Introduction

Abstract

Much has been written about Netherlands emigration since the Second World War. In the course of years opinions on the subject have been advanced by the Government, by political and religious groups, by employers’ and workers’ organizations and by representatives of the social sciences. As times and circumstances changed, certain of these opinions also changed. Beijer remarks in this connection: “Opinions as to whether or not it is a good thing to emigrate are divided and are strongly influenced by the good and bad trend of affairs in the political, social and economic fields, apart from subjective influences which contribute in considerable measure to the formation of such opinions.”¹ Thanks to a number of scientific studies, actual knowledge of the emigration phenomenon in the Netherlands soon after the war gradually increased. But in various quarters stereotyped conceptions, rooted in the prevailing cultural systems, had taken hold round this process. Hence it could not be expected to move aside immediately to make room for the cautiously formulated discoveries of social research. Among the great merits of Haveman² is the fact that not only did he inspire and stimulate this research, he also lost no time in making full use of the results thereof during his period of office.³