Amsterdam 1941.

Because of Corona and the sudden disappearance of traffic, I started enjoying long walks around the city and I am thrilled because Amsterdam has a spectacular history behind it so i am constantly discovering new things. However, I don't have to look too far in the past to find very interesting stories - recently I have stumbled upon this fascinating picture from 1941. and what makes it even more immediate is that photo is coloured so it does feel as something from yesterday. The picture was taken on Nieuwmarkt square where I live today and the barbed wire was actually here to separate Jewish ghetto from the rest of the city. 

Jewish ghetto? A quick search unearthed that the whole area that is now covered with nondescript houses (and I walked here million times) used to be part of the district where for centuries Jewish citizens of Amsterdam used to live and it welcomed intellectuals, artists and scholars from every corner of the Europe. It must have been crowded, because by the law Jews had to keep to specific area but I would have love to be a fly on the wall and to see how did the streets look like. In fact, it seems that popular Waterlooplein started its life as a market in Jewish quarter, imagine that! As expected, the whole area was heavily damaged and raided during WW2, than it became empty as people were either imprisoned or hidden elsewhere and at the end the neglected houses were eventually demolished to make space for the new, modern buildings that are there nowadays. (I think that building of new underground line also resulted in demolishing of some beautiful, old houses as well) Basically the only thing left from previous Jewish area is 17th century Portuguese Synagogue and Jewish Historical Museum (which originally was on Nieuwmarkt square, where the picture above was taken). 

What is left and is very interesting, are Stolperstein markers placed discreetly on the roads in the front of the houses where Jewish families used to live. They are unfortunately all over Europe and can be found also here in Amsterdam, if you look carefully as you walk around, you might read the names of people who used to live where you stand now.