Holland, Michigan houses an expansive Dutch population since Rev. Albertus Van Raalte, a Dutch immigrant, settled in Holland and established Hope College in the 1840s.
100 years later in the 1940s this connection to the Netherlands persisted and continued when Hitler invaded the Netherlands. In 1941, the archived records of the Board of Trustees stated, “Telegrams of congratulations and greetings were read from Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana Bernhard, Dr. Alexander Loudon and Hon. Murray Van Wagoner, governor of Michigan. Mr. Titus made a motion that we give Dr. Wichers a vote of thanks for bringing Princess Juliana to Hope College and conferring the degree of Doctor of Laws upon her. Motion supported and carried.” The Board of Trustees also sent Princess Juliana Bernhard a telegram on her birthday in 1943.
Mary Beth Ferguson Kuras had a pen pal in the Netherlands and created a scrapbook with postcards and newspaper clippings from her correspondence.
These accounts from the Board of Trustees indicate a close relationship between Hope College and the Netherlands as World War II became more and more prominent.
During the war, several women contacted relatives in the Netherlands and offered assistance. The Netherlands was one of the countries invaded by the Nazis during World War II. In a letter, Mildred Schuppert acknowledges this difference between the experiences of those in the United States and the Netherlands. Schuppert writes, “Somehow we had never thought of trying to contact relatives in The Netherlands, but in these last months since mails have been coming through again, we felt we would like to know something about the relatives, especially since many of you have suffered the privations and hardships and anxieties of war.” In the letter, Schuppert states that she is not rich, but is willing to help out in any way she can.
The Queen of the Netherlands awarded Metta Ross, a professor at Hope College, a medal from the Queen of the Netherlands for her service to the country during the war. In an oral interview, Ross remembered this award for her work with those in the Netherlands. During the war, she sent them necessities, such as glasses, a purse, money, etc.
Hope was invested in the plight of the Netherlands during World War II. On May 13, 1945, there was a chapel service commemorating the liberation of the Netherlands.
Willard Wichers received a letter from Leo Crowley, an administrator for President Rooselvelt during his presidency thanking Holland for their connection to the Netherlands. The letter states, “That you have shared in the success of this country is, of course, satisfying to you, especially because the ideas of freedom and independence are so proudly continuing in Dutch heritage...The Netherlands was overrun by the Nazis, their cities and wealth destroyed, the people dispersed and savagely persecuted, and yet they refuse to surrender. While we won the war we have not won the peace as yet, because ideologies similar to and as dangerous threaten our economic and political principles. I know hopefully that the Netherlands people can be depended upon to do their part in our mutual efforts for a just and lasting peace.”
The relationship with the Netherlands persisted after correspondence and work with the Netherlands during World War II. Several students at Hope College grew up in the Netherlands, such as Margaret Wolffensperger Kleis, who was from Zwolle, Netherlands and attended school at Hope College in 1950. Kleis experienced trouble with her student visa and was held by the immigration office for several days, while processing her legal alien card. This inspired Kleis to become involved in immigration and eventually direct the office operations and immigration and naturalization.
