Alfred Haighton

From a privileged background, Haighton was born in Rotterdam and was well educated, studying in Los Angeles and producing a thesis on Arthur Schopenhauer, although he was also physically disabled for his entire life.

[1] Haighton had become a strong anti-Semite and as such led the followers he had left into the National Socialist Dutch Workers Party (NSNAP), although once again his abrasive personality meant that the relationship was not to last.

[2] In 1938 Haighton purchased the literary journal De Nieuwe Gids, a work that held a high reputation amongst the Dutch artistic set.

[3] Writers such as Jan Eekhout, a staunchly pro-Nazi novelist noted for his use of archaic and dialect Dutch words as part of an attempt to construct rustic literature, were featured and widely praised under Haighton.

[4] The Dutch literary establishment reacted negatively to Haighton's stewardship of the magazine, to the point that by 1943 De Nieuwe Gids had only 98 registered subscribers.