A new exhibition by Dutch historian Wally De Lang has revealed the fate of 400 Jews who disappeared 80 years ago from Amsterdam – a fate which was not known until now.
In February 1941, nine months after the Nazis invaded and occupied the Netherlands, the first pogroms began on Dutch soil. Local Nazi party members posted bills in shop and cafe windows that read “Jews Not Wanted.” Then they went on a rampage in the Jewish Quarter, breaking windows and shouting jeers.
Young Jewish men and boys banded together to protect their neighborhood. When Dutch Nazis returned a few days later, the Jews fought back. Street fights went on for days resulting in many casualties, including the death of one Dutch Nazi, Hendrik Koot.
In retaliation, the Green Police — German Nazi officers in long green coats and high boots — randomly grabbed about 400 Jewish men off the streets during a two-day sweep, ultimately forcing them into trucks and driving away. Most of these men were never heard from again and nobody knew what had happened to them or even precisely how many people had disappeared.
De Lang, a researcher of Dutch Jewish history for several decades, refused to accept that normative people from Amsterdam had just disappeared without a trace and set out to discover their stories.
“It was impossible for me to comprehend that 400 people of this town just disappeared, without anyone knowing who they were,” De Lang told the New York Times.





