Day 7...Amsterdam..So So Much History!!!

Another early morning as we are off to the big city of Amsterdam.  I love the city, plenty of bikes(few cars as you can see by the picture) and nary a worry about pick-pocketing like in Paris. 

For a large city it is very safe!  The city of Amsterdam, which in fact received its name because the city is located on the Amstel (you beer drinkers(of adult age) should have heard of it!!) River and there are just a “few” dams in and around the city, thus the name Amsterdam. So what have we got in store today...a pretty heavy day when we start to address the significant losses of the Jewish community, mixed with a canal cruise, a little shopping and finishing heavy with Anne Frank House.

There are many amazing things about a canal city and until you go to one you just don’t know! Here is one very interesting piece of information about the history of the “XXX” symbol that is so often associated with explicit sex or pornographic materials. The symbols themselves really don’t have anything to do with sex; they are symbols that are found on the coats of arms of the city of Amsterdam.

The crosses have a religious origin as Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross. Other people say the 3 crosses stand for the dangers of ancient Amsterdam, which were fire, floods and the Black Death, while another story substituted the Black Death with famine. Regardless of the origin of the diagonal crosses or “x’s”, depending on how you perceive them, over a period of time because of Amsterdam’s liberal views and openness about sex they became associated by the “XXX” symbol.

The first area that we arrived at was the Portuguese Synagogue.  The reason it is referred to as the Portuguese Synagogue was because of the history of the area dating back to the Spanish Inquisition.   First of all they were not even born and bred Portuguese, they were expelled from Spain because they would not convert to Catholicism.  Secondly, those that stayed and actually survived the Inquisition, eventually wanted to move somewhere that had a little more religious freedom, and if you were

looking for freedom of choices, Amsterdam was the choice then and now.  The reason the Portuguese became associated was due to the fact they did not want to be associated with Spain who was at war with the Dutch.  Clear as mud!!! 

The synagogue was very beautiful and very different from the churches we attend on PEI. First and foremost all of the benches or pews face one another.....I actually liked that a lot. Prior to that, all of the males had to put on the traditional Jewish Yarmulke, which although we are not apart of the faith, is still required.  Most of the guys thought that was pretty cool regardless.

From there we went to the Auschwitz Memorial located in a nearby park and spoke to a wonderful lady who told us more about family members and other Jews and their struggles during those times. Another very powerful moment in our tour for sure! The memorial is made up of 6 panes of broken mirrors to symbolize the 6 million lives that were broken during that time, and since the memorial is on the ground, each time you look over the broken mirrors you also see your own reflection.  The symbolism is unreal…..

After the intro to the history and the faith, we were scheduled to visit the Dutch Theatre and the Jewish Museum….with the number of students in the area we were unable to visit the Auschwitz Museum, but considering what we are getting in Berlin, we will certainly make up for it.  Starting at the Dutch Theatre, we had the curator of the museum as our tour guide and we were treated to an extra special tour.  The theatre, which doesn’t stand anymore, was centred in the Jewish quarter of the city and was a vibrant part of the community until the Nazis began to enact laws to control the Jews after the initial occupation.  What the kids had to realize that it took time to plan and build the concentration camps, so they simply started with restrictions in movement and association among the Jews and the others in the city.  Once the camps were completed, the plans were swiftly carried out.

 

Area where theatre once stood

Powerful stuff was told and seen as we looked at the list of names of all the Jewish families who were deported through Amsterdam in the 1940’s, once the Germans invaded and the Dutch capitulated. Out of the roughly 120,000 Jews that lived in the city at that time, 104,000 of them never returned. No need to say more. The theatre eventually served as the deportation site for all the Jews in the city because directly in front of it was railway tracks and therefore the Nazis could easily ship them out during WWII. Very eerie and extremely sad when you heard the curator talk about members of their own families and the round up and deportation. 

The museum also house a database of each have the 6 million plus Jews that were murdered during the existence of the camps.  The wall of names is actually interactive and you can use a device to set on the wall and it will take the surname and search the list of people associated with that name.  Hard to fathom….

At the end we also got to sample traditional Jewish food such as fish cakes(delicious) potato cookies(pretty good), unleavened bread(much like a cracker and pretty tasty) and finally butter
cake(WHOA…taste buds off the charts and arteries hardening at the same time!!)  Coming from mono-cultural Summerside, all of this was a great learning experience for your children.

From the heavy morning of learning and reflection, we headed to lunch on the main street, a little shopping and a canal cruise.  What a great way to see Amsterdam, especially when its hailing and a torrential downpour (no joke)  I thought we might flood the city!!!!  But for the worst part of the storm we were completely covered and happy.  The cruise was still great as I said and an excellent way to see the entire city, because the canals run through the city and you get to see each section.

After the river cruise we have to walk towards supper and are going to cross through the infamous Red Light district…now please don’t have a heart attack.  The area is far overblown and we saw parents and their little children passing through the area. 

David did an excellent job of explaining to the kids about the liberal culture of the city and the concepts behind the drugs and the prostitution (of which they are not on the street but in windows at ground floor….this time, unlike the last we went through later in the day and a number of them left their blinds open and I can assure you there was nothing more to see than what you would at Chelton Beach on a warm summer day!). What I didn’t realize was that drugs are not legalized in Amsterdam, the police simply choose to ignore the use of “soft” drugs and their private usage and deal more with the hard drugs and other types of crime that are more difficult and dangerous to cope with. 

AS far as the discussion on prostitution, which they will get in grade 11 law classes; David Harrod made an extremely interesting point about the industry. He presented the fact to them that there are more slaves now in North America than there were during the time of the infamous “Triangular Trade” from Africa to North America and back to Europe. Shocking for sure!!! The majority of these slaves are in the sex trades are in it against their will, often kidnapped and taken illegally from Europe, or promised jobs as actresses, etc. In the system in Europe, these women pay taxes on their earnings, receive medical care and insurance as well as pensionable earnings.  I realize it sounds crazy but it’s true. Anyways, after a couple of minutes we are through and off to supper. You can all relax now that it is over!!! 

Dinner this evening was another hit at Wagamama’s, which is a rice and noodle house with ice cream for dessert.  We are keeping them fed, which keeps them going, because according to Kevin Bustards fitbit, we crossed over the 35 mile mark this afternoon!  After dinner we are off to Anne Frank house.

As we waited outside the museum/house we all brushed up on our Anne Frank story. Although I know the story very well, I have not read the book(only the movie) and a number of them were very excited because of their love of the book. As we wound around the beginning of the museum before we actually enter the house, Anne Frank’s writing on the walls is chilling to say the least. I am not sure if I can describe what we saw over the next hour, I just know that I was speechless when I left. I will let the kids explain their thoughts from the day and will post a couple of videos pertaining to the house and leave you to form your own opinion...it is a must see when in this city.  Good night from all of us and I hope that you are enjoying the sleeping material.  On that note I need to be up in 4 hours!!!!

Lindsay Ramsay-KISH
Today was a very moving and eye opening day. We had started at the Jewish historical museum and we were told about the events and history that the Jewish population possessed. You never really realize how much the Jewish people were affected by the war. We were told how they made a living by selling items in the streets, to what happened when the families got separated. We couldn't even imagine being younger than 12 and being taken away from our parents knowing that you will not see them again.

We then moved onto see the Portuguese synagogue that is still in use today. It was a beautiful place with such a rich history. Learning about how the women and men would be separate in the synagogue and the men have to wear the traditional hat was something that we all never really knew before about the Jewish community.

After the synagogue, we continued onto the Dutch theatre, where we learned about its history and uses amongst the history. I found it very interesting in the fact that the girl who lived next to the theatre, Lydia, had seen her friend in this yard of the theatre and took a photo, not knowing that it would be the last photo ever taken of her friend. The morning was very interesting with the guided tours we had. In the afternoon we took a canal tour around Amsterdam, where we were told about the history of the city, what each type of house/building meant and what each canal was. Amsterdam is a very interesting and beautiful place, especially seen from a boat on the canal.

Finally, we ended our day by visiting the Anne Frank house. This has to be the highlight of the day as I was such an amazing experience that I will never forget. To be able to walk around and see the house that her and her family along with others hid for 2 years was incredible. The spaces were all so tiny and the amount of effort it must have taken those 8 people to stay quiet while the Netherlands was under occupation was something that no one will ever be able to comprehend by looking at pictures. You really need to be there to understand all that they went through. Upon leaving Anne Frank's house, we all took a moment just to think about all we just had saw and we really took the time to appreciate it. Amazing day.

Day 7 - Cassidy MacIntosh. KRHS
Today we visited the Jewish memorials and the Anne Frank museum. I really enjoyed walking around the streets of Amsterdam visiting all of the beautiful Jewish memorials because it was a brand new experience for me. I had not known much about the Jewish religion before today but with the help of all the amazing guides I learned a lot of new and interesting information about things like the Sabbath and just their culture in general. I also really liked trying the traditional Jewish food like butter cake which was one of my personal favorites.

After supper we visited the Anne Frank museum which was an amazing experience that I am very lucky to have had. Visiting the museum was very touching and eye opening. Actually being there and seeing things like the real bookshelf that they hid behind and Anne's diaries is a lot different from reading about it in books or watching it on TV. It really hits you and makes things real. I can't imagine being in her shoes at such a young age. It was my favorite part of the day and one of my favorite parts of the entire trip, I will never forget it. Overall today was a really emotional and amazing day.