The money earned by renting trams to the Nazis for the deportation of Amsterdam Jews is donated. The municipality and the GVB announced this today. The tram stops where Jews had to board will also have a memorial.
The reason for the plans is the book ‘Disappeared City’, about the tram that was used for deportation during the Second World War. Makers of the book, which was also made into a film, revealed earlier this month that the GVB played a crucial role in the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews in Amsterdam.
Return
In a press release, the council and the GVB say that they want to part with the money earned from this. This amounts to 61,000 euros, but the municipality has rounded that up to 100,000 euros. According to Mayor Femke Halsema, the amount is not intended as compensation, but as a return of ‘money that the municipality should never have received.’
Another part of the plans is to place memorials at the tram stops on Beethovenstraat, Victorieplein and Plantage Middenlaan. The latter stop is currently still called ‘Artis’, but the name will probably change to Artis/National Holocaust Museum. The GVB has stated that it is in any case positive about this.
The GVB will provide additional explanation in its own travel app about the role of the stops in the persecution of Jews. The municipality also says it is considering whether a memorial can be placed at Amsterdam Muiderpoort station.
Other research
At the request of the mayor, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) has been working on a broader investigation into the deportation of Jewish Amsterdammers in the Second World War since 2020. In addition to the GVB, other municipal services are also examined.
That research is expected to be completed early next year. The municipality has announced that it will then consider whether money should be returned again.
Tags: municipality GVB give money earned deportations Jews
