From struggle to strength: A visual essay on Rotterdam’s memory of hope

Abstract

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands, experienced significant bombing in its city centre during the Second World War. Despite the trauma associated with this event, in 1948, the city adopted a new motto: ‘Sterker Door Strijd’, translating as ‘Stronger Through Struggle’. This motto remains visible today under the city’s coat of arms, symbolising the resilience and strength of its inhabitants as they rebuilt their city. ‘Sterker Door Strijd’ has become a central aspect of Rotterdam’s development, particularly in its architecture and urban planning. It showcases a shift in the city’s memory from pain to pride and hope for the future. The motto beautifully embodies Rigney’s ‘memory–activism nexus’ from a spatial perspective, reconstructing the city’s traumatic memory of destruction into a narrative of resistance. The motto is widely known and felt by every Rotterdammer, including foreigners who live and work in the city, like me. The visual essay ‘From Struggle to Strength’ poetically focuses on the city of Rotterdam and its motto. It intimately follows my personal artistic journey and my embodiment in the city. The story unfolds as I walk and draw around the city. Additionally, I interviewed inhabitants focusing on the challenges of social housing issues in the city, such as displacement and demolition and considering how the residents are actively resisting these issues. Through these interactions, the visual essay reflects on the transformative power of memory and activism in shaping the city’s past, present and future.

Epilogue

During the Second World War, Rotterdam, a port city in the Netherlands, was deemed a strategic target. On May 14, 1940, the enemy army attacked the city and, after negotiations failed, the city was destroyed.

Through a unique blend of research and illustration, ‘Sterker door Strijd’ intertwines Rotterdam’s historical war-time devastation with recent urban social movements and networks of solidarity. This work directly addresses the city’s inhabitants, who are confronting the country’s current housing crisis, especially the ongoing demolition processes taking place in social housing neighbourhoods.

‘Sterker door Strijd’ creates parallels between the struggle faced after the Second World War, where residents took matters into their own hands to rebuild their beloved city, and their current struggle to remain in discussion with the municipality about rebuilding processes. The illustrations, a combination of picturebook, sketchbook work and comics language (Groensteen 2007), remind residents and inform readers that destruction has been a constant in the city’s past while acknowledging the inhabitants’ role in overcoming past processes of destruction, thus emphasising the importance of present activist contributions during these challenging times.

Who is allowed to make a city? It is in the interplay between past, present and future that the narrative in ‘Sterker door Strijd’ reveals how memory is intrinsically connected to urban space and dwelling. Following the argument that ‘dwelling is the manner in which mortals are on the Earth’ (Heidegger 1951: 247), I suggest that both the memory of reconstruction and the protests for the right to housing motivate the theoretical ground, and provide the space, for activism.

Rotterdam is experiencing increasing economic and political marketisation, characteristic of twenty-first century global cities (Bridge and Watson 2011: 57). While political agendas may use storytelling to enhance their monetary and political power (Bridge and Watson 2011: 142), the city’s persistent reminders of its struggles and tough identity after the war serve as inspiring narratives or myths, encouraging its residents to follow their city’s reputation (Nientied 2018: 167). In this way, past trauma acts as a catalyst for the current wave of urban activism driven by the inequalities and spatial injustices present in the city’s policies.

Following Aldo Rossi and Peter Eisenman ‘that the city itself is the collective memory of its people’, (1982: 130), I propose that the urban elements within the city that narrate the story of destruction and reconstruction act as a ‘locus’ for its main image. Consequently, the permanence of these memories within urban space, whether through urban elements or stories, highlights that historical memory is not linear: it lingers in the present (Cardoso 2024). This persistent memory influences the relationship between political storytelling and grassroots narratives, shaping how they activate the current moment of protest (Rigney 2018; Merrill and Rigney 2024; Comics, Memory, Activism: Special Collection of Memory, Mind & Media). In this context, my visual essay acts as an extension of the collective memory of Rotterdam, where the city and its movements are highlighted as living entities.

My position as the author is blurred within these movements as I strive to lead the focus back to the city rather than my personal perspective, even though everything started with my walks around the city. This shift, positioning the author in a place of collaboration, makes for unexpected readings and connections between geographical and affective spheres which give the opportunity to the readers to establish a different urban imaginary (Ryan 2013: 381–383). Similarly, the use of personal interviews was decisive for providing not only a fragmented viewpoint but also a multifaceted perspective in accordance with scholarly research, where knowledge is believed to be situated and no researcher is all-knowing or all-seeing (Rose 1997: 305).

The direct transposition of my sketchbook pages as panels in some comic pages give an insider view of the process. It shows my path through the city as I explore signs of the traumatic memory of the war and visit recently demolished and construction sites (rechtopdestad n.d.-c.). The full-page illustrations, akin to picturebooks, are pivotal moments in these walks that were redefined from the sketchbook’s immediate drawing to a more thought-out composition, in the hope of bringing attention to that present moment and generating a more significant impact on the reading process. In combination with these graphical decisions, the language of comics was used throughout the book to enable the juxtaposition of multiple spatiotemporal elements in a non-linear sequence. This means that not just my thoughts and walks, but also other voices and geographical patterns are included throughout, including the visuals of destruction and construction from archived materials that emphasise the residents’ determination to reclaim their space in the present moment, like in the past.

Working with the residents and creating my story in combination with theirs creates a polyvocal perspective on the struggles related to the right to the city and affordable housing in Rotterdam. In the visual essay, the experience of becoming stronger through struggle (Sterker door Strijd) mirrors their experiences and mine, evoking a form of visual protest that resonates both with Rotterdam’s identity as a working class city and with the memory of the city’s destruction (Nientied 2018: 162–163).

As a result, the illustrations’ artistic expression reveals a one-of-a-kind space. This space, where hidden voices can be heard and political manifestations can occur, exists outside the mainstream narrative offered by the city hall. Such a space in the visual essay evokes collective memory, the locus, challenging the narrative that Rotterdam is a grassroots city, embracing social innovation and cultural diversity (Rossi and Eisenman 1982). Through its engagement with urban imaginary and its audience, the essay aims to create awareness and reconfigure public space by opening up a space of discussion where new encounters can be made (Lindner and Meissner 2019). The visual essay, then, contributes to urban comics as a form of visual activism and political commentary. It becomes a way of preserving the city’s past and current historical and urban developments while, simultaneously, engaging with its collective memory in order to mobilise resistance and generate support networks.

‘Sterker door Strijd’ serves as a counter-narrative to Rotterdam’s established image. It becomes what Jorge Santos (2019: 12–19) identifies as a counter-memory in comics: a graphic form of visualising history in a non-linear and fragmented manner. Similarly, the sequence of illustrations shows that historical facts are lingering in the present by juxtaposing my current firsthand experiences with conversations with other residents’ about their memories; by exposing and contrasting the cultural context of the current activist practices with past actions and by continuously reinterpreting everyday life in Rotterdam through my embodiment in its streets. The essay evokes the collective memory of Rotterdam by working with memory as a non-linear element in the narrative through different scattered elements in the pages. Consequently, highlighting the inhabitants’ determination to overcome adversity in a complex and nuanced form. In this way, the essay invites the readers to take a critical approach to the events the story reflects on by showing them a different perspective.

The comic’s pages highlight the use of counter-memory as a form of activism by using the memory of destruction as a transformative tool. By using the verbal and visual combination of a comic structure, historical memory is portrayed as open-ended. This approach not only offers a specific interpretation but also actively engages the reader, inviting them to interpret the material in their own way or to identify with similar situations. For instance, the use of residents’ quotes, combined with the author’s interpretation of historical memories and present contexts, which are depicted in both direct and metaphorical images, reveals a continuous struggle rather than a point resolved and fixed in time (Santos 2019: 76–77).

This story shows the urban activism enacted by Rotterdammers on the streets today in a positive light. It highlights activist interventions against the current urban policies from a hopeful perspective, displaying successful stories and exposing the networks of solidarity forged among the residents during these struggles (Rigney 2018; Gutman and Wüstenberg 2022; Merrill and Rigney 2024). Consequently, the comic’s association between present urban movements and activism with the historical feeling of being stronger through struggle creates a new collective memory that highlights the residents’ determination to fight for their rights within the urban political context. Activism is constituted in this comic through the illustration of a complex, nuanced understanding of historical events and support of the contemporary (or polemical) struggles they inspire, as well as through performative comic stories that hope to inspire change (Nordenstam and Wictorin 2023: 63).

Creating this work in the city of Rotterdam, the city where I live, was not only a privilege for me as an artist but also a duty as a resident. My reflections on the city are personal, often revealing moments and events that may escape conventional documentation. I mingle some historical facts with the story, providing context to my thoughts and offering a new understanding of the memories and a fresh perspective onto issues that are raised in the present.

The basis for this visual essay is the work created for the exhibition Getekend: Rotterdam! Mag ik bestaan? (Drawn: Rotterdam! May I exist?) at the Kunsthal Rotterdam (the Museum of Contemporary Art) from October 2024 to February 2025. So far, this work has led to several non-academic outputs, including features in newspapers and architecture-related journals, this visual essay, a printed publication and numerous talks and formal presentations. The diverse outcomes of the exhibition have inspired discussions and presented a new medium to different audiences, sparking curiosity and attracting new readers of comics and illustration. It has also engaged residents eager to know more about the process and brainstorming ideas for future projects. The positive reception is generating a wider network of engagement with the people and topic of social insecurity, discriminatory demolition and displacement in the city, encouraging, in turn, more activist work and critical thought about the city’s collective memory and about what and who makes a city.

At the exhibition’s closing, the work became part of the Rotterdam collection at the city archives. You can catch a glimpse of it in the pages that follow.

Notes

This notes section is not essential for understanding, enjoying or forming an opinion about the work you have just read. However, it offers visual and textual references that may enhance your reading experience.

Despite being a native Portuguese speaker, I chose to conduct the entire creative process in English and Dutch. The written Dutch in the illustrated pieces was not proofread and any mistakes are part of my thoughts and broken Dutch expression. This version of the language not only adds an intriguing element to the work but also allows to express my vulnerability as a foreigner.

Page 3: Most of the panels in this book are based on my walking and drawing practice (drawing in situ) during the development of this project. However, on this page, the first panel is based on a photograph from the article ‘Woonopstand Voert Actie in Rotterdam Tegen Onbetaalbare Nieuwbouw’ (rechtopdestad 2023b) found on the Recht op de Stad website (Eijk 2021; rechtopdestad 2022). The following panels are direct scans from my sketchbook and depict the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus bridge) during its renovation in the summer of 2024 and Dutch words of revolt that I collected from stickers found on walls and streetlamps.

Page 4: This page refers to the historical development of Rotterdam. The sentence ‘Zo is de stad gemaakt. Zo zijn de inwoners gemaakt’ is a direct quote from the blog post ‘Historie van Rotterdam door een Rotterdammer’(Historie van Rotterdam door een Rotterdammer n.d.). The drawn maps are recreations of historical maps from my sketchbook based on maps from the books Leeuwen op de Coolsingel by Paul van de Laar (2020) and Vergeten Verhalen by Johan van der Hoeven (2017). They can also be found at Rotterdam’s city archives database (Stadsarchief Rotterdam n.d.-b). The floor lamp depicting the attack of 14 May 1940 can be found in several places in the city and marks de brandgrens (the frontier of fire) (Stadsarchief Rotterdam n.d.-a), the delimitation of the great fire that destroyed most of Rotterdam after the attack (Geschiedenis van Rotterdam 2024). The city’s coat of arms can be found in the Rotterdam flag and the likeness of Queen Wilhelmina is based on the photograph of the postcard from her jubilee in 1948.

Page 5: Here, I depict the Laurenskerk (Saint Laurence’s church). The illustration is a composite of various photographs and footage from the days after Rotterdam’s destruction and reconstruction, found at the stadsarchief and in the book Leeuwen op de Coolsingel (van de Laar 2020). The historical references featuring the soldier holding the white flag, the planes and images of the city’s destruction are also based on this material. You can find more information about the effects of war in Rotterdam at Museum Rotterdam ‘40–‘45 Nu in Rotterdam.

Page 6: Here, I focus on local sayings that connect the spirit of the city of Rotterdam to Ann Rigney’s concept of the ‘memory–activism nexus’, explained in the article ‘Remembering Hope: Transnational Activism beyond the Traumatic’ (2018). The panels show pages of my sketchbooks, and the likeness of Ann Rigney is based on her photograph on Utrecht University’s page (Utrecht University n.d.).

Pages 7–10 and 13–18: These pages are created by using my sketchbooks as a base and combining different pages. A video of all the drawings in my sketchbooks, the printed publication and a soundscape created during my practice can be found at studiotako.net.

Page 8: The pictures on the right-hand side are based on the newspaper article ‘Sloop Huizen Rotterdam na Jaren Protest: “Alsof een stuk uit mijn hart wordt gesneden”’ (NOS 2021) and the picture on the left-hand corner is based on the article ‘Gerard: “Ik laat me niet intimideren”’ (Huguenin 2021a) and the wonderful photographs of Joke Schot (Tenzer T n.d.).

Page 9: The inspiration for this page comes from my interviewee’s opinion on Rotterdam’s city hall. They used the metaphor of a castle surrounded by a moat to explain the distance between the city hall and the residents of the city. The pictures in the article ‘De Nieuwe Rotterdamse Woonvisie’ (rechtopdestad 2024), ‘Twee Jaar na Woonopstand: Interview in vers beton’ (rechtopdestad 2023a) as well as the work from Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW), the Woonprotest and the Woonopstand were the base for the drawings of protesters in this illustration (Het Woonmanifest - van Woningmarkt naar Woonrecht! n.d.; Over de bond n.d.; Huguenin 2021b).

Page 11: During this project’s development, I could not speak with the residents of the Pompenburg flats directly. Still, I found many visual references from photographs and YouTube videos on the Recht op de Stad’s (right to the city) website, which inspired me to produce this page in combination with the illustrations from my drawing in situ practice (rechtopdestad n.d.-a).

Page 13: The first and fourth panels are based on pictures and newspaper clippings found in the city archives and on the website of the Hoek Teilingerstraat’s resident association (rechtopdestad n.d.-b; Bewonersvereniging Zelfbeheer Hoek Teilingerstraat n.d.). The rest of the illustration is a composite of my experience and drawings on the site and my interview with the resident.

Page 14: All drawings on this page are based on my sketchbook pages from Het Gemaal op Zuid (the pumping station in the south) (Gemaal op Zuid n.d.). The Afrikaanderwijk Corporatie manages this building to organise all kinds of activities, preserving it for prosperity and engaging with the neighbourhood through their collective programming. One of these programmes is Buurtbuik (Alderden n.d) (neighbourhood belly), depicted in my story, where people volunteer and come together on Wednesday evenings to cook and eat together.

Page 16: Not all the places I visited and drew in my sketchbook made it to the final illustrations. I placed some of them on this page to showcase other projects, people I talked to or people the inhabitants wanted me to know about and represent in some way.

Page 17: This page illustrates the work of two different associations within the Wielewaal that work from different perspectives. One is Unie van en voor de Wielewaalers (Union of and for the Wielewaalers) (Tuindorp Wielewaal Nieuws n.d.) and the other is Allemaal Wielewaal (All Together Wielewaal) (Allemaal Wielewaal n.d.).

Page 18: I like to give the readers the freedom to interpret my work, but I want to explain this page. I was incredibly inspired by all the hard work of the Wielewaal’s residents. Because I often walked around this neighbourhood and witnessed its transformation, many of my drawings feature the machines coming and going and all the sand and rubble from construction work piling up. It seems to me like a race against time (Rijmondnieuws 2021). Therefore, I thought about the hourglass as the main element of this illustration’s composition.