Fifteen years ago, for the first time, a front door on an ordinary Dutch street opened, and someone started telling about the Jewish family that once lived there. That idea grew into Open Jewish Houses | Stories of Resistance, and the 15th edition - from April 25 through May 5, 2026 - is immediately the most extensive yet. In 19 locations throughout the Netherlands, houses, stores, schools and other buildings will open their doors. Free, with no reservations, just walk in.
The concept was conceived by Denise Citroen and initially set up from the Jewish Historical Museum, which has since become the Jewish Cultural Quarter hot. Lemon had a simple but powerful idea: not hang history in a museum gallery, but tell it in the place where it took place. The Jewish Cultural Quarter - located in the Plantage neighborhood - is the main organizer and for the 2026 edition is working with local partners across the country, including Wageningen 45 and the 4and5mei Committee Zaanstad.
The program runs the entire national commemoration period: from King's Day on April 25 to Liberation Day on May 5 - 11 days. During that period, you can step into historic buildings that are normally closed. Former residents, neighbors, descendants and historians tell on the spot the stories of Jewish families who once lived or worked there. In the 15th edition, there is an extra emphasis on resistance: in addition to the Jewish houses, Houses of Resistance participate - places associated with non-Jewish resistance fighters who were active during the war. The theme Stories of Resistance is thus not just a name, but a real extension of the program.
Lemon had a simple but powerful idea: not hang history in a museum room, but tell it in the place where it took place.
The 2026 edition is spreading from Winterswijk - where six addresses open on Sunday, April 26 - to Zaanstad and from Wageningen on May 3 to Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter in the days surrounding May 4 and 5. Cities can still sign up as new participants for 2026. That the program continues to grow after 15 years says something: the stories are there, so are the people who want to hear them, and the doors just keep opening.
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