Gejus van der Meulen

Gejus van der Meulen ca. 1928

Ageaus Yme "Gejus" van der Meulen (Amsterdam, 23 January 1903 – Haarlem, 10 July 1972) was a Dutch football goalkeeper. One of the most popular Dutch sportsmen of the 1920s–1930s, he fell into disgrace in late 1940s due to his collaboration with the Nazi Germany.

Van der Meulen played 54 matches for the Netherlands national football team, which was the Dutch record for goalkeepers from 3 March 1928 (when he equalled the total of Just Göbel) until 21 June 1990 (when his total was surpassed by Hans van Breukelen). He played in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, and also took part in two Olympic games, in 1924 and 1928. He was a club player of Koninklijke HFC in Haarlem, the oldest club in The Netherlands.[1][2]

In 1940 van der Meulen retired from competitions and opened a pediatric clinic in Haarlem. He joined the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands and openly supported the Hitler's compulsory sterilization laws. His views were strongly opposed by the parents of the children he treated, forcing him to close his clinic. After the German invasion, van der Meulen joined the SS and eventually became a prominent doctor there. He was arrested four days after the liberation of the Netherlands and tried in June 1947. He showed no remorse and stated that he did not know that the Netherlands was at war with Germany when he joined the SS. Van der Meulen was sentenced to eight years in prison. He was pardoned in August 1949 and opened a new medical clinic, but met a chilly treatment both in the medical and football worlds. His only clients were the former Nazi associates, and nobody wanted to talk to him we he tried to enlist his son at his former football club.[3][4]

References

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  1. ↑ Gejus van der Meulen. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ Gejus van der Meulen – International Appearances
  3. ↑ Simone Paauw, Robert Crommentuyn (4 June 2012) Gejus van der Meulen. medischcontact.artsennet.nl
  4. ↑ Gejus van der Meulen. verzetsmuseum.org

References

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