Waalwijk
A small Jewish community existed at Waalwijk by the 18th century. At the time, the community prayed at the home of one of its members. A schism in the community in 1795 led to its dissolution. With the redistricting of Jewish communities throughout the Netherlands in 1814 Waalwijk was assigned to the regional community of Tilburg and made part of the local community at Capelle. In 1835, the Jews of Waalwijk were recognized as an independent local community in their own right.
The oldest Jewish cemetery known to have existed at
Waalwijk was used by the community until 1805. According to
records, it was located near the Boschhuysje, and outbuilding on
the terrain of former castle of Besoyen. Another local Jewish
cemetery existed in the Horst district of nearby Loon op Zand until
1825. A third Jewish cemetery appears to have existed sometime
during the mid-19th-century on the Rigtpad in Waalwijk somewhere
between the Loint and the Besoijense Steeg. Later, the Jews of
Waalwijk buried their dead at Oisterwijk. Nothing remains of
the three older cemeteries; they may have been cleared away
sometime during the 20th century without the consent of the local
Jewish community.
During the early 19th century, the Waalwijk community prayed in a
private home in Besoyen. In 1847, one of the three so-called
'tempeliershuizen' in Besoyen, in Medieval times housing the
Knights Templar, was rented for use as a synagogue. The local
Jewish community purchased the building and 1869. The building was
renovated and inaugurated a synagogue in 1884. It was badly
damaged by fire in 1901 but was rebuilt in the same year and the
new synagogue was consecrated in 1902.
An internal conflict led to a split in the Waalwijk community
between 1878 and 1904. The community was governed by a board. Local
Jews maintained communal organizations including a burial society
and women's society.
The synagogue at Waalwijk was confiscated by the Germans in 1940 at
the start of their World War II occupation of the Netherlands. The
furnishings of the synagogue were then sold at public sale. The
synagogue's Torah scrolls came through the war unharmed and what
later sent to Israel. Half of the approximately thirty Jews living
in Waalwijk were murdered during the war.
An independent Jewish community was not reestablished at Waalwijk
after the war; instead, the community was merged into that at Den
Bosch in 1947. The former synagogue was first used as a gym and
later as the storage room of the shoe factory.
The building was razed in 1965. In 1969, a plaque was unveiled at
the corner of the Grotestraat and Tempelierstraat to mark the site
of the former house of worship.
Jewish population of Waalwijk:
| 1809 | 41 |
| 1840 | 72 |
| 1869 | 59 |
| 1899 | 75 |
| 1930 | 17 |
Collectie en mediatheek
Dossier
Dossiers (158) van de Commissie voor Oorlogsschade mbt 155 joodse
gemeentes (Amsterdam en mediene), 1945-1950.
Collectie > Documenten > 00005954
Sjnoderboek
onbekend
Sjnoderboek van de Gemeente te Waalwijk.
Collectie > Documenten > 00000063
Overzichtsfoto
1980
Rabbijn Berlinger op een bijeenkomst in het raadhuis van Waalwijk ter gelegenheid
van de onthulling van een gedenksteen op de plek van de voormalige synagoge, circa ...
Collectie > Fotos > 40011073
meer treffers in Collectie > Fotos
Vergadering van de Centrale Commissie tot de Alg. Zaken van het Ned. Isr....
Eerste deel van het verslag van een vergadering van de Centrale Commissie tot de
Alg. Zaken van het Ned. Isr. Kerkgenootschap die plaatshad in de vergaderzaal aan ...
Collectie > Joodse pers > 20065733
meer treffers in Collectie > Joodse pers
"Tussen twee stromen" : de geschiedenis van de joodse gemeenten Geertruidenberg,...
1997
"Tussen twee stromen" : de geschiedenis van de joodse gemeenten Geertruidenberg,
Capelle, Waalwijk en Heusden ; Hartog Jacob de Vries : Joods dichter te Dussen ...
Collectie > Literatuur > 12006118
