The Nationaal Monument Kamp Amersfoort (National Monument Camp Amersfoort), located on the border of Leusden and Amersfoort, preserves the memory of the suffering endured by approximately 47,000 prisoners during World War II. This concentration camp was characterized by a dehumanizing regime of hunger, abuse, forced labor, and executions.
Originally, Camp Amersfoort was a military barracks of the Dutch army. From August 1941 onwards, various groups were incarcerated there by the Nazis, including resistance fighters, evaders from forced labor, communists, hostages, (alleged) criminals such as black marketeers, victims of raids, around 2,500 Jews, 271 American citizens, 123 Jehovah's Witnesses, and 100 Soviet prisoners of war. Under duress, 359 prisoners signed contracts as SS-Frontarbeiter and were sent to the Eastern Front. Members of two professional groups were imprisoned due to collective resistance, approximately 400 policemen and around 300 doctors. It is estimated that about three-quarters of the prisoners were transferred to other camps for forced labor, and many of them never returned.
A memorial center was established at the historic site in 2004, and in 2021, a significant museum exhibition was opened. Here, the story is told through objects, photos, documents, and temporary exhibitions, in conjunction with the monuments and visible traces in the outdoor area.
