Vrij Nederland

Vrij Nederland (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is traditionally intellectually left-wing, in recent years it became more centrist. It is one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with Elsevier, De Groene Amsterdammer and HP/De Tijd, now all with a stagnating or dwindling readership of their printed media. Publisher of Vrij Nederland is WPG Media in Amsterdam. The offices are in a monumental building from 1914 on Raamgracht 4, on the corner with the Kloveniersburgwal.

Logo

Minister Frits Korthals Altes with the Vrij Nederland (19 May 1983) at the Tweede Kamer, next to him Onno Ruding. Both are linked by Vrij Nederland Slavenburg's bank affair.

The first issue was published on 31 August 1940. The chief editors have included:

• 1940–1942: Frans Hofker
• 1941–1950: Henk van Randwijk
• 1950–1955: Johan Winkler
• 1955–1969: Mathieu Smedts
• 1969–1991: Rinus Ferdinandusse
• 1991–1997: Joop van Tijn
• 1998–2000: Oscar Garschagen
• 2001–2004: Xandra Schutte
• 2004–2005: Gerard van Westerloo (interim)
• 2005–2008: Emile Fallaux
• 2008–2015: Frits van Exter
• 2017–present: Ward Wijndelts

The circulation has decreased from 1945 on, except for an increase in the 1970s:

• 1945: 109,000
• 1947: 32,000
• 1951: 35,000
• 1955: 19,000
• 1960: 23,000
• 1965: 36,950
• 1970: 81,378
• 1975: 109,381
• 1978: 117,165
• 1980: 111,857
• 1985: 97,132
• 1990: 76,947
• 2000: 55,947
• 2001: 53,669 (−4.1%)
• 2002: 53,413 (−0.5%)
• 2003: 52,868 (−1.0%)
• 2004: 50,124 (−5.2%)
• 2005: 49,244 (−1.8%)
• 2006: 47,082 (−4.4%)
• 2007: 46,671 (−0.9%)
• 2008: 44,115 (−5.5%)
• 2009: 44,860 (+1.7%)
• 2010: 48,353 (+7.8%)
• 2011: 45,534 (−5.8%)
• 2012: 40,872 (−10.2%)
• 2013: 35,649 (−12.8%)
• 2014: 31.623 (−11.3%)
• 2015: 22.937 (−27.5%)
• 2016: 19.875 (−13.3%)