Herman Heijermans

Who was Herman Heijermans?

Herman Heijermans, was a Dutch writer.

Heijermans was born in Rotterdam, into a liberal Jewish family, the fifth of the 11 children of Herman Heijermans Sr. and Matilda Moses Spiers. In the Algemeen Handelsblad daily, he published a series of sketches of Jewish family life under the pseudonym of Samuel Falkland, which were collected in volume form. His novels and tales include Trinette, Fles, Kamertjeszonde, Interieurs, Diamantstad. He created great interest by his play Op Hoop van Zegen, an indictment of the exploitation of sea fishermen in the Netherlands at the turn of the century, represented at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris, and in English by the Stage Society as The Good Hope.

His other plays are: Dora Kremer, Ghetto, Het zevende Gebod, Het Pantser, Ora et labora, and numerous one-act pieces. A Case of Arson, an English version of the one-act play Brand in de Jonge Jan, was notable for the impersonation by Henri de Vries of all the seven witnesses who appear as characters. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.

He died, aged 59, in Zandvoort.