Books

When the Germans bombed Rotterdam to rubble in May,1940, Erik Hazelhoff was a carefree student. After being imprisoned by the Gestapo, he escaped from Nazi-occupied Holland, was recruited by the British Secret Service to land agents for the Dutch underground, joined the RAF, earning Dutch and British DFC’s for his many missions as a Pathfinder pilot. (His chapter on a Mosquito raid to Berlin is so detailed that one feels being along with him in the cockpit!) He returned at the end of the war, knighted with Holland’s highest military order by Wilhelmina, the Queen of the Netherlands. As her post-war ADC he brings one into her daily life with its challenges and surprises. ‘Soldier of Orange’ is a riveting story. Its focus is on choices in time of war. Acts of heroism, friendship, and deceit form the fate of his early fellow students and war-time comrades. Over one million copies of the book, a LA Critic’s award for best foreign film starring Rutger Hauer, and presently a 7-year long musical which has broken all records.  Here is the new English edition, with the original foreword from HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.  

Those wanting to know more of Erik Hazelhoff’s entire life (“a hundred lives’” according to Len Deighton) should look for ‘Win A Few’ , his autobiography from birth in Java, through international intrigues and American adventures, to his final resting place at 90, in Hawaii.

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A.W. Sijthoff’s Uitgeversmaatschappij NV
Written while a student at the University of Leiden, his hitch-hiking journey across the USA became a top best seller. First published in articles, then as a hard cover with photos. This was Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema’s first published book.

Leiden A.W. Sijthoff’s Uitgeversmaatschappipij NV
After the success of Rendez-Vous, Sijthoff requested Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema to go North and report on the situation during the Finnish-Russian Winter War.  He was much affected by the heroism of the people, and returned to his studies to complete his report, Carl Eklund wrote the introduction.

De Geillustreerde Pers N.V. Amsterdam
The first edition of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema’s wartime memoir.  Asked to give his story to a reporter, he wrote back, “never mind a reporter, send an advance, and I’ll write it myself.” It became a soft cover, and was sold door-to-door, quite successfully.

AD.M.C.STOK • Forum Boekerij - Den Haag
Hardcover, edited version of ‘Het Hol’ now with foreword by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. After appearing on Willem Duys’ TV show, it initially sold over 40,000 copies. Soldier of Orange 1972:  Hodder & Staughton, London UK. This edition was rewritten in English published by Hodder & Staughton, London UK using the same hardcover, artwork and Foreword by Prince Bernhard.

AD.M.C.STOK • Forum Boekerij-Den Haag
After moving to Hawaii, Erik decided at the urging of his family, to write his life story. His early thoughts, as told to his son, Erik junior, while living in Maui, covered the time from his early youth until 1974. The hardcover became the basis for his future autobiography.

Hodder & Staughton Ltd.Coronet Books UK ( original edition 1972)
Pocketbook. Title was changed because of the ’Orange’ conflicts in Ireland. Many other editions in the UK appeared under the original Soldier of Orange title, including a large-print hard cover by Lithway.

Elsevier Nederland BV
Erik wrote weekly columns for the Telegraaf newspaper under the title ‘De Verre Tambour’, many about life in Hawaii. These are the best of them, in a pocket book compiled by ZHU.

Het Spectrum BV Utrecht
This special hardcover edition including material from Soldaat van Oranje, 1940-1945 and De Verre Tambour, was first published in 1987.

Het Spectrum BV Utrecht
Subtitle: The Autobiography of The Soldier of Orange. The story of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema from his birth in the then Dutch East Indies until his 80th birthday.

Sutton Publishing Ltd. Thrupp • Stroud Gloucestershire UK 
Hard cover. Translation to English and updated by the author, with foreword by Len Deighton. 

Final manuscript rewritten for the American market, 2006 to 2007, the year of his death. In 2014, his wife Karin, edited the book, which sold as a soft cover and e-book. Currently available in soft cover on Amazon.com.  All proceeds are donated to the Oranje Fonds, a social initiatives foundation. Len Deighton updated his original Foreword.

Spectrum • Uitgeverij Unieboek Houten
Final update by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema of the original ‘Soldaat van Oranje’.  Foreword by Prince Bernhard. This cover is the musical’s signature graphic, famous throughout The Netherlands.