Amsterdam

After a light breakfast at our flat we headed out to a meeting point adjacent to the Heritage Museum for a small-group arranged tour to learn about the historic Jewish quarter (Jodenburt), the small area between Nieuwmarkt and Plantage.

Jonathan, our guide, was personable and gave us a rich context for our walk. We gathered for our tour on the Amstel River. Our guide shared with us that it was the only natural waterway as opposed to the canals running through the city. The Amstel River was dammed by fisherman and documents dated back to 1275 show proof of the bridge and waiving toll charges from those deemed to be residents of the area-thus, the city was named Amsterdam. I remarked to Jim that the name Amstel was familiar. He replied, "Yes, it's the name of a Dutch beer that isn't any good. "

We began the tour with a stop at the Names Memorial. The names of Jewish residents who perished is reflected one at a time in a single brick. Over 102,000 Jewish people from Amsterdam perished of the 140,000 people who lived there. Like the Names Memorial Quilt, the tangible display of the number of people murdered makes the loss something that is less abstract. Where the brick walls and the metal shapes intersect, there is a narrow void that makes the steel letters seem to float. This symbolizes the interruption in the history and culture of the Dutch people. There are four reflective Hebrew letters on the top of the walls signifying "In Memory of..."

I try to imagine 73% of my community dying while the world watched. Amsterdam has taken great pains to try and pain that picture.

Both in Cologne and Amsterdam, we have noticed the brass squares on the streets with persons' names, birthdays and where they were murdered. We learned from Jonathan that The Netherlands has about 8,500 Stolpersteine, (stumbling stones), the brass memorial plaques embedded in the street that call on passers-by to remember individual victims of the Nazi genocide and oppression, a mental “stumbling” that forces pedestrians to reckon with the past. In further research, I learned that Amsterdam placed the first stumbling stones of known gay resistance fighters about a year ago.

We stopped by the Portuguese Synagogue was built in the late 17th century. During this period, many Jewish people fled from the Iberian peninsula to escape persecution and settled in the Dutch Republic, partly due to the country’s liberal religious laws. The Portuguese Synagogue is still an important place of worship and contains one of the oldest Jewish libraries in the world, Ets Haim Library.

We heard stories that Amsterdam remained a safe haven for Jews and unlike other cities where Jewish communities were forced into ghettos, the opportunities were broad and integrated.

Amsterdam was neutral during WWI and they initially tried the same position during WWII. We heard the background story of Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, who chose to move to Amsterdam at the time of Hitler's early succession with the thought that it would be safer than Germany.

As we know in history, Amsterdam was occupied early in the war by the Nazis. Over a short period of time Jews were stripped of many rights and they were increasingly isolated and dehumanized leading to mass executions and deportations to concentration camps.

Our guide told us a story of a 1941 initial uprising of workers who rebelled against the deportation of the Jews. A statue symbolizing that effort portrays a dock worker and the date of the general strike that completely shut trade down.
It was a powerful story of Labor standing up fire the rights of others.

We passed through one of the old parks where the SpiegelMonument a 1977 memorial was created to commemorate those murdered in Auchwitz. When I approached the flat mirror display, my first impression was that the art installation had been vandalized as the mirrors were smashed and fragmented. We learned that this was the portrayal by the artist, as a display over an urn carrying cremains of Auschwitz victims. From the website describing the monument:

"The monument is made up of broken mirrors and it bears the inscription 'Never again Auschwitz'. The sky is reflected in the mirrors. According to Wolkers, the broken mirrors symbolize that the sky will never be unblemished after Auschwitz:

Heaven continues to be violated forever.It is a horrific attack on everything a person stands for."

We ended the tour learning that the original Jewish quarter, while referenced in history. Around the end of the war, there was a severe winter and wood was salvaged from the empty Jewish households as fuel for heating. It was haunting to see all the levels of eradication.

As we were leaving the area, we saw the birth home of Rembrandt, who lived in the old Jewish quarter.

After a light lunch, we returned to our flat just as the rains were beginning. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon, and we processed our learning for the day.

We wrapped the day with a great dinner at "The Garlic Queen" where all of the courses-cocktails, appetizers, main course and dessert contain garlic. It was quite good, and a nice way to end the day.Read more