Free Tour of the Jewish Quarter, WWII & the Anne Frank Story

Why was Amsterdam the safest place for Jews to live for 350 years until WWII, when it became the country with the highest percentage (75%) of Jews deported to the death camps in Western Europe? The best chance to survive was to go into hiding, just as Anne Frank and her family did in 1942.  

We will use Anne Frank’s story to understand what it was like to live in a country occupied by a Nazi regime for both Jews and non-Jews,

And we will talk about the incredible exploits of the heroes and traitors during the war, both Jewish and Christian. 

• The brothers who stole millions from the Dutch National Bank to support the resistance.
• The Jewish sisters who provided a haven to many other Jews, were deported as criminals, and took care of Anne and Margot Frank in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.
• The paid informants who hunted down Jews in hiding, including the Jewish woman who betrayed seven hundred Jews.
• The effects of Queen Wilhelmina's anti-semitism on the fates of Dutch Jews

We will also discuss the kinds of lies used to create such virulent anti-Semitism and how lies continue to be used today to foment hate and war.

The tour will take place in the Jewish Quarter, the heart of Jewish culture in Amsterdam.  We will begin inside the glass doors of the Stadsloket across from the Spinoza Monument on Waterlooplein at 10:30 a.m. sharp.  I have long white hair, black glasses and a GuruWalk badge. The tour will go on unless there are hurricane warnings.

If participants want general information on Amsterdam, that will also be included in the tour.

Our tour will start at the Spinoza Monument and visit: 

• The Jewish Resistance Monument
• The Jewish Boys Orphanage
• The Shadow Wall
• The National Holocaust Names Monument
• The Memorial to the Deaf Students
• The Dutch Theater (the deportation center in Amsterdam)
• The Artis Zoo
• The Auschwitz Monument
• The Portuguese Synagogue & The Jewish Museum

We will arrive at the Portuguese Synagogue two hours and 15 minutes after the beginning of the tour. The tour will be completely over within two and a half hours.

All your questions and comments are welcome and will serve to make the tour come alive for everybody.  Since we are in Amsterdam, we will try to make even this tour about WWII as gezellig (friendly and convivial) as possible.

PLEASE PERSONALLY CONFIRM WITH ME THAT YOU WILL ATTEND THE TOUR A DAY AHEAD.  I will send you a reminder email. Tours in Amsterdam are limited to 15 persons, so an accurate count is necessary.

It is a good idea to have WhatsApp on the mobile number you gave to Guruwalk while in Europe in order to communicate easily. Downloading the Guruwalk app will also make sure you receive terrific tips about Amsterdam after the tour and ensure that you don't miss any messages.

Note:  This tour does not go to the Anne Frank House, which is a 25-minute walk from the end of our tour. 

This tour is a terrific accompaniment or substitute for the Anne Frank House (annefrank.org). You can only buy tickets to the Anne Frank House through their website. Read this two months early and follow the directions closely!. Book the terrific introductory program in English if it is available. https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/


The Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum are usually sold out for at least a week.  Reserve early for many museums.

If you will visit at least three Dutch museums (including the Anne Frank House and the Portuguese Synagogue), it can be a good idea to buy a Museum Card for 65 euros, good at 450 museums for one year. You can buy a temporary pass at the first museum you visit, use that pass five times, and receive a permanent pass within five days or less.  If ordering tickets for the Anne Frank House or other museum, check that you have a Museum Card and don't pay anything online.  Then buy the card at the first museum you visit. https://www.museum.nl/en/museumpass

We pass by The Resistance Museum on our tour. That is a terrific source for more detailed WWII stories. No reservations needed and not so expensive: https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/en 


I look forward to seeing you soon, Jon