Decay and ruin in war-torn Holland

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Central Amsterdam, 1960s. This place no longer exists. Well, the spot itself does, but what used to be a residential area for centuries with a few thousand inhabitants and their houses, shops, schools and cafes has all been cleared to make way for a multi-million-guilder town hall and opera house some 40 years ago. Even though that most famous of Dutch Old Masters, Rembrandt van Rijn, used to live here, this clearly wasn’t the most affluent place in town during its final years. In the late 19th century one Dutch writer described it as follows:

‘The well-known Dutch cleanliness is completely unknown there. Different kinds of disgusting parasites, the unbearable stench of all kinds of foul substances, and debauched filth are stuck and encrusted on floors, walls, attics, windows and household goods… Half-rotten straw, thrown in the attic or loft, serves as bedding for three or four families living in the same house. There, under the dilapidated roof, which allows the water an almost free passage during rainstorms, parents and children lie together. Differences of age and sex are not taken into account, nor are neighbours. The sick and the healthy are all crouched next to each other.’

Yikes. Things didn’t improve much from then on. It’s no surprise that this area was first on the list for demolition after the war, when the majority of its original inhabitants had also been deported and killed – sad thoughts indeed. This must be one of the last pictures of the area as it was before it was totally flattened. But what do we see? Yes, that’s an early 1930s big saloon, or what was left of it, left behind in between debris. The boy is perhaps doing some sketching from on top of its scuttle, or maybe his school homework. If that once proud car hasn’t fallen prey to vandalism, its useful parts have disappeared. What’s left seems to indicate a saloon with suicide doors and inline-eight engine. A Buick? Its chances of survival seem to be nil, so let’s hope somebody managed to re-use at least some of those missing parts…

Words: Jeroen Booij; picture: Noord-Holland archives
 

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