An Unfinished Chapter. The Second World War and the Holocaust in Dutch Literature

The Second World War and the Holocaust are important themes in postwar Dutch literature, and form the main themes in the work of one particular group of writers. Interest in the theme of the Second World War has not diminished; literary works in which the war plays a role continue to be published, written by those who experienced the war and have only now begun to write. The so-called ‘second generation', the children of victims, of the persecuted and of collaborators are writing about the war. Authors who were not personally involved have also chosen the war as a literary theme. In this article a number of well-known literary works from the Netherlands are being discussed, taking literature in the broad sense: diaries and reminiscences as well as poetry, novels and stories. Flemish literature and literature dealing with the struggle in the Netherlands-Indies are outside the scope of this article.