Photos

From here the Jews were deported to camp Westerbork. Initially, the Hollandsche Schouwburg served as a prominent theatre in the Netherlands. However, in 1941, under the directives of the Nazi regime, it was designated as a Jewish theatre. Subsequently, it became a site for the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. In a poignant act of witness, Lydia Riezouw, a teenager at the time, captured five photographs from her home window in 1942. These photographs depicted Jewish prisoners at the Hollandsche Schouwburg, among them her friend, Greetje Velleman. Riezouw's photographs have since been displayed in exhibitions across the globe, providing a stark visual testament to the events of that era. On 4 May 1962, the theatre was officially consecrated as a memorial site by the mayor of Amsterdam, with its auditorium dedicated to the memory of the Dutch victims of the Holocaust.