Witness Seminar Heerlen Heroïn — Maurice J. Hermans is a Dutch artist

Maurice J. Hermans
is a Dutch artist

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Witness Seminar

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01.09.2025 - 31.12.2025
De Vrolijke Vernietiging

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AUW IDEÉ NOiR

WITNESS SEMINAR HEERLEN HEROïN
Tuesday 18 November 2025 19h / 22h
Royal Theatre, Heerlen

Maurice J. Hermans is calling on the citizens of the former Dutch mining region for their help to gather eyewitness stories from the period of the Heroïn Crisis, together with historian Gemma Blok, the Dutch Mining Museum and the Royal Theatre. A Witness Seminar based on these stories, will be organized on November 18 2025.

The heroin crisis that struck the Dutch city of Heerlen, the former capital of the Dutch mining industry, in the late 20th century left deep scars in the city’s collective memory. While there are already numerous stories, artworks, and publications about this period, many personal accounts—especially those of citizens who lived through it—remain untold.

A Witness Seminar is a form of oral history, where eyewitnesses, guided by a moderator, collectively recall memories of a historical period or event. This method has been successfully used for topics such as the Falklands War in Britain and the rise of the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The goal is to capture a diversity of perspectives, complementing existing archives and media, and to create a multivoiced picture of the past.

This project is part of the Year of Heerlen Heritage and is organized by the Dutch Mining Museum, the Open University, and the Royal Theater, with support from the Rosas Donamus Foundation, the Brand Culture Fund, and the Gilles Hondius Fund.

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