Tilburg finally gets a permanent monument in memory of the inexpensive work of the thousands of textile workers. They also ensured that Tilburg became the textile capital of the Netherlands. The book ‘The grief of Tilburg’ was the impetus for the decision of the Tilburg city council. Writer of the book Maarten van Riel: “I am very happy and proud of it. I could not have imagined all of this.”
The book by Van Riel was published in March of this year. It is a personal search for the past of his grandfather, but it also tells the history of the city of Tilburg and the so -known textile industry. “My grandfather Frans, as it were, plays the leading role in the book. He was a textile worker, but I never knew him because he himself put an end to his life before I was born,” explains Van Riel.
“He came to that fatal decision when it went downhill with the textile industry. He became entangled in the changing times. He could only work in the textile, but that eventually stopped.”
Textile workers invisible in the city
Van Riel investigated, but discovered that there was actually not much to discover about the Tilburg textile workers. “I dived into the archives, dived into the city to see what it was like to be a textile worker. In the end I found that there is no monument for textile workers at all.”
One of the chapters in the book has the appropriate title: invisible. “This is about the workers in the archives that are also virtually invisible. I could hardly find anything about my grandfather. There are few photos, diaries or letters. Very little information to gain insight into the factories,” explains Van Riel.
“You can find archives about the textile manufacturers, all kinds of things have been preserved, also many photos. That was a strong contrast and I expressed that in a chapter. It is typical that those workers are actually completely invisible. Now this will come.”
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On Monday evening, Tilburg politics decided that there must be a permanent monument in memory of Tilburg textile workers. If it is up to Van Riel, the entire city thinks about what kind of monument it should be. “It seems right to me that it comes in a place where at least many people come. The most logical neighborhood is perhaps the Museum Quarter, near the Textielmuseum, which will be completely overhauled in the coming years.”
That the monument is going to come is one. Making actually is the next step, realizes Van Riel. “I think it will eventually be very difficult. And then it is the challenge to come up with something that most people find beautiful or worthy. As far as I’m concerned, we take the time until something is widely worn. I think it should come from the city. That all good ideas come up.”
The writer makes the fact that his book De Aanzet is until the final monument for Tilburg textile workers. “The grief of Tilburg” has also been nominated for the Libris History Price 2025. “I did not expect it to release so much,” he says.
“I get daily messages from people who like it, recognize something in it. I also receive emails from people whose grandfather manufacturer was, who also attach great importance to it, because it becomes so clear to them what the other side of the story was now.”
