A fascinating city beyond tulips, canals, and bicycles unfolds for travelers and those at home through the reading of this unique city guide. As you stroll through Amsterdam, you soon discover traces of Jewish life throughout the city: closed and open synagogues, the Jewish Museum, the Anne Frank House, kosher cafés, and numerous street names all testify to the rich Jewish past as well as the vibrant Jewish present of the city. 'The Jerusalem of the West' developed in the 15th and 16th centuries after the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews from Portugal, becoming the center of the European diaspora. The culturally and economically thriving community became an integral part of the city, with its members playing significant roles in its development. However, National Socialism changed everything.