Dr. Mr. C.P.M. (Carl) Romme
Supervisor Prof. Dr. F.J.H.M. van de Ven - 1962 – Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen
Carl Paul Maria Romme (Oirschot, 1896 - Tilburg, 1980) was a Dutch lawyer, legal scholar, and politician. He was the leader of the KVP (Katholieke Volks Partij) which dominated Dutch politics in the post-war years together with Drees' PvdA.
Before World War II, Romme was already a passionate Catholic politician as a young Amsterdam city council member. After a professorship in Tilburg, he became Minister of Social Affairs in the fourth Colijn government in 1937. He pursued a more active employment policy and encouraged the unemployed to work in Nazi Germany. This resulted in the forced employment of 18,000 Dutch men in Germany in 1938. Refusal led to a reduction in benefits.
Romme also gained notoriety for his savings scheme for the unemployed ("het kwartje van Romme"). In December 1937, he proposed to prohibit paid work by married women (with the exception of breadwinners): “Eene gehuwde vrouw mag geen arbeid verrichten” (A married woman is not to perform work.) This bill was withdrawn by his successor, Minister Van den Tempel (SDAP). The proposal "Statutory rules in regard to child benefit insurance", which Romme submitted at the end of 1938, was eventually implemented. This proposal required employers to take into account the family size of their employees and to pay a proportional premium from which the child benefit would be paid.
More about history and academic heritage
The Tilburg University academic heritage is a very diverse set of archives, visual materials, collections, devices, recorded stories, et cetera that relate to the history of the university.