Jap de Boer came from a working-class Dutch family. His father instilled in him a passionate belief in the role of workers to unite and lead Europe and the world. He kept this faith alive through the cold and hardships of a German forced labor camp during the last world war.
After the war, he returned to Germany. There he worked in the service of Moral Rearmament, close to the German trade union leaders who wanted to build a united, strong and democratic trade union movement. In later years, his experience and conviction made him an experienced and trusted statesman, labor leader, and industrialist in many countries from Europe to Japan and Australia.
He spent most of the last year of his life in New Guinea, invited there by political leaders who wanted to steer that country to independence without violence. His experiences in the New Guinea jungle are a modern-day true story, a 20th century version of the Acts of the Apostles.
On his way home to Holland, he visited the Philippines, Indonesia and Panchgani, India. Outside Bombay, he died in a plane crash.
Swedish