Verdwenen Stad
Revealing documentary about the involvement of the Amsterdam Tram in the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews - including Anne Frank and her family - during World War II.
In 2019, the Dutch Railways paid a compensation of 43 million euros to Jewish survivors and their descendants for the organisation’s complicity in the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews. However, another transportation company, the Amsterdam Tram (GVB), also played a significant role in this tragic chapter of Dutch history, a forgotten story that is now brought to light.
Between July 1942 and September 1944, 63,000 out of 77,000 Amsterdam Jews were deported, as many as 48,000 of them by tram. This was done using a special tram hired by the Nazis. The tram was transformed into a mobile prison, driven by Amsterdam tram drivers, guarded by Dutch police, and facilitated by Amsterdam officials. How come no one intervened?
Director Willy Lindwer and writer Guus Luijters discovered previously unpublished invoices sent by the tram company to the Nazis. This marked the beginning of the ‘Verdwenen Stad’ (Disappeared City) project, which resulted in this documentary and an accompanying book. They spoke to survivors, who share their bewildering story, and took a journey through Amsterdam, in the original tram, past ‘sites of guilt'. By doing so, VERDWENEN STAD offers us a new and revealing look at the murder of Amsterdam’s Jews.
De voorstelling van maandag 1 april om 12:15 uur is te boeken als filmontbijt.