The February Strike

You are standing on Jonas Daniel Meijer Square, one of Amsterdam's most historically charged spaces. Behind you rises the Portuguese Synagogue, known as the Snoge, one of the most beautiful and oldest synagogues in the world. And right here in front of you stands De Dokwerker, a bronze docker frozen in a moment of defiance. On 25 February 1941, Amsterdam ground to a halt. A general strike broke out after Nazi forces arrested and deported more than 400 Jewish men, women and children to concentration camps.

Organised by the Dutch resistance movement, the strike spread rapidly across the country, drawing an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 participants. It was an extraordinary act of solidarity and courage. The Nazi authorities responded with brutal repression. Strikers were arrested, imprisoned, and worse. Yet the protest held for several days, and the resistance managed to secure the release of some of those who had been taken. Sculptor Mari Andriessen created this monument to honour that courage. His model was a Haarlem carpenter named Willem Termetz, who is believed to have fought alongside Andriessen in the resistance.

Every year on 25 February, people gather here to remember. This square, this statue, this moment in history, remind us that standing up for justice has never been without risk.