations in the Netherlands and around the world , with the aim of maintaining and strengthening relationships between Leiden University and its international alumni .

In 2004 Cleveringa was voted “Most Important Person at the University of Leiden” by the readers of the Leiden university magazine Mare . A place in Leiden is named after him.

family

Cleveringa married Hiltje Boschloo (born April 22, 1898 in Schoterland; † June 8, 1988 in Warmond), the daughter of Engbert Philippus Boschloo (born August 5, 1870 in Aengwirden; † 5. November 1953 in The Hague) and his wife Trijntje Pothaar 1872 (born August 15, 1872 in Rotterdam). There are three daughters from the marriage. We know of these:

  • T. Cleveringa m. July 1952 in Leiden AJ Snaaijer
  • Lutgerdina Afina (Dien) Cleveringa (born August 29, 1926 in Alkmaar; † June 16, 2015 in Oegstgeest) m. October 18, 1951 in Leiden with Pieter Barendsen
  • Hiltje Cleveringa (born September 24, 1930 in Leiden), married. November 23, 1954 in Leiden Theophile Bonne ten Kate (born June 10, 1931 in Rotterdam)

Works (selection)

  • De zakelijke werking der ontbindende voorwaarde . Leiden 1919
  • Zeerechtelijke bijzonderheden. Zwolle 1927
  • Ontwikkelingslijnen van het Rechtssbestel der stad Appingedam, in het bijzonder vóór de 18de eeuw. Groningen 1928
  • Het nieuwe zeerecht . Zwolle 1927, 1931, 1946
  • Het Nederlandsch wetboek van burgerlijke rechtsvordering verklaard en door formulate toegelicht . Gouda 1934 (co-editor)
  • Overrechters in cities . Groningen 1941
  • De ontwikkeling van het kort geding in Nederland. Brussels 1949
  • De Brusselse zeerechtconferentie 1957. The Hague, 1958
  • Right to show. Zwolle 1961
  • Foreword to: Henri Pieck "Buchenwald": reproducties naar zijn teekeningen uit het concentratiekamp . The Hague 1945

Web links

Commons : Rudolph Cleveringa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c W. Otterspeer: Cleveringa, Rudolph Pabus (1894-1980). Biographical Woordenboek van Nederland, accessed November 1, 2014 (Dutch). and H. Drion: Levens report RP Cleveringa. In: Jaarboek of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen 1981-1982. Amsterdam, pp. 188–194 ( Online PDF )
  2. ^ JE Kroon: Album Studiosorum Academiae Lugdo-Batavae MDCCCLXXV-MCMXXV. AW Sijthoff's, Leiden, 1925, col. 242, no.7399
  3. ↑ a b c d Cleveringa's biography. Universiteit Leiden, accessed November 1, 2014 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ a b Rudolph Cleveringa. (No longer available online.) Deoorlog.nps.nl, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved November 1, 2014 (Dutch). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / deoorlog.nps.nl
  5. ^ College van Vertrouwensmannen der Nederlandschen Regeering. archieven.nl, accessed November 1, 2014 (Dutch).
  6. ↑ a b Leiden Classics: Cleveringa's protest. Universiteit Leiden, accessed on November 1, 2014 (English).
  7. Jump up ↑ Prof. Cleveringa (86). In: Nieuwe Leidsche Courant. December 18, 1980, p. 3, accessed January 20, 2016 ( online )
  8. ^ Historian Carol Gluck is Leiden's new Cleveringa professor. Universiteit Leiden, accessed on November 1, 2014 (English).
  9. ↑ Bart Funnekotter: Cleveringa de 'Grootste Leidenaar'. Mare, November 18, 2004, accessed July 20, 2016 (Dutch).
personal data
SURNAME Cleveringa, Rudolph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cleveringa, Rudolph Pabus (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch law professor at Leiden University
DATE OF BIRTH April 2, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Appingedam
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1980
Place of death Oegstgeest