Een Vreemd Mensch...
dinsdag 4 november 2008
CONFLICT & REVELATION: a Shakespearean Drama at Soestdijk Palace or an account of the unholy Greet Hofmans affair...
Een Vreemd Mensch...
Geluk is een dagelijkse beslissing...
Een formidabele persoonlijkheid - B.J. Udink
In de mystiek viert de paradox hoogtij. - Louis Kuipers
Een formidabele persoonlijkheid - B.J. Udink
In de mystiek viert de paradox hoogtij. - Louis Kuipers
Het opdraven van wijze mannen is een van de meest onheilspellende tekenen in de Nederlandse samenleving en staat gelijk aan het verschijnen van de patholoog-anatoom. - Hofland.
I'm responsible to God and to no one else. I've never said a word about the royal family, and I never will. Why don't you ask the Queen? - Greet Hofmans
Ik was twaalf en toen al voelde ik de nutteloosheid van veel dingen. Ik zag alle mensen almaar in hetzelfde kringetje ronddwalen en ik dacht daar moet ik uit. - Uw doorgeefster.
" Omdat ik vrij, onbeperkt, ongedeeld en van geen enkel ding afhankelijk ben, verzoek ik degenen die mij graag willen begrijpen geen volgeling van mij te worden en geen kooi rondom mij op te trekken." - Krishnamurthi
I'm responsible to God and to no one else. I've never said a word about the royal family, and I never will. Why don't you ask the Queen? - Greet Hofmans
Ik was twaalf en toen al voelde ik de nutteloosheid van veel dingen. Ik zag alle mensen almaar in hetzelfde kringetje ronddwalen en ik dacht daar moet ik uit. - Uw doorgeefster.
" Omdat ik vrij, onbeperkt, ongedeeld en van geen enkel ding afhankelijk ben, verzoek ik degenen die mij graag willen begrijpen geen volgeling van mij te worden en geen kooi rondom mij op te trekken." - Krishnamurthi
We follow the mystics. They know where they are going. They, too, go astray, but when they go astray they do so in a way that is mystical, dark, and mysterious.
The purpose of this fourth branch of my Blog Emporium the other three being:
http://templeisen.blogspot.com/
http://rosaecrucius.blogspot.com/
http://therosicruciancreed.blogspot/
is to write about little known mystics, who are, imho, nevertheless very important.
The first one here is dedicated to Dutch mystic Greet Hofmans.
Margaretha Hofmans, Amsterdam (* 23 June 1894 + 16 November 1968) was a faith healer, mystic and profetess. For nine years she was a very close friend of Queen Juliana, occasionally staying at their residence, the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn (Utrecht Province).
Hofmans was introduced to the court at the initiative of Prince Bernhard in 1948 to treat the eye sickness of their youngest daughter Princess Marijke. The illness arose after Juliana was infected with rubella during her pregnancy. Her presence at the court soon resulted in a major crisis.
Outside the Netherlands a great deal was written about the infamous Hofmans affair. On 13 June 1956 an article appeared in the German magazine "Der Spiegel" with the title "Zwischen Königin und Rasputin", literally meaning Between Queen and Rasputin. Reportedly it was Bernhard who deliberately leaked the information for the article, by which means he hoped to have Hofmans removed from the court.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Willem Drees banned the import of that edition of "Der Spiegel" and on 28 June 1956 appointed a commission of enquiry of former ministers Louis Beel and Gerbrandy and former governor-general of the Dutch East Indies A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, the Beel Commission. The outcome was o.a. the termination of Hofmans' contacts with the court and a total reorganisation of the Dutch royal household.
Through the secrecy imposed by the officials; the self-imposed censorship of the Netherlands press or was it simply a lack of information, the Hofmans affair took on a life of its own. Some have speculated that the affair was simply a mask for a looming divorce of the royal couple...
Hofmans though held until her death in 1968 devout and fanatic followers in the highest places, who saw in her the personification of the perfect life: sober, peaceful, free of self-interest, and directed towards helping her fellow man. Others again dismissed her as a charlatan, an intrigante and a dangerous witch, or at best a naive figure...
Mrs. Besant said: "The process has begun."
Straight from the beginning these two women had a strong common interest: they were fervent followers of Jiddu Krishnamurthi, who was quite big in theosophical circles of which Greet was a member. Some were even taking him (JK) for an expected world teacher c.q. avatar read the Maitreya. To cut a long story short, Hofmans and Juliana were both mystics and consequently they spoke the same language!
One of the members of Juliana’s Société des Intimes ("Het Oude Loo" Conferences) was Philip Dirk baron van Pallandt. He was the owner of Kasteel Eerde, near the small Eastern Dutch town of Ommen. He (1921) donated his Castle and large parts of his Estate to Krishnamurthi who then was the leader of The Order of the Star in the East a.ka. Order of the Star. Later Krishnamurthi dissolved his own organisation (refusing to be the Messiah), which was created as a vehicle for him by the Theosophical Society.
It was here in Ommen were the famous "Sterkampen or the annual Star Camps", were held with Krishanmurthi and where Annie Besant lectured by the campfire and which were faithfully frequented by Greet Hofmans and some 2000 other theosophists. For more than a decade Ommen was the magical centre of the Universe. When the grounds were eventually returned to The Van Pallandts, it became a Quaker School, now being an International School.
The first part of Greet Hofmans'life was rather uneventful. Being the eldest of four from a lower-class family with a father taking all kind of odd jobs.
Due to a serious illness of her mother she was compelled to take over the Hofmans household and to constantly nurse her mother. Certainly not the life she'd had in mind for herself as a young girl. But Greet never complained. Duty demanded that she sacrificed herself!
Her mother was, and that's quite surprising in these circles one of the early Dutch members of the Theosophical Society. So it is obvious that her mother had a strong influence, and Greet also joined the Society and was very dedicated to it. Later Greet also joined "Het Rozenkruisers Genootschap" a Dutch subsidiary of the "Rosicrucian Fellowship" currently known as Lectorium Rosicrucianum. It wasn't until both her parents had died that somehow she started having a life of her own. Though she was rather lost then and not exactly balanced. Some even believed she had a mental illness in the beginning of her public career.
During the war Greet met with J.W. Kaiser a theosophist & rosicrucian who was completely into the paranormal scene though still somehow within a Christian context whereas Greet was totally unreligious herself. Kaiser is going to be an important figure in the future Oude Loo Conferences. Kaiser who was married with children had a homosexual friend who had died in 1939 and who was going to be Greet’s first "Master". A gay paranormal astrologist and chicken farmer with a passion for green farming from Hattem. Exler holds his place in the history of the Dutch gay liberation movement. M.J.J. Exler would spent the final years of his life at the Molecaten Estate in Hattem, owned by Walraven baron van Heeckeren van Molecaten, who will later re-appear in this story as Queen Juliana’s private secretary (his wife Rita Pennink-Nitschmann being a governess to the princessess for a while and his own mother the Grandmistress to the Queen’s court).
Greet was totally dedicated to Exler or Ex as she would lovingly call him, following all his instructions, no matter how bizarre his inspirations would be... This situation was going to last till 1948 when she stopped acting as a medium for Ex who by then was mysteriously transformed into X, read the Christ.
The real Mystical life of Greet Hofmans, actually started on 2 March 1946, when in her apartment at the Vijzelstraat in Amsterdam she experienced a sudden influx of cosmic consciousness...
At the instigation of "Master" Exler Greet now moved to Hattem (Exler’s former residence) where she found refuge (just like him) in a little cottage at the Van Heeckeren’s Estate.
In Hattem she started her public healing sessions, which soon became immensely popular with hundreds of people attending these sessions.
Because of its populartity the practice had soon to be expended to other places as well (o.a. Amsterdam). The lady of the house, the Baroness Van Heeckeren, suspicious of Greet at first was now totally dedicated to the course and acting as Greet’s chauffeur, driving her around the country. When Prince Bernhard later kicked her out of the palace she found a very similar refuge and situation at the wealthy Mijnssen family in Baarn (who were living very close to the Soestdijk Palace!), who offered Greet a caravan on their grounds. It seemed that whereever she appeared, far from being a handsome woman, she completely mesmerized her audience.
The purpose of this fourth branch of my Blog Emporium the other three being:
http://templeisen.blogspot.com/
http://rosaecrucius.blogspot.com/
http://therosicruciancreed.blogspot/
is to write about little known mystics, who are, imho, nevertheless very important.
The first one here is dedicated to Dutch mystic Greet Hofmans.
Margaretha Hofmans, Amsterdam (* 23 June 1894 + 16 November 1968) was a faith healer, mystic and profetess. For nine years she was a very close friend of Queen Juliana, occasionally staying at their residence, the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn (Utrecht Province).
Hofmans was introduced to the court at the initiative of Prince Bernhard in 1948 to treat the eye sickness of their youngest daughter Princess Marijke. The illness arose after Juliana was infected with rubella during her pregnancy. Her presence at the court soon resulted in a major crisis.
Outside the Netherlands a great deal was written about the infamous Hofmans affair. On 13 June 1956 an article appeared in the German magazine "Der Spiegel" with the title "Zwischen Königin und Rasputin", literally meaning Between Queen and Rasputin. Reportedly it was Bernhard who deliberately leaked the information for the article, by which means he hoped to have Hofmans removed from the court.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Willem Drees banned the import of that edition of "Der Spiegel" and on 28 June 1956 appointed a commission of enquiry of former ministers Louis Beel and Gerbrandy and former governor-general of the Dutch East Indies A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, the Beel Commission. The outcome was o.a. the termination of Hofmans' contacts with the court and a total reorganisation of the Dutch royal household.
Through the secrecy imposed by the officials; the self-imposed censorship of the Netherlands press or was it simply a lack of information, the Hofmans affair took on a life of its own. Some have speculated that the affair was simply a mask for a looming divorce of the royal couple...
Hofmans though held until her death in 1968 devout and fanatic followers in the highest places, who saw in her the personification of the perfect life: sober, peaceful, free of self-interest, and directed towards helping her fellow man. Others again dismissed her as a charlatan, an intrigante and a dangerous witch, or at best a naive figure...
Mrs. Besant said: "The process has begun."
Straight from the beginning these two women had a strong common interest: they were fervent followers of Jiddu Krishnamurthi, who was quite big in theosophical circles of which Greet was a member. Some were even taking him (JK) for an expected world teacher c.q. avatar read the Maitreya. To cut a long story short, Hofmans and Juliana were both mystics and consequently they spoke the same language!
One of the members of Juliana’s Société des Intimes ("Het Oude Loo" Conferences) was Philip Dirk baron van Pallandt. He was the owner of Kasteel Eerde, near the small Eastern Dutch town of Ommen. He (1921) donated his Castle and large parts of his Estate to Krishnamurthi who then was the leader of The Order of the Star in the East a.ka. Order of the Star. Later Krishnamurthi dissolved his own organisation (refusing to be the Messiah), which was created as a vehicle for him by the Theosophical Society.
It was here in Ommen were the famous "Sterkampen or the annual Star Camps", were held with Krishanmurthi and where Annie Besant lectured by the campfire and which were faithfully frequented by Greet Hofmans and some 2000 other theosophists. For more than a decade Ommen was the magical centre of the Universe. When the grounds were eventually returned to The Van Pallandts, it became a Quaker School, now being an International School.
The first part of Greet Hofmans'life was rather uneventful. Being the eldest of four from a lower-class family with a father taking all kind of odd jobs.
Due to a serious illness of her mother she was compelled to take over the Hofmans household and to constantly nurse her mother. Certainly not the life she'd had in mind for herself as a young girl. But Greet never complained. Duty demanded that she sacrificed herself!
Her mother was, and that's quite surprising in these circles one of the early Dutch members of the Theosophical Society. So it is obvious that her mother had a strong influence, and Greet also joined the Society and was very dedicated to it. Later Greet also joined "Het Rozenkruisers Genootschap" a Dutch subsidiary of the "Rosicrucian Fellowship" currently known as Lectorium Rosicrucianum. It wasn't until both her parents had died that somehow she started having a life of her own. Though she was rather lost then and not exactly balanced. Some even believed she had a mental illness in the beginning of her public career.
During the war Greet met with J.W. Kaiser a theosophist & rosicrucian who was completely into the paranormal scene though still somehow within a Christian context whereas Greet was totally unreligious herself. Kaiser is going to be an important figure in the future Oude Loo Conferences. Kaiser who was married with children had a homosexual friend who had died in 1939 and who was going to be Greet’s first "Master". A gay paranormal astrologist and chicken farmer with a passion for green farming from Hattem. Exler holds his place in the history of the Dutch gay liberation movement. M.J.J. Exler would spent the final years of his life at the Molecaten Estate in Hattem, owned by Walraven baron van Heeckeren van Molecaten, who will later re-appear in this story as Queen Juliana’s private secretary (his wife Rita Pennink-Nitschmann being a governess to the princessess for a while and his own mother the Grandmistress to the Queen’s court).
Greet was totally dedicated to Exler or Ex as she would lovingly call him, following all his instructions, no matter how bizarre his inspirations would be... This situation was going to last till 1948 when she stopped acting as a medium for Ex who by then was mysteriously transformed into X, read the Christ.
The real Mystical life of Greet Hofmans, actually started on 2 March 1946, when in her apartment at the Vijzelstraat in Amsterdam she experienced a sudden influx of cosmic consciousness...
At the instigation of "Master" Exler Greet now moved to Hattem (Exler’s former residence) where she found refuge (just like him) in a little cottage at the Van Heeckeren’s Estate.
In Hattem she started her public healing sessions, which soon became immensely popular with hundreds of people attending these sessions.
Because of its populartity the practice had soon to be expended to other places as well (o.a. Amsterdam). The lady of the house, the Baroness Van Heeckeren, suspicious of Greet at first was now totally dedicated to the course and acting as Greet’s chauffeur, driving her around the country. When Prince Bernhard later kicked her out of the palace she found a very similar refuge and situation at the wealthy Mijnssen family in Baarn (who were living very close to the Soestdijk Palace!), who offered Greet a caravan on their grounds. It seemed that whereever she appeared, far from being a handsome woman, she completely mesmerized her audience.
