In 1950, the topic of European unity was being talked about in Holland as much as it is today but for very different reasons. It was just five years after the end of World War II, and the Marshall Plan was helping create a new economy, but at the same time the Dutch were emigrating by the thousands in hope of better opportunities abroad. The American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Netherlands in 1950, a fiery young conductor named Leonard Bernstein performed at the Holland Festival, and Queen Juliana made royal state visits to Paris and London. This programme was created from original material in the Radio Netherlands’ archives for Aural Tapestry.
Producer: David Swatling
Broadcast: September 29, 2000