Fun facts and the big picture: two thick 'zap'-pills about the history of Greater Eindhoven 1920-2020

EINDHOVEN - At the celebration of PSV's first championship in 1929, Anton Philips and the municipality of Eindhoven quarrelled over the route of the flat cart during the homage. Of course it first had to pass by the Philips' country house De Laak. It is typical of the relationship between Eindhoven and Philips, write Thom Aussems and Hans Horsten in their book Eindhoven, about the history of the city.

Hans Horsten (left) and Thom Aussems have written a book about 100 years of Greater Eindhoven 1920-2020. © Bert Jansen/DCI-Media

The writers consulted 800 books and 3000 newspaper articles. They use 2000 photos from the Philips Archive and from well-known photographers such as Norbert van Onna and Martien Coppens. They cover 1075 subjects, each with its own text. That resulted in two thick volumes that together cover some 1260 pages of the history of Greater Eindhoven 1920-2020.

It is a real zap-book

But who is going to read all of that? Nobody, joke Thom Aussems and Hans Horsten, who are responsible for the book. "But it is a zap book. You can leaf through it on a rainy Sunday afternoon, read random pieces, and if you want to know more, you can find that elsewhere in the books. Besides, there are lots of photos in it. Sometimes whole pages on particular themes, like the Philips Kumpanytown," Aussems says. As writer/editor-in-chief, Horsten still had to keep the former Trudo director 'short'. Helped by designer Marc Koppen.

The occasion for the book is the centenary of Eindhoven. In 1920 the municipalities of Eindhoven, Gestel, Stratum, Strijp, Tongelre and Woensel were merged. The celebration in 2020 was seriously disrupted by the corona measures. Aussems and Horsten also suffered greatly from it. Archives, for example, were not accessible. "So I spent 6000 euros to purchase 800 books. But at the time I was in Portugal, where I regularly live. For months I couldn't go to Eindhoven. So we had to ship the books to Portugal in twenty moving boxes," Aussems says.

The two books that together describe the history of Greater Eindhoven 1920-2020. © Publisher Lecturis/design Marc Koppen

All additional costs, which were partly borne by the municipality and partly by sponsors. But above all the ever-expanding scope made the project more expensive. In the end it became two books - technically it couldn't be otherwise - and the print run had to be increased to keep it somewhat affordable. Forty euros proved not feasible, but thanks to donations the price of part one remains limited to 50 euros. Of those, 3700 have already been ordered, of part two 2400.

In the first book the entire history is treated in 1075 little chapters, divided over a number of periods from 1815 to 2020. 1815 to understand why Philips could find large numbers of cheap labor here. With the arrival of Philips in 1891, the Second World War and Operation Centurion with the layoffs at Philips as major breaking points. Repeatedly the the state of the economy, the condition of the physical city and the quality of life, the social-societal side is highlighted.

In part two the bigger picture is addressed: Eindhoven is not an island, but part of world history and the trends playing out in it. ,,In part one you can read nice little pieces. About the first traffic light, for example. A silly little fact that is part of urban development. In part two you see more how that has grown and come into being”, Horsten said.

The staff of Philips and DAF in Eindhoven were transported by VIPRE buses; here they are lined up at the gate on Beukenlaan, by the Veemgebouw. © Huub Jacobs

Did it have to be so elaborate? ,,Yes, it had to. Because if I start on it, it has to be right," says Aussems. ,,Of course a lot has already been written about Eindhoven, but this book is quite comprehensive. Although we'll probably still find out that we've forgotten something," adds Horsten.

Aussems again: ,,And if you take something up, you also want to explain why that is. An example? For instance, we discovered that the dean of the Catholic Church of Eindhoven, after the war, suddenly began attending Philips' festive receptions. Whereas before the war it was like water and fire. The almost fundamentalist church worked against the non‑Catholic Philips family. The Catholic papers wrote about Anton Philips as if he were the very devil. Then we found in a Catholic weekly from after the war an article with a headline in chocolate letters stating that Frits Philips had shown all the pastors around and hosted them at a dinner. All the churches also received a sound system. Then the ice was broken. Since then the relationship has greatly improved.”

Four articles in the Z-section of the ED

They are those bits of trivia that Aussems and Horsten have brought to light. Fun facts that give a different view of history. But they certainly also keep an eye on the big picture. That is also evident in the stories that will appear in the Z-section of this newspaper in the coming weeks. These are thematic stories, specially written for the ED. "In them we cover a number of themes, using material for which we plundered the texts in our book," says Horsten.

One of those topics is the always difficult 'testy' relationship between the municipality of Greater Eindhoven and Philips. A small example: at PSV's first championship the two argued over the parade. "This is where the idea for the flat cart was born," says Aussems. "But Anton demanded that they first stop by his villa De Laak in Tongelre and only then by the municipal authorities. He was furious when that didn't work." Only under Frits Philips did relations improve a little.

The argument is that the company built its own private welfare state, with healthcare, cultural facilities, sports clubs, housing, scholarships and so on. To be attractive to the many employees that the ‘kumpany' needed. ,,But simply also because the municipality never managed to accommodate the industry of the time, Aussems says.

,,And that still isn't working. Even now the facilities in Eindhoven are insufficient and companies like ASML have to step in themselves. That is a common thread in Eindhoven's history.” They also want to include a glimpse into the future in the articles. ,,In 1898 it was Eindhoven Vooruit, a group of progressive manufacturers who wanted to help advance the city. Who does that nowadays? And how do we, for example, ensure that ASML does not move production abroad, like Philips also did because the public domain failed to provide sufficient facilities”, the author said.

Presentation, podcasts and exhibition

The book will be presented at a number of events, to representatives of the business community on 12 januari, to the municipal council on 25 januari and to influential people from Eindhoven on 26 januari. There will also be a series of podcasts, recorded live with an audience, about the book. And then early next year there is the exhibition Eindhoven 1920-2020, which has been moved to the corridors of the TQ and Innovation Powerhouse buildings on Strijp-T.

The books can be ordered via the website of publisher Lecturis or at the Van Piere bookshop. Part 1, titled Eindhoven, costs 50 euros, part 2, Transformations without blueprint, 25 euros.