droom

Abraham Icek Tuschinski was born in 1886 in Brzeziny, Poland. He fled pogroms, arrived in the Netherlands with nothing, and worked as a tailor's apprentice. His droom — his dream — was to build a cinema so beautiful that entering it would feel like stepping into another world.

In 1921, he opened the Tuschinski Theatre on Reguliersbreestraat — a jaw-dropping fusion of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Amsterdam School architecture. The carpet alone cost a fortune. The stained glass ceiling, the velvet seats, the ornate lobby — every inch was designed to astonish. Opening night, audiences gasped. They'd come expecting a cinema. They found a palace.

Tuschinski's dream ended in darkness. After the German invasion of 1940, his theatre was confiscated and renamed. Abraham Tuschinski was deported to Auschwitz, where he was murdered in 1942. His name was removed from the facade.

It took decades, but eventually the name was restored. Today, Pathé Tuschinski is still one of the most beautiful cinemas in the world. The carpet is still there. The stained glass still glows. What Abraham built outlasted what they did to him. His droom survived.