From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jewish Eindhoven
Jewish Eindhoven
Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the • (35%) died in the destruction- and concentration
province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Nether- camps in Central Europe (notably Auschwitz and
lands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Sobibor). This is a "low" number considering that
Gender brooks. The Gender has been dammed off in the 75% of all Dutch Jews died during the Holocaust. 180
post-war years, but the Dommel still runs through it. Jews died in Auschwitz; 61 in Sobibor. The remaining
It was not allowed for Jews to settle in the city of 91 Jews died in Central Europe or have an unknown
Eindhoven until 1772, when stadtholder Willem V sum- place of death.
moned the city council to open its doors for Jews. Not un- • Jews who were deported survived the camps, a
til 1796 however were Jews totally free to settle in Eind- "high" number when you consider that this number
hoven - between 1772 and 1796 the city council succeed- meant that some 16% of deported Jews from
ed in summoning numerous orders to make Jewish set- Eindhoven survived destruction camps like
tlement in the city incredibly difficult. Because of the Auschwitz, whereas nationwide this number was
prohibition for Jews to settle within the city, nearby vil- closer to 5% of all deported Jews.
lages contained fairly large numbers of Jews. However, • Jews managed to survive by hiding or leaving the
from 1796 onward, the Jewish presence in Eindhoven country.
started to grow considerably. Most of the Jews were im- • Jews were part of a mixed marriage (with a non-Jew)
migrants from Germany, specifically from Cologne, and by that escaped deportation and death.
Krefeld and Bad Kreuznach. They were all Ashkenazi. A • Another Jews died of natural causes between 1940
synagogue was put into use. After another period of and 1945.
growth after 1850, the city became the seat of the chief
rabbinate for the province of Noord-Brabant. Central Registration Office for Jews
Most of the Jews who settled in Eindhoven were After the liberation of the southern parts of the Nether-
butchers, cattle dealers, shopkeepers and hawkers. Later lands in the autumn of 1944, the Central Registration Of-
on, when the city started to industrialize, certain Jewish fice for Jews was founded in the city of Maastricht. Under
families played a significant role in the further develop- the auspices of the Red Cross, Dutch Jews who had sur-
ment of the city, among them the Elias family. vived the war were registered at the Bureau. It was useful
In the 1930s, numbers of Jewish refugees, notably for surviving Jews in finding their loved ones and Jewish
from Germany but also from Austria, Poland and Hun- friends, to see whether they were still alive and could be
gary, started to arrive in the city. In 1941, 84 Jewish reached. At the end of 1944, the Bureau was moved to
refugees were counted by the Nazi authorities, 57 from Eindhoven. In May 1945, some 2,500 Jews had been regis-
Germany and others from Austria, Poland, the Czech tered. This number grew to 21,674 in December 1945.
Republic, Hungary and Lithuania.
Intermediate Station Surviving Jews
The Holocaust Eindhoven, which was the temporary capital of the lib-
erated Netherlands, served as an intermediate station for
In August 1940, a total of 561 Jews were counted in Eind-
hidden Jews and fled Jews who returned to the southern
hoven. After the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940,
part of the Netherlands after that region had been lib-
only 13 Jews from Eindhoven had managed to escape
erated in September 1944. Shelters were founded in sev-
to other countries, notably the United Kingdom. Among
eral places in Eindhoven. When the first camp survivors
them were members of the prominent Elias family. From
arrived from Germany, many Jews who had survived the
August 1940 to December 1941, 57 Jews left Eindhoven,
Second World War through hiding or fleeing the country
but another 134 settled within its borders, bringing the
were faced with the cruel reality that most of their de-
number of Jews to 638 in December 1941. After 1941, an-
ported family members and loved ones would not return.
other 228 Jews moved to Eindhoven, bringing the Jewish
Any hope of seeing them back was shattered when sur-
community to a height of 866 persons.
vivors of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp arrived
Besides these full-Jews, another 123 half-Jews and 61
at Eindhoven Airport in April 1945 who reported that
quarter-Jews were counted in December 1941.
the far, far majority of Dutch Jews had been killed in the
During the period 1940 - 1945, a total number of 936
camps.
Jews had lived at one moment in Eindhoven.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jewish Eindhoven
Jewish Orphans munity is led by M.L. Witsema (not the rabbi of the com-
munity); chairman of the community is the 40-year old
Many Jewish children survived in the Netherlands by go-
Max Loewenstein. The community consists of approxi-
ing into hiding. By placing them with foster families, nu-
mately 70 individuals, although the total number of Jews
merous children were saved while many parents even-
in Eindhoven and surroundings (including Israeli expats)
tually died in the destruction- and concentration camps.
is thought to be more than twice that number (some
Some 1,400 Jewish children in the Netherlands thus be-
200); however it is believed that several Jewish families in
came orphans. At the end of the war it soon became clear
Eindhoven do not wish to visit the (Orthodox) synagogue
to members of the surviving Jewish communities that
in Eindhoven, but instead visit the (Progressive) syna-
many foster families were reluctant in bringing the chil-
gogue in Tilburg, Aree Hanegev located approximately
dren back to the Jewish community - many foster par-
35 kilometers northwest of the City. The Jewish com-
ents had grown attached to the Jewish orphans, some had
munity is part of the Orthodox Nederlands Israëlitisch
given them a Christian upbringing and simply refused to
Kerkgenootschap (NIK). Regular weekly services are not
give them back to the Jewish community, who believed
held at the synagogue due to the absence of enough adult
these Jewish children should stay part of the Jewish na-
Jewish men within the community to form the minyan of
tion, especially after it became clear that the majority of
ten adult men every week, which is required within the
Dutch Jews had not survived the Holocaust. Some Jewish
Orthodox stream. During the High Holidays services are
families desperately tried to "collect" as many as Jewish
held, due to the larger number of individuals (including
orphans as they could and serve as a foster family until
enough adult men) who visit the synagogue during these
the children were able to (illegally) emigrate to Palestine.
days.
This was also the case in Eindhoven, where most notably
Number of Jews in Eindhoven and surroundings:
Abraham de Jong and his wife gave shelter to some 12
• - 186
Jewish orphans, most of whom eventually travelled to
• - 212
Palestine. But even these attempts by individual Jews did
• - 274
not prevent that in 1949, some 358 of the 1,400 Jewish
• - 339
orphans had been placed within a non-Jewish environ-
• - 431
ment. Even up to this day, the way how the Dutch gov-
• - 561
ernment dealt with this issue has caused pain and bitter-
• - 638
ness within the Jewish community.
• - approximately 300
• - 210
After the war • - 164
• - 102
After the war, the Jewish community immediately start-
ed to reconstruct its synagogue in the Kerkstraat (Church
Street), which had been severely damaged during a Ger- External links
man bombardment on September 19, 1944. On May 22,
• Wissen, Mariëtte van (2007-05-05). Jong en joods
1947, it was again put into use. However, due to plans to
(Young and Jewish). Eindhovens Dagblad (Dutch)
broaden the Kerkstraat in 1953, the synagogue eventual-
• Jewish Historical Museum (Amsterdam)
ly had to be demolished. This happened in February 1959.
• P. Kroon, De joodse gemeenschap van Eindhoven
On November 17, 1958, a new synagogue was inaugurat-
1940-1945 (The Jewish community of Eindhoven
ed in a residential home in the Hendrik Casimirstraat (Hen-
1940-1945), 2003
drik Casimir Street) - it has served as the synagogue for
the Jewish community since then. Nowadays, the com-
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jewish_Eindhoven&oldid=370967362"
Categories:
• Jewish Dutch history
• Judaism by city
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