  In this contribution I discuss the Kapteyn Astronomical Laboratory during the
period of Pieter Johannes van Rhijn's directorate, which lasted from 1921 to
1957. It had developed under the founder Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn into one of
the leading astronomical research institutes in the world. When van Rhijn took
over at the retirement of Kapteyn, it was in the process of coordinating
Kapteyn's Plan of Selected Areas. Van Rhijn's research was solid and
professional work, but in his papers he invariably stopped before discussing
how his findings did fit into the larger scheme of things. He maybe was
unimaginative but it did lack the link to the larger view towards the emerging
picture of the structure of the Galaxy. Van Rhijn was unfortunate to be
hampered throughout almost his complete directorate by factors, that severely
limited his attempts to obtain more funding in spite of local support by his
university. These were of course in the first place the Great Depression of the
1930s and the Second World War and its aftermath, while during most of the
1940s he suffered from tuberculosis. But also the remote location of Groningen
compared to Leiden, where a major infrastructure led by three important
protegees of Kapteyn was in place, and the governmental bias towards support
for Leiden over Groningen was an important factor. Finally I examine the
developments in the 1950s and the circumstances that made Adriaan Blaauw accept
his appointment as van Rhijn's successor in 1957 and initiate the beginnings of
the revival under his leadership.
