'Twas Ever Thus...

Proof that names can occasionally have a political agenda for some parents. This article was written in 1941 during German occupation in the Netherlands.

 

NAMES FOR DUTCH BABIES ---- LOYALISTS v. NAZIS FROM A DUTCH CORRESPONDENT     For some time a competition has been going on between radical Nazis and their anti-Nazi antagonists in Holland, which has taken the form of giving newly born children names to express the political convictions of the parents.     Dutch Nazi newspapers publish notices such as "A warrior has been born to us," or "A son for the New and Better Era," followed by the names bestowed upon the innocent child, usually Adolf Benito Anton, in which the name of Anton Mussert, the Dutch Nazi leader, properly enough, comes after those of the bigger bosses.    The same Nazi Press rages against the "childishness" of the Dutchmen who christen their children Bernhard, Wilhelmina, or Juliana. After a long ding-dong battle the loyal camp is definitely one up. A Dutchman has given his boy the name Winston.                                                  The Times                             (London), October 03, 1941