Willem Sandberg
| Willem Sandberg | |
|---|---|
Willem Sandberg in 1962
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| Born |
Jonkheer Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg 24 October 1897 Amersfoort, Netherlands |
| Died | 9 April 1984 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Known for |
Typographer, Graphic designer |
Jonkheer Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg (1897–1984) known as Willem Sandberg was a Dutch typographer, museum curator, and member of the Dutch resistance during World War II.
Sandberg was born in Amersfoort, the Netherlands in 1897 and studied art in Amsterdam. He became a follower of the Mazdaznan movement. As a young man he traveled, serving as an apprentice to a printer in Herrliberg, Switzerland. In 1927, he visited Vienna, where he studied Otto Neurath's Isotype system at the Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum in Wien. At this time, he also visited the Dessau Bauhaus and met Naum Gabo, a pioneer of kinetic art.
Returning to Amsterdam, Sandberg started work as a graphic designer, utilizing his printing skills and Neurath's Isotype system. In 1928, he started a long relationship with the Stedelijk Museum, and in 1932 became a member of VANK, the Dutch Society for Arts and Crafts. He soon joined the committee that determined the exhibitions of the museum. From 1937 to 1941, he served as the museum's curator of modern art.
During the Second World War, Sandberg was active in the Dutch resistance movement, preparing forged documents for Jews and others wanted by the Gestapo. Other prominent individuals in the Raad van Verzet (Resistance Council) included painter and author Willem Arondeus, sculptor Gerrit van der Veen, cellist Frieda Belinfante, and composer and conductor Jan van Gilse. Within a short time, the Nazis began to expose the false documents by comparing the names with those in the local population registry. To hinder the Nazis, on 27 March 1943, Sandberg was among those who took part in planning the bombing of the Amsterdam Public Records Office. Thousands of files were destroyed, and the attempt to compare forged documents with the registry was hindered. Arondeus and ten others were later arrested and executed by firing squad.
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