In the courtyard of Metis Montessori Lyceum, the monument ’43 kinderen (43 children)’ by Henri Lucas reminds the passerby of a tragic history of the school. During Wold War II, 43 jewish pupils were forced to leave the school, most of them ended up in camps in Poland and Germany. Only seven survived the war.
The monument depicts this history in a direct and touching way: the 43 plates, with on them images of childen’s shoes, feet and cropped and blown up photographs that were made during the Dutch famine of 1944–1945, symbolise the deported children. Below them are the names and dates of death of the victims.
The monument exists since 1995, but needed maintenance. The restored monument was revealed on April 19th, with a program in which current pupils, (ex-)teachers and the artist himself participated.
This artwork is part of the Sunday Sculptures series that Stadscuratorium Amsterdam posts every Sunday on Instagram.
Image: Thomas Huisman
