Going Dutch: Why the Netherlands is a great place to talk about East Germany

I must admit that I have few personal links to the Netherlands compared to many other Germans, particularly those in western regions who share a border as well as elements of culture and language with the Dutch. Growing up in the east of the country meant that I felt closer to Poles, Czechs and Austrians to whose states I ended up travelling more often. 

So I was pleased to have been given two chances this year to travel to the Netherlands to speak about East Germany in Amsterdam and Haarlem respectively. In both cases, I was surprised to find how much interest there was in the GDR and also in the post-1990 inner-German debates around issues of reunification and unity.

When I first spoke in Amsterdam in April, Beyond the Wall had only been out in the UK for a few months and the Dutch version had just been released as the first foreign edition (before the German one). Now I’m told thousands of copies have been sold in the Netherlands and many readers follow the discussions in Germany around it with interest. 

So it was great to return this weekend, to speak with people at the Haarlem History Festival. This annual event hosts a number of prominent historians and authors. This year, for instance, Christopher Clark and Beatrice de Graaf both spoke on Saturday, providing fascinating but nuanced views on their respective fields. Apparently, many people in the audience are serial festival attendees who often spend the entire day or even the entire weekend in Haarlem to attend different lectures and events at the festival.

Img: PHIL Haarlem

So I was suitably excited when I set off from London to Amsterdam at some ungodly hour this morning. Frits, one of the editors at the Dutch publishing house, kindly waited for me at the airport, and we set off for Haarlem, which is 20km east of Amsterdam and a real gem of a city.

With a population of 150,000 or so, it's a miniature version of the capital: canals, culture and churches but fewer tourists and lower costs. I’m told it’s become a popular commuter town as it's more affordable than Amsterdam, yet only a short train ride away. I can see the attraction. It is a beautiful place but casually so, cosy somehow with its cobbled streets and little cafes.