Heinrich Himmler in Amsterdam

On 18 May 1942, Heinrich Himmler addressed the new ‘Amsterdam Police Battalion’ at the Museumplein square. The officers in this unit had been trained by the SS (Schützstaffel, an armed branch of the Nazi party). According to police commissioner Tulp, Himmler was friendly and appreciative.

Among other things, Himmler said: ‘Modern police should be a friend of the people rather than the ogre.’ Later that same day, Himmler explained how seriously he took the fight against the Jews.

As the leader of the German SS, Himmler was one of the driving forces behind the persecution of Jews. He was in the Netherlands to prepare the deportations of Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which started in the summer of 1942.

German-minded police commissioner Tulp was a member of the NSB (the Dutch National Socialist Movement) and he made sure that the Amsterdam police cooperated with picking up Jews in Amsterdam.