From Theatre to Prison
The “Hollandse Schouwburg” - nowadays a memorial - used to be a theater for shows and cabaret.
Address: Plantage Middenlaan # 24. At the latter part of 1941 the German occupying forces forbade the Jews
to linger in public places such as parks, cafes, and theaters. They gave orders to convert the Hollandse
Schouwburg into a Jewish theater. Only here Jewish artists were allowed to perform; and it was the only
theater Jews were permitted to attend. On November 16, 1941 the opening as Joodsche Schouwburg took
place with a symphony concert featuring compositions by Mendelson Bartholdy. Quite a number of Jewish
musicians, who formerly had been members of the famous Dutch Concertgebouw Orchestra, performed with
the orchestra.
Plays, concerts, and cabaret were being performed at the Joodsche Schouwburg. At that time many Jewish
refugees from Germany lived in Amsterdam. Therefore the performances were mainly presented in Dutch and
German. One of the most well-known cabaret artists of that time was Herbert Nelson, who survived the war,
and later on went to New York.
The final performance took place on July 18, 1942. Afterwards the seating was taken out, and the auditorium
was used as an assembly ”camp” for the Jewish detainees. Within one year the Nazis would intern at least
60000 people prior to their being deported to the concentration camp Westerbork in the eastern part of
Holland, and from there to the death camps in the East.
The official in charge of the deportation department was Ferdinand Hugo Aus der Fuenten. He was
particularly proud of the Jewish Theater, and he even received free tickets. Often one got to see this man,
whose main task it became to send Jews to their death, attending a performance - just a normal theatregoer
not wearing his uniform -, right in the middle of his future victims!
