There it is, since the beginning of this week: ‘Jan met de Handjes’ behind a closed gate in a portal of the stairwell at the back of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The archetype of the sportsman in bronze, indeed with hands like coal shovels, thighs and upper arms like logs, tight pants and a torso with pronounced ribs, is secured to lashing straps. Invisible to passers-by.
That was different until last Monday. Then he stood proudly at his full height of 2.85 meters on a high plinth of brick next to the Marathon Tower, looking out over the square, with the right arm stretched forward in the height. That gesture finally broke him ugly 94 years after placement.
It was preceded by a long controversy. While one was convinced that the artist Gra Rueb (1885-1972) had depicted the Olympic salute on the occasion of the Olympic Games in 1928, others saw it as an unmistakable salute from the Italian fascists and the Nazis.
The Olympic Stadium Foundation took the plunge after an investigation into the artwork, a tribute to baron Frits van Tuyll van Serooskerken, who died in 1924, the founder of the Dutch Olympic Committee that had brought the Games to Amsterdam. away with The Olympic Saluteas the creation is formally called, although there is still an objection to the issue of the municipal permit for removal.
Architectural heritage
The Cuypers Society, which watches over architectural heritage, believes that a protected monument is being damaged. But the stadium management seized the International Day against Racism and Discrimination as the moment to act. Director Ellen van Haaren: ‘As the carrier of the word Olympic, we no longer want to be saddled with this contaminated gesture. The procedure can take a very long time. The risk is limited. We can still put it back.”
The foundation was tired of the negative connotations. Complaints regularly came in at the office. Passers-by wondered how it was possible that the Hitler salute was brought here in full publicity, especially in the city from which so many Jews were deported. Van Haaren: ‘I could imagine something with that surprise.’ At the beginning of this year, anti-fascists daubed the artwork with paint.
From 2006 to early 2021 there was a plaque with an explanation. ‘The statue shows the Olympic salute, which was already used in Roman times. Since the Second World War, however, this gesture has been associated with the Hitler salute, but this image dates back to 1928 and has no connection with it at all’. That would be something different.
The foundation’s consultation of historians yielded the ammunition that led to the removal of the tile first and then the movement of the statue. Director Van Haaren: ‘There is no proof whatsoever for the existence of a Roman salute. At most you will find that in films about that time and with Asterix and Obelix.’
Benito Mussolini
The raised arm was annexed by the fascist movement of Benito Mussolini in the early 1920s, possibly copied from a 1784 painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David. on The Oath of the Horatii Roman soldiers stretch out their right arm. German National Socialists adopted the ritual of the Italians. Van Haaren sees a connection with the image. ‘At the time of the Games in Amsterdam, this greeting was unmistakably commonplace within fascism and Nazism.’
The Amsterdam historian Hans Derks, who was involved in the research, is more explicit: ‘The Roman salute? Has nothing to do with it. The Olympic salute? Has nothing to do with it. This is a hardcore fascist image. The Nazis used the Hitler salute from 1925, the NSB members did the same in the Netherlands and shouted Love Sea† How could you have seen this as an Olympic salute in 1928? Impossible.’
According to the historian, the fact that it was already sensitive at that time is apparent from, among other things, an English-language poster on which the stadium and the statue are depicted, but the raised arm is missing. ‘This amputation was apparently prompted by the consideration that the English public should not be deterred from accepting the journey to Amsterdam,’ writes Derks in a treatise on the research, The Age of Jan†
According to director Van Haaren of the Olympic Stadium, there is quite a bit to argue with about the existence of an Olympic salute. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the French founder of the modern Olympic Games, campaigned for a raised arm at the 1924 Paris Games, but that would never have become fashionable.
She draws attention to some photos. Footballer Harry Dénis takes the oath with an angled arm in Amsterdam, 1928 on behalf of the Dutch athletes. On the podium of the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, winner Jesse Owens salutes the fingers to the forehead and the Japanese silver winner keeps his arms next to his body. Only number three stretches the arm: it is a German. Van Haaren: ‘The gesture was never part of the ceremony.’
According to sports historian Jurryt van de Vooren, who wrote the text for the plaque near the statue on Stadionplein, it is more nuanced. At the time, the International Olympic Committee was simply not strong enough to establish a protocol. That’s why you see that not all athletes salute.’
He points out that the outstretched right arm was also seen at other sporting events at the time, organized by socialist, Catholic and even communist movements. Not that he thereby downplays the liaison between the Olympic movement and fascist and anti-Semitic movements. ‘Those sympathies have existed. Members from France who had been convicted of treason and collaboration have remained in the IOC after the war. Nazis and fascists also stayed put.’
Salient: as late as 1947, when the war memorial of Prometheus in memory of the fallen athletes was unveiled in the Olympic Stadium, Dutch gymnasts in unison raised their arms. Van de Vooren: ‘That happened under the direction of Charles Pahud de Mortanges, chairman of the NOC. As a major in the Irene Brigade, he had fought against the Germans and liberated the Netherlands. So you can see how diffuse it was.’
Van de Vooren is not happy with his text on the plaque. ‘That Roman salute was wrong, it was wrong. It is one of the many historical misunderstandings surrounding the Games.’
According to historian Derks, the NOC wanted to get rid of the statue immediately after the war. Certainly then the raised arm was a painful memory. It didn’t get any further than a move to a slightly less prominent place near the Marathon Tower. It is possible, stadium director Van Haaren suspects, that the work of art was only clearly visible to spectators. For decades it was hidden behind a wall for passers-by, later even partly overgrown by the greenery from an adjacent planter. Only after the renovation of the stadium, completed in 2000, could ‘Jan’ be seen in full regalia.
Protest
Sports historian Van de Vooren has no problem with the fact that the image is no longer visible. ‘I understand, although I do not agree with the historical substantiation – the image did not arise exclusively from fascism. I’m glad it has remained intact, you shouldn’t remove parts of history with typex.’
The Cuypers Society is not the only party that regrets the move. When the foundation announced its intention in 2020, the former director of the Rijksmuseum Wim Pijbes responded on Twitter. ‘Out of fear of people who don’t know exactly what it is, but believe so, a nationally listed ensemble is now being destroyed.’
According to the Amsterdam architectural historian Erik Mattie, the decision constitutes a violation of the urban cohesion in the area. The Van Tuyll van Serooskerkenweg forms a connection between the stadium and the Van Tuyll van Serooskerkenplein, with the statue of Rueb and the two statues of polo players on either side of the entrance to the square as eye-catchers. ‘That square is modeled after a Roman amphitheatre, it’s enclosed and you can even see an imperial box. It is therefore also a kind of stadium. You are now removing an important element from the entire ensemble.’
According to him, removal is also ‘unsympathetic’ to the artist. He is convinced that Rueb had no affinity with fascism. ‘This image was very important in her oeuvre. Success is now being taken from her.’
Director Van Haaren says that ‘Jan met de Handjes’ will remain in the stairwell for the time being. During tours, employees will explain the context. For the longer term, she suggests inclusion in a future sculpture garden full of evil heroes. If that arm is pressed to catch attention, this Jan has an advantage.