News item | 22-12-2025 | 08:00
On March 25, 2026, the first Loe de Jong lecture will be delivered during the Holocaust Education Working Conference in The Hague. Adriaan van Dis is responsible for this first edition. The Loe de Jong lecture is an initiative of the National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism (NCAB).
The ‘name giver’ of the lecture, Loe de Jong (1914–2005), was director of the National Institute for War Documentation (RIOD), now the NIOD, from 1945 to 1979. He achieved national fame with his monumental fourteen-part work The Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Second World War (1969–1994) and the television series De Beschiking (1960–1965). De Jong, who came from a Jewish family, fled the Netherlands at the outbreak of war; much of his family was murdered.
Eddo Verdoner, National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism:
“Loe de Jong helped the Netherlands to understand the Second World War and the persecution of the Jews and to learn lessons from them. He not only outlined the facts, but also held up a mirror to us. With the Loe de Jong lecture we create an annual moment of reflection of national importance, a moment of reflection on the lasting significance of Holocaust education.”
Adriaan van Dis:
“It is an honor for me to give the first Loe de Jong lecture. The history of the persecution of the Jews is a past that is full of the present. It is important to continue to share the danger of discrimination with new generations and to reflect on current anti-Semitism now.”
Working conference on Holocaust education
The Loe de Jong lecture is part of the Holocaust Education Working Conference, organized by the National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism. Policymakers, teachers, experts, students and scientists come together annually at this conference, which aims to strengthen Holocaust education in the Netherlands.
The conference is in line with it National Plan for Strengthening Holocaust Education (2025)which sets out the ambition to deepen knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust among Dutch people and to safeguard it for future generations.
Learn about the Holocaust
The annual ‘Learn about the Holocaust’ campaign will also start in January. The campaign is an initiative of the NCAB and highlights the importance of Holocaust education in Dutch society. The campaign is the prelude to International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 and is taking place for the third time this year.