Archive Johannes Brouwer

Brief overview

Name of the archive: Collectie Johannes Brouwer

Provenance: Brouwer, Johannes (1898-1943)

Dated: 1932-1944

Size: 5cm

Language of the materials: Dutch

Summary:      

Letters to Johannes Brouwer and one letter from Johannes Brouwer 

Collection number: ubg010

Institute: University Library Groningen

Retainer: University Library Groningen

Provenance and acquisition 

Biography

After a turbulent time in which Johannes Brouwer worked as a missionary, had a mental crisis, and got into trouble with the law, Brouwer came to Groningen to study Spanish with minors in French and Italian. After receiving his doctoral degree in 1931, Brouwer started work at the Haagse School voor Taal- en Letterkunde. In 1932 he married E.R. Kluyver, daughter of Professor A. Kluyver, a professor of Dutch in Groningen. Besides teaching, Brouwer published about the Spanish colonial and military history, and about the Spanish philosopher Ortega Y Gasset. Furthermore, he translated Spanish novels, wrote some study books, and produced a Spanish dictionary. He became one of the prominent people in the small Dutch community of Spanish scholars. 

After some time away from his studies to be a travelling correspondent during the Spanish civil war, Brouwer took on a temporary position as a French teacher. He worked at the Gemeentelijke Middelbare Handelsschool in Utrecht. He kept publishing at an impressive pace, writing two novels (under a pseudonym) amongst other things. Due to Jewish employees being made redundant, Brouwer was named a teacher at the University of Amsterdam in 1941. However, he was fired that same year as his history of legal troubles came to light: he had been sentenced in 1922. Brouwer planned to focus on publishing, but during the war he got involved in the Dutch resistance. He took part in an attack on the bevolkingsregister in Amsterdam, was arrested and later executed on 1 July 1943. 

A selection of Brouwer’s published works: 

• Renaissance in Spanje : kultuur, litteratuur, leven / by G.J. Geers ; in collaboration with Johannes Brouwer, Zutphen 1933
• Hernán Cortés en Monteczuma : Spanjaarden en Azteken in het begin van de zestiende eeuw, Zutphen 1933
• Kronieken van Spaansche soldaten uit het begin van den Tachtigjarigen Oorlog, Zutphen 1933
• De opstand der horden / by José Ortega y Gasset ; edited by J. Brouwer, s-Gravenhage 1933
• De achtergrond der Spaansche mystiek, Zutphen 1933
• De Spaansche Burgeroorlog : zijn oorzaken en mogelijke gevolgen, Hilversum 1936
• Spaansche aspecten en perspectieven, Rotterdam 1939
• Johanna de Waanzinnige : een tragisch leven in een bewogen tijd, Amsterdam 1940
• Montigny, afgezant der Nederlanden bij Philips II, Amsterdam 1941     

Acquisition

The collection was entrusted to the University Library Groningen in 19xx. 

Future additions 

No future additions are expected

Contents and collations

The collection contains letters to (and one from) Johannes Brouwer.

Instructions for users of the archive

Accessibility 

The collection is available for research purposes. To view the collection one must have an access card for the University Library Groningen. 

Limitations to use

The materials in this collection are available for viewing only. They cannot be borrowed. When consulting this collection, the rules set out in the Reglement voor de gebruikers van de Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit Groningen apply. Reproductions, insofar as they are allowed are to be made in line with the rules set out in the Tarieven en diensten Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

The copyright is held by Brouwer’s heirs. The publishing rights are held by the University Library Groningen, as the owners of the collections. 

Citations

When referring to this collection as a whole, or to individual items, the following information must be provided:

• Collection: Universiteitsbibliotheek Groningen, Collectie Johannes Brouwer
• Items: Groningen, UB, Brouwer [number]

Accessing the collection

An inventory of the collection is available.
The letters are also described in the CEN (Catalogus Epistularum Neerlandicarum).

Requests

Materials in this collection can be requested by sending an email to Special Collections Department, Groningen University Library.

Related materials

Most of Brouwer’s published works are held in the University Library Groningen collection. These works can be requested through the online catalogue.

Appendix

Literature

• G. Groeneveld, ‘Brouwer, Johannes (1898-1943)’, in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland. URL: http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn2/brouwerj