In 1986, the Polish-born artist Ania Bien created a photographic installation based on the fire which compared it to the Holocaust.

Its place is now occupied by the Rokin Plaza, originally an office building, which today houses several fashion shops.

[1] At the end of the 18th century, the Poolsche Koffiehuis (Polish Coffee House) was established, which began offering guest accommodation in 1857.

[2] In 1891, after the adjacent space on the Rokin was bought, the Hotel Polen was established by the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het Poolsche Koffiehuis (Polish Coffee House Society),[2] and a building was constructed there which was designed by Eduard Cuypers, a cousin of the better known architect Pierre Cuypers who had designed the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum.

[10][11] On the night of Sunday 8 May to Monday 9 May 1977, about 100 people were staying in the Hotel Polen,[12][13] including a large group of Swedish tourists.

[14] At about 6:20 am, the hotel staff were preparing for breakfast service when one of them noticed smoke that seemed to be coming from the freight elevator (which had not been used since the café-restaurant on the ground floor had closed the previous evening).

The fire fighters tried to unfold a life net in the Papenbroekssteeg, an alley which runs between the Rokin and the Kalverstraat,[17] but it was too narrow.

Time was also lost because some people threw their luggage into the life net and then jumped into it themselves, causing injuries.

The nearby book store was also burned out,[21] and fires broke out in several buildings on the other side of the Kalverstraat; these were quickly brought under control.

Among the dead was the celebrated German concert musician and composer Walter Kraft, longtime organist of St. Mary's Church, Lübeck.

[26] The high number of casualties was a consequence of the wooden construction of the building,[6] the poorly marked escape routes[8] and the shortage of safety equipment.

[11] Polish-born artist Ania Bien produced a photographic art installation in 1986 called Hotel Polen.