Open Jewish Houses 2026: Stories about victims and survivors of the Second World War

From April 25 to May 4, 2026, approximately two hundred homes, shops, and schools will open their doors to reflect on the Jews who once lived and worked at these locations. In living rooms, attics, behind counters, and between sliding doors, you will meet victims, survivors, and resistance fighters of the Second World War. Who were they? How did they live? Where was their hiding place? And what became of them? Through personal stories, Open Jewish Houses makes the consequences of the Second World War palpable. Will you be visiting Open Jewish Houses? The Oranjehotel was also included as part of Open Jewish Houses.

Commemorating in living rooms

From April 25 to May 4, 2026, some two hundred homes, shops, and schools will open their doors to reflect on the Jews who once lived and worked at these locations. In living rooms, attics, behind counters, and between sliding doors, you will meet victims, survivors, and resistance fighters of the Second World War. Who were they? How did they live? Where was their hiding place? And what became of them? Through personal stories, Open Jewish Houses makes the consequences of the Second World War palpable.

Orange Hotel

Historian Bas von Benda-Beckmann discovered that about 25.000 people were imprisoned there during World War II, including hundreds of children alongside resistance fighters. He wrote a book about the Oranjehotel, which was opened as a memorial center by King Willem-Alexander on September 6, 2019. The museum features a permanent exhibition that tells the stories of people who were locked up there. Cel 601One of the death cells, , can still be seen in its original state. In other cells, videos are shown in which former prisoners tell their deeply moving stories. In the future, the annual commemoration will take place in the open space within the prison walls.

Original entrance gate to the Oranjehotel (right) and 'the Little Gate' through which condemned prisoners walked on their way to the Waalsdorpervlakte (left). Photo: Wikipedia.

The new temporary exhibition 'In the Shadow of Liberation: Scheveningen Prison 1945-1950' sheds light on an underexposed and uncomfortable period in Dutch post-war history: the internment and trial of (alleged) collaborators in the first years after the liberation. Through personal stories, we paint a broad picture of the various people who were imprisoned in the Scheveningen penal prison after the war. Who are these prisoners, and why are they incarcerated? What were their motives, and what does perpetration actually mean? The experiences of the internees and daily life in the camps are also made visible through personal stories, objects, and images. Finally, the exhibition also bridges the gap to the present. The exhibition shows how the history of collaboration continues to resonate within families and in public debate.

Famous people

Among the prisoners in the Oranjehotel were famous figures, such as the 'Soldier of Orange' Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Rudolph Cleveringa, Titus Brandsma, George Maduro, Simon Vestdijk, Heinz Polzer (Drs. P.) But also countless others. Some were released, others deported to other prisons or camps, or put to death on the nearby Waalsdorpervlakte.

Oranjehotel in Scheveningen, side door 'the Little Gate' through which prisoners went outside to be executed on the Waalsdorpervlakte. Photo: Wikipedia.

Rudolph Cleveringa (1894-1980) was a professor of law in Leiden. In November 1940, he delivered a famous speech in which he defended Jewish colleagues who had been dismissed by the German occupiers. He was imprisoned in Scheveningen until mid-1941. In 1944, he became a hostage in Camp Vught. After the war, he became a professor again and a member of the Council of State.

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On November 26, 1940, Professor Rudolph Cleveringa, Dean of the Faculty of Law, delivered a fiery speech in the Academy Building to protest the dismissal of the Jewish employees, including the jurist. Eduard Meijers, the later founder of the new Civil Code. The students also went on strike. The university was subsequently closed by the occupying forces. It reopened in September 1945. To commemorate the speech, the university appoints a Cleveringa Professor every year. The Leiden University Fund (LUF) organizes the annual Cleveringa Lectures.

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Cleveringa means a great deal not only to Leiden University. Frans Hemelop (a retired tax official, stamp collector, and amateur designer) previously designed a stamp featuring Cleveringa to honor his courage. That was in 2010, when it was 70 years since Rudolph Cleveringa delivered his speech. In the summer of 2015, Hemelop received another order for that five-year-old stamp. This prompted him to take action: the thought had already crossed his mind that the 75th anniversary deserved a stamp as well. In this design, Hemelop also included Ton Barge and Lambertus van Holk: they too publicly criticized the German occupiers.

Simon Vestdijk (1898 – 1971) was a Dutch novelist, poet, essayist, translator, physician, and music critic. From May 1942, he was a hostage in a camp in Sint-Michielsgestel, Brabant, where many intellectuals and prominent figures had been gathered by the Germans. He was transferred to Scheveningen in early 1943. He incorporated his experiences there into his book. Pastoral 1943, which was also made into a film. After a month, he returned to Sint-Michielsgestel.

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Titus Brandsma (1881 - 1942) was a Dutch Carmelite friar, professor, and publicist from Friesland. Brandsma was a specialist in medieval mysticism and a mystic himself. As a deeply socially engaged priest, he took initiatives in the fields of Catholic emancipation, Catholic education, and journalism. Brandsma opposed Nazism.

In 1942, during the Second World War, he was arrested by the German occupiers and detained in Scheveningen. Via Camp Amersfoort, he ended up in the Dachau concentration camp, where he died in 1942. In 1985, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II.

Nijmegen, painting by Titus Brandsma by Gerard Mathot (1985), on the Heyendaal university campus. Photo: Havang(nl) / Wikipedia.

George John Lionel Maduro (1916 - 1945) was a Dutch student at Leiden University (Law), who distinguished himself as an officer of the Dutch cavalry during the May Days of 1940 in the Battle of The Hague. After the capitulation, he joined the resistance. He was an Antillean-Jewish resistance hero. He fought against the Germans in May 1940. He was detained as a prisoner of war in Scheveningen, where he was held for six months. He attempted to escape to England via Spain and Portugal but was betrayed. He was arrested again and deported to Dachau, where he died.

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On May 9, 1946, Maduro was posthumously awarded the Knight 4th Class of the Order of the Netherlands. Military Order of William awarded because he distinguished himself during the May Days with a personally led attack on a German position at Villa Leeuwenbergh (now Buitengoed Dorrepaal) in Leidschendam. He is the only Dutchman of Antillean descent to have received this distinction. In 2016, the accompanying insignia were presented to his family.

The miniature city Madurodam is named after him. It is also a monument to George. His parents donated the initial capital for the project. Madurodam was opened on July 2, 1952, by Princess Beatrix. Madurodam was conceived by Bep Boon-van der Starp. The British miniature town of Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield served as a model. In Madurodam in The Hague, the most important Dutch landscapes and notable buildings have been recreated on a scale of 1 in 25.

Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (1917-2007) was nicknamed Soldier of OrangeHe studied Law at Leiden University, lived at Rapenburg 56 (Royal House 'Welgelegen'), and was a member of the student association 'Minerva'. He was also involved in the resistance at Leiden University. He was imprisoned in Scheveningen for a week in April 1941. He subsequently went into hiding and became a 'Engelandvaarder' (someone who escaped to England). He received pilot training with the Royal Air Force. He wrote the book *Soldaat van* about his experiences. Orange, which has been adapted into a film and is a successful musical. The musical premiered on October 30, 2010, and has been running for over 15 years. On July 12, 2026, the curtain falls for good after nearly sixteen years, making it the longest-running and most-attended show in Dutch theater history.

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