Het Apeldoornsche Bosch

Het Apeldoornsche Bosch is founded by the ‘Vereeniging Centraal Israëlietisch Krankzinnigengesticht in Nederland’ (Society Central Israelite Mental Asylum in the Netherlands) in 1909. The Jewish psychiatric institution soon becomes a flourishing clinic. In modern, spacious pavilions, mentally ill patients are treated in accordance with the latest insights, surrounded by nature and far from the big city.

The first two and a half years of the war pass the patients and staff of Het Apeldoornsche Bosch by without much incident. The pavilions and outbuilding are located in the eastern part of Apeldoorn, with its beautiful woods. Despite the news they receive about the war, residents and staff feel safe for a long time, as the harsh Nazi terror that is felt daily in the densely populated West of the Netherlands remains a long way off.

But then, on 1 April 1942, all non-Jewish staff members are fired. After Jews are banned from travelling in June 1942, visitors no longer come to Het Bosch. Dark clouds gather, and on 19 January 1943, SS commander Ferdinand aus de Fünten orders the evacuation of the entire complex. In the night of 21/22 January 1943, the German occupiers raid and clear Het Apeldoornsche Bosch. Close to 1300 people, patients and staff, are sent to Auschwitz. None of them return.

Memorial Center

On the ground floor of the house, an exhibition tells the story of the once-flourishing Apeldoornsche Bosch institute, and of the disastrous events that took place there in January 1943. On the first floor, history is linked to the present day. In four rooms, visitors discuss themes like freedom, friendship, safety and being forced to flee, all in relation to the Apeldoornsche Bosch institution’s history. These themes are addressed in both a historical and a contemporary context through various activities and forms of dialogue. With projects for and in collaboration with primary schools, secondary schools, and schools for intermediate and higher vocational education, the Memorial Centre is very deliberately also a place for children and adolescents. 

If you come by car, you can park at Skatebaan De Voorwaarts on the terrain of Omnisport. It is not necessary or desirable to drive onto the terrain of 's Heeren Loo, the former terrain of Het Apeldoornsche Bosch.