AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

The exhibition The Persecution and Deportation of Jews from The Netherlands in the Years 1940-1945

Opened in 2005, it starts with photographs depicting scenes from Jewish community life in the years before the Holocaust. This part tells the story of the Westerbork camp, which was built for Jews fleeing persecution in Germany. The German invasion changed that situation—from a camp for refugees from Germany, it became a place where Jews were assembled before being deported to be killed.

The exhibition includes a documentary film shot during the loading and departure of one of the transports. Gypsies were also sent from this camp to be killed.

The fate of Dutch citizens deported to Auschwitz is shown in the final room. One part of the exhibition is a wall bearing thousands of names of deportees, behind which visitors can learn about the biographies of some of the victims.