Transvaalplein 100 years

 A 100th birthday party of this square in Amsterdam East aimed to highlight its extraordinary history.  It was designed by renowned architect H.P. Berlage and constructed from 1910 – 1920. Made up of working-class houses in the Amsterdam School style, in 1940 some 70% of its residents were Jewish, many of them Jewish socialists. Many of these Jewish residents were rounded up there in the raid of June 20, 1943

To celebrate and honor its past, I created a Transvaalplein quiz with a booklet about the neighborhood as prize for all participants, a balcony beauty contest (echoing the early years when such a contest took place encouraging pride by displaying flowering plants), a 100-piece birthday cake, a Klesma band, a talk by local historian Daniel Metz, and a party hat to remain on a treetop for the weekend of the festivities.