Monuments in Amsterdam

Hollandsche Schouwburg and Memorial

• This lovely building was originally the center of entertainment in the Jewish neighborhood. The name means Dutch Theater, and many performances gave life to the 1892 building. During World War II, however, it became a deportation center for Jewish people being sent to German concentration camps. In 1962 the building became a war memorial and now houses an eternal flame in remembrance of those killed as well as the illuminated Wall of Remembrance that carries the names of 6,700 Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.

  Hollandsche Schouwburg and Memorial

  Plantage Middenlaan 24

  1018 DE Amsterdam

  +31 (0) 20 5 310 380

  hollandscheschouwburg.nl

Anne Frank Huis

• The Anne Frank House also serves as a reminder of the horrors that faced Jewish people during World War II. This house sheltered Anne Frank and her family as soldiers rounded up Jewish citizens to send them to concentration camps. Anne wrote her famous diary hiding within these walls. Her story has a sad ending, but the house has become home to exhibitions against anti-Semitism and modern-day fascism.

  Anne Frank Huis

  Prinsengracht 267

  1016GV Amsterdam

  31 20 556 71 05

  annefrank.org

Nederlands Nationaal Monument

• The Nederlands Nationaal Monument, or National Monument, built in 1956, pays tribute to the lives lost during World War II, and to liberation from the Axis powers. The monument is a 72-foot-high obelisk located on Dam Square in the heart of Amsterdam. Sculptures adorning the obelisk represent war, peace and resistance. The monument contains soil from the 11 provinces of Holland. Each year on the 4th of May at 8:00 in the evening, a two-minute period of silence around the monument caps off the National Day of Remembrance.

  Nederlands Nationaal Monument

  Dam Square, Amsterdam

Homomonument

• The Homomonument was erected in 1987 as a monument to gays and lesbians who lost their lives to war, and to those who continue to face persecution to this day. Although most people know about the persecution Jews faced under the Hitler regime, the systematic persecution of gays and lesbians is less well known. Gay men were sent to concentration camps where they had to wear a pink triangle on the chest of their clothing. Lesbians had to wear a red or black triangle. The artist echoed these triangular forms when making the monument.

  Homomonument

  Westermarkt, Amsterdam

  homomonument.nl