On 19 January, comrade Wil (Willy Ernst Karl) van der Klift, former member of the NCPN Political Bureau and Central Committee, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Manifest, and international secretary, passed away. With his insights, humour, and tireless efforts, Wil fought for a better world and made an indispensable contribution to building the communist movement in the Netherlands.
Central Committee of the NCPN
Wil came from a communist family; his mother was a German communist who had fled fascism. From an early age, Wil was introduced to the values and ideals of the communist movement and its theory.
Initially, Wil worked as a ship engineer and became involved in the trade union. Later, he worked as a social worker, playing an important role in organizing trade union work among social workers in The Hague. Through the trade union, Wil became involved in the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN), which he joined in 1972.
In the CPN, Wil held various cadre positions, including serving as a member of the district bureau and political secretary of The Hague district. He was particularly committed to workplace and trade union organizing. From the beginning, Wil opposed the reformist, Eurocommunist current in the CPN, which aimed to liquidate the party. He was involved in the Horizontaal Overleg Communisten (HOC) to oppose these efforts, and later in the Union of Communists in the Netherlands (VCN) and the NCPN.
Within the NCPN, Wil served on the Central Committee and Political Bureau for decades. For 28 years, he was editor-in-chief of Manifest, the NCPN’s newspaper, which he viewed as an indispensable tool in the class struggle.
International solidarity was a top priority for Wil. He placed special emphasis on solidarity with Cuba, serving as the international secretary of the Central Committee and fostering exchanges of experiences with sister organizations. Wil represented the NCPN at numerous international meetings, maintained contact with foreign sister organizations and the Cuban embassy in the Netherlands, and was one of the initiators of annual conferences with sister parties in neighboring countries.
Wil also devoted special attention to youth involvement. With his rich experience, engaging stories, and humor, he inspired young people in the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) to engage in political work.
Despite his deteriorating health in recent years, Wil remained deeply concerned about global injustice, exploitation, and war. A world filled with these issues was something he could not and would not accept. He was deeply convinced of the need for a socialist society and believed that the working class needed its communist party to fight for a better future.
Wil steadfastly upheld his convictions even under the difficult conditions of counter-revolution and a deep crisis in the labor and communist movement. His contributions to the reconstruction of the communist movement in the Netherlands were immeasurable.
We will miss Wil tremendously—his valuable insights and discussions, as well as his sailor stories and humor. We will remember Wil as a militant communist who dedicated his life to the struggle for a just society and socialism. We will continue that struggle!
We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, comrade Tineke; his daughter, Judith; his son-in-law, Remie; his grandchildren; and all his loved ones.