﻿ Anne Frank's Amsterdam
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1940 Amsterdam occupied
City centre
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Truus Wijsmuller helps 73 children escape to England

The children are all Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria and are housed in the Burgerweeshuis (an orphanage) in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.

Truus Wijsmuller-Meijer soon becomes involved in helping Jews. She works regularly for the committee set up in 1933 to help Jewish refugees. From 1938 when she manages to get Adolf Eichmann to allow her to organize the first transportation, she starts organizing the evacuation of Jewish children from Nazi Germany. She manages to get thousands out of the country. One of the places where she houses the children is the orphanage on the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.

Children from the orphanage in their gardens, summer 1939.

Truus is in Paris when she hears about the German invasion of the Netherlands. She returns to Amsterdam as quickly as she can. She then hears from the Commander of the Amsterdam garrison that she must take the children from the orphanage to Ijmuiden from where they can be taken to England. They pick up a few more children on the way and 74 children are put on board the SS Bodegraven. It is the last ship to leave port. Truus doesn’t travel with the children; she wants to stay with her husband.

The ship sails for England, but because the children are German they are not allowed to dock in England. One child dies during the first night on board. The ship continues to sail towards Belfast, but eventually returns to Liverpool and docks on 19 May 1940. The children remain in England in orphanages or with families for the rest of the war.

During the occupation of the Netherlands Truus Wijsmuller continues to help Jews leave the country.

After the war, she becomes a member of the board of the Anne Frank House.

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People against the Nazis commit acts of resistance. These people are mostly organized into small groups which are often part of a larger organization. Acts of resistance include; helping people in hiding, stealing and forging ration coupons and identity papers, attacks on public records offices and distribution offices, sabotage, assassinating German military personnel and collaborators; printing and distributing illegal newspapers.

more on this subject

1938 Many Jewish refugees after Kristallnacht


1940 Amsterdam occupied


1940  Amsterdam occupied

1941 Jews allowed to do and less


1941  Jews allowed to do and less

1942 It becomes more dangerous for Jews


1942  It becomes more dangerous for Jews

1943 Deportations and attacks


1943  Deportations and attacks

1944 Discovered and arrested


1944  Discovered and arrested

1945 Joy and sadness


1945  Joy and sadness

1946 Slowly the threads are picked up again


1950 Lasting memory


1950  Lasting memory
  • 1950

    Part of the citation on the monument ‘Jewish Gratitude’
  • picture:Once a year, two minutes silence

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Bird’s eye view of Anne Frank’s Amsterdam
