podtour
From the Dam to the Begijnhof
The great building on the square began life as a town hall and a monument to peace with Spain; in its sentencing chamber people were condemned to death, and a Bonaparte turned it into a palace.
Occupation, Resistance and Memory (1940–1945) in Amsterdam: audio walks
What did the city and its people do under occupation, and how do they remember it?
9 walks with different starting points and stories. Compare their maps, stops and duration, then choose where to begin.
Explore these walks
The occupation of 1940–1945 changed the lives of Amsterdam's residents. This theme brings persecution, resistance and remembrance together through episodes located in particular city places. The walks distinguish experiences and decisions, asking how people are remembered when they had to live through that history from very different positions.
In “The Jordaan”: Closed windows and the stories of the Noorderkerk place the neighbourhood's memory among the lives of its residents.
In “The old harbour and the VOC”: The church that held the hunger dead adds the memory of occupation to the places of the old harbour.
In “The Plantage under Occupation”: The Jewish Plantage under occupation: a park stripped of its name, the pelican hospital, the burning register, the people hidden at Artis and the zoo's Hunger Winter, the theatre of the deportations and the nursery that saved children.
Choose from 9 independent walks in Amsterdam. Open the one that interests you to see its map, stops and approximate duration before deciding. You don't need to do them all or follow this selection's order; each walk has its own starting and finishing points.
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The Jewish Quarter: Sephardim, Spinoza and Resistance
Beside the Amstel, Spinoza's statue says he was born on that spot, which nobody can prove, and next to it a column remembers the Jews who organised the defence of the neighbourhood against the Dutch Nazi militia.
Western Canals: Anne Frank and the Westerkerk
Follow the stories of people who found refuge in Amsterdam, and others who were denied it.
De Pijp: A Neighbourhood Built in a Hurry
Outside the ring of canals, Amsterdam built a neighbourhood in a hurry for the people who kept the city running.
The Jordaan: Courtyards, Warehouses and Uprisings
Closed windows and the stories of the Noorderkerk place the neighbourhood's memory among the lives of its residents.
From the Old Harbour to the East India Company
The church that held the hunger dead adds the memory of occupation to the places of the old harbour.
From Leidseplein to Museumplein
The prison the eight people from the Secret Annex passed through, and a resistance sculptor's raid on it.
From the Mint Tower to the Golden Bend
On the Heiligeweg, the gateway of a house of correction where prisoners rasped wood for dye, and the flooding cell people were already talking about in the eighteenth century, which nobody has ever proved.
The Plantage under Occupation
The Jewish Plantage under occupation: a park stripped of its name, the pelican hospital, the burning register, the people hidden at Artis and the zoo's Hunger Winter, the theatre of the deportations and the nursery that saved children.
Amsterdam, before you go
Canals, bridges and narrow façades invite aimless walks. Enjoy them attentively: between the water, trams and bicycles, the best place to look is a clear patch of pavement.
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