Amsterdam Remembers Auschwitz Liberation

When in Amsterdam....27 January remembers the Liberation of Auschwitz. In cold rain and melting snow Amsterdammers and dignitaries walked in silent procession from the Amsterdam City Hall to the Broken Mirrors Auschwitz Monument. The monument was constructed by Jan Wolders and is located in Wertheim Park.

Relatives, government officials, representatives of foreign governments and others commemorated the millions of Jews, Gypsies, handicapped, homosexuals and others murdered by the Nazis during World War Two.

Amsterdam Mayor, van den Laan made the keynote address. He questioned why had a government's key goal been to dehumanize and murder. He had read and studied much on the topic to find out why the Holocaust had happened; yet still he could not understand. Van den Laan felt responsible as a community leader that it never happens again.

Rabbi Menno ten Brink said the Yizkor and the Kaddish prayer in memory of the dead. There was also music of Roma and Sinti people. Young children also read how they understood the event.

"Never again Auschwitz" Auschwitz monument Amsterdam

An estimated 107,000 Dutch Jews, mostly from Amsterdam, were sent to concentrations camps, mainly Sobibor and Auschwitz. 5,200 Dutch Jews survived these camps and returned.

The liberation of Auschwitz by Russian forces 68 years ago is now an international day that remembers instances of genocide.


Amsterdam is home to the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

When in Amsterdam....remember!

WW II Hero Honored with Amsterdam Bridge Name

When in Amsterdam....look at the names on our bridges. Amsterdam has over 2000 bridges. Many have been named after prominent people from Amsterdam.

On September 2, 2012, Bridge 234 was named the Pieter Meerburg Bridge. This bridge is located on the Nieuwe Keizesgracht near the Portuguese Synagogue and the Jewish Historic Museum.

Pieter Meerburg

Pieter Meerburg is credited with saving the lives of 350 Amsterdam children during the Nazi occupation. Meerburg was a student in Amsterdam during the Second World War. He organized Amsterdam Jewish children to be smuggled to safety and adopt a new identity.

The organization Pieter led was called the Amsterdam Student Group. Composed entirely of volunteers, the students, men and women, would pretend the Jewish babies were their own. They were assisted by an Amsterdam pediatrician Dr. Fiedeldij Dop. The doctor would cycle around to families whom were close to deportation and ask them entrust their infants to Meerburg.

When demand exceeded the number of safe houses Meerburg talked local business owners into providing sanctuary for the young Amsterdammers.

Bridge 234 now the Meerburg Bridge

Meerburg was titled "Righteous Among Nations" by the Israel association for Holocaust Remembrance in 1974. Pieter Meeburg died in 2010.

When in Amsterdam....look at our bridge names. There is a story at every bridge.