“That afternoon the Netherlands knew, and Amsterdam knew, and the Jews of Amsterdam knew what to expect”, says Eli Asser in his testimony. And indeed, the arrest and deportation of more than 400 Jewish men did not pass unnoticed outside the Jewish circles either. A few days later, on 25th and 26th February, a strike broke out in protest against the raids. This strike became known as the ‘February strike’, and it was organized by the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN). The strike was attended by non-Jewish citizens and Jewish citizens. Via this protest the CPN wanted to make clear that they would not accept Nazi rule in the Netherlands, nor Anti-Jewish laws. Two members of the CPN published a pamphlet with the well-known slogan “Strike! Strike! Strike!” Thousands put down their work, among them metal- and dock workers. People took to the streets. Amsterdam’s trams stood still and many shops remained closed. Students also joined the strike, and formed barricades. Strikes broke out in other parts of the country, as well.
Sorurce of the picture: Beeldbank WO2 - NIOD
The Germans used force to end the strike. Some were killed, others injured, and after two days the strike was over. From that moment on, resistance movements no longer took place in public, but in secrecy. The Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, however, remained associated with resistance, and became the site of the February strike commemorations as early as 1946. As of 1952, the yearly commemorations take place around ‘The Dock Worker’, made by the sculptor Mari Andriessen.