Damztters

It was 1970 and Dam Square in Amsterdam was the scene of a remarkable event known as the "clean sweep of Dam Square." This involved an action carried out by men from the Marine Corps and the Royal Navy to drive out the so-called dam sitters, hippies who spent the summer outdoors on Dam Square.

In the last decade of the 1960s, hippies from all corners of the country flocked to the monument on Dam Square. Here, in the open air, they spent their summers, sometimes several hundred at a time. This phenomenon had both supporters and opponents. At first, the Amsterdam city council turned a blind eye to it, but public order and hygiene problems soon arose. As early as 1969, the Amsterdam municipality considered putting an end to sleeping on Dam Square. Finally, in 1970, the city council led by Mayor Samkalden came up with a ban.

However, this ban was not to the liking of marines from Den Helder and Doorn, who were fed up with the so-called Dam sleepers. On the day after the area ban was introduced, 25 August, about 80 marines and sailors with clubs and tying belts decided to travel to Amsterdam to drive out the hippies. After arriving at the railway station at around 6.30pm, they made their way to Dam Square shortly afterwards. It took the marines and soldiers just 10 minutes to clear Dam Square. Their charge began at 7.50pm and lasted until 8pm.

It was not the first time members of the navy and army tackled the youth. Earlier, the nozems, with their mopeds and distinctive quiffs, were targeted. On 4 April 1967, the navy cleaned Amsterdam's Central Station of nozems loitering there. This resulted in a kind of hatchet day, during which several nozems were cut bald.

After the ban on sleeping on Dam Square was introduced, the youngsters took refuge in another well-known location: the Vondelpark. Here they spent their nights and continued their lifestyle.