Editing Paul Verhoeven (section)

==Early life==
Paul Verhoeven was born in [[Amsterdam]] on 18 July 1938,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url = https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Verhoeven|title = Paul Verhoeven|encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|last = Bauer|first = Pat|accessdate = 18 February 2024}}</ref> the son of a schoolteacher, Wim Verhoeven, and a [[hatmaker]], Nel van Schaardenburg. Despite what is sometimes reported, he is not related to German filmmaker [[Michael Verhoeven]], whose own father was also named [[Paul Verhoeven (German director)|Paul Verhoeven]]. 

In 1943, the family moved to [[The Hague]], the location of the German headquarters in the Netherlands during [[World War II]]. The Verhoeven house was near a German military base with [[V-weapons|V1- and V2-rocket launchers]], which was repeatedly bombed by Allied forces. Their neighbours' house was hit and Verhoeven's parents were almost killed [[Bombing of the Bezuidenhout|when bombs fell on a street crossing]]. From this period, Verhoeven mentioned in interviews, he remembers images of violence, burning houses, dead bodies on the street, and continuous danger. As a small child, he experienced the war as an exciting adventure, and has compared himself with the character Bill Rowan in ''[[Hope and Glory (film)|Hope and Glory]]'' (1987).<ref name="oorlog">{{cite web |last=Testelmans |first=Rob |title=Een beetje oorlog, best spannend|url=http://www.ethesis.net/verhoeven/verhoeven_deel_1.htm |trans-title=A little war, quite exciting |work=De cinema van Paul Verhoeven: voorbij de controverse |year=2003 |access-date=17 October 2006 |language=nl}}</ref>

Verhoeven's father became headteacher at the Van Heutszschool in The Hague, and Paul attended this school.<ref>{{cite web |last=Scheers |first=Rob van |title=Paul Verhoeven als het zoontje van het schoolhoofd |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/gs-b4369cb2 |website=de Volkskrant |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=23 December 2020 |language=nl-NL}}</ref> Sometimes the two watched informative films at home with the school's [[film projector]]. 

Verhoeven and his father went ten times to see ''[[The War of the Worlds (1953 film)|The War of the Worlds]]'' (1953). Verhoeven was a fan of the Dutch comic ''[[Dick Bos]]''. The character Dick Bos is a private detective who fights crime using [[jujutsu]]. Verhoeven liked comic drawing; he created ''The Killer'', a character in a detailed story of revenge. Other fiction he liked included ''[[Frankenstein]]'' and the [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] [[Barsoom]] series.<ref name="oorlog"/>

Verhoeven attended public secondary school [[Gymnasium Haganum]] in The Hague. Later, beginning in 1955, he studied at [[Leiden University]]. He graduated with a [[doctorandus]] (MSc) with a double major, in [[mathematics]] and [[physics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What's new? |url=http://www.paulverhoeven.net/index2.asp |work=paulverhoeven.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220013620/http://www.paulverhoeven.net/index2.asp |archive-date=20 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Paul Verhoeven profile |url=http://www.wiskundemeisjes.nl/20060913/paul-verhoeven |work=Wiskundemeisjes.nl |access-date=3 February 2017 |language=nl}}</ref>