Vrij Nederland is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 which was established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper but has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is generally considered to be intellectual

Intellectual

An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...

ly left-wing. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with HP/De Tijd

HP/De Tijd

HP/De Tijd is a Dutch weekly magazine, published by Audax Publishing. HP/De Tijd was founded in 1990, after a merger of the Haagse Post and De Tijd. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with De Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland...

, De Groene Amsterdammer

De Groene Amsterdammer

De Groene Amsterdammer is an independent Dutch weekly newsmagazine published in Amsterdam and distributed throughout the Netherlands. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with HP/De Tijd, Vrij Nederland and Elsevier.- History and...

 and Elsevier

Elsevier (magazine)

Elsevier is a Dutch weekly magazine with a circulation of over 140,000 copies. Its chief editor is Arendo Joustra. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with De Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland and HP/De Tijd-History:The...

.

The first issue was published on 31 August 1940. The chief editors have included:

• H.M. van Randwijk, Mathieu Smedts (1955–1969)
• Rinus Ferdinandusse (1969–1996)
• Joop van Tijn (1991–1997)
• Oscar Garschagen (1998–2000)
• Xandra Schutte (2000–2004)
• Gerard van Westerloo (interim)
• Emile Fallaux (March 15, 2005)