Hans Keilson was best known for his novels set during the Second World War, during which he was an active member of the Dutch resistance.
13 Facts About Hans Keilson
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From 1928 to 1934, Hans Keilson studied pharmacology in Berlin, but due to the Nazi law prohibiting Jews from employment, Hans Keilson was employed as a professional gym teacher in Jewish private schools, and occasionally made money as a musician.
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In 1941, Hans Keilson went into hiding and had to leave his pregnant wife behind.
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Hans Keilson's wife gave birth to a daughter, Barbara, in the same year; she pretended the girl's father was a German officer to prevent prosecution.
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Meanwhile, Hans Keilson had moved in with a married couple in Delft, taking on a new identity as physician Dr Van der Linden.
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Hans Keilson reunited with his wife and daughter after the war.
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Hans Keilson had to requalify for his physician's licence, should he want to work in the Netherlands, and did so.
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In later interviews Hans Keilson expressed deep regret for being unable to save his parents.
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In 1970 Hans Keilson married literature historian Marita Lauritz, 25 years his junior.
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Hans Keilson published several more works and received little media attention.
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Much media attention, in both the United States and his adopted home country, the Netherlands, was given to the fact that Hans Keilson received this acknowledgement at the age of 100.
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Hans Keilson was invited to Dutch talkshow De Wereld Draait Door, where he was interviewed by presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk.
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Hans Keilson died on 31 May 2011 in Hilversum, at the age of 101.