Author Archive for Yvonne Scholten

Spanish Diary by Dutch Resistance Hero Discovered

August 18, 2022
By
Spanish Diary by Dutch Resistance Hero Discovered

When 93-year-old Rosa Ruivenkamp died in 2019, in her nightstand her son found a blue notebook that had belonged to her brother Evert, who had been active in the resistance and was murdered by the Nazis in 1943. The notebook—which, fortunately was not thrown out—turned out to contain the diary notes Evert had written...
Read more »

Posted in Features | Comments Off on Spanish Diary by Dutch Resistance Hero Discovered

In Search of the First Dutch Volunteer

February 5, 2022
By
In Search of the First Dutch Volunteer

Willy de Lathouder was the first Dutchman to join the defense of the Spanish Republic. He died in 1938 shortly after the birth of his child. More than 80 years later, his granddaughter discovers her family’s history.
Read more »

Posted in Features | 2 Comments »

From Toulouse to Trotsky’s Assassin: The Story Behind an Iconic Photograph

May 17, 2020
By
From Toulouse to Trotsky’s Assassin: The Story Behind an Iconic Photograph

Marina Ginestà became world-famous late in life when a stunning photograph taken at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War surfaced in a Spanish archive. With the help of Marina’s son, the journalist Yvonne Scholten uncovers new details of Ginestà’s adventurous life.
Read more »

Posted in Features | 2 Comments »

Dutch Brigader Biography Project

November 14, 2014
By
Dutch Brigader Biography Project

Great news from the Netherlands, where a group of volunteers has started an online biographical database of all the Dutch who fought in Spain between 1936 and 1939 to defend the Spanish Republic against the forces of General Franco. This is the first exhaustive investigation into the Dutch volunteers.In the Netherlands the Spanish Civil...
Read more »

Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Dutch Brigader Biography Project

The Singing Dutchman of the Lincoln Brigade

September 14, 2013
By
The Singing Dutchman of the Lincoln Brigade

The wandering Dutchman Bart van der Schelling painted with Willem de Kooning, sang with Woody Gunthrie and Pete Seeger, fought fascists in the Lincoln Battalion, and is credited with the lyrics to "Viva la Quince Brigada"--yet much of his life remains shrouded in mystery. Yvonne Scholten investigates.
Read more »

Posted in Features | 9 Comments »

Fanny, Queen of the Machine Gun

December 4, 2011
By
Fanny, Queen of the Machine Gun

Fanny Schoonheyt, the tall, blond “queen of the machine gun,” was the only Dutch woman to join in the battle action during the Spanish Civil War. Her life is shrouded in mystery. Could she have been the only female foreign official in the Republican Army? What was her involvement in the events of May...
Read more »

Posted in Features | 7 Comments »