Renate Rubinstein
Encyclopedia
Renate Ida Rubinstein was a German
-Dutch
writer, journalist and columnist
.
, to a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother. Following the rise of Nazi Germany
the Rubinstein family decided to leave the country, and fled to Amsterdam, from there on to London
, Switzerland
and eventually back to Amsterdam again.
Following the Battle of the Netherlands
, when Nazi Germany invaded and conquered the Netherlands in 1940, Rubinstein's father was arrested. He was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp
near the end of World War II
. This event was a determining factor in Rubinstein's life and work - she is said to have spent the rest of her life searching for a father-figure, and her bond with German-British sociologist Norbert Elias
has been explained by some as proof for this.
During her teen years Rubinstein was a pupil at the Vossius Gymnasium
in Amsterdam, but was sent away. For a time she worked three days a week at the publishing company G.A. van Oorschot, and lived together with jurist Willem Frederik van Leeuwen. Next she worked at a kibbutz
in Israel
for three years, and studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for an additional two years. Because of that experience she was accepted as a student in Political and Social Science Studies at the University of Amsterdam in 1955. During her study - which she broke off after two years - Rubinstein started her career as a writer, first writing for the Nieuw Israëlitische Weekblad (New Israelite Weekly) and Propria Cures. Later on she wrote for Vrij Nederland (Free Netherlands, weekly magazine), Het Parool (national newspaper), the national daily NRC Handelsblad, the monthly magazine Avenue, Hollands Weekblad (Holland Weekly), Hollands Maandblad (Holland Monthly) and the literary magazine Tirade. In 1966 she was forced to pay a fine for her involvement in protests against the German Claus von Amsberg
, who was about to marry princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
, although she publicly changed her mind about him for the better later. She was even asked to write a book about the crown prince Willem-Alexander
when he turned 18. In 1968 Rubinstein played an important role in an attempt to rehabilitate the Jewish collaborator
posturing as a resistance fighter, Friedrich Weinreb
.
Her weekly columns in Vrij Nederland, which started to appear in 1962 under the pseudonym Tamar, were very popular and often provoked furious debates with other columnists, like Hugo Brandt Corstius
and W.F. Hermans. The latter objected fiercely in an essay about Collaboratie en verzet (Collaboration and resistance) to the - according to Hermans - unreasonable and unfounded attack on a Jewish woman Bep Turksma in the "autobiography" of Friedrich Weinreb
, which had been edited by Rubinstein and her ex-husband Aad Nuis. Though her heart was on the left in the political sense, she often ruffled feathers in left wing circles with her misgivings about feminism
, totalitarian socialism
as it had developed in Eastern Europe and Maoist
China, and nuclear pacifism
. In 1982 Renate Rubinstein delivered the Huizinga Lecture
in Leiden, the Netherlands, under the title: Links en rechts in de politiek en in het leven (Left and right in politics and life).
Rubinstein was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
in 1977. This brought about great changes in her life, which she outlined in her book Nee heb je (translated into English under the title Take It and Leave It: Aspects of Being Ill) (1985). Rubinstein died on November 23 1990 at the age of 61. She was buried at the Amsterdam Zorgvlied cemetery.
Shortly after her death her book Mijn beter ik (My better self) was published in which she revealed that she had had a secret affair with Simon Carmiggelt
for several years. Before that she had been married to Aad Nuis, and later Jaap van Heerden.
Rubinstein's younger sister, Gerda Rubinstein, is a very successful sculptress.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
-Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
writer, journalist and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
.
Biography
Rubinstein was born in Berlin, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, to a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother. Following the rise of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
the Rubinstein family decided to leave the country, and fled to Amsterdam, from there on to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and eventually back to Amsterdam again.
Following the Battle of the Netherlands
Battle of the Netherlands
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...
, when Nazi Germany invaded and conquered the Netherlands in 1940, Rubinstein's father was arrested. He was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This event was a determining factor in Rubinstein's life and work - she is said to have spent the rest of her life searching for a father-figure, and her bond with German-British sociologist Norbert Elias
Norbert Elias
Norbert Elias was a German sociologist of Jewish descent, who later became a British citizen.-Biography:...
has been explained by some as proof for this.
During her teen years Rubinstein was a pupil at the Vossius Gymnasium
Vossius Gymnasium
Vossius Gymnasium is one of the five categorial gymnasia in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the other being Barlaeus Gymnasium, Ignatius Gymnasium, Cygnus Gymnasium and Het 4e Gymnasium. It is named after Gerardus Joannes Ernie Vossius, and was established in 1926....
in Amsterdam, but was sent away. For a time she worked three days a week at the publishing company G.A. van Oorschot, and lived together with jurist Willem Frederik van Leeuwen. Next she worked at a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
for three years, and studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for an additional two years. Because of that experience she was accepted as a student in Political and Social Science Studies at the University of Amsterdam in 1955. During her study - which she broke off after two years - Rubinstein started her career as a writer, first writing for the Nieuw Israëlitische Weekblad (New Israelite Weekly) and Propria Cures. Later on she wrote for Vrij Nederland (Free Netherlands, weekly magazine), Het Parool (national newspaper), the national daily NRC Handelsblad, the monthly magazine Avenue, Hollands Weekblad (Holland Weekly), Hollands Maandblad (Holland Monthly) and the literary magazine Tirade. In 1966 she was forced to pay a fine for her involvement in protests against the German Claus von Amsberg
Claus von Amsberg
Prince Claus of the Netherlands was the prince consort of the current Queen regnant of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix.-Biography:...
, who was about to marry princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
, although she publicly changed her mind about him for the better later. She was even asked to write a book about the crown prince Willem-Alexander
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus. Since 1980 he is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied...
when he turned 18. In 1968 Rubinstein played an important role in an attempt to rehabilitate the Jewish collaborator
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
posturing as a resistance fighter, Friedrich Weinreb
Friedrich Weinreb
Friedrich Weinreb was a Jewish Hassidic and narrative author....
.
Her weekly columns in Vrij Nederland, which started to appear in 1962 under the pseudonym Tamar, were very popular and often provoked furious debates with other columnists, like Hugo Brandt Corstius
Hugo Brandt Corstius
Hugo Brandt Corstius is a Dutch author known for his achievements in both literature and science....
and W.F. Hermans. The latter objected fiercely in an essay about Collaboratie en verzet (Collaboration and resistance) to the - according to Hermans - unreasonable and unfounded attack on a Jewish woman Bep Turksma in the "autobiography" of Friedrich Weinreb
Friedrich Weinreb
Friedrich Weinreb was a Jewish Hassidic and narrative author....
, which had been edited by Rubinstein and her ex-husband Aad Nuis. Though her heart was on the left in the political sense, she often ruffled feathers in left wing circles with her misgivings about feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, totalitarian socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
as it had developed in Eastern Europe and Maoist
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
China, and nuclear pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
. In 1982 Renate Rubinstein delivered the Huizinga Lecture
Huizinga Lecture
The Huizinga Lecture is a prestigious annual lecture in the Netherlands about a subject in the domains of cultural history or philosophy. The lecture is in honour of Johan Huizinga, a distinguished Dutch historian who worked in the first half of the 20th century...
in Leiden, the Netherlands, under the title: Links en rechts in de politiek en in het leven (Left and right in politics and life).
Rubinstein was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
in 1977. This brought about great changes in her life, which she outlined in her book Nee heb je (translated into English under the title Take It and Leave It: Aspects of Being Ill) (1985). Rubinstein died on November 23 1990 at the age of 61. She was buried at the Amsterdam Zorgvlied cemetery.
Shortly after her death her book Mijn beter ik (My better self) was published in which she revealed that she had had a secret affair with Simon Carmiggelt
Simon Carmiggelt
Simon Carmiggelt was a Dutch writer who became a well known public figure in the Netherlands because of his daily newspaper columns and his television appearances.-Biography:...
for several years. Before that she had been married to Aad Nuis, and later Jaap van Heerden.
Rubinstein's younger sister, Gerda Rubinstein, is a very successful sculptress.
Prizes
- 1970 - Homage of the Lucas-Ooms Fund in Haarlem for her book Jood in Arabië, Goi in Israël (Jew in Arabia, Goi in Israel)
- 1979 - Multatuli Prize given by the city of Amsterdam for her work Niets te verliezen en toch bang (Nothing to lose and yet afraid)
- 1987 - J. Greshof Prize given by the Jan Campert Foundation for Nee heb je (Take It and Leave It: Aspects of Being Ill )
- 1988 - Hélène de Montigny Prize