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| Henri van der Zee obituary | Henri van der Zee obituary |
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| My father, Henri van der Zee, who has died aged 79 after a long illness, was an author, a party-giver, a traveller and one of the longest established and best-loved journalists of his native Netherlands. | My father, Henri van der Zee, who has died aged 79 after a long illness, was an author, a party-giver, a traveller and one of the longest established and best-loved journalists of his native Netherlands. |
| The second world war dominated his childhood. The German occupation of the Netherlands resulted in near starvation for the Dutch, particularly in the final winter of the war (a period about which he would later write his best-known book, The Hunger Winter, published in 1982). The war's end brought little relief. Sytze, his father, had become a member of the pro-Nazi Dutch NSB party in the 30s; after the war this meant an internment camp for him and social rejection for his wife and four children. My father was 11 and the trauma of these years scarred him deeply, while his relationship with his father never recovered. | The second world war dominated his childhood. The German occupation of the Netherlands resulted in near starvation for the Dutch, particularly in the final winter of the war (a period about which he would later write his best-known book, The Hunger Winter, published in 1982). The war's end brought little relief. Sytze, his father, had become a member of the pro-Nazi Dutch NSB party in the 30s; after the war this meant an internment camp for him and social rejection for his wife and four children. My father was 11 and the trauma of these years scarred him deeply, while his relationship with his father never recovered. |
| At 18 my father set off to study medicine, but he was sidetracked into a job at De Telegraaf, one of the largest newspapers in the Netherlands. Journalism suited him; within a few years he was De Telegraaf's foreign correspondent in Paris, and then in London. There, he met my mother, Barbara Griggs, a fellow journalist, and they married. | At 18 my father set off to study medicine, but he was sidetracked into a job at De Telegraaf, one of the largest newspapers in the Netherlands. Journalism suited him; within a few years he was De Telegraaf's foreign correspondent in Paris, and then in London. There, he met my mother, Barbara Griggs, a fellow journalist, and they married. |
| They remained in London through the 1970s (when my sister, Ninka, and I were born) and into the 80s. Besides his work for the paper, he and my mother wrote the bestselling history William and Mary (1973), about William of Orange and Mary Stuart, and the book 1688: Revolution in the Family (1988). His other publications included A Sweet and Alien Land (1978), the story of Dutch New York. | They remained in London through the 1970s (when my sister, Ninka, and I were born) and into the 80s. Besides his work for the paper, he and my mother wrote the bestselling history William and Mary (1973), about William of Orange and Mary Stuart, and the book 1688: Revolution in the Family (1988). His other publications included A Sweet and Alien Land (1978), the story of Dutch New York. |
| In 1985 he moved to Italy as Rome correspondent and soon afterwards my younger sister was diagnosed with leukaemia. In 1992 she died. Four years later my father took early retirement, but he continued to travel and write, also running a large charitable scheme for De Telegraaf in the Congo (inspired by the Guardian's Katine project – the Guardian was his chosen British newspaper). | In 1985 he moved to Italy as Rome correspondent and soon afterwards my younger sister was diagnosed with leukaemia. In 1992 she died. Four years later my father took early retirement, but he continued to travel and write, also running a large charitable scheme for De Telegraaf in the Congo (inspired by the Guardian's Katine project – the Guardian was his chosen British newspaper). |
| Characterised by huge energy and a passion for life, my father spoke five languages fluently and was honoured twice by the Dutch queen. | Characterised by huge energy and a passion for life, my father spoke five languages fluently and was honoured twice by the Dutch queen. |
| He is survived by Barbara, me, his brother, Sytze, and sister, Ida, three grandsons, Sam, Ben and Joe, and his son-in-law, Mike. | He is survived by Barbara, me, his brother, Sytze, and sister, Ida, three grandsons, Sam, Ben and Joe, and his son-in-law, Mike. |
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