Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam

The Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam) keeps alive the memories of the Netherlands during World War II and tries to make people aware of what freedom means today. The museum has one of the most extensive collections artefacts on resistance in the country. The permanent exhibition is awarded by the most important historical magazine. The museum organizes about three temporary exhibitions a year and in addition lectures, film viewings and educational activities for youngsters and students. The texts and audio are available in Dutch and English. For the main exhibition 'The Netherlands in World War II' there is an free audio guide in Dutch, English, Spanish, Portugese, Italian, French and German. In October 2013 the Resistance Museum Junior has opened. In 2015 the museum is chosen by the children as the best children's museum in the Netherlands. The museum takes the experiences of ordinary people and there everyday lives as starting point. In Junior these are the stories of four children who tell there stories about there lives in and what influence war had on the rest of there live. Visitors get the change to relive, to relate (to empathy) and are made to think: about occupation, prosecution, collaboration and resistance and about present day values such as freedom, rule of law and democracy. The Resistance Museum Junior is the country’s first children’s museum about World War Two, with true stories and authentic items that were part of children’s lives during the occupation by Nazi Germany. Junior is aimed at children from the age of nine, who may visit with or without their (grand)parents. The texts and audio are available in Dutch and English. It is situated in a newly built extension to the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The main target groups are youth/pupils, tourists and general public. The museum has an important educational program for both primary and secondary schools in Dutch and English and a lot of English speaking visitors. Also a growing amount of German youth/students visit the museum.