The exhibition Destinations focuses on four historical locations where prisoners from Kamp Amersfoort were transported: Mauthausen (Austria), Natzweiler (France), Neuengamme (Germany), and Zwolle (Netherlands).
Transports
Between 1941 and 1945, Kamp Amersfoort played a central role in transferring prisoners. More than 30,000 people were transported from there to other destinations on approximately 800 transports. For the prisoners, the constant threat of transport was a source of fear and uncertainty.
Bestemmingen Of the 177 known destinations, the exhibition highlights four locations in different countries where thousands of Kamp Amersfoort prisoners ended up:
The penal camp Natzweiler, where resistance fighters were meant to disappear without a trace.
The concentration camp Neuengamme, where high mortality rates were caused by disease, exhaustion, and neglect.
The extermination camp Mauthausen, where almost all Jewish prisoners from Kamp Amersfoort were murdered.
An ad-hoc labor camp in Zwolle, where prisoners were secretly provided with food for weeks by a civilian initiative.
Tentoonstelling
Destinations was developed in collaboration with the Mauthausen, Natzweiler, and Neuengamme memorial groups, as well as the municipality of Zwolle. It has been made possible by Vfonds, the Austrian Embassy, the Municipality of Zwolle, and the Natzweiler Memorial Fund.
80 Years of Freedom
In the commemorative year 2025, when the Netherlands celebrates 80 years of freedom, this exhibition underscores the importance of freedom. During World War II, Kamp Amersfoort was a place of deprivation and injustice, marked by hunger, abuse, forced labor, and the ever-present threat of transport. Destinations reflects on the significance of this history in today’s world.
The exhibition will be on display throughout 2025.
Permanent exhibition
Stories of Prisoners and Guards
In the permanent exhibition at National Monument Kamp Amersfoort, visitors can learn more about the camp’s history. Ten personal stories bring to life the experiences of prisoners, guards, and helpers. Through innovative storytelling, historical facts are interwoven with compelling narratives that challenge visitors to reflect on the thin line between victimhood and perpetration.
Ten Groups of Prisoners
The exhibition highlights ten different groups of prisoners, each with their own story: resistance fighters, Jews, forced laborers sent to Germany for the Arbeitseinsatz, so-called “asocials”, hostages, clergy, American citizens, Soviet prisoners of war, SS Front Workers, two professional groups that resisted: doctors and police officers. These diverse stories illustrate the variety of prisoners and the different reasons for their imprisonment.
Eyewitness Accounts: 100 Personal Interviews
In 100 video interviews, former prisoners share their experiences at Kamp Amersfoort. These firsthand accounts provide a deeply moving insight into camp life and make history tangible for visitors.
Audio Guide
The audio guide is narrated by Jeroen Kijk in de Vegte, whose grandfather was imprisoned at Kamp Amersfoort. It is available in English and Dutch.
Courtyard
In the courtyard, you will find the reconstructed Rose Garden, the original roll-call clock, five trees that already stood here during the war, and a scale model of Kamp Amersfoort. Footsteps, along with the bronze-cast boots of camp commander Karl Berg, give an impression of the daily roll call.
At various listening points, you can learn more about the history of this place.
Surrounding area
On the vast outdoor grounds, known as the “guilty landscape,” post-war monuments, ground traces, and original remnants can still be seen. These include remains of the mortuary, the shooting range, and the Stone Man statue.
Visitors can explore these locations individually or through guided tours, available on Saturdays and Sundays, and during school holidays from Tuesday to Sunday at 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM (included in the entrance fee for the museum).
Visitors can explore these locations individually or through guided tours, available on Saturdays and Sundays, and during school holidays from Tuesday to Sunday at 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM (included in the entrance fee for the museum).
Temporary Exhibitions: Archive
Forced
Between 1942 and 1945, around half a million Dutch men were forced to work in German industry, replacing German men who had been sent to the front. Those who tried to evade the mandatory Arbeitseinsatz were imprisoned in Kamp Amersfoort and eventually deported to Germany. Approximately 30,000 men did not survive due to harsh living and working conditions, infectious diseases, and Allied bombings. This history of forced labor is also a story of loss and uncertainty.
For decades, the experiences of these forced laborers remained largely overlooked. In this exhibition, former forced laborers share their stories through personal objects, memoirs, photographs, and audio recordings.
The exhibition was developed in collaboration with the National Committee for 4 and 5 May and NIOD, as part of the broader project “Forced – Deployed in Germany.” This initiative includes long-term research, an online graphic novel, and a podcast in addition to the exhibition.
Conflicted Care
The temporary exhibition “Doctors(L)eed” focused on the medical resistance movement and the role Kamp Amersfoort played in it. Research conducted by National Monument Kamp Amersfoort revealed a unique European phenomenon: an almost entire professional group successfully resisted the Nazis.
Doctors formed the secret organization Medisch Contact, distributing at least 42 chain letters containing instructions, warnings, and guidelines. These efforts undermined Nazi policies, including the Artsenkamer (Medical Chamber), health insurance laws, and mandatory reporting of gunshot and stab wound victims.
In early 1942 and summer 1943, around 300 doctors were imprisoned at Kamp Amersfoort for their resistance activities. The exhibition told the story of seven doctors, including four Medisch Contact members, a hostage, and the two SS camp doctors, illustrating the vastly different interpretations of the Hippocratic Oath.
Various events were organized alongside the exhibition.
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Before the Firing Squad
From the opening of the National Monument Kamp Amersfoort Museum on June 5, 2021, until December 2022, the temporary exhibition “Before the Firing Squad” was on display. This exhibition centered on the executions of 383 prisoners of Kamp Amersfoort, based on research by National Monument Kamp Amersfoort.
The exhibition provided historical context and addressed the largest mass murder in history: the Holocaust. Alongside visual materials, objects on display included an execution announcement, a farewell letter, and various burial site discoveries.
A projection showed the chronology of executions, beginning with April 9, 1942, and ending on April 23, 1944. A central installation simulated an execution scene with six authentic weapons aimed at seven pairs of shoes.
Various events were organized in connection with the exhibition.
