11
BACK IN TIME: Jan Kuiper (1906–1972)
Antoinette’s maternal grandfather; Susan’s maternal great-grandfather
The early twentieth century was a period of enormous change, as the world moved through industrial growth, global conflict, and rapid technological progress. These developments reshaped societies and created both new opportunities and new uncertainties.
Jan Kuiper was born in the Roderveld quarter, Roden, Drenthe, Netherlands on Tuesday, 4 September 1906, under the star sign Virgo in the Chinese year of the Horse. He belonged to the Greatest Generation, which had strong work ethics, patriotism, frugal spending, and high levels of social conformity.
He was the oldest of four children, and the first of two sons born to Marten Kuiper (1882) and Roelfke Tuinman (1884).
The year 1906 took place during a time when the Netherlands was gradually modernizing while still maintaining its traditional character. Railways and industry were expanding, cities were growing, and new social reforms were slowly improving education and working conditions. At the same time, Europe was entering a period of rising political tensions that would eventually lead to the global upheavals of the twentieth century.
Jan’s life would span some of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century, from two world wars to a new life on another continent.
Important events during Jan’s life
- 1907 – 15 June to 18 October: The Second Hague Peace Conference is held, strengthening the reputation of the Netherlands as a neutral host for international law, following the 1899 conference.
- 1909 – The London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War is established. Although not fully ratified, it impacts Dutch perspectives on maritime neutrality.
- 1911 – The Dutch government begins to become more involved in industrial relations following increased labor unrest and the rise of socialism.
- 1914 to 1918 – World War I, where the Netherlands stays neutral.
- 1917 – Constitutional reform in the Netherlands.
In 1917, the Pacification of 1917 brought an end to two long-standing political conflicts in the Netherlands: the struggle over voting rights and the dispute over state funding for religious schools. For decades, political parties had been divided between those who supported broader democratic participation and those who defended the interests of religious communities in education.
The reform introduced universal male suffrage, greatly expanding the number of citizens who could vote in national elections. At the same time, it established equal government funding for both public and religious schools, resolving the so-called “school struggle” that had dominated Dutch politics since the nineteenth century. The agreement represented a compromise between liberal, socialist, and Christian political groups.
Another important change was the introduction of proportional representation in parliamentary elections. This new system allowed political parties to gain seats in parliament according to the percentage of votes they received, giving smaller parties a stronger voice in government.
The constitutional reform marked a major step in the democratization of Dutch society. It laid the foundation for the modern Dutch political system and paved the way for women’s suffrage.
- 1919 – The Netherlands passed legislation granting women full voting rights. This was a victory for the first-wave feminist movement driven by activists like Aletta Jacobs.
- 1920 – Jan appears in the census in Steenwijk, Overijssel.
- 1920 – 17 May: The first flight by Dutch airline KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) arrives at Schiphol, Amsterdam, from London.
- 1922 – Women vote for the first time in Dutch general elections.
- 1924 – 24 November: The first Dutch airliner, a Fokker F.VII, lands in Batavia (Java) after flying from Amsterdam.
- 1928 – 28 July to 12 August: Amsterdam hosts the Summer Olympic Games, the ninth occurrence of the modern Olympic Games. It includes the first modern Olympic flame, the introduction of women’s athletics and gymnastics, and the first time Greece leads the parade of nations, with the host country entering last.
- 1929 – Great Depression affects the Dutch economy and its people.
- 1935 – 10 May: Married to Ottolina van Doeland in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands.
- 1936 – 13 May: Birth of son, Marten, in Nijmegen.
- 1938 – 1 December: Birth of daughter, Anna, in Nijmegen.
- 1939 to 1945 – World War II.
- 1940 to 1945 – German occupation of the Netherlands.
- 1944 – 3 May: Birth of daughter, Roelfke, in Nijmegen.
- 1945 – 5 May: Liberation of the Netherlands.
- 1947 – 4 June: Birth of daughter, Geertje, in Nijmegen.
- 1955 – 22 October: Jan and his family leave the Netherlands on the SS Zuiderkruis, emigrating to South Africa.
- 1955 – 7 November: Jan, his wife and four children arrive in the port of Cape Town, South Africa, ready to begin their new life in South Africa.
- 1956 – Twenty thousand women of all races march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, to protest the extension of pass laws.
About 20,000 women from across South Africa marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August 1956 to protest the extension of apartheid pass laws to women. The demonstration was organized by the Federation of South African Women and brought together women of different racial backgrounds in a rare united protest.
The march was directed against the pass system, which required Black South Africans to carry identification documents controlling where they could live, work, and travel. The government planned to extend these restrictions more strictly to women, a move that was widely seen as deepening the injustices of the apartheid system.
The protesters gathered quietly outside the Union Buildings and delivered thousands of signed petitions to the government. For thirty minutes the crowd stood in complete silence, demonstrating their determination and solidarity. They then sang the protest song “Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo” (“You strike the women, you strike the rock”), which later became a powerful symbol of resistance.
Although the pass laws were not immediately abolished, the march became one of the most significant acts of protest against apartheid. Today, 9 August is commemorated as National Women’s Day in South Africa.
- 1960 – Sharpeville massacre.
- 1961 – South Africa becomes a republic.
- 1963 – 7 March: Naturalisation as a South African citizen.
- 1967 – World’s first heart transplant by Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town, South Africa.
- 1968 – 27 March: The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act invalidates marriages outside South Africa between a male South African citizen and a woman of a different racial group.
- 1968 – 5 June: Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, United States.
- 1969 – 29 October: The first message is sent over ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.
- 1970 – South Africa is expelled from the Olympic movement. The planned 1970 Springbok Cricket Tour of Britain is cancelled.
- 1971 – 26 March: The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act is passed, forcing all black persons to become citizens of a self-governing “territorial authority” (homeland) rather than South Africa.
- 1972 – 14 February: Jan dies in Vanderbijlpark, due to lung cancer.
4 September over the years…
- 476 – The Fall of the Western Roman Empire when Romulus Augustulus is deposed.
- 1888 – George Eastman registers the Kodak trademark.
- 1937 – Birth of Dawn Fraser, Australian Olympic gold swimmer, born in Sydney, Australia.
- 1948 – Queen Wilhelmina abdicates the Dutch throne after 58 years, in favor of her daughter Juliana. She has the longest reign of any Dutch monarch.
- 1972 – Willem Ruska of the Netherlands wins gold medals in both the heavyweight and open class Olympic judo competitions in Munich. He is the first judoka to win two Olympic gold medals at one Games.
- 1981 – Birth of Beyoncé, American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, producer and actress, born in Houston, Texas.
- 1998 – Larry Page and Sergey Brin formally incorporate Google. Both were students at Stanford University.
A life across continents
The life Jan lived unfolded during one of the most turbulent periods of modern history. Born in the Netherlands at the beginning of the twentieth century, he grew up in a society that was modernizing but still deeply shaped by traditional family life, religion, and close-knit communities.
As a young man, Jan Kuiper experienced the economic uncertainty of the Great Depression, and as an adult and father he lived through the hardships of the Second World War and the German occupation of the Netherlands. These events profoundly affected daily life for millions of Dutch families, shaping the decisions and opportunities available to them.
In 1955, he and his family made the life-changing decision to emigrate to South Africa, joining many Europeans who sought new opportunities abroad in the years after the war. Starting over in a new country required courage and determination, but it allowed the family to build a new future far from the places where earlier generations had lived.
He died in 1972 in Vanderbijlpark, having lived through an era that saw extraordinary transformations: from horse-drawn transport to space travel, from small European communities to a life on another continent. His story forms part of the larger history of migration, resilience, and family continuity across generations.