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World War II History Tour

World War II tour

The story of an occupied city

World War II History Tour

Book tour
Book tour

World War II tour

World War II History Tour

  • Startingpoint
    Startingpoint

    We start at the main entrance of the Concert Gebouw at the Museum square.
    End is at the Dam square

  • Duration | Distance
    Duration | Distance

    2.5 hours | -/+ 3 km (1.4 ml)

  • Highlights
    Highlights

    - Nazi headquarters on Museum square
    - The Nazi Robbery bank
    - Jewish art collections
    - The Mayor's residence
    - The Halifax aircraft crash
    - Royal Palace and royal family during WWII

  • Price
    Price

    See Booking page

Schedule your
private World War II tour

More Information
Tour Reviews
  • Startingpoint
    Startingpoint

    We start at the main entrance of the Concert Gebouw at the side of the Museum square.
    End is at the Dam square

  • Duration | Distance
    Duration | Distance

    2.5 hours | -/+ 3 km (1.4 ml)

  • Highlights
    Highlights

    - Nazi headquarters on Museum square
    - The Nazi Robbery bank
    - Jewish art collections
    - The Mayor's residence
    - The Halifax aircraft crash
    - Royal Palace and royal family during WWII

  • Price
    Price

    See Booking page

Book your
private World War II tour

More Information
Tour Reviews

World War II in Amsterdam

This three hours WWII tour will be all about the five years of Nazi occupation and the holocaust in Amsterdam. How did ordinary Amsterdammers deal with the Germans?

Get a deeper insight into how this tragic world history effected the city and how the scars are still visible today. Random family stories, courageous individuals and the loss of about 10% of the population, paint the picture of WWII in Amsterdam.

The other diary

We start at the entrance of the Concertgebouw (Concert hall) at the Museum square. Nearby is the home of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish resistance member who wrote a an intruiguing diary testifying daily life under Nazi occupation. Her almost neighbour was Tony van Renthergem a leading Dutch war hero, later involved in high-level espionage. These are just two of the people we like to highlight in this tour.

Historical corruption

Walking along the Amsterdam canals we will deal with some misconceptions about Amsterdam during World War II: Amsterdam was not bombed by the Germans, there was hardly any resistance, people didn’t know what happened with their rounded up neighbors… Over the years the history of WWII has been used and abused on many levels. We diligently researched the sources and the raw data for our version of the story.

WWII and royalty

At the Royal Palace on the Dam you learn more about the role of the Royal Family during WWII. How effective was queen Wilhelmina while hiding in London? Get the heroic story of the concierge of the Royal Palace, who single handedly kept the palace out of the hands of the Nazi’s. Which tragic event occurred on Dam Square on May 7th 1945, three days after the Germans surrendered? And how is WWII remembered in the Netherlands today?

This is where our tour ends.

Tour reviews

  • star rating  This walking tour gave an insight about Amsterdam during the dark period of 1940 and 1945. The 2 hour tour started at the Anne Frank House and ended at... read more the Jewish cultural quarter in the Plantage. Tijs spoke about the harrowing times that led up to the second world war, the

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    Ildiko F
    March 1, 2020
  • star rating  Excellent bespoke tour of highlights of the Rijksmuseum. Edgar Foley was a great and knowledgable guide! He put the history of Dutch Art in the Golden Age and... read more earlier in context.

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    ColinP975
    May 31, 2023
  • star rating  We booked this tour for UCL economics students (18-21 years old) and everyone enjoyed it a lot! Our guides Tijs, Edgar, Maarten and Joyce were very knowledgeable and incredibly kind.... read more The 2.5 hours tour was engaging and we received answers to all our questions. We...More

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    avatar thumb Vendela D
    November 10, 2017
  • star rating  This walking tour gave an insight about Amsterdam during the dark period of 1940 and 1945. The 2 hour tour started at the Anne Frank House and ended at... read more the Jewish cultural quarter in the Plantage. Tijs spoke about the harrowing times that led up to the second world war, the daily struggels of the jewish citizens of Amsterdam, their persecution and their massacre in various death camps in Poland. We also learnt about how ordinary Amsterdammers tried to resist the nazi occupation of the city and how they tried to save lives. The tour itself leads through the most beautiful parts of Amsterdam and I highly recommend it to everyone who has not much time to spend in Amsterdam. You will not only visit stunning parts of the city but you will also learn more about the important topic of the Holocaust. At times, I felt emotional during this tour but it was one of those tours that I will remember for a long time. I absolutely recommend.

    tripadvisor logo
    IldikoF8
    March 8, 2020
  • star rating  This was an amazing walking tour of Rembrandt’s steps, where he lived, about his work, the good and bad, etc. It was extremely informative and our guide was Tijs who... read more did an outstanding job. He was funny, and professional, and it was obvious he is passionate about history. Definitely worth doing!

    tripadvisor logo
    vivkadlecek
    August 18, 2020

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