SPINOZISM AND SPINOZISTIC STUDIES IN THE SINCE WORLD WAR II

H. G. HUBBELING University

In this paper I shall try to give a survey of Spinozism and Spinozistic studies in the Netherlands since World War II. I shall also try to give more than only a bibliographie raisonnée. This would certainly occur if I tried to give a complete enumeration of all the works published on Spinoza during this period. I do not have to do this, for we have excellent bibliographies that cover the period.1 Especially I want to mention the bibliography wrilicn by Van der Werf, Siebrand and Westerveen.2 Siebrand had the brilliant idea of giving an alphabetical list of works written on Spinoza and then to give a survey in a systematic order. The study is published in the well-known series of Mededelingen vanwege het Spinozahuis. It is unavoidable that a paper like this looks a little bit like a bibliographie raisonnée^ but I have tried to give more background information, so that the reader will receive an impression of the main trends of Spinozism and of the main topics of Spinozistic studies in the Netherlands. As one of the few Dutch philosophers who has attracted international attention, Spinoza has always been studied and discussed on a relatively large scale in the Netherlands. Dutch Hegelians have very often incorporated Spinoza in their philosophy. He was also studied extensively in Marxist circles and among freethinkers, etc. There were even two Spinoza societies in the Netherlands before World War II. The oldest one was situated in Rijnsburg, where Spinoza lived for part of his life and where the house where he lived still exists. This house was bought by the society, which was and is open to everyone who is interested in Spinoza. Officially it did not favor any interpretation of Spinoza, but perhaps it must be said that it still had a rationalistic flavor because its dominant members, W. Meyer and W. G. van der Tik, both secretaries, gave a rationalistic interpretation of Spinoza. But it must be explicitly stated that other interpretations of Spinoza were also heard in the papers read at the Society.3 Further the organization of the society was democratic. The meeting of the members took the final decisions. The other society owned the house in , where Spinoza died in 1677. This was not a society in the ordinary sense, but a foundation. It did not have a democratic structure, for a board of directors took the decisions with no responsibility to its members. Nobody could even become a member of this society; one could only support it by a yearly gift. In this society the mystical interpretation of Spinoza was dominant. During the war, however, this society received a dubious reputation, because its chairman, J. H. Carp, became a National Socialist. After the war he was accused by van der Tak, the secretary of the other Spinoza society, of "giving away the house into the hands of the Germans." After the war the foundation was dissolved and its properties were administered by a committee of three men. In the beginning of the 70s the house and other properties were given to the Rijnsburg society that in turn 382 H. G. HUBBFJJNG gave it to Monumentenzorg Den Haag which in cooperation with the Rijnsburg society restored the building. One room is devoted to Spinoza study. Now the situation is that in the Rijnsburg house Spinoza's original library can be seen and can be consulted, whereas in The Hague house modern literature on Spinoza is collected and a study room for consulting it is available. It goes without saying that the society keeps its neutral and open attitude in that one need not be an adherent of Spinoza's philosophy in order to become a member and that all possible interpretations of Spinoza may be heard in the society. In 1977, G. van Suchtclen, the präsent secretary, in cooperation with C. Roelofsz, corrected the accusation against Carp. Although he was a National Socialist and as such is to be blamed for having cooperated with the Germans, he took pains to keep the house out of the hands of the occupier. In the beginning the Germans did not take measures against the two Spinoza societies, although Spinoza was a Jew. He had had a positive influence on German Idealism and this the Germans evaluated positively. But they did forbid freemasonry and in its archives they discovered that freemasonry had given donations to one of the Spinoza societies. So they took over the two houses and sent the two libraries to , where they were rediscovered after the war and sent back to the Netherlands. Carp, however, managed to keep the house in The Hague out of the hands of the Germans. The building was given to a foundation that would educate the higher officials of the Dutch National Socialist movement. But this foundation was only a fake and served as a cover. It did not fulfill its supposed function. In this way the building could be prevented from being ruined by the German army. The house in Rijnsburg remained inhabited by the custodian and his family. Ένο Jews hid themselved there during the occupation.4 Perhaps I may insert a little anecdote with respect to the house in The Hague. In the beginning of the 70's the administrative board of the dissolved foundation decided that they would give away the house and the properties that belonged to it. They thought that the best way to do this was to give it to the Rijnsburg society. The board of this society agreed with one exception, viz. its chairman, J. J. von Schmid. He even resigned as a chairman, when the other members of the board tried to force him to the decision to accept the gift which was only to the advantage of the society and the study of Spinoza. And what was the reason for this stubborn refusal? Its recent history and geographic situation! For it had been used as a brothel until the foundation bought it and it still lies in an area where many brothels flourish. As is so often the case, in The Hague the older parts of the city have declined in their social status. In contradiction to Von Schmid, the rest of the board evidently saw the house in a Spinozistic way, i.e. in itself, not in its relations to the other houses, and they saw it in the present not in the past! The Rijnsburg society has always been, and still is to the present day, a center of Spinoza studies. I hardly know of any other philosophical or intellectual society that covers such a broad spectrum in its membership. You may meet ultra-religious orthodox people, Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, but also vehement atheists. In politics, too, all kinds of trends are represented and