Kamp Amersfoort, officially known as Polizeiliches Durchgangslager

🕯️ The Weight of History: My Visit to Kamp Amersfoort

By Sandy | Timeless Travels with Sandy

Visiting Kamp Amersfoort, officially known as Polizeiliches Durchgangslager Amersfoort (PDA), was one of the most surreal and emotionally intense experiences of my travels. Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 47,000 prisoners were held and endured unimaginable suffering in this transit camp under brutal conditions, many never making it out alive. As I stepped onto those grounds, I was unprepared for the profound sense of history that would envelop me.

The first thing we encountered was a long, unassuming lane leading toward a statue in the distance. Jason and I decided to follow it, curious to learn more. As we walked, I couldn’t shake the unsettling sensation that crept over me. A heavy, sickening feeling settled deep in my stomach, growing stronger with each step. Jason walked ahead, reaching the historical marker at the end of the path. As he began reading the inscription aloud, the reason for my unease became terrifyingly clear—beneath our feet lay the remains of prisoners executed as target practice.

That realization hit me like a wave. The oppressive weight of the place was suffocating, and it became painfully clear how the air around us seemed to carry the echoes of the past. Learning the knowledge that men and women had been led down this very path, only to face their final moments at the hands of their captors, was overwhelming. For the Nazi soldiers who ran the camp, this lane had been nothing more than a shooting range—a cruel stage where prisoners were lined up at the very spot where the statue now stands, used for target practice before being discarded into the earth beneath us—a stark reminder of the cruelty inflicted upon the vulnerable.

The statue, erected in 1953, now stands in solemn remembrance of those who perished here. It marks not just a place of execution, but of unimaginable suffering. Seeing it in person, knowing its significance, made the experience all the more harrowing, leaving an indelible mark on my heart. Once I stepped off the trail, the sickening weight in my stomach began to subside, but while the physical weight lifted, the emotional impact continued to resonate within me.

During our visit, I was touched to learn about Sabine Zuur, a courageous Dutch resistance fighter imprisoned here. Her bravery and defiance in the face of such relentless oppression filled me with a mix of heartbreak and inspiration. Stories like hers are a testament to remind us of the resilience of those who dared to resist, who fought back against tyranny, even when the odds were devastatingly grim.

Kamp Amersfoort is more than just a historical site—it is a stark and poignant reminder of the darkest depths of human cruelty, but also of the incredible strength and sacrifice of those who stood defiant and strong in their beliefs. Walking that path, standing where so many had stood before me, I felt the past reach out and make itself known, reminding me of the importance of remembrance. And understanding that we do not have the power to erase history, but we have the need to learn from it so that it never happens again.

Knowing the overwhelming emotions that overcame me here, I simply cannot imagine what it must feel like to visit Auschwitz or any of the larger camps in Germany and Poland. If this place, a transit camp, carried such an unbearable heaviness, how much more soul-crushing must it be to walk the grounds of Treblinka, where nearly 900,000 people were murdered, or Sobibor, where about 250,000 perished, many in the gas chambers almost immediately upon arrival? And then there is Bełżec, where over 400,000 Jews were killed in just ten months—a place where hardly any survivors remained to tell their stories.

Even beyond these well-known extermination camps, other sites like Dachau in Germany, originally built as a concentration camp for political prisoners, became another site of immense mass suffering, loss, and execution. The thought of walking through the remains of such places, knowing full well of the horrors that took place there, is a weighty and haunting contemplation that is almost too much to comprehend.

My experience at Kamp Amersfoort has left a lasting mark on me, a deep awareness of history’s atrocities and a commitment to remembering and honoring those who suffered at the hands of humanity’s worst. Some places have the power to change you forever—this was undoubtedly one of them.

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🏛️ Historical and Cultural Highlights

Kamp Amersfoort is located near the town of Leusden, just outside Amersfoort in the Netherlands. Originally built as a Dutch army barracks, it was repurposed by the Nazis in 1941 as a police transit camp, holding a mix of political prisoners, resistance fighters, Jews, Roma, Soviet POWs, and others deemed “undesirable” by the regime.

Though it was not classified as a death camp, it functioned as a place of torture, forced labor, executions, and severe deprivation. Today, visitors can walk through its preserved and reconstructed areas, view historical exhibits, and witness the powerful memorials honoring the lives lost.

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💡 An Interesting Fact

While not as widely known internationally as Auschwitz or Dachau, Kamp Amersfoort was one of the few camps on Dutch soil and played a crucial role in the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. One of its most haunting legacies is the execution lane—a trench dug by the prisoners themselves that the Nazis later used to execute and bury victims after using them as target practice.

This dark transformation of prisoner labor into their own place of death is one of the camp’s most chilling facts.

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🙏 Why Visit Kamp Amersfoort?

Visiting Kamp Amersfoort offers a deeply personal and powerful way to confront history. Unlike larger camps that may be crowded or overly curated, Amersfoort presents a more intimate and raw experience.

It’s a place of reflection, remembrance, and learning—an opportunity to honor the victims, understand the depth of suffering, and carry forward the stories of those who lived and died there.

It’s not just a historical visit; it’s an emotional journey that reminds us why memory and education matter.

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🚆 Practical Tips for Visiting Kamp Amersfoort

Getting There:

Kamp Amersfoort is located near the town of Leusden, just a 10-minute drive or short bike ride from the city of Amersfoort.
From Amsterdam, it’s about a 1-hour train ride to Amersfoort Station, followed by a local bus or taxi to the site.

When to Visit:

The camp is open year-round, but visiting in the spring or fall provides comfortable weather and fewer crowds.
Guided tours are available and highly recommended, though the site is also well-marked for self-guided exploration.

Where to Stay:

Stay in the city of Amersfoort, which offers a charming mix of medieval architecture, canals, and modern amenities. There are several hotels, boutique B&Bs, and guesthouses, making it a perfect base for exploring both the historical site and the surrounding region.