1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: talking about a shocking act of vigilante violence committed in Stophorst, 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: a remote Dutch town where some traditions lasted way longer 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: than they should have. The day was November eleven, sixty one. 8 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: In the rural Dutch village of Stophorst, residents publicly shamed 9 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: a cheating couple by driving them through the streets in 10 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: the back of a dung wagon. That act of mob 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: justice was an example of Volksgarik or people's court, a 12 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: common form of punishment for the violation of social norms 13 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: during the Middle Ages. In some isolated villages of the Netherlands, 14 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: such as Stophorst, the custom persisted well into the twentieth century. 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: Most modern cases of volksgart were not widely known due 16 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: to the insulated nature of the communities in which they occurred. 17 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: The nineteen sixty one incident was different in that regard, 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: as word of it somehow leaked out to regional newspapers 19 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: and was then reported around the world. The culture in 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: the Netherlands is pretty progressive these days. The country social 21 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: welfare and health care systems are among the highest rated 22 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: in the world, and most of its citizens have a 23 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: fairly relaxed attitude toward common societal hang ups like sexuality 24 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: and drug use. But even today, if you venture into 25 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: some of the rural farming villages spread across the Middle Netherlands, 26 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: you'll find communities with much more conservative views. Most of 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: them lie within what's known as the Dutch Bible Belt, 28 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: a narrow area that stretches from the south of the 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: country to Lake Eisel in the north. To day, it's 30 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: home to roughly half a million devout Calvinists Christians, the 31 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: highest concentration of that denomination in the entire country. For them, 32 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: piety remains the top priority, with many still adhering to 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: strict religious principles that have barely changed since the fifteen hundreds. 34 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: That sense of constancy is perhaps best reflected in the 35 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: town of Stophorst, located less than a hundred miles northeast 36 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: of Amsterdam. The farming community has long been known for 37 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: its staunchly traditional way of life. In that sense, the 38 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: people of Stophorst are similar to the Amish communities found 39 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: in North America, for example. In the past and still 40 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: to day, in some cases, residents rejected modern conveniences like 41 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: television and radio, as well as any services they viewed 42 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: as interference with divine fate that included things like insurance, 43 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: unemployment benefits, and medicine, including vaccines. Additionally, many of Stophorsts 44 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: seventeen thousand or so residents still wear traditional peasant clothes, 45 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: which for women means long skirts, flower patterned blouses and caps. 46 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: That's especially true on Sundays, when most of the town's 47 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: inhabitants walked to church on Mass. In fact, Stophorst still 48 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,839 Speaker 1: has one of the highest church attendance rates in all 49 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: of the Netherlands, but is out of step with the 50 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: rest of the country. As Stophorst seems today, it was 51 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: even more so in nineteen sixty one. At the time, 52 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: it was home to only about three thousand people, a 53 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: tight knit group of Orthodox Calvinists representing an especially strict 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: splinter of the Dutch Reformed Church. In such a small, 55 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: isolated community, the social and religious norms of the village 56 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: were largely maintained through the spread of gossip. Residents would 57 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: stay in line to avoid becoming the talk of the town, 58 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: and if word of their impropriety did slip out, the 59 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: embarrassment would spur them to correct their offense. But in 60 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: cases where verbal shaming didn't do the trick, the community 61 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: took a more hands on approach. In nineteen sixty one, 62 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: that extreme course of action was deemed necessary to curb 63 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: an ongoing act of adultery within the town. The couple 64 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: in question had been cheating on their respective spouses for 65 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: several years. Neither had been well respected to begin with, 66 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: but as rumors of their relationship began to spread, their 67 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: reputations fell even further. As early as nineteen fifty nine, 68 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: villagers had begun to whisper about a possible volks garat 69 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: a kind of extra judicial intervention meant to shame and 70 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: intimidate the couple into ending their affair. The matter was tabled, 71 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: though for the next two years, in favor of trying 72 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: plain old social pressure first. The couple was undeterred, however, 73 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: and when the woman's husband began to publicly accuse his 74 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: wife of unfaithfulness in nineteen sixty one, more drastic action 75 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: was deemed appropriate to be clear a Volksgaryt was not 76 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: a legally sanctioned punishment, nor was it a personal dispute 77 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: between the individuals involved. Instead, it was a form of 78 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: vigilante justice, voted on and carried out by unmarried men 79 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: between the ages of fifteen and thirty. The other adults 80 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: in the village, including church elders, were made aware of 81 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: their decisions, but did not take part in the actual planning, 82 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: in order to reduce the risk of police discovering their scheme. 83 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,799 Speaker 1: In that way, a volksgaryt was very much a community affair, 84 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: and the only residents kept completely in the dark about 85 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: it or its targets. On the night of November ten, 86 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: roughly one hundred members of the village committee set out 87 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: to capture the two adulterers. According to an account published 88 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: in the Brandon Sun later that month, the forty eight 89 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: year old woman was dragged from her bed and her 90 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: night gown, while her forty five year old lover was 91 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: quote run to earth at a tavern in a nearby town. 92 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: At midnight, the captive couple was loaded into a wagon 93 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: a dung cart by most accounts, and driven around the 94 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: village to be jeered and laughed at by their morally 95 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: outraged neighbors. More than a thousand townspeople came out to 96 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: witness the humiliating procession. Most of the lights in town 97 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: had been left on to give spectators a better look, 98 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: and bundles of car headlights had been set up to 99 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: act as makeshift floodlights. According to a nineteen seventy one 100 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: article in The New York Times, some villagers through mud 101 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: and spat on the couple as they passed by. Most, however, 102 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: were content to just stand by and taunt them. It 103 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: took about two and a half hours for the wagon 104 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: to make its way through the entire village and back, 105 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: a distance of about five miles total. The trip had 106 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: taken slightly longer than anticipated due to a last minute 107 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 1: change to the route. Just before they set out that 108 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: early morning, two deacons of the church suggested they pass 109 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: through the center of the village to make sure that 110 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: another residence suspected of adultery would see the wagon as 111 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: a warning. Finally, at two thirty a m. On November eleventh, 112 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: the wagon arrived back where it started, and the mortified 113 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: couple was told to promise they would never see each 114 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: other again. They refused at first, and insisted they weren't 115 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: even in a relationship. However, after the villagers threatened to 116 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: dunk them in the nearby canal, another popular form of punishment, 117 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: both parties agreed to end the affair and were released. 118 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: No one in Stophorst called the police that night, and 119 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: no one registered a complaint afterward. The victims were reportedly 120 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: warned against doing so. By all accounts, the terrorized couple 121 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: really did split for good, and while cases of mob 122 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: justice remained rare and stophorsed, similar actions were reportedly taken 123 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: in cases of suspected adultery in nineteen sixty six and 124 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven. In the decades since then, public judgments 125 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: became less and less severe in Stophorst and in other 126 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: rural Dutch communities. That's likely because the incidents had begun 127 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: to draw national and even international attention, but shifting social 128 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: views certainly played a part as well. The outside world 129 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: slowly crept its way into Stophorst during the latter half 130 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century and into the twenty one, much 131 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: to the dismay of its most traditional residents. Many in 132 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: the town have now adopted us somewhat more liberal view 133 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: of technology, and the town as a whole is far 134 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: more welcoming to outside visitors than it used to be. 135 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: Many of the families in Stophorst can trace their roots 136 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: all the way back to the town's founding, but luckily 137 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: for everyone, they no longer preserve all of their ancestors traditions. 138 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little 139 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 140 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 141 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,079 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 142 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to send 143 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: them my way at this day at I heeart media 144 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks as always the Chandler Maze for producing 145 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 146 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: you back here again soon for another day in History class.