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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  On our first trip to Amsterdam together, my husband and I wanted to get a city tour and make the most of our relatively short time here. Historical Amsterdam... read more Tours did not disappoint us! Our guide Tijs gave us such a personal, historic and fun...More

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    avatar thumb EdSamDC
    November 24, 2018
  • star rating  Living in Amsterdam I read quite a bit about its history. However, during the history of expats tour Tijs knew how to surpise me with interesting details I didn't know... read more before. Time was flying! Thanks!

    tripadvisor logo
    avatar thumb suusjeaussie1979
    April 1, 2019
  • star rating  Edgar took my colleagues + I on a tour of multiple areas of Amsterdam and shared so much history + culture with us when we walked.

    I remembered so... read more much of it because it was so well-paced and shared that I've shared a lot of it with friends who have visited since!

    Thanks Edgar and thanks to Historical Amsterdam Tours!

    tripadvisor logo
    chrisfolwell
    May 11, 2022
  • star rating  We’ve lived in Amsterdam for 10 years and finally took the time to learn more about the fascinating history. The financial tour did not disappoint - learning about both the... read more financial innovations of the Dutch, but also the uncomfortable truths in its history. Thank you, Thijs, for the engaging tour!

    tripadvisor logo
    Ramela S
    July 1, 2021
  • star rating  Tijs gave us a wonderful tour of Amsterdam focused on literary history. He showed us where several main Dutch Authors lived, took us to sites that inspired writers and even... read more made a 'quote' game from the books of Dutch writers. And more. He was very...More

    tripadvisor logo
    avatar thumb Joyce S
    April 4, 2019

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