Dutch Resistance Museum
Location
Essentials
- Step back in time to Amsterdam in the 1940s
- See, hear, and read stories about life during World War II
- Experience how the war affected the Netherlands
Practical info
Children
Child tickets for 7-16 year olds
Free entry for 0-6 year olds when accompanied by a paying adult
Opening hours
Monday - Friday: 10.00 - 17.00
Saturday - Sunday: 11.00 - 17.00
Languages
The free audio tour is available in English, Dutch, and Dutch Sign Language
Ticket information
Ticket directly available on smartphone
Ticket is valid for one year, ticket cannot be cancelled
More information
For questions about the product, please contact [email protected]
Accessibility
Getting there
Public Transport
The nearest stops are Waterlooplein (metro 51, 53 & 54) and Artis (tram 14).
About
The occupation and the resistance
The Dutch Resistance Museum is dedicated to the resistance movement in the Netherlands during World War II. Right after the Germans bombed Rotterdam in May 1940, the Dutch surrendered and Nazi’s took over the streets of the country. People were faced with a choice: do we cooperate and do exactly what the Germans say, do we join the Nazi’s and help them or do we join the resistance movement?
This question is explored in the museum. The Dutch Resistance Museum helps evoke the climate of the war years by showing the lives of people who made different choices, with a primary focus on the resistance. This often extremely dangerous choice made people very creative in thwarting the Nazis and helping Jews and other groups of people who were being hunted down.
Holland in World War II
The museum's permanent exhibition takes visitors back to the forties, the period of the German occupation during World War II. The halls and walls that make up the décor of the Dutch Resistance Museum are full of photos to help evoke the war years. Much of the collection consists of artefacts collected from the personal belongings of members of the resistance movement.
The exhibition covers all forms of resistance: strikes, forging of documents, helping people to go into hiding, underground newspapers, escape routes, armed resistance, and espionage. You can see strollers with guns hidden in them, forged ID cards, typewriters on which coded messages were typed and chessboards with hidden compartments.
As well as seeing the ins and outs of life in the resistance, you’ll also see what day to day life was like for people who choose to cooperate. What limitations did the occupation put on them and why did some of them decide to join the resistance after all? Another important part of the museum focuses on the Dutch colonial empire, the Dutch East Indies during the war. Where the population suffered terribly under the Japanese regime of terror.
Get your tickets now!
The exhibition is in both English and Dutch, making it accessible to most visitors. There is also a free audio tour which is offered in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Book your tickets to the Dutch Resistance Museum now and don’t miss out on this vital piece of Dutch history!
Grab your Amsterdam museum tickets and enhance your trip with Tours & Tickets for an amazing experience.
Reviews
288 reviews
So glad we didn’t miss this.
The museum was incredibly powerful. We learned so much. Our only disappointment was that we did not allow enough time for our visit.
Excellent Museum to learn more about the Dutch Experience during WWII
My mother grew up in a town near Amsterdam during WWII, and the Germans occupied that area. I wanted to learn more about what my mother experienced, and what the people of The Netherlands did to fight against this occupation. I learned so much about the bravery of the people, but also the struggles and starvation. The process of going through the Museum is very well done, with films placed intermittently throughout. (A nice place to sit!) And the audio was so helpful. Highly recommend a visit to this museum.
Very worthwhile visit
Very worthwhile visit. Lots of information about Dutch experience in Second World War and under nazis. Learned a lot. Very well set out and engaging. Excellent audio guide.
Great Museum!
Really good history of the Dutch Resistance in WW2 and how WW2 impactedthe Dutch colonies around the world. Children's area was an eye-opening gem.
Excellent immersive experience
This is a brilliant museum, incredibly powerful and immersive. The personal stories coupled with historical account brought it to life in a way I wasn’t expecting. I would recommend this to anyone.
One of the best museums I have visited
This museum is very well run ,professional with lovely staff and a good range of books and other publications in English and Dutch . The stories and exhibits tell the individual stories of personal bravery and consideration and are inspiring and sad ,heart-breaking in different ways . The featured people put their lives at risk for their principles and values, freedom on a daily basis . This is an excellent museum and has an accompanying audio guide which can be activated on reaching the different displays . There is a locker room where you can leave your baggage which is free and excellent toilet facilities . The museum has air conditioning and is comfortable to walk around . Open 10.00-5.00 payment and purchases are by card only. The national Holocaust museum is just around the corner. I would recommend at least two hours + to visit
Personal Histories of the Dutch in WWII
The museum uses personal experiences to characterize the behavior of the Dutch under Nazi occupation. The curators try to capture the variety of response within what was for most Dutch a time of profound suffering without ignoring the Dutch who amplified the suffering of their fellow citizens. The use of personal experience is comparable to the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallin, Estonia. Especially, poignionant and thought provoking is the exhibit on the Dutch treatment of Indonesians after WWII.
Outstanding museum
Outstanding museum. My daughters (9 and 11) said it was the best museum they’d ever visited. And the adults learnt lots about the Dutch resistance and experience too. My daughter reminds me that we talked about it all dinner time too.
Highly recommend!
Absolutely amazing museum, we easily spent almost three hours there and we learned so much. There’s even a junior section to make the history more palatable for younger audiences. Excellent coverage of the Dutch colonies and the women’s movement in Iran
An easy and educational experience
A very exciting and, not least, reflective experience that gives food for thought in a turbulent time.
Resistance is a duty
Very well organized and presented. Compelling materials, opportunities to express your thoughts on a display wall with dozens of others. Included a temporary Iranian women’s exhibit. A must see
resistance museum amsterdam is worth a 2 hour visit
resistance museum amsterdam is worth a 2 hour visit; learn of WW 2 in Holland.
Top quality musuem
A must see attraction. With the help of audio guides, you relive the story of Dutch resistance during WWII. Tastefully and professionally done. Mastercard cards accepted.
Very interesting & thought provoking
This is a very well presented museum with good audio option. Gives a great insight into what went on during the war.
Amazing and thought provoking.
Great admin for ticket booking and a friendly/helpful greeting on arrival. This museum is amazing. Information is broken down by chronology and into manageable chunks. There is the option of an excellent audio guide which is free of charge. Lovely to see the additional women's resistance exhibition which was very thought provoking. We were so engaged we hadn't realised 2 hours had passed. We went first thing in the morning and it wasn't too crowded.
Dutch Resistance Museum Tour
Absolutely amazing, very informative with audio descriptions and videos with sign language, easy to walk around and follow directions. Would definitely recommend.
Immersive, Heartbreaking, and Essential
An extraordinary and deeply moving museum experience. The Resistance Museum manages, with remarkable creativity and sensitivity, to recreate something of the atmosphere of life under occupation in the Netherlands — the fear, uncertainty, persecution, and daily moral dilemmas people faced. What impressed me most was how powerfully it brings to life not just the historical events, but the human stories behind them: ordinary people confronted with impossible choices, acts of courage, moments of despair, and the quiet resilience that helped so many endure. The way the material is presented is incredibly thoughtful and immersive. Rather than simply displaying facts, the museum draws you into the emotional reality of the time. You leave with a much deeper understanding of the struggles people went through, and with profound admiration for those who resisted in ways both large and small. I was truly, deeply impressed — this is one of the most powerful and beautifully curated museums I have ever visited.
Hidden gem
Lovely little museum hidden a bit out of the centre of the city, tells the story of the Netherlands through the war and the resistance to the occupiers not just in the country itself but also the colonies
Very informative and moving.
Excellent museum. Definitely worth a visit.
Thought provoking
This is a very well presented museum with films and descriptions of life during the war. My teenagers, who are both studying history, found it easy to access and thought provoking. The handheld audio guides helped as we walked round. It takes about 2 hours.
Well worth visit
Great insight into life of ordinary people in an occupied country as well as their resistance
Excellent interactive museum with great children’s exhibits
Excellent museum and not to be missed! Included interactive elements and short films. Fantastic children’s area that follows the lives of four children and includes a mini school room, shops, etc. Free lockers. An Amsterdam “must do” in my book!
Excellent - impactful experience!
This is a great museum that is so relevant with the world today. Highly educational for all ages. It's full of histories - allowing you to understand Amsterdam and how the past shaped this city/Europe. We went for 4 hours and was able to listen/watched/read the summary of each items on display; and wish we had at least 1 more hour to finish learning the Women's section of the museum. Highly recommend - an important history to know. We came from the US to visit the museum and it hits home (a parallel of the current affairs).
Informative and eye-opening. Worth taking the opportunity to visit and learn.
I used the I amsterdam card for entry. The museum delivers a detailed account of life for the people of the Netherlands during the occupation. Personal accounts and profiles are represented. The audio guide was faultless.
Definitely a museum to visit
The Resistance Museum is definitely one to visit when in Amsterdam. It works best when asking questions - after you view an exhibit it asks what you would do in similar circumstances. Well laid out informative and a possibly a key to understanding the Dutch way of thinking. Neither does it shy away from the awkward fact that many Dutch sided with the Nazi regime. Highly recommended
An absolute must for anyone wishing to understand how history could repeat itself.
An incredibly moving experience. Excellent story telling of the horror and heroism shown during the Second World War. The unexpected temporary exhibition of Woman life freedom moved me to tears and is a must an any self respecting woman to see. Highly recommend a visit and I would suggest a good 2-3 hours to really take in all the information contained within the exhibits.
A must see museum
Awesome place telling story of Dutch resistance and more, current exhibition of women for freedom an added bonus, an absolute must see at very reasonable price includes free audio tour equipment
Lovely place to visit to learn more about the role of the resistance in Holland during the occupation
We walked here from our hotel, which took about 40 minutes through the lovely city. Entrance cost 17.50 Euros each and we were given a free electronic guide which is easy to use as you just tap on things around the museum to get more detail. Very easy to follow walkway and there are lots of places to sit and stop and take everything in. There is even signposting for the deaf on all the video displays. As we were walking round there were some school trips and everyone was respectful. Anyone interested in the Dutch Heroine (Hannie Schaft) will find out more about her story here. Lots of objects, photo's video etc and really well set out. There is also a small cafe which we visited fro lunch afterwards before we walked round the corner to a separate venue. Round the corner from this museum is another museum which the Germans used to gather everyone up before they were deported to god known where. This was done very secretively as the place was an old theatre so people came in, registered, sat and waited before being carted off to god known where, which usually meant the train station and last stop Auschwitz. If you visit the museum. walk back out the front door, turn right and walk about 100 yards down the road and turn left. One museum is on the right with the old cinema on the left.
VERZETS RESISTANCE MUSEUM, Amsterdam
I found this museum was amazing. I was given headphones and it took quite a few hours to go round and absorb everything. The museum was immersive with hands on experiences. Part of the museum was geared specifically for children. However, as an older adult ‘all’ the Museum was of interest to me. I found the sad thing being that not many people whose personal stories were told survived. I learnt so much about what happened to the Dutch people during the war which I did not know about. So was glad to be educated. There were lockers available for coats and bags. Although food is not served in the museum there was a cafe and a bar next to the museum. The museum was located in a perfect spot close to our hotel. I can highly recommend a trip to this museum. 😀
Must go to this musuem
This was another good museum in Amsterdam. This museum gave a nice overview of The Netherlands and how it was affected by World War 2. It had a lot of stories of individuals and how they were affected, but it also gave an overview of how it affected the whole country. Of course, with any musuem, it couldn't possibly cover everything, but it covers a lot. Give it a visit if you're in Amsterdam.
Definitely worth a visit
Definitely worth a visit. The Dutch Resistance Museum is excellent value and incredibly informative. The audio guide is really engaging, and I loved the videos and interactive elements throughout the museum. Everything is presented in a clear, thoughtful way that makes the history feel very real and personal. I learnt a lot and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting.
Must-visit Experience
The Resistance Museum is a must-visit. We loved our experience and found it incredibly eye-opening to learn about firsthand experiences during World War II and the courageous ways the Dutch resisted occupation. The personal stories are powerful, well presented, and make the history feel very real. Highly recommended.
Excellent - highly recommended
Fantastic museum - engaging, informative and very respectful. The staff are also very welcoming. I would highly recommend visiting.
Engaging and thought provoking
This was my third visit to the Verzetsmuseum, and this time I brought my 10 and 7 year-old sons. I was really impressed by how engaged they were, especially in the Junior Museum. The stories, activities, and interactive elements made the history easy to understand and meaningful for them. They were telling everyone about the stories at the end of the day, which tells me they were engaged and interested but not upset or traumatised by what they saw or listened to. Even after several visits, the museum remains powerful and informative, presenting the Dutch resistance in a clear and human way. An excellent museum for both adults and children. I highly recommend coming here if in Amsterdam.
Resistance Museum
A very well done presentation of the Dutch experience during WWII with personal stories of individual resistance members, collaborators, and victims.
History brought to life.
My wife, with her Dutch heritage, wanted to visit this museum to get a better sense of what her father and grandparents might have faced during WWII. It turned out to be a surprisingly moving and informative visit. The exhibition is fairly large and comfortably fills about an hour. You’re given an audio guide, and with a simple tap at each station you get clear explanations that help bring everything to life. Even though I’m not Dutch myself, I found it genuinely interesting and well worth the visit. There are lockers and bathrooms available, and the museum is conveniently located right next to the zoo.
One of the best museums I've ever been to
Very interesting. Ended up spending a good four hours here, which I had not planned to. The material is very well-presented - lots of multi-lingual videos, well-chosen artefacts, the right amount of explanation, clear themes and chronology. I didn't get confused or bored. It used the stories of real people to explore the dilemmas and choices people caught up in WW2 Netherlands faced. The free AV guide worked well for me and was nice and simple. You are allowed to go out and return on the same ticket (on the same day).
a visit to the resistance museum
This is a must visit attraction. The museum is very interactive with videos and audio guide. The section for the children is amazing. My son and I learned so much. We stayed there for 3 hours but we still missed out a few things due to time constraints. Having been brought up in France, we get one side of the story but we did not realise how much the Dutch had suffered. The museum gives you a true depiction of what it was like. We are from Newcastle in the UK. the staff were also very friendly because they offered to keep our suitcase during our visit.
Don’t miss it so informative
This is a fantastically informative experience with brilliantly told stories. It takes about 1-2 hours to get round if you stop at all the information centres but wow was it worth it. There is a restaurant attached to it which serves fantastic food and beers.
Lucky that the UK was never occupied
The museum is very well laid out. It covers the occupation 1940-1945 by the Germans. Do a bit of home work before you go, and every large and very small exhibits fall into place. Free lockers and audio hand sets. Hannie Schaft 1920-1945 a young girl who took the fight to the enemy with assassinations, murdered and buried in the Sand Dunes at Bloemendaal, near Haarlem along with over 422 victims. Her spects and automactic are on display.
Deeply moving exhibit
Comprehensive exhibit of the rise of nazi occupation and Dutch resistance during WWII with personal accounts of the people affected. People were faced with unfathomable decisions, to do things that in their heart they knew were wrong or risk their and their family's lives by following their conscious? The short films spaced throughout the exhibit provided the a great summary of the chronology of circumstances and events leading up to and through the German occupation, as well as the rise of resistance movement -- its leaders, strategies, and participants.
Great Museum
Very well done museum. It tells the story of the WWII German occupation on The Netherlands mostly by presenting the stories of individuals. We spend more than 2 hours in the museum and really liked the way the stories are told.
10 Stars - one of the most inspirational & informative museums in the world
Ten stars! We've visited museums all over the world and consider this in the top 5. Inspirational, fascinating, uplifting, disturbing, the museums displays, focusing on 130 individuals as examples of heroism (and in a few traitors) is extremely timely. Very accessible to people speaking a number of languages via easy to use devices. Tells the overall story of resistance via extremely compelling stories. Excellent book story with materials useful for children through adults. Deserves to be among the very most popular attractions in the city. This is a VERY inspirational place.
An Amsterdam MUST!
We decided to visit this museum (and also did their tram tour) as an alternative to visiting Anne Frank house. We were unable to get tickets to visit Anne Frank house and had read good things about the Resistance Museum online. While the story of Anne Frank is a tale of one family's experience, this museum provides a greater oversight of the resistance movement in Amsterdam. Both the tram tour and the museum provide historical context regarding the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. One of our favourite parts of the museum was the area dedicated to older children and students. Even if you aren't with children when you visit, don't bypass this section of the museum! It is beautifully developed; you will feel like you have been transported back 80 years to war-time Amsterdam. On a practical note, while visiting, as English speakers, we were able to access all of the written information in the museum as well as listen to audio components in English. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND this experience while visiting Amsterdam.
Fabulous, honest, thought provoking - a must.
We spent almost all day (5.5 hours) here with our two girls aged 9 and 11. It was so well put together and the audio info was very clear. The Junior Section was incredible and I would recommend it highly as a must do when visiting Amsterdam with children.
Fascinating, moving and educational - outside of the crowds.
A great option in Amsterdam for any history buff. Goes deep into the history of life during the occupation - especially the plight of the Jewish population. Deeply moving and educational - with lessons that resonate today.
Modern museum with interactive exhibits
This was definitely worth the visit. We arrived at 4pm and museum closed at 5pm. We had to rush through the end because they closed promptly on time. Definitely recommend allowing yourself 2 hours.
Cruelty and courage
Very well presented with thorough and detailed information. It was so interesting to hear the stories of the people involved and impacted. Who they were, what they did and what happened to them. A shockingly stark reminder of what people are capable of, both the good and the bad, and how important it is to always support understanding, acceptance and respect.
Sobering and Important
A comprehensive and moving account of the many faces of The Netherlands during World War II. It covers those who actively resisted the Occupation wholeheartedly and some who did so hesitantly. Some sat on the sidelines, while others dedicated their lives to Nazi ideology. There are saints, sinners and many in between. The museum is well-organized and primarily tells the story through the lives of people, though there are also a large number of artifacts that add a great deal to our understanding of this period. With democracy under enormous pressure by authoritarianism today, understanding what happened over eighty years ago is essential civic work.
Really compelling and interesting
Went with my 15 year old daughter and we allowed two hours. However, it was so interesting and there was so much to listen to and interact with that we easily could have spent 3-4 hours there. Really informative and loved that it was all built around personal recollections and experiences.
