“Ik was gek op detectives” - Historicus Lammert Doedens

At the University Museum of Groningen, historian Lammert Doedens pauses for a moment in the Aletta Jacobs room. Behind glass lie medical instruments and documents belonging to the Netherlands' first female student. Doedens points to a display case and begins to talk. "Women would come to her consultations and say, 'Good afternoon, doctor, I'm pregnant with my fifteenth.' Then Jacobs would give them a diaphragm." He smiles at the story. The device was originally intended for uterine prolapse, but Jacobs also recommended it as a contraceptive. "Her out-of-the-box thinking is particularly appealing to me." He continues his walk through the museum with presenter Bert Noteboom. Along the way, Doedens effortlessly recounts Groningen Nobel Prize winners, historical anecdotes, and forgotten stories. History never seems far away for him. Childhood in Heiligerlee "My cradle was in Heiligerlee, next to the statue of Count Adolf." At home, life revolved mainly around work and politics. His father was a factory worker and an active member of the Labor Party in the city council. Sometimes someone unexpectedly showed up at the door with a problem. "Then the doorbell would ring and I'd open the door. They'd say, 'Hey Lammert, is that dad here too? He'll do something for me.'" The history teacher His love of history began at school. In fifth grade, he took home the teacher's history books. "There was a whole cupboard full of them. I read them all." At junior high school, he met a teacher who made a deep impression. "My role model was Mr. Van der Berg. He treated us all equally." When Doedens corrected him during class, the teacher reacted unexpectedly. "He said, 'I'll look that up tonight.'" The next day, the teacher came to him. "He said, 'You were right.'" Not long after, Doedens decided to study history. The Search for Count Adolf When plans were developed for a museum dedicated to the Battle of Heiligerlee, Doedens was asked to contribute. During his research, he encountered a striking mystery: no one knew where Count Adolf of Nassau was buried. "The problem was really," Doedens says dryly, "that no one cared." Sixteen years later, the search began again. Researchers found the remains of an old church with graves and bone fragments. For two years, they tried to use DNA to determine whether the burial was that of Adolf of Nassau. "But there was no match." Doedens now believes Adolf might be buried in the East Frisian village of Norden. "We'll investigate that next year." Faith and Crisis As a child, Doedens attended Sunday school and received a children's Bible from his grandmother. Later, his faith waned, leading to a personal crisis in 2016. "It felt like I was being pulled back to church by a thread." Not long after, he suffered a brain hemorrhage. When he left the hospital, he felt primarily gratitude. "I thanked the Lord for giving me back my life." "A historian doesn't need proof to be a Christian," he says. "We have the legacy of Jesus in the New Testament." Continuing to Search "Graves disappear frequently throughout history," he says. "We don't know where King David is buried. Alexander the Great is missing. Genghis Khan probably is too." For Lammert Doedens, this isn't a frustration. It's an invitation to keep searching. 00:00 Introduction 00:44 Tour 04:27 Cradle next to the statue of Count Adolf 05:34 The start of an interest 09:42 Lammert's parents 14:26 Hatred and betrayal with the Dutch and Germans 19:47 Different kinds of history 21:55 Cannonball from the backyard 24:32 The Battle of Heiligerlee 24:51 Groningen and the Spanish occupation 25:57 Where is Count Adolf buried? 31:30 Faith 33:00 Is historical evidence necessary for faith? 35:15 Brain hemorrhage & power through Jesus 37:03 Conclusion Welcome to Bert on the Kovvie! Bert travels through the Groningen region, searching for faith in Groningen. While enjoying a cup of kovvie, well-known and lesser-known Groningen residents share their life stories and insights with him. Want to join us? Follow Bert op de Kovvie on social media! 📸 Instagram -   / bertopdekovvie   💻 Facebook -   / bertopdekovvie   📲 TikTok -   / bertopdekovvie   #bertopdekovvie #interview #Groningen