Hollandsche Schouwburg

Hollandsche Schouwburg was my third stop on my extreme I amsterdam tour of Amsterdam. My first stop was at the zoo highlighted in this post. My second stop was the Verzetmuseum which is the Dutch resistance museum. The museum tells the story of the Dutch people in World War II from 14 May 1940 to 5 May 1945 when the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. The Verzetmuseum is included in the I amsterdam card and is located very close to the zoo. I did not take any photos of the museum but it is recommended as one of the best historical museums of the Netherlands. I think it does an amazing job at highlighting what was happening in the Netherlands during the war. 

The Hollandsche Schouwburg was a popular theatre putting on many well-known Dutch plays until 1940 when the Nazi occupiers changed the theatre's name into Joodsche Schouwburg, or Jewish Theatre and only allowed Jewish actors to perform there. The audience was also strictly Jewish. Over the years the function of the theatre changed drastically. Between 1942 and 1943 Jews from Amsterdam and surrounding districts were obliged to report to the Hollandsche Schouwburg before being deported. 

Now the Hollandsche Schouburg is a memorial centre in the very building that was used to transport between 60,000 to 80,000 Jews to the Westbork transit camp. The building houses an education exhibition and a memorial centre listing the names of the dead, and an eternal flame burns to honour the 104,000 Dutch Jews who were exterminated in World War II.

The admission to the memorial is €12.00 but this price includes the visit to the Jewish Historical Museum, JHM Children's Museum, and the Portuguese Synagogue. If you are buying the ticket at full price it is valid for one month so you do not need to visit all of the included museums and synagogue in one day.