A special book was published this summer, written by local residents; ‘Young in the war’ provides a picture of the Plantage-Weesperbuurt in wartime.
The Plantage-Weesperbuurt was a special place during the war. A Jewish neighborhood where a lot has happened. The Hollandsche Schouwburg was located here, from where tens of thousands of Jews were deported. Here were the Jewish hospitals that were being emptied. ARTIS accommodated people in hiding. And this is where the attack on the Population Register took place. And much more.
Two local residents of today, Ester Wouthuysen and Willem Campschreur, have written a book in which twenty local residents from that time tell what they experienced in this neighborhood during those years, most of them were children. Some of the interviewees were Jewish, the majority were not. What have they seen and experienced? What did that war mean to them?
The stories acquire a clear coherence precisely because everything took place in this one neighbourhood. Background information is given about all the places and events that are told about, and everything is extensively illustrated with maps, photos and other images. The result is a penetrating image of the Plantage-Weesperbuurt in wartime.
Young in the war – Memories of the Plantage-Weesperbuurt Amsterdam 1940-1945, Willem Campschreur and Ester Wouthuysen, Boom publishers Amsterdam, ISBN 9789024448494, € 29.90
Source: website 1018