# A. den Doolaard

A. den Doolaard (Dutch:; Macedonian: А. ден Долард, romanized: A. den Dolard, IPA:; 7 February 1901 – 26 June 1994) is the pseudonym of the Dutch writer and journalist Cornelis Johannes George (Bob) Spoelstra Jr.

## Biography

Den Doolaard went to high school in The Hague. After the death of his father he worked as an accountant with the Batavian Petroleum Company (from 1920 to 1928). In 1926 he made his debut with a collection of poems. In 1928 he terminated his job and started a number of wanderings through the Balkans and France, where he had several jobs such as mason, grape picker, farm worker and longshoreman. He incorporated the experiences gained during his wanderings in novels and newspaper articles.
In 1939, the Dutch magazine Wij published as a serial his historical novella Dolken en rozenkransen (Daggers and rosaries), about the murder of the Yugoslav king Alexander in October 1934 in Marseilles.
Very early, den Doolaard published warning articles against the rising fascism. A number of critical articles that he wrote for the Dutch daily newspaper Het Volk about totalitarian countries was bundled in 1937 in Swastika over Europa - een grote reportage (The Swastika over Europe - a major report). These anti-Nazi articles resulted into expulsion from Italy, Austria and Germany. The German daily Völkische Beobachter accused Den Doolaard of "libelous reporting".
From the edition of a thousand copies, the approximately 500 unsold copies were destroyed by publisher Querido in May 1940, when the German army invaded the Netherlands and he and his wife fled to the south. They eventually succeeded in reaching England as Engelandvaarder, after spending nearly a year in France. In London he worked for the Dutch radio broadcasting station Radio Oranje and often delivered speeches to the Dutch people under German occupation, encouraging resistance.
After the Second World War, den Doolaard returned to the Netherlands. From 1954 he lived in Hoenderloo.

## Recognition in Macedonia

With the publication of his novels "Oriënt-Express" in 1934 and "The Wedding of the Seven Gypsies" in 1939, den Doolaard generated an extraordinary interest in Macedonia. For decades Dutch have been among the most numerous tourists in Macedonia, and this leads to a wide cooperation between Macedonia and the Netherlands in different fields. Therefore, Macedonians express a great respect for the Dutch writer.
In 2006, the Macedonian town of Ohrid erected a monument in honor of A. den Doolaard and renamed a square to commemorate him. The monument was designed by the Macedonian architect, Vladimir Toić, based on an idea conceived by Peter John Bosse, president and founder of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia. In 2011, a memorial room opened in Ohrid with an exhibition of books and documents explaining the life and work of the author. The exhibition was organized by the Macedonian writer and photographer Mišo Juzmeski, who also has published articles on the meaning of den Doolaard for the development of the Dutch-Macedonian relations.

## Prizes

* 1934 – Meiprijs for the novel "De herberg met het hoefijzer" (The Inn with the Horseshoe)
* 1980 – Edo Bergsma – ANWB Award for lifetime achievement