In spite of censorship, a ban and a shortage of materials, a great number of photographs were taken during the German Occupation. The photographers got out their camera at great risk to their own and other people’s life. They deeply felt the need to document the exceptional social circumstances and, without having any artistic pretension, they recorded the stark reality of what should not be forgotten.

The photographs present an image of the effects of the German Occupation: starvation and deprivation, the persecution of the Jews, destruction and resistance. Some photographs became symbols of the distress people were enduring, whilst others long remained concealed from the general public. The collection of negatives, prints and albums originating from the Occupation period is administered by the Nederlands fotomuseum in Rotterdam.