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Federal Foreign Office supports new Nationaal Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam
The Federal Foreign Office is supporting the new Nationaal Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam. A total amount of four million euros will be made available. The reconstruction work on two historical buildings is due to start on 2 February and will be completed by 2022.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas issued the following statement on 13 January:
The Nazis’ annihilation apparatus had a most abominable impact in the Netherlands. Our shared memory of the darkest chapter in German history highlights the achievements of European integration and of the reconciliation between Germany and the Netherlands. The Holocaust Museum’s approach of teaching young people about this issue sets the right priority. The significance of democracy and universal human rights is stressed. I am grateful for this important contribution to the fight against antisemitism and glad that we are able to support this vital work by contributing to the new Holocaust Museum.
Background information:
Of the 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands at the time of the German occupation in May 1940, 107,000 were deported to German concentration and extermination camps. Only around 5000 of them survived.
The construction of the new Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam will entail the partial reconstruction of two historical buildings, which will be linked to each other and designed as a museum: the Hollandse Schouwburg, a theatre which served as an assembly point for deportations, and the Hervormde Kweekschool, a former teacher training college across the street, from where 600 Jewish children were rescued.
The Federal Foreign Office provided 100,000 euros back in 2018 for the preparations for the new museum. The German Bundestag has approved a further 3.9 million euros for the budget years 2020‑2022.
Further information on the museum is available here.