Louis Fles
| Louis Fles | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Levie Jacob Fles October 19, 1871 Maassluis, Netherlands |
| Died | May 24, 1940 (aged 68) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Pen name | Dr. W. Bottema C.Az. |
| Occupation | businessman, author, activist |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Period | 1918–1939 |
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Subject | Jewish assimilation, anti-Zionism, Nazism, business |
| Notable works | Forbidden radio-speech Hitler, reformer or criminal Away with Zionism! |
| Spouse | Zipporah Celine van Straaten |
| Children | Mina, Rosine, Henriette, Clara, Barthold, George |
| Relatives | Michael John Fles, Bart Berman, Thijs Berman, Giorgio van Straten |
Levie Jacob "Louis" Fles (October 19, 1872 – May 24, 1940) was a Dutch businessman, activist and author. He is best known for writing and broadcasting against Zionism, Nazism, and organized religion. A self-described freethinker, Fles was a vocal supporter of Humanism and Jewish assimilation. His relationship with the Dutch Social Democratic Workers' Party was more problematic. While he generally supported the ideals of socialism, he wrote extensively about his disagreements with the party as well. After a life filled with personal tragedy and devotion to political and social activism, Fles committed suicide in May 1940; only a few weeks after the German occupation of the Netherlands.
Louis Fles was born in Maassluis, Netherlands on October 19, 1871 to Jewish parents. His father, Jacob Levie Fles, worked as a diamond cutter, and his mother, Saartje van Blijdestein, ran a hosiery shop, placing young Louis squarely in the newly expanding merchant class. After his father died in 1873 his mother married a man named Swaab. Upon his mother's death in 1878, Louis was taken in and raised by his stepfather's family. As a successful business owner himself, Swaab took the young Louis into his company shortly after the boy had completed primary school.
On August 13, 1896 Fles married Zipporah van Straten in the city of Rotterdam. They had six children; Mina, Rosine, Henriette, Clara, Barthold, and George. Barthold successfully built a publishing business in New York City in the United States. George worked as a translator in the Soviet Union during the regime of Joseph Stalin. In 1938 George was arrested as a political dissident due to his Trotskyite sympathies. Upon hearing of George's arrest, Louis travelled to Moscow, but was unable to find his son before his visa expired. George died in prison in 1939. Around this same time news arrived from the United States that daughter Rosine had died shortly after giving birth.
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