Amsterdam-Centrum , North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Wilhelmina Catharinaschool
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 29, 2024
1. Wilhelmina Catharinaschool Marker
Dit gebouw was vroeger de Wilhelmina Catherinaschool. Tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog stond er ineens een muur middenin de school. De helft van de leerlingen werd verbannen naar de achterkant omdat ze joods waren. Slechts enkele kinderen overleefden de massamoord.
Jullie namen het voor ons op. Als ze ons vernederden in het concentratiekamp dacht ik: de voorkantkinderen vonden w้l dat we gewoon bij elkaar hoorden. Jullie trokken je niets aan van die muur.
Uit Het Verlaten Hotel, Mirjam Elias
Leerlingen van de ASVO & De Kleine Reus
25 februari 2005 de dag van de Februaristaking zestig jaar na de bevrijding
For all the children who went home from school and were never seen again...
This building used to be the Wilhelmina Catherina School. During World War II, a wall suddenly appeared in the middle of the school. Half of the students were banished to the back because they were Jewish. Only a few children survived the mass murder.
You stood up for us. When they humiliated us in the concentration camp I thought: the front children did think we belonged together. You didn't care about that wall."
From Het Verlaten Hotel (The Abandoned Hotel), Mirjam Elias
Students of ASVO & De Kleine Reus
February 25, 2005 - the day of the February strike, sixty years after the liberation
Erected 2005
this page online
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Education • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the The Holocaust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 2005.
Location. 52° 21.569′ N, 4° 53.836′ E. Memorial is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (North Holland). It is in Amsterdam-Centrum. It is at the intersection of Weteringschans and Huidekoperstraat, on the right when traveling west on Weteringschans. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: Weteringschans 265HS, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1017 XJ, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, the Benelux Low Countries, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Walraven van Hall Monument (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Jacob van Campen (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 29, 2024
2. Wilhelmina Catharinaschool Marker - wide view
Also see . . .
1. Wilhelmina Catharina (Verdwenen Joodse Scholen, in Dutch). Excerpt (in translation):
In 1941, the special school on a neutral basis, the Wilhelmina Catharinaschool on the Weteringschans, had about 175 children, of whom 78 were Jewish.(Submitted on October 30, 2024.)
The measure issued by the occupier that Jewish children had to be placed in separate Jewish schools, caused great difficulties for the board of this school. The school would then suddenly drop below the standard of 125 pupils and for that reason lose its government subsidy.
It was thought that it could be saved by placing the Jewish pupils in a separate department, in an annex at the back of the school. The passage from the main building was bricked up on both floors and thus a separate Jewish section of theWilhelmina Catharinaschool was created, with its own front door on the Falckstraat: the Jewish department of the Wilhelmina Catharina school.Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 29, 20243. Wilhelmina Catharinaschool Marker - wider view
From mid-September 1941, when the isolation of Jewish pupils was enforced by the occupier, the flow of pupils split up every day into the front-siders and the back-siders.
However, the occupier initially did not accept this construction, so the school was in danger of losing its government subsidy. The board then appealed to Secretary-General Van Dam of the Education Department in The Hague.
The solution was found by splitting the school off and appointing a separate Jewish headmaster, Henri๋tte Bosman-Boom [1903-2004]. In this way, the school could obtain the predicate of independence and qualify for subsidy, like so many of those new Jewish schools that were below the legal foundation standard.
2. The Abandoned Hotel (Mirjam Elias). On the marker is a quote from Het Verlaten Hotel (The Abandoned Hotel), Mirjam Elias book based on the peculiar situation at Wilhelmina Catherinaschool. This page provides additional material about this
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 29, 2024
4. Wilhelmina Catharina School QR Code
Adjacent to the marker is a QR code linking to a page that explains the peculiar situation at the school. See the provided link for more info.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 99 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 30, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
