Lou Lichtveld

Lou Lichtveld
Born
Lodewijk Alphonsus Maria Lichtveld

(1903-11-07)7 November 1903
Paramaribo, Suriname
Died10 July 1996(1996-07-10) (aged 92)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Other namesAlbert Helman
Occupation(s)Playwright, poet, organist, journalist, politician
Political partyNational Party of Suriname
ChildrenNoni Lichtveld

Lodewijk 'Lou' Lichtveld (7 November 1903 – 10 July 1996) was a Surinamese politician, playwright, poet and resistance fighter who wrote under the pseudonym "Albert Helman".

He gained notability in 1923 when he published the poetry collection De glorende dag (The Dawning Day), a milestone in immigrant literature in the Netherlands. He followed it three years later with Zuid-Zuid-West (South-South-West).[1]

In 1940, before the invasion of the Netherlands, he wrote the book Millioenen-leed ("Millions of Suffering") about the treatment of the Jews in Nazi Germany.[2] During World War II, he was a member of the Grote Raad van de Illegaliteit ("Great Council of Illegality"),.[3] After the war, he became part of the Emergency Parliament. In 1949, he returned to Suriname and became Minister of Education and later Minister of Health.[4]

  1. ^ Michiel van Kempen. "Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur". Deel 5 (in Dutch). DBNL.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference millioenen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference illegaliteit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference auteurs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).