in detail
Opened in 1985, the Amsterdam Resistance Museum has been housed in the splendid Plancius building since 1995. The initiative for the creation of the museum was set up in response to the overwhelming public interest shown in an exhibition in 1984 on the German occupation and Dutch resistance during the Second World War.
The permanent exhibition at the Resistance Museum aims to paint a picture of daily life during the occupation against a backdrop of the development of the war across Europe and the turning point in the history of the occupation in the Netherlands. The focus of both the permanent exhibition and the many changing special displays is the average Dutch person, the question of conformity, resistance and often difficult individual decisions.
Such topics also figure prominently in the diverse educational programmes at the museum during the course of which school children are asked to think about the significance of mutual respect, freedom and democracy.
The Amsterdam Resistance Museum is one of the most popular history museums in the Netherlands. It has been housed in the grandiose Plancius building since 1995. The permanent exhibition concentrates on a number of themes including everyday life and the oppression and persecution of the Dutch people during the German occupation in the Second World War. Particular importance is attached to the topic of resistance which is portrayed as a matter of difficult individual decisions.
1984
A group of former resistance fighters organized an exhibition on the occupation and resistance which was shown in the centrally located 'op de Dam', in Amsterdam. The exhibition was so successful that a decision was taken to open a museum.
1985
Opening of the Resistance Museum in the Amsterdam district of Rivierenbuurt in the presence of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Ed Van Thijn, the Mayor of Amsterdam.
1994
Decision to relocate to new premises to accommodate the expanding collection of the Amsterdam Resistance Museum.
28 April 1999
Reopening of the museum in the monumental Plancius Building opposite Artis.
2002
Museum voted the best museum in the Netherlands by the 'Historisch Nieuwsblad'.
Amsterdam, 2001, Resistance Museum in Plancius Building, Amsterdam Resistance Museum.
Amsterdam, 2001, View into the exhibition, Amsterdam Resistance Museum.
