Heerlen
A Jew from Heerlen is mentioned in a document from Cologne dated
1270, indicating that in all likelihood Jews resided in Heerlen
during the late Middle Ages. It is certain, however, that several
Jewish families were living in Heerlen by the outset of the
eighteenth century. By 1726, the Heerlen community consisted of six
families who held religious services in the home of one of their
numbers. At the time, almost all the Jews in Heerlen worked as
butchers.
The Heerlen community's first synagogue was located
on the former Veemarkt near the present-day Wilhelminaplein and
Dautzenbergerstraat. The synagogue was renovated in 1852 but it is
not known when it originally was consecrated. A women's society for
the upkeep of the interior of the synagogue was founded in 1898. In
1936, a new synagogue was built on the Stationstraat on the site of
the Heerlen community's second cemetery.
The first known Jewish cemetery in Heerlen was acquired in 1778
after extensive negotiations. It was located behind the Huis de
Croon (no longer extant) on the former Dorpsstraat (the present-day
Emmastraat). By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the
Dorpsstraat cemetery was nearly full. As a result, a new Jewish
cemetery was opened in 1811on the former Schinkelsteeg (the
present-day Stationsstraat). By the start of the twentieth century,
the Heerlen community buried its dead at a third cemetery, located
on the Akerstraat next to Heerlen's public cemetery.
A large number of German Jews settled in Heerlen
and nearby Kerkrade in the years following the 1933 Nazi takeover
in Germany. A Jewish school was opened in Heerlen following the
expulsion of Jewish children from public schools during the German
occupation of the Netherlands in the World War II. The school
functioned from September 1941 until February,1943. Approximately
half of the Jews of Heerlen were murdered by the Germans during the
war, however, many Jews from Heerlen and surroundings, including
almost one hundred children, were able to go into hiding with the
help of local Pastor Pontier and a Dutch resistance group (the
NV-Group) led by Jaap Musch.
During the war, the interior of the synagogue was plundered and
vandalized and then used as a storage place. The synagogue's Torah
scrolls and ceremonial objects were hidden in Amsterdam in advance
of the plundering but were never recovered. The Heerlen synagogue
was consecrated anew in January, 1945 following the Allied
liberation of the southern half of the Netherlands. It was restored
in 1959 but was closed in 1985 due to a decline in community
membership. Following the closure, a plaque from the synagogue
commemorating Heerlen Jews murdered during the war was moved to the
Jewish cemetery on the Akerstraat.
In 1986, the Jewish communities of Heerlen, Roermond, and Maastricht were
fused into a single community, the NIHS Limburg. In 1998,
on May 4, the anniversary of the 1940 German invasion of the
Netherlands, a granite monument inscribed with the names of 62
Heerlen Jews murdered during the war was unveiled in the
Akerstraat. The Akerstraat cemetery is presently maintained by the
local authorities. In 1990, two memorials were unveiled in the
village of Nieuwenhagen in the Landgraaf municipality.
Jewish population of Heerlen and surroundings:
| 1809 | 43 |
| 1840 | 44 |
| 1869 | 63 |
| 1899 | 51 |
| 1930 | 120+ |
Collectie en mediatheek
Dossier
Dossiers (158) van de Commissie voor Oorlogsschade mbt 155 joodse
gemeentes (Amsterdam en mediene), 1945-1950.
Collectie > Documenten > 00005954
Sauvegarde.
1751
Pamflet; zij die getuigen over de moord op Eleasar Alexander Cahan
worden door de overheid in bescheming genomen, 1751.
Collectie > Documenten > 00009261
Kidoesjkleed
1900-1930
Kiddoesjkleed met opschriften in hebreeuws en voorstellingen van een menora evenals
topografische afbeeldingen van heilige plaatsen in Jeruzalem.
Collectie > Museumstukken > B0718
meer treffers in Collectie > Museumstukken
Overzichtsfoto
1950 (ca.)
Stationsplein te Heerlen met synagoge, circa 1950.
Collectie > Fotos > 40007349
meer treffers in Collectie > Fotos
Van onzen Eindhovenschen Correspondent.
Verslag van een bijeenkomst met als doel de verkiezing van een opperrabbijn voor
het gecombineerde ressort Noord-Brabant-Limburg. Er waren drieendertig afgevaardigden ...
Collectie > Joodse pers > 20061610
meer treffers in Collectie > Joodse pers
De joodse gemeenschap van Heerlen in de franse tijd
1960
De joodse gemeenschap van Heerlen in de franse tijd.
Collectie > Literatuur > 11000534
meer treffers in Collectie > Literatuur
Ich glaub es ist Krieg
Documentaire over Zuid-Limburg (Vaals, Heerlen en
Maastricht) tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Collectie > Audiovisueel > 40000502
