Hollandsche Schouwburg National Holocaust Memorial

You'll meet your guide and small group (depending on the option selected) on Westermarkt for a walking tour to understand the Jewish presence in Amsterdam before and during World War II. Hear the insightful story of Anne Frank and her family dynamics, including their move from Germany, their time in hiding, and her father's life after the war. Cross the city center from west to east and find the locations that mattered during the five years of Nazi-occupation in Amsterdam between May 1940 and May 1945. Your expert guide's narration will introduce you to several people that played their role during these dire years. Walk by the Amsterdam canals into the medieval center and hear about the Dutch Resistance during the war. Before exploring Dam Square, the backdrop for the annual ceremony on National Memorial Day. Join the Royal Family and the army in an insightful remembrance, and learn about this part of history in Amsterdam. Walking towards the eastern part of the city center, the accent of the tour shifts more towards the Jewish community in Amsterdam. Before the German invasion, Amsterdam had a thriving Jewish community. The Holocaust had a tremendous impact on Amsterdam, and your guides will tell you the story of the former Jewish district during the months of the Holocaust. You'll later end your tour at the Hollandsche Schouwburg, a former theater transformed by the Nazis as a detention center for Jews. Today it houses the National Holocaust Memorial, a place of reflection and mourning.

Your morning or afternoon in Amsterdam will start at the statue of the dockworker at the foot of the Portuguese synagogue. Set off in a relaxing pace to make sure you really get to see, feel and learn all about the Jewish history and population from Amsterdam. The first Jewish inhabitants arrived in Amsterdam in the 16th century. From the start they established themselves in the area around the Jodenbreestraat. In the course of World War II this area was made into a ghetto by the Germans. They raised a big fence around the area and many bridges remained open permanently, so the inhabitants could only enter and leave the area at certain points. During many raids the inhabitants were taken away. After the war, this once vibrant and lively area had turned into a sad, abandoned, and neglected area. Your guide will take you back to the times of the rise of the Jewish people in Amsterdam and the sad period of 1940-1945.