[Meldt u aan bij gemeentehuis, arbeidsbureau of...

Showpiece

Koenraad

The Nederlandsche Arbeidsdienst (the Dutch equivalent of the RAD) was founded in May 1941 with the occupying force's assignment "to do useful work in aid of the community". Its motivation was the propagation of the national-socialist ideology among youths. The occupier was initially satisfied with volunteers, but groups of youths were soon forced to join. The worker figure of Koenraad was presented in the propaganda of the Nederlandsche Arbeidsdienst.

Koenraad was the model for the true "Dutch boy": always helpful, brave and ready to work. He appeared in newspapers as a comic book figure: he stood up for ladies in street cars ("Our legs are strong, ma'am"), and scolded a little boy for teasing a dog ("Naughty boy! Do you expect to become a man?").

The campaign was a complete failure. Koenraad quickly acquired the derogatory nickname "Dollefie Sallefie". Artist and resistance fighter H.N. Werkman wrote in his diary on 28 September 1942: "Koenraad was made to look ridiculous in those pictures, and they were smart enough to grasp this because they cancelled the series".

Creator

• opdrachtgever: Nederlandsche Arbeidsdienst
• ontwerper: Van der Erf

Date of creation

1942

Description

[Meldt u aan bij gemeentehuis, arbeidsbureau of aanmeldingsbureau van den N.A.D. zegt Koenraad van den Arbeidsdienst]

Object type

posters

Dimensions

• 110 x 70 cm

Collection

War posters 1940-1945

Institution

• NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies

Source

• AG/00229 (Affiche, Lithografie), Oorlogsaffiches NIOD 1933 - 1946, NIOD/KB

Copyright

for information contact Koninklijke Bibliotheek/Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie

Keyword

• arbeidsorganisaties