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Most visitors to Amsterdam make their way to the famous Anne Frank House, on Prinsengracht, to learn of the young girl and her family that hid from the Nazis during WWII. After leaving this wonderful museum, time should be taken to visit the Verzetsmuseum (Dutch Resistance Museum) to gain more insight into the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands.
Because this museum was included with my Museumkaart, I decided to take some time to visit one afternoon. Not sure what kind of museum it would be, I was surprised to find how interesting and informative I found all of the stories depicted here.
On May 14, 1940, the Nazis bombed Rotterdam and threatened other Dutch cities. The Dutch forces surrounded and the Dutch government and the royal family escaped and went into exile into Canada. German troops occupied Amsterdam and remained in charge for five long years.
The Verzetsmuseum explains how the Dutch residents were forced to accept soldiers marching the streets, the black-out rules, press censorship and finally cold and hunger. Jewish residents were persecuted and deported to concentration camps. The country lost almost seventy-five percent of it’s Jewish population.
Many stories are detailed in the museum of individuals who adapted, collaborated with or resisted the Nazi regime and there are authentic objects, photos, documents, film and sound fragments telling the history of the people who lived through that period. There are many fascinating stories about the exceptional as well as the everyday.
The story that stood out and amused me was that of Jacoba Maria Blom-Schuh of the Hague. In 1941, she refused to assist the cause until the queen returned to the Netherlands. Blom-Schuh was imprisoned for three months. The Nazi guards gave her their socks to darn and acting in defiance, she sewed them shut repeatedly, supposedly out of ignorance. Later, her outstanding sewing skills were showcased on beautiful embroidery samples of her prison experiences, which are on display in the museum.
A separate section also tells the story of the former colony the Dutch East Indies.
If you are visiting the museum with children, they will love the Resistance Museum Junior which is aimed at children from the age of nine, visiting with or without their parents and containing true stories and authentic items that were part of children’s lives during the occupation by Nazi Germany. Young visitors can experience the Nazi occupation through the eyes of four children who lived during the era, Eva, Jan, Nelly and Henk. Once the visit is complete, a trip to the zoo can be combined with this museum as it is located across the street.
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Verzetsmuseum
- https://www.verzetsmuseum.org
- Plantage Kerklaan 61, 1018 CX Amsterdam
- Hours: Monday, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00-17:00, Tuesday-Friday, 10:00-17:00
- Admission: Adults, 10€, Children, 5€, Museumkaart, Amsterdam Card, free
- Free Audio Guide
- Getting There: From Amsterdam Central Station take trams 9 or 14. Stop ‘Plantage Kerklaan’, stop ‘Plantage Middenlaan/Kerklaan’ or stop ‘Artis Zoo’. You can take subway 51, 53, 54; exit Waterlooplein/uitgang Hortus is walking distance from the museum,