During the Second World War, the Olympiaplein was one of the places where Amsterdam’s Jews were forced to gather, on the orders of the occupying forces.
More than 100,000 Jews from the Netherlands were murdered during the Holocaust.
This photograph was taken during the major raid in Olympiaplein on June 20, 1943, by collaborator and Dutch Nazi party member Herman Heukels. The names of the people in the photo are not known.
The memorial consists of shadows from asphalt, in the spot where the photographed victims walked, so as to permanently remind us of this event.
It was designed by artist Ram Katzir with Laura Borgstein, Zara Hoeffelman and Anne Kleijn, students from Het Amsterdam Lyceum.
Spatial design by Architectural Prescription
Commissioned by the city of Amsterdam
Photo courtesy of NIOD
Official unveiling on 20 June, 2022
Watch making off video
Read the New York Times article