Goswin de Eindbaas

Goswin de Eindbaas
Born	Goswin Schroeter (1910-03-17)17 March 1910 Schiedam, Netherlands
Died	24 October 1994(1994-10-24) (aged 84)
Other names	Huisbaas
Occupations	Property owner Businessman
Era	Vader Era Middenvader Era Vriend Era
Organization	Rotterdam-West
Title	Eindbaas of Rotterdam-West
Term	1962–1994
Successor	De Snee
Children	De Snee
Family	Schroeter family
Conviction	Assault (1948)
Criminal penalty	Fine

Goswin de Eindbaas (17 March 1910 – 24 October 1994), born Goswin Schroeter, was a property owner and criminal who founded the Rotterdam-West faction in 1962. He served as its first Eindbaas until his death, when his son De Snee succeeded him. Before founding the faction, he led the western branch of the Schroeter family during its dispute over Schroeter Traktoren. He was convicted of assault in 1948.

Early life

Goswin Schroeter was born in Schiedam on 17 March 1910. His parents ran a large hotel in the town. His father had been born in Germany. Goswin studied economics and became interested in expanding the family's industrial businesses. He disagreed with relatives who wanted the Schroeters to remain dependent on farming.

His paternal uncle belonged to the Nazi Sturmabteilung and was killed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Goswin's father supported his brother politically but wasn't himself an SA member. Goswin admired Ernst Röhm and later described himself as a "modern Ernst Röhm", although he identified as a socialist. He also opposed relatives in the Schroeter family who supported the SS.

Career

During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Goswin began hiding Jewish people at his parents' Schiedam hotel in exchange for payment. His father discovered the arrangement and forbade him from using the hotel. Goswin bought a disused warehouse with adjoining offices on Vierhavensstraat in Rotterdam-West and converted part of it into accommodation for people hiding from the German authorities. He continued collecting payments from those staying there. His future wife, whom he had met when she worked at the Schiedam hotel, was Jewish and went into hiding in the warehouse. She prepared meals and distributed supplies to the occupants, while Goswin brought food in from outside.

In a 1944 letter to his father, Goswin wrote that the Schroeter family had walked in the shadows of others and needed a house higher than anyone else's. His father and siblings later supported his plans for an independent industrial business. His future wife remained in hiding at the warehouse until Rotterdam was liberated in May 1945. Goswin then let the former occupants remain as paying tenants while they searched for permanent housing. He later rented rooms to other tenants, before converting the building into a café and leasing it to an independent proprietor.

Schroeter-Traktoren West

Goswin confronted Ferdinand Schroeter at the Rotterdam factory in 1946 over the production of weapons and military vehicles for Germany during the occupation. Accompanied by his siblings, he demanded that the family abandon military manufacturing and give its western relatives control over passenger vehicle production. Ferdinand refused. Goswin then gathered his father and supporting relatives at the Vierhavensstraat warehouse, where they signed an ultimatum demanding control of the family's road-vehicle manufacturing and investment decisions. Ferdinand rejected the ultimatum.

In 1947, Goswin tried to buy one of Ferdinand's road-vehicle workshops and its equipment. Ferdinand again refused. An employee loyal to Ferdinand subsequently insulted Goswin during a confrontation outside the factory. Goswin punched him, and supporters of the rival family groups began fighting. The employee lodged a complaint. In 1948, a Rotterdam politierechter convicted Goswin of assault and imposed a fine.

At the first Middenvader Commissie in Vriendendam in 1949, Goswin led the western relatives demanding independent passenger car production. Ferdinand wanted to preserve the agricultural business. The meeting ended without agreement, and the company split into two branches. Goswin became managing director of Schroeter-Traktoren West. He deliberately retained the Schroeter-Traktoren name to challenge Ferdinand's claim to the family business. When Ferdinand demanded that he stop using it, Goswin refused.

In 1950, he secured a bank loan against his Vierhavensstraat property to buy machinery for the western workshops. The company built passenger car prototypes and a small number of microcars for customers, while also repairing machinery and making vehicle components. It never entered large-scale passenger car production.

The letter Goswin had written to his father in 1944 became public in 1954. At a meeting of western relatives in Rotterdam, he acknowledged writing it and defended its criticism of Ferdinand. Goswin argued that Ferdinand had kept the family tied to agriculture and declared that the western company would surpass him. His remarks caused further arguments with relatives loyal to Ferdinand.

At the second Middenvader Commissie in 1959, Goswin demanded the dissolution of Schroeter Traktoren and the transfer of the family farms out of Schroeter ownership. Ferdinand refused. Goswin walked out with the western delegates, warning those who remained that they would "regret" their decision.

On 5 July 1959, Ferdinand and his wife, Johanna Berendsen, were shot dead at their farmhouse in Stolwijk. Goswin gathered supporters at his Rotterdam-West premises and openly celebrated Ferdinand's death. Relatives loyal to Ferdinand reported his remarks to investigators, who examined his possible involvement but found insufficient evidence to charge him. No one was prosecuted for the killings, and the attackers were never identified.

The family closed Schroeter Traktoren later that July and signed a truce prohibiting its re-establishment. Goswin lost his position as managing director of the western business. At a gathering with his siblings and former employees, he announced that he would no longer use the Schroeter surname. He adopted the name Goswin de Eindbaas, having previously called himself Huisbaas.

Rotterdam-West

Around 1960, Goswin confronted the new owner of a workshop formerly used by Schroeter-Traktoren West. He demanded that the occupants continue making their rental payments through him. When the owner objected, Goswin threatened to disrupt the business until he was allowed to control the collections. The owner agreed, although the workshop remained his property.

A year later, another landlord approached Goswin about a partially vacant garage. He agreed to find tenants among former company mechanics and collect their rent for the owner.

Former western-company workers and property owners remained active around the old industrial sites after 1959. Goswin founded the Rotterdam-West faction in 1962, drawing on those contacts. His siblings accepted positions beneath him and continued advising him. The organisation introduced ranks that also served as adopted surnames, including Huisbaas and Huismeester. Goswin held the highest rank, Eindbaas, which only one person could hold at a time. He retained the surname he had adopted in 1959.

Personal life

In 1946, Goswin married the woman who had hidden at his Vierhavensstraat warehouse during the occupation. Their son was born in 1954 and later became known as De Snee ("The Cut") because of a large vertical scar on his face. The family moved to a home near the western workshops in Rotterdam-West after the birth. Goswin regularly invited his siblings and supporting relatives to the house to discuss Ferdinand. His wife objected to the meetings taking place around their young son. During an argument in 1955, Goswin shouted at her and refused to stop receiving the relatives at home.

Around 1964, Goswin began taking his son to the properties he managed. He introduced the boy to employees and showed him how tenants paid their rent, but gave him no duties. After De Snee turned 18 in 1972, Goswin employed him at one of the garages to assist with rental accounts. His son checked payments and prepared records, which Goswin reviewed himself. He withheld authority over other employees until De Snee had gained experience.

Death

Goswin died on 24 October 1994, aged 84. His son succeeded him as the sole serving Eindbaas of Rotterdam-West and adopted the surname de Eindbaas.

See also

• Schroeter family
• Schroeter Traktoren
• Middenvader Commissie
• Rotterdam-West (faction)