Frank van Riet

At a relatively young age, a publisher asked me if I wanted to compile a photo book of my then home town. The process of researching, writing, and publishing turned out to be an enjoyable and somewhat thrilling endeavor.

After joining the Rotterdam police force in 1984, I decided to research the history of the Dutch police. In 1995, the first book titled ‘t’ Uwen dienst’ was published. In this book, I describe the history of the police from the Middle Ages to World War II, using anecdotes and special photos. The predominantly positive feedback was an encouragement for me to continue, especially when the book got significant media attention, and I received requests for presentations from all over the country.

My subsequent research focused on the role of the Dutch police during World War II. I eagerly began interviewing police officers who had served during this challenging period. I managed to speak with three hundred of them.

During this research, I discovered that no study had been conducted on the role of the Rotterdam police force, where I was employed at the time. Therefore, I decided to momentarily set aside the national research and focus on the Rotterdam aspect only. When this research was nearly complete, I was approached by a professor from Amsterdam after a presentation on this topic. He asked if I wanted to pursue a PhD based on my research. Given my non-academic background, I thought this was entirely out of the question. However, after an additional four years of research and rewriting, I successfully defended my thesis ‘Handhaven onder de Nieuwe Orde’ in front of the promotion committee of the University of Amsterdam in 2008. This book was nominated for the Mr. J. Dutilh Prize.

Subsequent publications included ‘Kommer en kwel in Rotterdam’ in September 2016, ‘De bewakers van Westerbork’ in November 2016, ‘Meer kommer en kwel in Rotterdam’ in November 2017, and ‘De Dordtse affaire’ in October 2022.

The first English translation was published in 2023: The Jewish Guards. The German translation of the same title will be published in 2024.