Rivierenbuurt

The persecution of the Jews

During the German occupation (1940-1945) the Jewish population of Amsterdam became victims of persecution and other measures targeted against them. At the beginning of the Second World War the Rivierenbuurt had 17,000 Jewish residents.

13,000 of them - including Anne Frank and her family, which lived from 1933 to 1942 at Merwedeplein square in the Rivierenbuurt until they went into hiding - were killed in extermination camps or died in concentration camps.

Some of the 4,000 remaining Jews still live in the neighbourhood. At the Lekstraat is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue  located, including a kollel.

Berlagebrug

On the east side of the Rivierenbuurt the Berlagebrug (built in 1934) over the Amstel River forms the connection with the eastern suburb of Amsterdam Oost and the Amstel Railway Station. The Canadian liberators entered Amsterdam across this bridge on May 7, 1945.

Stalin Avenue

In 1946, the 3 main avenues of the neighborhood were renamed after the leaders of the allies: Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. After the invasion of Hungary in 1956 the Stalinlaan was renamed to Vrijheidslaan.

Martin Luther King Park

Martin Luther King Park (initially called Amstel Park) is located at the Amstel River in the south of the Rivierenbuurt. It was established in the 1930s, as an employment project for people who lost their jobs during the crisis, and opened for public in 1936. It was renamed in 1968 to honor Martin Luther King after his assassination.