Concealment and tolerance

It was illegal to accommodate brothels, and brothels were prohibited in Amsterdam from 1897 onwards. Our postcard is from ca. 1912, fifteen years after brothels were declared illegal. The sober appearance of café Stadt Hamburg is recognizable. The windows are covered by curtains, and it is hard to tell that the building probably serves as a place to meet prostitutes.

Would you like to know more about how, when, and why this legislation came into being? Then click below.