Communism

   In 1909, the Marxist wing was expelled from the re visionist Socialist Democratic Party (SDP). Under the direction of David Wijnkoop (1876–1941), the new political party adopted the name of the Communistische Partij Holland (Communist Party of Holland) in 1918. Some of its members were internationally famous in the Marxist movement, such as astronomer Anthonie Pannekoek and the syndicalist Henk Sneevliet. During the 1937 elections, the Communists won only three seats (out of 100) in Parliament, but af ter World War II, this number rose to 10 in 1946. Later, however, a decline set in, until in 1986 the renamed Communistische Partij Ned erland (CPN) lost its representation in Parliament. The last success of the CPN had been its share in the “Stop the neutron bomb” campaign in the late 1970s, with a demonstration of some 50,000 people and a petition with 1.2 million signatures in 1978. In 1989, the party merged with other progressive parties into a new party, GroenLinks (GL, Green Left). Since 1992, only a new small Communist Party lives on, particularly in the eastern part of the province of Gronin gen, the Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland (NCPN). Author Theun Uilke de Vries (1907–2005) remained a Marxist un til his death. One of his hundred or so novels was Het meisje met het rode haar (1956), which dealt with the Communist resistance fighter Jannetje Johanna (“Hannie”) Schaft (1920–1945), who was executed by the Nazis.

   See also SOCIALISTISCHE PARTIJ.