After the war, the Dutch in and around Zurich felt the need to talk to each other and together they sought coziness, cheerfulness and warmth. On Easter Monday, 1953, the Dutch consul Mr. Bauduin therefore organized an afternoon at Hotel Sint Peter. Ca. 1000 Dutch people received an invitation and nearly 170 people were guests, a number that was far beyond expectations. It was a very pleasant afternoon and since then so-called "contact evenings" have been organized in Urania and later in the Kongreshaus. As a continuation of this "Dutch Contact Club", founded in 1953, the "Dutch Association in Zurich" was founded on April 22, 1955 in Hotel Elite in Zurich. The approximately 120 attendees chose the first president of our association this evening; Mr. C. Ouboter. As a rule, a chairman stayed on for 2 years, but chairman Ron van Kralingen broke all records with an amtterm of 14 years.

Did you know that: In 1955 more than 3,000 Dutch people lived in Switzerland and in 2010 more than 13,000 ...
Did you know that: Verkade sent the chocolate Sinterklaasjes to us for the Sinterklaas party for years?

Former presidents and board members look back:

Mr. G. van Riemsdijk: “During my presidency, Jan Strijbis was vice. He always kept us excited during the meetings to let a full glass of beer fall and catch it again in the most unexpected moments. The very successful relief effort for the victims of the floods in the Netherlands, for which members have massively collected goods and clothing, was a high point I remember well.” Mr van Riemsdijk received a ribbon for his overwhelming commitment to Dutch people in Switzerland, which means that his Dutch passport was returned after almost 40 years.

Generation-long commitment by the van Riemsdijk family for NVZ. His son Dick van Riemsdijk has been treasurer for years.

Mrs A.Welbergen: “My best memory is the commemoration of 40 years of liberation of the Netherlands. A very special religion with a Jewish, Catholic and Protestant priest and even the clock of St Peter was stopped for 2 minutes."

Mr. H. Didama: “The Queen's Feast at the Kongreshaus in 1965 was an unforgettable celebration with home-made croquettes and pea soup and a room full of balloons provided by Jelmoli. And I look back with pleasure on the many theater evenings with, among others, the Plankeniers with pieces by Molière and Tschechov.”

Mr A. Leget: “Watching a Dutch film with all of them that someone from the Netherlands took with him. The services of the first pastor of Orange in the church of Flunteren that we returned to its original use."