This morning we are taking the train to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank house. Our tour starts at 11:30 so we left Haarlem at 9:30 thinking it would get us to AMS Centraal at 10:30. Well the trains are so good we got to Amsterdam just after 10.
A horrible time in history
Amsterdam had 80000 Jews before WW2. 10 to 15 percent went into hiding as the Nazis arrived. The Frank family story is well known and everyone should learn as much as possible about their hiding. Also learn as much as possible about the years before when the Nazis slowly escalated the hatred towards Jews until murder was an acceptable government policy.
Today’s tour was excellent and clearly informed everyone how normal life became hell in the 1930s through a systematic escalation of Nazi hate. It started as a simple rule such as Jews could not sit in a park and then later a rule was added almost daily until -all Jews report for “work” camp – which of course meant murder in a concentration camp.
BTW- the Nazis also abducted Catholic priests, handicapped, and Romas – which means if we were there my father’s family and probably me would have been taken to Aushwitz and killed.
No photos were allowed inside but we took the special information tour which gave us access to one allowed photo spot where we could see the annex window high above. The annex was perfect because that part of the building was not visible from the front and there was no access from the back so it was an invisible building.
After 2 years of hiding they all ended up at Aushwitz concentration camp. We will tour Aushwitz next Thursday.
About Amsterdam
It’s dirty! Sorry but it isn’t great and for a city that has so much to see it is hard to understand why they don’t clean the place. In Spain and Portugal we saw nightly cleaning of the streets and never something like this. Here it seems they are just too overwhelmed by tourists and wild party goers. Oh .. and that smell of that special roll your own smoke is everywhere!
If you want to see Amsterdam you should consider doing as we did – stay outside the city, come in for a few hours and get out.
Back in Haarlem – our last night
Just a few thoughts. We felt incredibly safe here even leaving the restaurant in the dark at 8pm and walking home we were very safe. Haarlem probably is a lot more crowded in the summer but now, mid October, the city is calm. Two pictures below – a really good desert and a typical family car (bike) for the kids.
