“Dieters was a populist avant la lettre and was able to get people moving. He did this together with a core group of other farmers from the municipality of Anloo, collectively the driving force behind the NSB movement among the farmers. He had a charismatic appearance; if you look at the photos you think: well, you shouldn’t argue with that man too much. Well, I’m not so easily scared, but I do think he was a dominant figure.”
Did Nijborg meet people who knew him? “I interviewed his second wife once, about five years ago. I said: ‘I would like to talk to you about the old Dieters’ – because later she married the son, who was also called Gerhardus. I liked it that way dear woman, I found it difficult to pierce that private world.”
You can hear much more about the farmers’ movement, the NSB and the doings of Gerhardus Dieters, even after the Second World War, in the radio interview in Drenthe Toen and the podcast. Drenthe Toen will be broadcast on Radio Drenthe, Sunday afternoon 25 September from 12.00-14.00. The book, written by historical researcher Drs. Sienus Nijborg, has approximately 380 pages and is published in limited edition. If you would like to know more, please email [email protected].