Titus Brandsma in De Tiid Cultural History Centre

Titus Brandsma was born in 1891 in the hamlet of Ugoclooster near Bolsward. In 1898, he joined the Carmelites. When the Catholic University of Nijmegen was founded, Titus Brandsma was appointed professor. From 1932 to 1933, he was even Rector Magnificus.  

Brandsma saw the danger of the Nazis even before the war. He warned against Nazism in numerous articles and spoke out against their hatred of Jews and racial prejudice. He also made no secret of his disgust with the Nazis during his lectures and classes.  

In December 1941, Dutch media were required to publish every NSB advertisement. Brandsma - as spiritual adviser to the Roman Catholic Journalists' Association - called on newspaper editors of the Catholic press to resist. He was betrayed and arrested on 19 January 1942.   

Brandsma arrived at Dachau concentration camp on 19 July, where his health declined visibly and he soon ended up in the camp hospital. On the afternoon of 26 July 1942, a camp doctor at Dachau ended Titus Brandsma's life with a lethal injection; he was 61 years old.  

Brandsma was posthumously awarded the Resistance Cross and is praised in Catholic circles. In 1985, Pope John Paul II beatified him. In late 2005, Brandsma was proclaimed the Greatest Nijmegen Citizen of All Time by the people of Nijmegen. He was canonised by Pope Francis in Rome on 15 May 2022.  

He can be seen as a champion of peace and reconciliation, press freedom, anti-fascism, anti-discrimination. Titus' motto was: "We are not on earth to do great things, but to do the small things in great ways."  

To this very day, he still inspires a lot of people. Titus Brandsma shows us that you do not have to keep quiet when you cannot agree with something. That you should always stand up for the people who have no voice and are downtrodden. Spiritual but with both feet on the ground.   

A bust in his memory can be found at Titus Brandsmalaan in Bolsward. A special 44-kilometre cycling route through the surroundings of Bolsward and Sneek takes you past 12 special locations that tell you more about the resistance, people in hiding, and food aid in the province of Friesland.