Hollandsche Schouwburg

History

The Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theatre) was designed by architect Bombach and is a former popular theatre that was built in 1892 in the centre of the Plantage neighbourhood.

Because of its central location within the "Jodenbuurt" (Jewish Neighborhood), the theatre attracted many Jewish visitors.

In 1962 the Hollandsche Schouwburg was repurposed as a memorial site for the tens of thousands of Jews who were deported from that building.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the Germans made Jews assemble in this former theatre. Tens of thousands of men, women and children were held here, not knowing what fate awaited them, until they were deported to concentration and extermination camps.

Memorial site

The Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theatre) is now a memorial site with a wall of names commemorating the Jewish victims.

Over 6,700 family names of the 104,000 Jews from the Netherlands who were murdered in the war are listed in a war memorial.

National Holocaust Museum

Across the street is a former crèche where many Jewish children, after being separated from their parents, were held captive until they were deported.

With the help of the resistance approximately 600 children were smuggled to relatively safe places through the teacher training school next door.

The National Holocaust Museum opened its doors in March 2024.