Telephone Exchange Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 226

This large building, which is now an Albert Heijn supermarket, was the telephone exchange through which all international telephone connections ran during the war. In 1941, there were posters of the V-campaign on the walls. The allies had started using the letter V for victory. The Germans subsequently began using the ‘V’ for their own purposes with the slogan: ‘V=Victory, because Germany is winning on all fronts’. Amsterdam residents altered the German posters with paint and turned the ‘V’ into the ‘V’ for Verliest (is losing) or Verzuipt (is drowning). Or the ‘V’ was changed into a ‘W’ for Wilhelmina, the name of the Dutch Queen.

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Source

• Text: tmatic.travel
• Photos: TracesofWar