A Different Way of Being Dutch

Hans Lodeizen was a frail and lonesome child, if enveloped by class privilege. Born in 1924, he grew up in the affluent seaside suburb of Wassenaar, outside The Hague. His family more or less escaped the dark pall of economic devastation and Nazism, and his father, a teacher turned self-made businessman, created an elegant, rarefied home environment filled with art, literature, and classical music. Lodeizen’s troubles were more local and interpersonal: He suffered from asthma and so often missed school. He had a hard time relating to other children. His greatest friends were some of his teachers, and the ants whose universe he spent many hours scrutinizing in the backyard.