Season '40-'45 - Football during the Second World War

This exhibition at the Verzetsmuseum (Dutch Resistance Museum) in Amsterdam tells the rollercoaster story of football during the war - a tale packed with exciting, sad and blissful moments, where the ball just kept on rolling. Season '40 - '45 - Football during the Second World War runs until 16 May 2010.

Wartime football
Many people are surprised to learn that football was played during WW II, a period more closely associated with oppression, resistance, anti-Semitism, poverty and hunger. However, during wartime, football was more popular than ever in the Netherlands: tens of thousands joined a club and match attendances doubled. Football offered a much-needed escape from the horrors of war.

Desperate times
But even football was hit by measures taken by the Nazi occupation. Jews were forbidden to join football clubs, players were transported to Germany to slave away in work camps or went into hiding and the shortages made it virtually impossible to acquire equipment. And bombs dropping on football pitches didn't help matters either.

Football for the family
Season '40 - '45 is a true family exhibition and welcomes visitors aged 10 and above to view the many unusual objects, relive the charming stories and get involved in the interactive games.