Today was "Nazi Day" for us. Picking up with our love of history (more than visual art), we decided to focus today on World War II history. We toured the Dutch Resistance Museum, which was a wonderful, if not tragic telling of the various ways in which the Dutch resisted the Nazis after Germany bombarded Rotterdam in May, 1940. The Germans had thought they would take over the Netherlands in one day. The stubborn Dutch fought hard and lasted four days, but were just too small and inept to defend themselves against the powerful Germany. So after the German invasion, the Dutch resisted through strikes, and demonstrations of support for their deposed Dutch government which was in exile in England. The Dutch also resisted the Nazis by, among other things, forging documents to conceal Jews, hiding Jews and others who were targeted by the Nazis other courageous forms of resistance. The exhibit interjected various moral dilemmas that faced the Dutch. Do you give up your government job in protest to the new German government, or do you stay and try to do your best to protect your fellow citizens? Is it okay to lie when you believe the Government is not serving the best interests of your fellow citizens?
The exhibit ended by admonishing us against intolerance in all of its forms, whether based on race, religion or sexual orientation, or whatever else. Everyone I know decries the Nazis. But isn't Nazism just an extreme form of intolerance that we either reject or embrace in more subtle forms every day? It makes one think.
We stopped for a nice lunch right next door to the museum, and across from the Artis Zoo, where some Jews were hidden in dwellings kept for animals, and fed by the zookeepers. Then we used a booklet we'd bought at the museum to trace the route to the Anne Frank House, viewing various sites along the way of incidents that took place during the Nazi occupation, including memorials to dock strikers, locations where clashes took place between pro- and anti-Nazi factions, where day care providers would smuggle out Jewish babies and children that were awaiting deportation take them into hiding; and where the Nazis cracked down and started rounding up the Jews for deportation. Ultimately, we ended up at the Anne Frank House and Museum. Of course, we all know the story by seeing the play or reading the diary of Anne Frank. But it was powerfully sobering to walk through the rooms and reflect on the lives of Anne and her family and friends—8 in all, who hid in less than 1,000 square feet of “living” quarters for 25 months before someone ratted on them and they were arrested. Anne and her sister Margot died of typhus in a concentration camp only weeks before the Allies liberated the camps. The only survivor in Anne's family was her father, Otto. It was a compelling tour, for sure.
We didn't feel like going out to eat yet again, and were working on our blog when I asked the 48-year-old son of our host, Earnest, if there was a way to order in a pizza. I was joking, but he said of course, and proceeded to go online and order pizza for us! He offered us wine, and we ended up spending the evening visiting with him, his girlfriend, Hetty, and our fellow guests as they came back from dinner. It was really a fun, enjoyable evening of local color and good company, without having to go out! This is truly a charmed trip!
Tomorrow we leave Amsterdam, and take the train to Rotterdam, where we will be graciously taken in by the sister of one of my partners, Steve Siegel. We've not met Mary Sue and her husband, but Steve suggested we get to know each other while we're in the Netherlands, so I'm sure this will be another great chapter in our European adventure!
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