Friends in a Cold Climate: Schiedam-1

As a reward for his high school diploma, Han previously received the opportunity from his parents to participate in a youth exchange. Participation in the youth exchange cost one hundred and twenty-five guilders, which was now within the family's reach. The narrator chose Esslingen, Germany, because of his familiarity with the German language.

He wondered if he would be singled out because of his origins. The exchange was mixed, which was unusual at the time. In 1967, at the age of 18, he went on a fourteen-day trip to Esslingen in Germany with a diverse group and then became host to his German host for a fortnight.

Han took part in a youth exchange without much European thought, although such ideas were promoted in information leaflets and newspaper articles. They were received by the Esslingen municipal council and had organized daily excursions as part of Germany's reputation recovery. The narrator remembers speeches about friendship between peoples and European cooperation.

They visited interesting places in the city and surroundings. Han van der Horst's father could not go into hiding during the war and had to go to Germany, where he did heavy physical work and experienced a bombing. It seems that during the youth changes after the Second World War, the war itself did not play a major role among the young people from Schiedam.

Han indicates that Germans tended to apologize, but the Dutch did not like that. They had come to Germany to celebrate. After the exchange, the hosts and hostesses traveled back to the Netherlands with the narrator.

Han's German host then stayed at the narrator's home in the flat for fourteen days. They also came into contact with groups from other cities, including a group from Sweden. After fourteen days the exchange came to an end, and Han van der Horst left for Amsterdam, although he did not yet live there and remained a railway student for three years.

At that time, around 1970, European unity and the EEC (European Economic Community) were not prominent in everyday consciousness, especially for non-specialists. Han notes that the focus within his social circle, or "bubble", was mainly on broader themes such as international solidarity and the struggle for revolution. Han shared that interest with Giuliano from Udine, where he would participate in an exchange program the following year.

Giuliano's parents knew each other from the resistance and were members of various left-wing political parties. Giuliano was friends with Anna, whose parents were liberal partisans. In essence, the Han says that personal experiences with youth exchanges, but especially world events, ultimately influenced his life and mentality.

Han van der Horst says that he is not afraid of the unknown. This position is emphasized with an explicit "Point!". At the same time, he notes that nowadays, possibly due to factors such as the Internet, the fear of the unknown is actually increasing, and he considers this a dangerous trend. 2021/2024 CC BY-NC-ND Erik J. de Jager MA, Stichting Reis van de Razzia