MA Martijn Lak

Biographical Note

Martijn Lak (1977) studied Journalism at the Faculty of Communication and Journalism of Hogeschool Utrecht (HU) and History at Utrecht University. He specialised in Contemporary History and wrote his doctoral thesis on the Dutch-German political and economic relations in the 1945-1949 period (‘Een zaak van primordiale betekenis’. De economische en politieke betrekkingen tussen Nederland en Duitsland, 1945-1949 (‘An issue of primordial importance.’ Economic and political relations between the Netherlands and Germany, 1945-1949).

From 2005-2006 he was a freelance journalist for historical journals such as Geschiedenis Magazine and Historisch Nieuwsblad. At the same time, he was a freelance researcher for a book about Royal Dutch Shell (to be written by Dr. Marcel Metze).

Since October 2006 he is a PhD-candidate at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. This project is titled ‘Dutch-German relations after the occupation: economic inevitability and political acceptance, 1945-1957’. Apart from that, he teaches a number of courses, both in the Bachelor and the Master, and is the coordinator of the first year of the Bachelor History.

He regularly publishes in historical journals such as Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, German History, Journal of Military History, Historische Zeitschrift, International History Review and European History Quarterly. 

In 2007 he published a book on the battle for Overloon, September-October 1944 ('Geen boompje is meer heel. De slag om Overloon, september-oktober 1944).