Daniël Goulooze

Daniël Goulooze
Portait of Daan Goulooze, taken in 1955
Born	(1901-04-28)28 April 1901 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	10 September 1965(1965-09-10) (aged 64) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Organization	Communist Party of the Netherlands, Comintern, Red Orchestra

Daniël Daan Goulooze (28 April 1901 – 10 September 1965) was a Dutch Jewish construction worker who was a committed communist and resistance fighter.^[1] Goulooze was originally an anarchist but from 1935, he became a Communist and active member of the Communist International (Comintern) as an assistant to Comintern director Georgi Dimitrov. Before and during the Second World War, he was the liaison between the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) and the Communist International (Comintern) organisation in Moscow.^[2][3] Later he worked in the Comintern liaison office, his main duty being to maintain on-going radio contact with Soviet intelligence.^[4] His signals were detected by the Funkabwehr and he was arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Goulooze survived the war. In 1948 he was expelled from the CPN.^[4]

Life[]

Goulooze was the son of Daniël Goulooze, a blacksmith, and Baukje Goulooze née Visser, a housemaid, and was the oldest of six children, who grew up in Amsterdam in a working-class family.^[3] His grandparents on his father's side came from Zeeland and on his mother side from Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands.^[3] His father was a member of the National Federation of Metal Workers union that was affiliated with the National Labor Secretariat (NAS, Nationaal Arbeids-Secretariaat) trade union federation.^[3] He was also an admirer of the Dutch politician and later social anarchist Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis.^[3] After the invasion of the Netherlands, his father was interred at the Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis camp and died at the age of seventy in 1943.^[3]

Anarchism[]

After leaving school, Goulooze was apprenticed to a carpenter and attended an evening school to supplement his knowledge of carpentry.^[3] Politically, as a youth, Goulooze was leftist and this was visible by his youth membership of the (NLR). He subsequently worked in the drawing school of the Dutch shipbuilding company, Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij in construction.^[3] In 1916, Goulooze joined the (SAJO, Sociaal-Anarchistische Jeugd Organisatie).^[5] This was an organisation that was established in several cities including Amsterdam, that consisted of several dozen young rebellious people who refused to do their military service, instead, spending their time going on rambles, and making music as well as planning bombings.^[6]

In 1919 Goulooze was elected treasurer.^[3] On September 1920, Goulooze took over administration for publishing the organisations magazine, De Opstandeling (The Insurgent).^[7] Around this time, Goulooze became part of a group of young men and women, that formed around Dutch communist and chemigrapher .^[8]

Postma would go camping with the group, and they would hold discussions and debate politics, communism, trade unionionism and the Russian Revolution.^[8] Postma strongly supported trade unionism, the soviet revolution, dictatorship for the proletariat and the group initially shared his enthusiasm, but some eventually rejected his views.^[8] Goulooze for the most part, found himself in agreement with Postma and this, in turn, developed into a lifelong friendship.^[8] The heated debates eventually led to a group withdrawing from the SAJO that included Goulooze, leaving to join the Federation of Social Anarchists of which Potsma was a member.^[8]

On the 22 July 1922, Goulooze became the administrator for the Social Anarchists magazine, De Toekomst.^[9]

Nomad[]

The first real decision he made was whether to assume military service during conscription or refuse it.^[10] As an anarchist, Goulooze was anti-militaristic and while it was accepted for members of his peer group to refuse the service and wait to be arrested by the Military police, he decided to ignore the conscription order and evade arrest.^[10] Goulooze became a nomad, living on his wits, constantly on his guard.^[10] During this period he worked in Antwerp, among other places.^[10] For several years he managed to avoid being arrested. In 1929 when he moved into his own apartment with his wife, he refused to be added to the Electoral roll.^[10] However, it became expedient in the early 1930's^[3] to rebuild his legal existence and he was finally arrested. However, when he was undergoing his medical examination for conscription, he was rejected due to a minor foot disorder, making the whole exercise moot.^[10]

Living a nomadic life didn't stop Goulooze from taking part in a number of political actions in the 1920's and early 1930's.^[11] In 1923, Goulooze was responsible for the transportation and distribution of the special newspaper , not only in Amsterdam, but in the rest of the country.^[11] The De Spelbreker newspaper was created by the Committee of Action, a group of the Dutch labour movement, made up of Communists, Syndicalists and Anarchists, who wanted to protest the 1923 Fleet Act and the 25th anniversary of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.^[11] During this period, Goulooze was also working for the NAS. His name appeared in De Arbeid, the legal body of trade union on 17 November 1923.^[11]

In the same year, the NAS split into two groups. On one side were 8,000 members who left to found the IWA-affiliated Dutch Syndicalist Trade Union Federation (NSV, Dutch: Nederlands Syndicalistisch Vakverbond)that was chaired by .^[12] On the other was a group who wanted to join the Red International of Labour Unions (RILU), although many in the federation favoured the anarcho-syndicalist International Workers' Association (IWA).^[12] Goulooze sided with the NSV and became the organiser of a youth recruitment office at a Local Labor Secretariat (PAS, Plaatselijke Arbeids Secretariaten) in Amsterdam.^[12]

Communist Party of Holland[]

In June 1924, the Federation of Social Anarchists group came to an end.^[11] At the time, Goulooze rejected the ideas of anarchism, along with the group around Potsma. He became fully communist, as it was the only political alternative that suited his worldview. Goulooze believed that the anarchists weren't capable of an effective struggle against capitalism.^[13] Unwilling to join the CPN, he, along with Postma, instead joined the BKSP on 24 January 1925.^[14] Potsma would go on to become editor of De Kommunist, the magazine of the BKSP. ^[14] Six months later, the BKSP party leadership split, David Wijnkoop along with most of the leadership was forced to resign and a large sector of BKSP opted to rejoin the Communist Party of Holland ("Communistisch Party Holland") (CPH).^[15]By 1925, Goulooze had become an active communist and in 1926, Goulooze became a member of the CPH.^[16] Due to his age, Goulooze became an active member of the Young Communist League (CJB, 'Communistische Jongeren Beweging).^[17] Goulooze became a popular and later important member of the CJB.^[17] Under Goulooze and in agreement with the political line take by the Young Communist International (KJI, Kommunist Jeugd Internationale) the CJB decided to take direct action, instead of the usual discussion of politics.^[17] Under orders from Moscow, it was rearranged into business divisions and the magazine De Jonge Communist (The Young Communist) was renamed to De Jonge Arbeider (The Young Worker).^[17] As the CJB was a small organisation, Goulooze tried to create a leadership role that resulted in him negotiating with several companies during spontaneous youth strikes.^[18] At the same time, a plan grew to send a delegation to the Soviet Union.^[18] Seven young people were delegated from suitable companies and the delegation left at the end of August 1926.^[18] When the group returned, a detailed brochure What did 7 young workers in Soviet Russia see? was published that described their impressions. This was the first of many trips to the Soviet Union he would take.^[18]

A new academy[]

When he returned, Goulooze established a new academy that offered a three-week course to train a cadre of CJB communists.^[18] The leaders of the academy were made up of Henriette Roland Holst, Gerrit Mannoury and Henk Sneevliet and its initial enrollment consisted of sixteen students, aged sixteen to twenty-five.^[18] When the academy came to public notice, Goulooze defended it existence, but also took an active part in running the different CJB departments that included canvassing, leafletting, pasting up posters and demonstrating.^[19] On June 1928 in Amsterdam at the CPH party congress, the congress erupted in open warfare. Goulooze was immediately elected as secretary of the board, where he represented the CJB.^[20] On 17 August 1928, Goulooze attended the as a representative of the CJB, that was hosted in Eerde.^[21]

Propaganda efforts[]

During this period Goulooze acted to ensure that communist propaganda in the form of the newspapers Op de bon and Het Panster reached every part of the Royal Netherlands Army.^[22] A special propaganda stunt was the publication of military booklet by the officer Jan Zonderland, that contained a workers oath.^[23] The case gained national attention, due the commotion from baggage searches in barracks to remove it; that it came to the notice of the national press, the daily newspaper Het Leven.^[24]

Reforming the International Workers Aid[]

In 1930, the International Workers Aid (IAH, Internationale Arbeiders hulp) that existed to provide aid to strikers and strengthen cultural ties with the Soviet Union,^[25] became embroiled in a disagreement amongst its members, that degenerated into a fight.^[25] Goulooze was ordered to take over the reconstruction of the IAH and oversee the election of a new board.^[25]

CPN Board member[]

The Great Depression exacerbated the political problems faced by the CPN.^[26] The Comintern believed it would result in revolution in the Netherlands.^[26] Members of the CPN were in favour of the Comintern attitude, that saw Social Democrats, the main political fulcrum of the ruling class, as the main obstacle to the establishment of a proletarian revolution.^[27] The Comintern classed them as social fascists who had to be fought at all costs, i.e. considered them the enemy^[26] Goulooze, who was centrist, rejected this view.^[26] as did the CJB that took a more moderate position.^[26] At a meeting at his house on 1 February 1930, Richard Gyptner of the Young Communist International, castigated him for his approach.^[28] After a long discussion, the CJB board decided to support the Comintern position.^[28] At that point Goulooze ended his association with the CJB and Goulooze was tasked along with four others to organise a conference of CPN members.

In service to the Comintern[]

On February 1930, a new board was elected at the conference and the membership achieved unity on the basis of political guidelines received from the Comintern.^[29] At the age of 24, Goulooze became a member of the CPN and was elected as a CPN board member. He became the secretary of the youth organisation, a position he held for four years.^[30] Goulooze was then subsequently elected organisational secretary of the CPN.^[31] During this period it was requested by the party leadership that Goulooze should write on his thoughts and views, now he had a better understanding of the internal functioning of the party. He tried to identify those who are not following the Stalinist line and advocates for stronger control of party members.^[32]

Publishing[]

Goulooze was given the task of publishing communist brochures and books.^[33] His love of writing up to that point was visible in the Party that achieved a level of published work that hasn't been reached since.^[33] In 1927, he wrote De grondslagen van het communisme, de taak van de (the foundations of communism, the task of the communist youth), followed by the 104page essay on the 1928 KJI Congress.^[33] Goulooze considered reading and studying a revolutionary act.^[34] Over the next several years he built up publishing in the CPN and imported communist literature from abroad. He also opened a number of communist bookshops.^[34] In 1933, he established the Amstel Agency a publishing house that was run by Lydia Wolters, his wife. The work was done in his own house.^[34] During the early 1930's, he made numerous trips abroad to arrange contracts with writers.^[34] In 1932, he published a book by N. Bogdanow, Het eerste meisje; een romanticische geschiedenis (The first girl; a romantic history), about life for members in the Komsomol.^[35] In March 1934, as the work of publishing at his house was becoming too stressful due to its success, Goulooze established the formal Pegasus publishing house, located at 29 Nieuwe Prinsengracht,^[35][35] During the course of his work as director, he formed relationships with many leading left-wing intellectuals and new writers and academics in the country.^[36] During the period he worked there, Goulooze published the The ABC of Communism written by Nikolai Bukharin and Yevgeni Preobrazhensky and the Marxist Library in 24 volumes. These were classic works by writers like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. These books were generally not available in the Dutch language beforehand, so they sold in large quantities.^[37]

Literature[]

• Harmsen, Ger (1967). Daan Goulooze. Uit het leven van een communis. Amboboeken (in Dutch). Utrecht: Ambo. OCLC 12739298.
• Voerman, Gerrit, historicus (2001). De meridiaan van Moskou : de CPN en de Communistische Internationale, 1919-1930 (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Veen. ISBN 9789020456387. OCLC 1169809112.
• Stutje, Jan Willem (2000). De man die de weg wees : leven en werk van Paul de Groot 1899-1986 (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij. ISBN 9789023439080.
• Engelen, D. (1998). Geschiedenis van de Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst (in Dutch). Den Haag: Sdu Uitgevers. ISBN 9789012086479. OCLC 48671178.
• Pelt, Wilhelmus Franciscus Stanislaus (1990). Vrede door revolutie : de CPN tijdens het Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939-1941) (in Dutch). 's-Gravenhage: SDU. ISBN 9789012065016. OCLC 1024184540.
• Harmsen, Ger (1986). "Voor de derde maal Daan Goulooze. Nabeschouwing, aanvullingen en correcties". Bulletin Nederlandse Arbeidersbewegin (in Dutch). Nijmegen. 8: 25–40.
• Mellink, A.F. (December 1987). "Voorspel en verloop van de juli-conferentie 1945". Bulletin Nederlandse Arbeidersbewegin (in Dutch). Nijmegen. 15: 28–33.
• Constandse, A.L. "De Gids. Jaargang 130 The life of a communist". De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren (in Dutch). Taalunie, de Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheken en de Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB), nationale bibliotheek van Nederland. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Harmsen, Ger (1980). Rondom Daan Goulooze : uit het leven van kommunisten. Sunschrift, 152. (in Dutch) (2 ed.). Nijmegen: SUN. ISBN 9789061681526. OCLC 71392888.