Day 8: Anne Frank House & Dutch Resistance Museum

The group got up early this morning to visit the Anne Frank House. I was familiar with Anne's story from her diary, which I read back in middle and high school. I also knew about the war from what I've learned in my years of schooling, but that didn't keep me from discovering a thing or two while I was there. Like I didn't know that the family hid in a "secret annex" of the house for two years, unbeknownst to the workers in and around other parts of the house. It amazes me how the family and their accomplices, like Miep Gies, were able to keep quiet for so long without so much as ruffling the shades on a window. 

Since she didn't want anything to do with Germany, her country of birth, Anne chose to write her diary in Dutch rather than German. 

I was surprised to see that the spaces in the house really weren't all that cramped. The stairs were the worst part. I've never climbed a narrower or steeper staircase in my life!

Mom asked me to take a picture of someone standing next to a stove or a shelf so that her middle school students could get a sense of perspective that the online virtual tour doesn't provide. I was sad to hear that picture taking in the house isn't allowed. I didn't notice anyone else as anxious to break this rule as I was, and I kept getting ice-cold looks from folks who noticed my flash. I was only able to get two good pictures. Thankfully the gift shop provided a few materials that should serve up a bit of the perspective that Mom was looking for.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Dutch Resistance Museum. While minuscule compared to other museums around Amsterdam, the DRM chronicles the story of how The Netherlands functioned under Nazi occupation following the bombing of Rotterdam. This was a fascinating experience chock full of artifacts and interactive displays. I just wish some of their display cases were wider. In some spots, you can hardly tell what's encased there!

We had a lovely tour guide who was originally from Texas and had family visiting from New Jersey. She taught us that Holland had been neutral before the Rotterdam bombing. Also, the German Nazis inspired a Dutch Nazi organization known as the NSB, and NSB agents were notorious for being traitors. It wasn't clear to me in what capacity. Most obviously, they should be considered traitors for abandoning their former way of life and adopting the ideals of the oppressive Nazi party. But I forgot to ask if any NSB changed their mind and abandoned the Nazis in favor of returning to their old way of Dutch life. Dutch resistance groups, those who opposed the German and NSB occupation, had several young adult members, and perhaps their most daring feat was smuggling 400-500 Jewish children out of the country to safety. One of the more surprising facts I learned was that the Dutch were still held accountable for their taxes upon returning to The Netherlands from war or the concentration camps. 

On the way out of the museum, something else dawned on me. The exit signs over doors do not look a thing like the exit signs in America. No red EXIT printed in giant letters. Here it's bright green with a small square in the middle and an arrow pointing down.

All in all, this Thursday has been an awesome day. It doesn't feel like we've been here a week already. I've learned so much in the last few days, and I'm glad I've been able to share it with you readers. Can't wait to see what adventures the next two weeks have in store!