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Jewish Lyceum

The Jewish Lyceum was located in the school building in Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter. This school was meants exclusively for Jewish students and teachers, who were no longer allowed in non-Jewish schools.

Location

Amsterdam

52.361351 N 4.90487 E

Voormalige Stadstimmertuinen 1

Amsterdam

Nederland

Address: Voormalige Stadstimmertuinen 1, Amsterdam.[1]

On 3 April 1912, the Amsterdam city council decided to give the street between Amstel and Weesperplein the name Voormalige Stadstimmertuin.[2] That name was chosen because of the carpentry workshop or city carpentry garden that was located here from 1660 to 1900.[3]

Before 1940, the Hoogere Burger School (HBS; Higher Civic Scool) with a 5-year course was located at number 2.[4] In 1941, as a result of anti-Jewish measures, in a school building across the street the Jewish Lyceum was established.[5] According to the Meldungen aus den Niederlanden, there were complaints about teachers who gave enormous favour to their Jewish students in order to demonstrate their anti-German attitude. Schools known as 'Judenfreundlich', such as the Amsterdam Lyceum, would therefore have a large attendance. This was seen as an undesirable development by the German authorities.[6]

On 8 August 1941, an ordinance was promulgated stating that as of September 1, Jewish students and teachers were prohibited from attending regular schools and educational institutions. They were housed in separate schools with exclusively Jewish students and teachers. In Amsterdam the municipality was responsible for implementing this decision.[7] The first day of classes was on Wednesday, 15 October 1941.[8] Headmaster of the newly formed Jewish Lyceum Amsterdam was W.H.S. Elte.[9] When there were almost no students and teachers left after the raids of May and June 1943, education at the Jewish Lyceum came to an end in September of that year. [10]

Margot and Anne both went to the Jewish Lyceum. Anne writes that Margot would certainly receive cum laude if that were possible at their school.[11] 

In the first pages of the diary, Anne writes extensively about classmates and teachers.[12] These notes were written before the time in hiding, between 12 June and 6 July 1942. Anne paints her classmate Danka Zajde rather negatively here,[13] but when she thinks back to her a year and a half later, this is no longer the case.[14] In September, after more than two months in hiding, Anne wrote a 'farewell letter' to Jacqueline. After all, she didn't get to say goodbye to her. In this letter she briefly repeats the events of the fifth of July.[15] In her book of Tales Anne writes about various events that took place at the Jewish Lyceum and the people involved.[16]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Bianca Stigter, Atlas van een bezette stad: Amsterdam 1940-1945, Amsterdam: Atlas Contact, 2019, p. 237-238.
  2. ^ Referred to by Anne as Stadstimmertuinen. Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 24 June 1942, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.
  3. ^ Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Dienst Bevolkingsregister, Woningkaarten, via Indexen, eerste kaart (codenr. 1745).
  4. ^ Algemeen Adresboek voor de stad Amsterdam 1938, p. 2215.
  5. ^ Dienke Hondius, Absent. Herinneringen aan het Joods Lyceum Amsterdam 1941-1943, Amsterdam: Vassallucci, 2001, p. 15. Also see: Dienke Hondius, 'Anne Frank was a face in the crowd', in: Anne Frank Magazine 2001, p. 32-37.
  6. ^ J. Presser, Ondergang. De vervolging en verdelging van het Nederlandse Jodendom, 1940-1945, 's-Gravenhage: Staatsuitgeverij, 1965, deel I, p. 135.
  7. ^ Hondius, Absent, p. 39-41.
  8. ^ NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust en Genocidestudies, Amsterdam, Archief 181e (W.S.H. Elte), inv. nr. 1: Brief van de rector aan Inspecteur der Lycea, 10 oktober 1941.
  9. ^ Hondius, Absent, p. 70-71.
  10. ^ Hondius, Absent, p. 228.
  11. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 5 July 1942, in: The Collected Works.
  12. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 14 June 1942, in: The Collected Works.
  13. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 15 June 1942, in: The Collected Works.
  14. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 8 and 18 March 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  15. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 25 September 1942, in: The Collected Works.
  16. ^ Anne Frank, Tales and events from the Secret Annex, "Do You Remember?", "My First Day at the Lyceum", "A Biology Lesson" and "A Maths Lesson", in: The Collected Works.