Hendrik Willem van Loon Lecture
The Netherland-America Foundation (NAF) and Stichting Vrienden van de Oude of Pelgrimvaderskerk are launching a new annual lecture in the Netherlands: the Hendrik Willem van Loon Lecture.
Annually, the NAF will invite a high-profile American or Dutch keynote speaker to reflect on the theme of Freedom as the core value binding the United States of America and the Netherlands. The lecture series is named after Hendrik Willem van Loon (1882-1944), a Rotterdam-born journalist, historian and writer who became one of the best-known Dutch-Americans in history. His devotion to freedom and democracy in both his native and adopted home country played a significant role in American society in the first half of the twentieth century. It was also the cornerstone of his close friendship with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Van Loon, through his books, articles and radio broadcasts played a key role in mobilizing forces against Fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism both in the United States and the Netherlands.
Speaker: William A. Harris
William A. Harris, director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, will deliver the inaugural lecture. He will speak about how Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt viewed and developed the FDR Library as a symbol of American democracy. When the Library was opened, the world was aflame. In the aftermath of the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the end of World War II, Eleanor shaped the Library’s future with a focus on research and on-going debate. Harris will discuss the history of the Library, the Roosevelt and the significance of institutions such as the FDR Library in today’s communities.
Event Details
Date2026-04-21
Time19:30
Location:
Oude of Pelgrimvaderskerk
Aelbrechtskolk 20
3024 RE Rotterdam
