Discovering Amsterdam Part One: Jewish History

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An ancient city with an altogether modern outlook, Amsterdam can surprise and enchant in equal measure. Rich colonial history fuses with a pioneering contemporary culture to create a charismatic destination whose art and architecture spans the centuries to unique effect.

Family Travel Concierge is excited to offer special interest tours such as exploring Amsterdam’s rich Jewish History.

Jews have lived in Amsterdam since the 14th century and earlier. They participated actively in the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century when liberal social policies in Amsterdam, in contrast to restrictive or Antisemitic laws elsewhere, attracted a large population of Jews to the city.

In the course of this three-hour walk with your Amsterdam tour guide, you will explore Jewish life in Amsterdam, from the 1600s, through the traumas of the 20th century, to today, painting a detailed portrait of Jewish contributions to Amsterdam’s civic culture.

Your program will begin with a look Jewish economic life, visiting a famous diamond seller and the union of diamond cutters, one of the first in Holland, and discuss how Jews entered this trade.

Also visit the birthplaces, homes, or other monuments of famous Jews who worked in other trades and disciplines, such as the philosopher Spinoza, the entertainment entrepreneur Tuschinksi, or the feminist Aletta Jacobs.

In order to understand Jewish spiritual life in Amsterdam, you’ll visit both Sefardim and Ashkenizim synagogues, including the historic Portuguese Synagogue, a massive structure in the Jewish district. This will give an opportunity to look closely at daily life and organization of Jewish life and how social laws in the city provided opportunities for Jews that didn’t exist in many other European capitals at the time.

You’ll also turn your attention to the ravages of World War II and the Holocaust, which destroyed the Jewish community in Amsterdam. Pass by the Monument to Jewish Resistance and visit Hollandse Schouwburg, where thousands of Jewish children were loaded onto transport ships for German concentration camps. Your docent will help you grapple with the scope of destruction from the Holocaust, sharing data and stories in equal measure, and answering our questions with sensitivity.

Although the famous Anne Frank House isn’t included in the walk, for the simple fact that it is so easy to visit on one’s own, we’ll discuss the centrality of her story to the Jewish experience in Amsterdam during the Holocaust and provide a basic introduction for further exploration.