Dutch Resistance Museum

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) tells the story of the Dutch people in World War II. From 14 May 1940 to 5 May 1945, the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. The permanent exhibition recreates the atmosphere of the streets of Amsterdam during the German occupation of the World War II. Big photographs, old posters, objects, films and sounds from that horrible time, help to recreate the scene. The background of the Holocaust is visualized to the visitor. This is an exhibition about the everyday life during that time, but also about exceptional historical events, resistance of the population against the Nazis and heroism.

The building bearing the Star of David and the name of Petrus Plancius (1550-1622), the Renaissance Amsterdam clergyman and geographer, was built in 1876 by the Jewish singing society Oefening Baart Kunst. It served for several decades as a Jewish cultural center and synagogue. The Oefening Baart Kunst society kept the Plancius name on its building to underline its respect to the Amsterdam city traditions. That was the name of the old house which stood on this spot before. For a long time Plancius building served in many different functions. Since 1999, after its renovation, it is the seat of the Verzetsmuseum.

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Category: Museums in Netherlands

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Anita Chiasson (38 days ago)
An immersive, interesting and engaging experience all round. The audio guide is a great way to bring the individual stories to life and to feel a connection with these stories and people. The museum has been carefully designed in a way that you feel you are transported back in time, with each room. Easily spent 2.5 hours here but could have spent longer! Interesting additional exhibit on Slavery as well, which was informative, interesting (yet also very sad). Well done to the curators and staff of this museum. If you are in Amsterdam, then this place is well worth a visit and your attention.
Doug Neilson (2 months ago)
Excellent. If you want to understand WW2 experience in Netherlands this is the place. Quite large, new, and with imaginative displays and multimedia. Audio guide tells the story. The Holocaust Museum is 3 mins away also. Tram to Artis, by the Zoo.
Nien (Nien) (2 months ago)
Impressive museum. It remains a big question mark how people have let it happen. And why people today remain silent when confronted with injustice. But seeing the strength of the people in resistance, shows what staying true to humanity can accomplish. Take care of each other, no matter the differences. The world needs love, not hate ❤️.
Ashley Primo (3 months ago)
It’s certainly worth a visit, there is lots to see and learn, I was there for almost two hours which is quite a lot when contrasting to how small the museum is. This said, the one major gripe I have is the ‘audio guide’ — the narration is perfect, however very much let down by the playback device itself. It’s extremely temperamental, and by the end extremely frustrating, often playback would stop mid-playback (meaning you have to start from the beginning) or start playing a whole different exhibit. (Whilst I was there, multiple other guests were seemingly experiencing similar issues) In addition, I would add some feedback — that it’s quite hard to understand where to go next, would be quite useful if exhibits were numbered and easy to follow order was established; I often found myself waking back and forth.
Julian Curtis (4 months ago)
Very interesting and moving experience. The museum is well laid out, and follows from the start of the war right through to the liberation, there are some very moving stories regarding deportation to concentration camps. Very worthwhile looking round to understand the history and suffering during the Second World War.
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