Louis Fles (1883 – 1969) was a Dutch writer, publisher, and secularist activist. Born in Amsterdam to a family involved in the retail trade, he pursued studies in law before turning to journalism and publishing. Fles is noted for his anti‑clerical and rationalist writings, which addressed the influence of religion on education, politics, and society in the Netherlands during the early to mid‑20th century.
He contributed articles to contemporary progressive periodicals and authored several pamphlets and books that critiqued religious institutions and advocated for secular education. In addition to original works, Fles was active as a translator, bringing foreign secularist texts to a Dutch readership. His publishing activities included the establishment of a small press that produced literature aligned with the Dutch freethought movement.
Fles’s contributions placed him among the network of Dutch intellectuals and activists who promoted secularism and social reform in the interwar period. While not a widely known public figure today, his writings are referenced in studies of Dutch secular and educational history.
References: Historical overviews of Dutch secularist movements and biographical dictionaries of early‑20th‑century Dutch writers include entries on Louis Fles.