Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top 10 Jewish
Historical Events
1592 onwards
Sephardic Jews from
Portugal and Spain, fleeing
the Inquisition, settle in
Amsterdam, attracted by the
city's religious tolerance.
1630s
Ashkenazi Jews start to
arrive from eastern Europe
(mainly Poland and Germany).
Interior of the Tuschinski Theater
Tuschinski Theater
This extraordinary 1921
theatre was the creation of its
obsessive owner, Abraham
Tuschinski, a Jewish emigré who
died at Auschwitz. The sump-
tuous interior crosses Art Deco
with the Orient
(see p108)
.
1796
Jews are given equal civil
rights during Napoleon's
Batavian Republic.
1860
Drawn to Amsterdam by
its new industries and housing,
Jews emigrate from Antwerp.
Ravensbrück Memorial
Dedicated to the women of
Ravensbrück, one of the most
disturbing of the city's Holocaust
memorials (1975) incorporates a
sinister soundtrack and eerily
flashing lights.
d
Museumplein
•
Map C6
1932-7
These years see the rise
of the Dutch Nazi Party under
Anton Mussert; they also see
waves of Jewish immigration
from Hitler's Germany.
1941
In February, nine months
into the German Occupation,
the dockworkers strike in
protest at the arrest and
round-up of 450 Jews.
Verzetsmuseum
Amsterdam
The Resistance Museum's
brilliant displays give a vivid
sense of life in an occupied
country, as well as an insight
into the ingenious activities of
the Dutch Resistance. Exhibits
include photographs, heart-
rending letters thrown from
deportation trains, film clips and
room sets
(see p124)
.
1942
The deportation of the
Jews to Nazi death camps
begins. Many Jews, including
Anne Frank's family, go into
hiding. Of the 80,000 living in
pre-war Amsterdam, only
5,000 will survive the war.
1945
Amsterdam is liberated by
Canadian troops on 5 May.
Nooit Meer
In stark contrast to its
peaceful surroundings, Jan
Wolkers' Auschwitz memorial
Never More
features a slab of
shattered glass. The fragments
reflect a distorted view of the
heavens, mirroring the damage
done to humanity by the Holo-
caust.
d
Wertheim Park
•
Map R5
1947
Anne Frank's diary is
published
(see pp32-3)
.
1975
Violent protests break out
against the destruction of the
Jodenbuurt - the old Jewish
Quarter - in the Nieuwmarkt.
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