Nozem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnoːzəm] ) was a term during the 1950s and 1960s to describe self-conscient, rebellious youth, often aggressive and considered problematic by authorities in the Netherlands. It was the earliest modern Dutch subculture, related to the Teddy Boy movement in the UK and the greasers in the United States. It was followed by the Provos.

Nozem
A Nozem youth is arrested in Amsterdam after disrupting the Remembrance of the Dead, 4 May 1962
Years active1950s–1960s
CountryHolland
InfluencedProvos
Nozems on a moped.
A Nozem couple, 26 December 1960

Nozems were young people who dressed in jeans and leather jackets, listened to rock 'n' roll, and gathered near snack bars on their mopeds. Their hairstyle was characterised by a styled, greased quiff.

The term nozem is believed to derive from the Bargoens cant word penoze ("underworld"), which in turn derives from Yiddish.[1][2] In 1965 the influential anarchist inspired Provo movement emerged from the nozem subculture.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Historische woordenboeken". www.wnt.inl.nl. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  2. ^ "NOZEM (PROBLEEMJONGERE, OPSTANDIGE JONGERE)". etymologiebank.nl. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  3. ^ Pas, Niek (2008). "Subcultural Movements: The Provos". In Klimke, Martin; Scharloth, Joachim (eds.). 1968 in Europe : A History of Protest and Activism, 1956-1977. Europe: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-230-60620-3.