Second worldwar

During the war many Jewish merchants are arrested. As a result, the Waterlooplein and the Nieuwmarkt disappear until 1947. The number of market traders in Amsterdam drops from 3600 in 1940 to 1000 in 1944. It is hard to sell something on the market because of a lack of trade. After the liberation the purchase of trade remains difficult for a long time. On the Noordermarkt 2nd hand goods were still sold.

In the Hunger winter, there was not only scarcity of food, but also a great lack of fuel. Trees were cut down, vacant houses were stripped of anything flammable. Searching for small pieces of coal, coal dust and even asphalt off the streets because there were flammable substances in it. The search for fuel was a time-consuming job and after hours of searching and seven of the gravel was the yield mostly still not great.