Acknowledgements
This book has been quite some time in the making. In the process, I have become indebted to many without whose support this document would not exist today.
First of all, I want to express my gratitude to my advisors Prof. dr. Giles Scott-Smith and Prof. dr. Albert Kersten, who have been with me on this journey from the very start and without whom I would not have been able to complete it. I’m profoundly grateful for their guidance, patience and encouragement. I would also like to thank the Van den Berch van Heemstede Stichting for providing the financial basis that enabled the research that led to this book.
This book is based on extensive research in both public and private archives and has greatly benefitted from interviews with individuals who knew Ernst van der Beugel well. I would like to extent my gratitude to all those who were willing to share their time, memories and/or private archives. In particular, I would like to thank dr. Henry Kissinger, not just for his willingness to take the time to meet in New York to share his memories, but also for sending me his personal correspondence with Ernst van der Beugel. I am also indebted to Kees Admiraal for sharing material from his private archive as well as for his encouragement. Above all, I want to express my gratitude to Aukelien van Hoytema—Van der Beugel and Hans Heestermans. I will never forget their unlimited kindness and support, nor the conversations we had over delicious dinners—often prepared by Hans. The private archival material, memories and encouragement that Aukelien has shared over the years have been invaluable for this research and I am deeply grateful for the trust she invested in me.
During my research in the United States, I have greatly benefited from the assistance of staff members from the following archives: the Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow,
I also want to thank all those who have sheltered me during my research trips. In particular, I would like to thank my dear friend Hanneke Keultjes for repeatedly hosting me in New York as well as Emily and Eric Littman and Melissa and Eric Baldwin for their ceaseless hospitality in Cambridge,
There are also many individuals from the close-knit community of American Studies scholars in the Netherlands to whom I am greatly indebted. The staff, events and resources of the Roosevelt Studies Center, now the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies, in Middelburg have been of especially great value in the research process that led to this book. In particular, I would like to thank Kees van Minnen, Hans Krabbendam, Dario Fazzi and Leontien Joosse for their ceaseless support. I am also thankful for the grant I received, which allowed me to spend three weeks in the lovely town of Middelburg to do research in the
It is Leiden University’s Institute for History, however, that I have considered my academic home during the research project that led to this book. They too have sheltered me in a way. I am grateful that I got to share my journey as an American Studies PhD student with Jorrit van den Berk, Laura Visser-Maessen, Sabrina Otterloo, Sara Polak and Mark de Vries with whom I could share both progress and challenges. Their feedback, friendship and encouragement are greatly appreciated. In addition, I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues at the Institute for History and Leiden University College who have supported me during this journey, in particular Anne Beckers, Laura Bertens, Eduard van de Bilt, Elisabeth Dieterman, Joris Gijsenbergh, Anne Heyer, Constant Hijzen, Peter Meel, Matthijs Olieman, Damian Pargas, Anne Petterson, Dirk Pfeifer, Judith Pollmann, Aniek Smit, Diederik Smit, Bart van der Steen, Robert Stein, Anna Tijsseling, Adriaan van Veldhuizen, Rebecca Wensma, Hans Wilbrink and Ann Wilson.
I would also like to express my thanks to all those who have commented on earlier manuscripts of this book, including the members of my reading committee who have provided valuable feedback on the dissertation manuscript that led to this book: dr. Maurits Ebben, Prof. dr. Duco Hellema, Prof. dr. Leopoldo Nuti, Prof. dr. Mathieu Segers, Prof. dr. Henk te Velde and dr. Tity de Vries. I am also thankful for the helpful feedback I received through Brill, via the anonymous review as well as from the series editors and I would like to thank all the Brill staff members that helped to guide me through the final stages of the process that led to this book.
Finally, I am profoundly grateful for the love and support from my parents, without whom none of this would have been possible, and to my dear brother, who never tires of challenging me. This book certainly could not have been written without the love, support, encouragement and patience of my best friend and husband, Willem van Rooijen.