Until 1940, The Hollandsche Schouwburg was a popular theatre,
putting on many well-known Dutch plays. In 1941 the Nazi occupiers
changed the theatre's name into Joodsche Schouwburg, or, Jewish
Theatre. After that, only Jewish actors and artistes were allowed
to perform there - for a strictly Jewish audience. Over the years
the function of the Schouwburg changed drastically. Between 1942
and 1943 Jews from Amsterdam and surrounding districts were obliged
to report at the Hollandsche Schouwburg before being deported. Most
of them were brought to the theatre by force. They were transported
to the Dutch transit camps in Westerbork or Vught. These were the
last stop before they were herded into trains bound for one of the
extermination camps.
After the liberation, attempts to put on public performances in the
Hollandsche Schouwburg led to a storm of protest. In 1947 the
theatre was sold to the Hollandsche Schouwburg Comittee, aimed at
preventing the Schouwburg from ever being used again as a theatre.
In 1962 the city council of Amsterdam placed a monument here in
remembrance of the Jewish victims of the Nazi terror. In 1993 a
memorial chapel was installed, listing the 6.700 family names of
the 104.000 Jews from the Netherlands who were murdered in the war.
Today the Hollandsche Schouwburg is a monument and war
memorial.