Westerbork Transit Camp Monument

Website: https://www.kampwesterbork.nl

Westerbork Transit Camp was a camp in the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands that became a German-controlled transit camp during the Second World War. It was used from 1942 onward to assemble and deport Jewish and Roma people from the Netherlands to extermination and concentration camps in occupied Europe.

Today the former camp site includes a memorial and museum that preserve parts of the railway platform and camp layout and provide historical interpretation of the deportations and the camp’s earlier uses. The site is visited for its historical significance and for the museum’s exhibitions and guided information.

The camp was established before the war and was repurposed under German occupation; it was evacuated and closed late in the war as Allied forces advanced. The memorial site stands in the Drenthe countryside near the original rail line that linked the camp to the wider Dutch network.

• Museum and memorial: A memorial and museum at the site interpret the camp’s history with a preserved railway platform, replica watchtower and exhibitions.
• Role during World War II: Approximately the first half of the 20th century saw major wartime use; the camp’s role shifted from a refugee reception site to a Nazi transit and deportation camp during World War II.

Westerbork is located near Hooghalen in Drenthe. From Assen or Groningen, regional buses or a short taxi ride reach the memorial centre. The site is reachable by car via the N374 and minor local roads; parking is available at the visitor centre.

• Visit the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork museum for context; the site is both a memorial and a place of learning.
• Audio guides and memorial trails are available in multiple languages and give the best historical layout of the camp and transports.
• Combine a visit with the nearby Drenthe landscape - the flat fields help explain why a transit camp was sited on such open ground.