On 9 February (Aletta Jacobs' birthday), the official ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of the restored Aletta Jacobs urn monument took place in Columbarium II of Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium. During the unveiling, special ‘Aletta Jacobs’ tulips were placed on the monument. Taking part were Saskia Wieringa, Director of the Aletta Institute for Women's History, and Corrie Hermann, former board member of the Netherlands Association of Women Doctors (see photo).
Aletta Jacobs was the first woman in the Netherlands to follow a university education and the first woman to practise as a doctor. Aletta Jacobs was leader of the Women's Suffrage Association of the Netherlands for 25 years. She was born on 9 February 1854, and died on 10 August 1929. Aletta Jacobs was cremated at the Westerveld Crematorium which, at that time was the only crematorium in the Netherlands.
Aletta Jacobs' monument, where her husband Carel Victor Gerritsen was also buried, was designed by the artist Gra Rueb. She created the monument of the two urns against the wall of Dudok's Columbarium II. In the ceramic section, an owl (symbol of wisdom) was added in relief above Gerritsen, and the staff of Asclepius (the sign for medicine and healing) above Jacobs. The bronze relief depicts a man and a woman, both kneeling down on the globe and holding a burning torch.
The collection to restore the monument was initiated by the Aletta Institute for Women's History. In addition to Westerveld Cemetery & Crematorium, the Netherlands Association of Women Doctors (VNVA), the Rotary Club of Velsen, the Velsen municipal authorities and various individuals also contributed to the restoration.
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