'Bagage'

On March 17, 1943, the Jews in Leiden who did not go into hiding were forcefully taken from their homes. Two hundred and seventy of them later died in concentration camps.

This tragic event has never been forgotten by the city, and it inspired many memorials. One of the more striking memorials is comprised of six stone suitcases placed near significant buildings. The suitcases, which were designed and made by Dutch/Israeli artist Ram Katzir in 2010, symbolize the one suitcase that each victim was allowed to carry.

Two of the suitcases are at the Zonneveldstraat 10, near the former police station from which the mass roundup was coordinated. One stands in front of the former Jewish orphanage on the Roodenburgerstraat 1a. There’s also one on the Zonneveldstraat, behind the law faculty building of the university, the place where now international law and human rights are practiced. The last two are on the Herensteeg and de Vliet, near important hiding places.