Re-education villages
Noord is made up of 'dorpen', villages. Disteldorp, Tuindorp Oostzaan, Tuindorp Nieuwendam en Floradorp. These villages emerged early in the twentieth century, and served as residential areas for employees working in the nearby shipbuilding and factories. Back then, Noord was still an industrial area.
'Disturbed' Noord
Some other village in Noord, Asterdorp, had a more ominous purpose: re-education. Residents of Asterdorp were looked down upon and the neighbourhood was walled in and prison-like. It had a supervisor and just one entrance gate. Only by showing good behaviour were you allowed to move out of Asterdorp. The reeducating didn’t work. During World War II, the Nazis used the area to imprison Jewish citizens. It was the end of a failed social experiment.
Rietweg with Hyacintenstraat in the middle in Obelt: wooden emergency village from June 1917 to August 1929, 1923, Stadsarchief Amsterdam
Seringenstraat, complex Tolhuis. Architect: J.H. Mulder jr, Nico Swaager, 1948, Stadsarchief Amsterdam / Swaager
Map of Amsterdam, Scale 1:1.000, Blad F5, 1914-1920, Stadsarchief Amsterdam
Top image: Asterdorp. Architect: J.H. Mulder jr, 1934, Stadsarchief Amsterdam
Related
Asterdorp, an Amsterdam history of upliftment and humiliation
Book by Stephan Steinmetz
Steinmetz uses archival research, reports from supervisors and interviews with former residents to tell the history of Asterdorp from the inside.
Buy the bookThe End of the World — Asterdorp
Documentary by Saskia van den Heuvel
In 1927, the Asterdorp residential school was put into use, intended for those “who still had to learn how to live”, but what exactly did that term mean...? Popularly, it quickly became a village for “anti-socials”. In The End of the World former residents themselves tell us about their time in Asterdorp.
The forgotten Ghetto
Documentary by Saskia van den Heuvel
The documentary The Forgotten Ghetto tells of an unknown Amsterdam history: the Jewish Asterdorp in Amsterdam Noord, where more than three hundred Jews lived in a ghetto from 1942 onwards. Director Saskia van den Heuvel tells about Amsterdam's fourth Jewish Ghetto.
To the documentaryAtelier Volten
Cultural place
André Volten (1925 - 2002) squatted the Poortgebouw of Asterdorp as a sculptor in 1952, thereby saving it from demolition. Volten gave the Poortgebouw a new future by living and working there with his wife until his death in 2002. Atelier Volten is open during current exhibitions on Saturdays and Sundays from 13:00 - 17:00.
To the websiteIn the walled Asterdorp, 'intolerable' families are given re-education
Story by Janna Toepoel for Ons Amsterdam
Between 1926 and 1938, Amsterdam 'anti-socials' were housed in the Asterdorp institution. Under the strict supervision of a housing supervisor, the 'inadmissibles' were given a 're-education'.
Naar het verhaalMijn Noord
Project by Jaap Breukel
A few years ago, photographer Jaap Breukel moved to Amsterdam-Noord. The view from his flat made him curious. Who are those Northerners who live in the garden village across the water anyway? He decided to take his camera with him while walking through the neighborhood. That's how he discovered 'Mijn Noord'. The project consists of a web documentary, exhibition, book and a film.
To the project websiteHATO Foundation (Tuindorp Oostzaan Historical Archive)
Organization
The HATO Foundation wants to spread and increase the culture and historical knowledge of Tuindorp Oostzaan and the surrounding area. The foundation organises exhibitions and affordable walks, and you can visit a museum house.
To the websiteBeau in Floradorp
Videoland series
Beau van Erven Dorens immerses himself for a year in Floradorp, an old working-class neighbourhood in Amsterdam Noord. The neighbourhood has been struggling with a questionable reputation for years. Beau dives into the lives of various residents of the neighbourhood. Each of them has their own problems, challenges and dreams. And what is left of the old village feeling in Floradorp? Can people still depend on each other?
To the seriesThe stories
