[1] At the age of 10, his father died, and it was decided to send him to the Dutch Israeli Seminary [nl] in Amsterdam[2] to become a rabbi.
[1] Meijer graduated from the seminary in 1938,[4][3] but decided that he did not want to become a rabbi,[3] and continued to study history at the University of Amsterdam.
[5] On 20 June 1940, he married Liesje Voet, which caused controversy with his orthodox family, because her father was active as a trade unionist.
[2] In 1946, his thesis was reprinted as Isaac da Costa's weg naar het Christendom[10] As an author, he started to focus on the pre-war Jewish history in the Netherlands, and was known for his sharp criticisms.
[2] The Cold War worried Meijer, and in 1953, he accepted an offer to become rabbi in Paramaribo, Suriname.