Joep Schenk

What have you been studying and working on before becoming a PhD student?

“I have been a bachelor student in history at the University of Groningen and also studied one year in Bologna. Then I did an MA in holocaust and genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam. In my studies I have always been interested in global history, which is the history of international relations of people, firms and local and national authorities. For example, following an internship I have participated in a NIOD (Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam) study on the Second World War in countries of origin of Dutch immigrants. Almost every society experienced the Second World War, all did so however, in a very different way. People in the Netherlands have very little knowledge of the influences of this war on ‘new Dutch’ originating from, for example, Turkey, Morocco and Surinam.

How did you become involved in economic and business history?

“After my graduation I have worked at Utrecht University for a year on a book about the Dutch natural gas industry. The Groningen gas field (the largest gas field in Europe) had been discovered in 1959 and the fifty year anniversary was a reason for the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) to commission a book. For me, this was a good opportunity to engage in business history. The first copy of the book was presented to Queen Beatrix in 2009. An interesting aspect of the book is the impact of international developments on the gas industry, such as the liberalizations of the European gas markets.”

Why did you decide to become a PhD student in business history?

“When I attended the annual meeting of the European Business History Association in Milan in 2009 I noticed that many business historians are also interested in international business, and in connecting people and companies across borders. In my view business history allows for many opportunities to conduct international research. Moreover, there are many archives that have not been studied, when compared to other fields of history.”

What is your research about?

“I study the commercial relations between the Rotterdam harbor and the Ruhr area in Germany in the period 1870-1940. This is a fascinating period because it contains the first wave of globalization in history. I focus on coal and steel companies. The Dutch and German coal and steel sectors are interwoven, because of the role of the Rotterdam harbor and the international cooperations. In particular I study SHV, Müller & Co and Thyssen. Did you know that Müller & Co, which later became famous in the Netherlands with the involvement of Anton Kröller, was originally a German company?

It is also a fascinating period since it contains some of the major European crises, such as the First World War, the Great Depression and the rise of the Nazi-regime, marking the beginning of national economies and the end of the First Global Economy. The question rises then why the Dutch and German industry did not disintegrate. How could Rotterdam manage to maintain its position as the most prominent harbor and why did the Germans decide not to keep the transportation from and to the Ruhr within their national borders? These are questions I would like to answer.

I will conduct case study research and try to find out as much as possible about the individuals who were the key players in the Dutch-German relations, including the personal networks of friends and families.”

What motivates you to do this research?

“Doing research is fantastic. I like working with primary sources and in archives. In my perspective it is rewarding to discover again and again that so many aspects that we find in contemporary discussions are everything but new. The international dimensions I find particularly fascinating and I like to read about the characteristics and background of the people involved in international business. I hope that in ten years from now I will still be working as researcher and lecturer in history. Where? Who knows, that might take an international dimension as well.”