2025/11/28 by Jan Hein Furnée · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Central European national history #European history and politics #Historical Art and Culture Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s096392682510062x
openalex created_date 2025/11/28 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Abstract During World War II, German occupation obstructed foreign tourism to Amsterdam. The local tourist association VVV did not, however, cease its promotional activities. On the contrary; as a public–private association largely financed by the Amsterdam municipality and the local Chamber of Commerce, the VVV functioned as an institutional nexus between the German-controlled municipal authorities, local entrepreneurs in the city’s tourist industry, tourists and local citizens. This article argues that the VVV played a significant role in promoting the return to ‘normalcy’ and an acceptance of aspects of a new normal in the Dutch capital. In a wide variety of initiatives, it encouraged domestic tourists and local inhabitants – largely ignoring the gradual exclusion of Jews – to continue a public life of amusement, cultural enrichment and identification with local and national heritage.