The Jewish Quarter, WWII & the Anne Frank Story

Why was Amsterdam the safest place for Jews to live for 350 years until WWII, when the Netherlands became the country with the highest percentage (75%) of Jews murdered 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,

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

• The Jewish children who were bravely saved from the transit centre nursery.
• The nurse who led a resistance cell whose existence was never discovered by the Nazis.
• The paid informants who hunted down Jews in hiding, including the Jewish woman accused of betraying 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 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.

 
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 THAT YOU WILL ATTEND THE TOUR A DAY AHEAD.  You should receive a reminder email 2 days before the tour. Tours in Amsterdam are limited to 15 persons, so an accurate count is necessary.

Downloading the Guruwalk app will make sure you find out if an opening becomes available 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 and has little to offer outside of the museum.

This tour is a terrific substitute or accompaniment for the Anne Frank House (annefrank.org). You can only buy tickets to the Anne Frank House through their website two months ahead of time. Read the link below 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 or more.  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 another museum, just mark 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 look forward to seeing you soon - Jon, Stan & Peter