Antonius "Ton" Jozef Broos

Antonius Broos, 77, died on March 1, 2024 in his home in Ann Arbor. He was born in 1947 in Weert, The Netherlands, one of nine children, whose father, Piet Broos, was a very well known illustrator of children’s books. Ton “regretted” that he did not inherit his father’s creativity…instead he became a teacher, writer, and scholar who was loved by generations of students and colleagues.

After getting a master’s degree in Dutch language and literature at the University of Amsterdam, he worked two years at the Royal Library in The Hague, and in the late 1970s accepted a position as lecturer in Dutch at Sheffield University (England). In 1982 he moved to Ann Arbor as the Visiting Lecturer in Dutch in the University of Michigan’s Department of German Languages and Literatures. His three-year contract turned into a permanent appointment, and he retired from UM as Director of Dutch and Flemish Studies after 30 years, in 2012.

Early on in his tenure he discovered on the open shelves of the University Library the topic for his doctoral dissertation: The Lives of the Dutch Painters, published in 1729 by Jacob Campo Weyerman. He defended his dissertation at Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands in 1990 and in the same year published his work as Between Black and Ultramarine. In the Special Collections Library he found the Hubbard Imaginary Voyages Collection of editions of Robinson Crusoe and helped to organize a joint exhibition and book with the Groningen (Netherlands) University Library: Robinson in the Old and the New World (1992).

He soon settled into his role as teacher and in 1986 also was entrusted with the organization of the Third Biennial Interdisciplinary Conference on Netherlandic Studies, held on the UM campus. He repeated the success of this undertaking in 2002, when he organized the Eleventh Interdisciplinary Conference in Ann Arbor.

One of the success stories for Dutch Studies at UM under Ton Broos was the first offering in 1993 of a course on Anne Frank and the Holocaust, taught in English; it became, and still is, one of the Department’s most popular courses, always with a waitlist of students from many different disciplines.

In Ann Arbor, Broos discovered a lively, flourishing Dutch club, the Netherlands America University League (NAUL), whose members shared an interest in the language and culture of the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking Belgium. He became the president of the NAUL in 1985 and continued to further its presence on campus by co-sponsorship of talks by visiting Dutch professors, writers, musicians, politicians, educators, historians, and more. The group hosted a weekly “Dutch Lunch,” in the Modern Languages Building (MLB), at which only Dutch was spoken and visitors were welcomed, including students who wished to listen to and practice their Dutch/Flemish. One of the highlights of the NAUL year was the Sinterklaas party on December 6, the birthday of Saint Niklaas. With his long red robe, long white beard, Bishop’s miter and staff, Broos embodied the Saint and created a jovial, witty persona as he chatted with children and adults.

Broos inherited two very successful programs involving cooperation with Dutch entities: the Netherlands Visiting Professorship (1950-2008) and the Dutch Writer-in-Residence program (1981-2005). Incumbents of both programs enriched the UM with public lectures and connections to the Dutch language courses. Broos helped to found the De Vries – Van der Kooy Memorial Lecture (inaugurated in 1996), which continues to be held annually. The names honor two transplanted Dutchmen, members of the NAUL, for their extraordinary efforts to promote the study of the language and culture of the Low Countries at UM.

Broos’s most recent ambitious project was in the service of the UM Library’s large collection of historical Dutch pamphlets, mostly from the 17th century. In 2023 Broos funded the hiring of a book/paper conservator to prepare the pamphlets to be digitized so that the full texts will be readable online, making them available to scholars. The meticulous conservation work is still proceeding and is funded to July 2024. On February 28, 2024 Ton was the guest of honor in the Special Collections Research Center for a program focused on the Dutch pamphlets. He received a grand, delightful celebration where he was the shining figure. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Ton Broos had a gift for friendship, showed his appreciation for people and stayed in touch with them. He and his wife, Janet (deceased 2018), held many get-togethers in their home: the annual Fourth of July barbecue, the New Year’s dinner, annual receptions for visiting Netherlands professors and writers. They were both very good cooks, and very good hosts.

Broos is survived by four sisters and numerous nieces and nephews in the Netherlands.

A “Remembering Ton” gathering is planned in the near future.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ton Broos Dutch Tract Conservation Project Fund, University of Michigan Office of Developmenet, Attn: Gifts and Records Administration, 3003 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.