Belle; Sex Worker Commemorative Statue

Photo credit - WWP team

Belle is a memorial to sex workers, located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District, on the square near the Oude Kerk (Old Church), Amsterdam’s oldest building and youngest art institute.

The memorial depicts a woman leaning on the doorstep, looking forward confidently and unapologetically. The plaque on the base reads: “RESPECT SEXWORKERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.”

The size of the statue is very small in comparison to most memorials in public space, and since it is located at the center of a large square and the foot of the enormous church, it emphasizes its small dimensions, and by that, it is a symbol to the minor importance of the sex workers and their low position in the social fabric.

Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker, founded the Prostitute Information Center (PIC) in 1994. An educational organization that tells the story of sex workers and promotes respect for sex workers, and protects their right to practice prostitution. PIC welcomes visitors from all over the world, conducts tours in Amsterdam’s Red-Light District, gives lectures, organizes workshops, and participates in events related to the subject.

Wishing to promote respect for sex workers, Majoor decided to erect a memorial. The first and only in the world. She commissioned the Dutch artist Els Rijerse to create it and dedicated it on March 31st, 2007, the 2nd Red Light District’s Annual Open Day.

Every year on December 17th, the International Day Against Violence Against Sex Workers, the PIC team meets at the memorial and puts flowers by the statue as a sign of love and respect.

Mariska Majoor received an award from Amsterdam’s mayor for promoting the rights of sex workers in the Netherlands in 2017.

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Oudekerksplein 19, 1012 GX Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

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Anne Frank House WWP
Museum

Anne Frank House

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Anne Frank House is a biographical museum commemorating the teenage holocaust victim and her family. Anne Frank (1929-1945) was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and Edith Frank. In 1933, following Hitler’s rise to power, the family moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There, her father established a fruit extract company located at a 17th-century building on Prinsengracht 263. She had a normal childhood; she went to school, loved to read, and enjoyed riding her bike. That changed in May 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and enforced antisemitic rules that limited the freedom of the Jewish citizens and threatened their lives. The Frank family tried to escape the country but were eventually trapped under the Nazi regime and decided to go into hiding. On July 6th, 1942, the family moved to a secret annex at Otto’s office. It was a 450 square feet space at the rear extension of the building, hidden from all sides. Within a few months, four more people came to live in the annex – a dentist named Fritz Pfeffer and the Van Pels family – Hermann, Auguste, and their son Peter. For the next two years, Anne described her life in the diary she received for her 13th birthday, only a month before moving into the annex. In it, she expressed her thoughts and feelings about the war and the day after; she detailed her daily routines, her conflicts with her mother and sister Margot, her opinions of the other annex’s residences, and her feelings toward Peter Van Pels. When she heard on the radio that the government would collect and publish diaries written during the war, Anne, who aspired to become a famous writer, decided to edit her diary into a running story – The Secret Annex. On August 4th, 1944, the secret German police raided the annex and deported all its inhabitants to Auschwitz. Later on, Anne and Margot were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where both died of typhus, Anne at 15 and Margot at 18. After their evacuation, Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, two of Otto’s employees who helped hide the families, managed to rescue some of the residences’ belongings; Anne’s diary was among them. Otto, the only surviving family member, returned to Amsterdam after the war and received the diary. He decided to fulfill his daughter’s wish, and in 1947 it was published in Dutch. The book was titled Het Achterhuis. Dagbrieven van 14 juni 1942 tot 1 augustus 1944 (The Secret Annex. Diary Letters from 14 June 1942 to 1 August 1944) as Anne wanted. It became a bestseller, drawing people to visit the building and view the hiding place. It was later retitled the Diary of Anne Frank and translated into more than 70 languages. In 1955, demolition was planned for the building. Following a successful campaign by a Dutch newspaper, it was saved. Two years later, Otto established the Anne Frank Foundation to purchase the building and turn it into a museum. Eventually, the building was donated to the foundation, and the funds were used to buy the house next door. In 1960, the museum was opened to the public. Today, the Anne Frank House incorporates the entire building and includes several exhibition spaces. Once you go up the narrow stairs and through the hinged bookcase that hides the annex’s entrance, the world from the book comes to life. On display are Anne’s original diary, the pictures of movie stars she hanged on her bedroom wall, a map of Normandy that allowed the annex’s residences to follow the advance of the allies, height marks of Anne and Margot, Otto and Edith’s wedding photos, a notebook with short stories Anne wrote, and her Favorite Quotes Book, where she copied quotes she liked. Also on view is the Academy Award Shelley Winters won for her portrayal of Petronella van Daan (the characterization of Auguste van Pels) in The Diary of Anne Frank movie. Also recommended is a visit to the multimedia room, where you can take a virtual tour through Anne’s house and hear stories of other people who went into hiding during the war. Outside the museum, at Westermarkt 74, there is a bronze statue of Anne sculpted by Mari Andriessen in 1977. The marker beside it reads a quotation from Anne’s diary: “I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself, and then I am satisfied.” Other places in Amsterdam commemorating Anne Frank are a sculpture in Merwedeplein, where the Frank family lived before leaving for the annex, and the Anne Frank mural at Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 31. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Homomonument Amsterdam WWP
Memorial & Statue

Homomonument

Amsterdam, Netherlands

This memorial commemorates the women and men who died because of their sexual orientation and celebrates gay emancipation. The pink Rosa Porinogranite monument is in the shape of three equilateral pink triangles representing the past, present, and future, forming one large triangle together. The pink triangle shape symbolizes the small pink triangle mark, which homosexuals had to wear in the Nazi concentration camps (Jews wore a yellow Star of David). Since the 1970s, the symbol has become a proud symbol against the oppression and exclusion of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. The plaque reads: “Homomonument Commemorates all women and men ever oppressed and persecuted because of their homosexuality. Supports the International Lesbian and Gay Movement in their struggle against contempt, discrimination, and oppression. Demonstrates that we are not alone. Calls for permanent vigilance. Past, present, and future are represented by the 3 triangles on this square. Designed by Karin Daan, 1987.” Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the memorial serves as a gathering place for various purposes, including protests, demonstrations, couples celebrating their love, and mourners. Annual large commemorative gatherings take place on National Remembrance Day (May 4th) and Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20th); large parties take place on Liberation Day (May 5th), the King’s Birthday (April 30th), and the Amsterdam GayPride (first weekend of August). The idea to commemorate WW2 gay victims started in 1961 by the activist Jef Last who suggested a monument to the unknown gay; however, the project never materialized. Throughout the 1970s, gay activists laid wreaths at the National Monument to the Victims of World War II on Dam Square, Amsterdam, bringing to the public awareness the victims of Hitler’s “social purification” campaigns. Sometimes the police removed them. To erect an enduring monument to persecuted homosexuals, the Homomonument Foundation was founded in 1979. In 1980, among 137 designs, they chose the design of the Dutch environmental artist Karin Dan. After overcoming several bureaucratic difficulties, the monument was finally dedicated on September 5th, 1987, becoming the first monument in the world to commemorate gays and lesbians the Nazis killed. This memorial inspired the installation of a similar monument in Barcelona, Spain, in 2011. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Statue of Anne Frank in Merwedeplein Beeld van Anne Frank WWP
Memorial & Statue

Statue of Anne Frank in Merwedeplein, Beeld van Anne Frank

Amsterdam, Netherlands

A statue of Anne Frank stands in Merwedeplein, where she lived with her family from 1933 until they went into hiding in 1942. The statue serves as a memorial for Anne and her family and the thirteen thousand Jewish people who lived in the area and did not survive the war. Anne Frank (1929-1945) was born to a Jewish family in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1933, after Hitler came to power and enforced antisemitic laws on Jewish citizens, the Frank family moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and settled at 37 Merwedeplein street in the Rivierenbuurt neighborhood of Amsterdam. Anne had an ordinary childhood there; she loved riding the bike and reading books and planned her career as a famous writer. Her life changed in 1940 when Germany invaded the Netherlands and gradually limited the freedom of the local Jews. The family had plans to escape from the country, but when Margot, Anne’s older sister, was summoned to a work camp, the family went underground to a secret annex – a three-story 450 square feet space above Anne’s father’s office building. Within a few months, four more people moved in, and beside them, their only connection to the outside world was through a few workers of Anne’s father, including his secretary, Miep Gies. Anne documented her life in the annex in a diary she had received for her 13th birthday. She wrote about the mundane activities, her relationships with her mother and sister, her feelings for Peter Van Pels, who lived in the annex with his parents, existential thoughts, and her hopes and fears of the unknown future. After two years in hiding, the German secret police raided the annex and deported all its eight residents to Auschwitz. Then Anne and Magot were transported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where both contracted typhus, dying only a few weeks before the war ended. When Otto Frank, Anne’s father, returned to Amsterdam, he realized that he was the only family member to survive. His secretary, Miep, gave him Anne’s diary, which she found in the annex and kept for her return. To shed light on the impact of the war on children like Anne, he decided to fulfill his daughter’s dream to publish her diary and issued it as a book titled The Diary of a Young Girl. The book was translated into over 70 languages, sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and inspired dozens of TV shows, films, and theater productions. The artist Jet Schepp created the statue in 1994; it was first placed in Purmerend in North Holland. In 2004, a local bookstore in Merwedeplein started a petition to install a version of the statue on Anne’s street. On July 9th, 2005, it was unveiled in Merwedeplein. The bronze statue depicts Anne on the early morning of July 6th, 1942, the day she and her family went into hiding. She carries two small bags, the only belonging she could have taken with her when leaving her home in secret. She is looking backward, taking one last look at her home and the life she knew. The statue stands on a marble plinth inscribed with Anne’s name, year of birth, and year of death. The Dutch Embassy in Argentina and the Argentinian Ministry of Education gifted a replica of this statue and installed it in Buenos Aires. More places about women to visit in Amsterdam include the Anne Frank House, the Madame Tussauds wax museum, the Equestrian statue of Queen Wilhelmina, and Belle – the Sex Worker Commemorative Statue. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Tante Leen Statue WWP
Memorial & Statue

Tante Leen Statue

Amsterdam, Netherlands

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