A I promised, I will try to tell you about the subject I’m interested in. This time I would like to tell you about my trip to Amsterdam and visit in The Anne Frank House, The Joods Historisch Museum and the Hollandsche Schouwburg monument. Let me tell you a few words about those places, why are they important and my opinion in the end. Probably if you thin Amsterdam wta comes to your mind are freedom, erotica and bicycles. But don’t let the marihuana and lantern’s district cover up amazing places which tell people about important historical events which should be a warning.
Trip to Anne Frank House
Who was she and why is she famous? Anne was a Jewish girl forced to hide in the secret annex at Prinsengracht 263 in German-occupied Amsterdam. Unfortunately after two years she was found together with 7 other people she was with and deported to concentration camps. During the time a German-born diarist was hiding in the annex she has been writing about her wartime experiences. Her father, the only one who survived tried to publish it. She has been journaling her experiences of Nazi terror in the renowned work called The Diary of Anne Frank. This book has been translated into almost 70 languages and is one of the most often read positions considering this subject. You can enter the building and climb to the place, where the family and friends were hiding.
Joods Historisch Museum and the Hollandsche Schouwburg monument
Let’s first try with the Jewish Historical Museum. It’s the only museum in the Netherlands to focus on Jewish history, religion and culture and it did it’s job. Maybe it’s not famous internationally like Auschwitz but still! Don’t think that the Jewish influence on Dutch history is limited to Anna Frank’s diaries. What can you expect from Joods Historisch Museum? You will learn that before the war, for more than 300 years Jews from all over Europe found refuge in tolerant Amsterdam and their culture was flourishing.
It is located at the heart of former Jewish quarter. The exhibition includes collection of around 630 objects. Definitely worth visiting to learn more about Dutch Jews and the nation in general. The second on my short list during weekend trip was Hollandic Theatre ( Hollandsche Schouwburg ). It was a dutch theatre transformed deportation center during the Holocaust. You will see an exhibition presenting the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War.