This is the 4572nd most frequent Dutch word.
destijds
"At that time" or "back then."
Here, 'destijds' indicates a specific time period in the past when the speaker resided in Amsterdam.
Ik woonde destijds in Amsterdam voordat ik naar Utrecht verhuisde.
I lived in Amsterdam at that time before I moved to Utrecht.
In this sentence, 'destijds' refers to a historical time frame in the past when certain beliefs were held.
Destijds geloofde men dat de aarde plat was.
At that time, people believed that the Earth was flat.
The term 'destijds' here references a past period during which he was engaged in his prior profession.