Alkmaar
The history of the Jewish community of Alkmaar dates to the beginning of the seventeenth century and the purchase of a small cemetery site in the nearby village of Groet by a group of Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam.
Two years later, Alkmaar became the first city in the northern
Netherlands after Amsterdam to open her gates to Jews. Even though
Alkmaar offered Jews protection, safety and freedom of religion,
only few Jews actually chose to settle there. Apparently the
application of Jews to settle in Alkmaar was meant more as a means
of pressuring the city fathers of Amsterdam into providing similar
guarantees to Jews there.
The small Jewish community of Alkmaar soon died out. An attempt in
1655 to entice Portuguese Jews to establish a silk working industry
in Alkmaar came to nothing due to an outbreak of the plague. In the
late seventeenth century Ashkenazi Jews settled in Alkmaar. Their
numbers included many poor and needy people. Only in the middle of
the eighteenth century did a Jewish butcher become the first person
of his faith to achieve full rights as a citizen of Alkmaar.
In 1744, the Jews of Alkmaar were granted the right to conduct
religious worship in public. The first synagogue services were held
in a private residence. In 1792, the Jewish community decided to
establish a permanent synagogue in a house located to the south of
De Laat, near the Zakkenstraat. A purpose-built synagogue was
constructed in 1808 on the Hofstraat and still stands. The Jewish
cemetery on the Westerweg dates from the 1740s. The Jews of Alkmaar
also maintained a religious school and a ritual bath. In 1779, the
statutes of the Jewish community were recognized by the municipal
authorities.
The Jewish
community of Alkmaar grew steadily through the late 1860s.
Thereafter, the Jewish population of the city began to decline.
During most of the nineteenth century, the economic situation of
the Jews of Alkmaar was rather poor. This situation began to
improve only towards the end of the century. The majority of the
Jews of Alkmaar were shopkeepers or peddlers. In 1891, a society
was established to provide aid to the Jewish poor. The Jews of
Alkmaar also maintained a burial society, a religious society, and
a Jewish Theater Club.
During the 1930s, Alkmaar provided refuge to a number Jews fleeing
Germany. On March 5, 1942, all the Jews of Alkmaar were expelled to
Amsterdam. They were deported to the concentration camp at
Westerbork in the north of the Netherlands soon thereafter, and
from there to the death camps in the East, from whence only a few
returned. In addition, a few dozen Alkmaar Jews managed to survive
the war in hiding. Following the deportation, almost all of the
ceremonial objects were stolen from the Alkmaar synagogue. After
the war, only a single Torah scroll remained.
During the postwar period, the Jewish community of Alkmaar sold
the synagogue and the school building. The former synagogue now
houses a Baptist church which has plans to move to new quarters in
the near future. Today, Jewish residents of Alkmaar and
surroundings are united into a small community. The in 1997
established Alkmaar Synagogue
Foundation started fundraising in 2004, on the occasion of the
400th anniversary of the founding of Alkmaar's Jewish Community, in
order to ber able to restore the synagogue. In 2009 the Foundation
bought the building and started the restoration. In December 2011
this led to the opening of the restored synagogue, which is now
open for visitors, and where synagogue services are held on a
regular basis.
A memorial in the Jewish cemetery of Alkmaar commemorates local
Jews murdered during the war. The cemetery is presently maintained
by a group of volunteers. A memorial stone honoring the seventeen
Jews of nearby Bergen murdered during the war was unveiled in May,
2000 in the Allied Military Cemetery on the Kerkedijk in
Bergen.
Jewish population of Alkmaar:
| 1798 | 129 |
| 1809 | 105 |
| 1840 | 205 |
| 1869 | 356 |
| 1899 | 254 |
| 1930 | 189 |
| 1951 | 40 |
| 1971 | 80 |
| 1998 | 69 |
Collectie en mediatheek
[Diploma gemeenteschool Alkmaar]
Enkele rode gestyleerde tekens die als onderdeel van een groter geheel ter inkleuring
dienen. Middenboven een wapen met daarin een toren. Op de achtergrond vage ...
Collectie > Museumstukken > 06598
meer treffers in Collectie > Museumstukken
Fotoalbum
Twee losbladige fotoalbums met 148 kleurenfoto's van joodse
begraafplaatsen in Nederland, jaren '80.
Collectie > Fotos > 40006664
meer treffers in Collectie > Fotos
Dossier
Dossiers (158) van de Commissie voor Oorlogsschade mbt 155 joodse
gemeentes (Amsterdam en mediene), 1945-1950.
Collectie > Documenten > 00005954
meer treffers in Collectie > Documenten
[Binnenland] : Benoemingen
Benoemingen door de Permanente Commissie in diverse schoolbesturen.
Collectie > Joodse pers > 20031865
meer treffers in Collectie > Joodse pers
Joodse elfstedenroute : een toeristische tocht langs joods cultureel erfgoed in Noord...
2002
Joodse elfstedenroute : een toeristische tocht langs joods cultureel erfgoed in
Noord-Holland = a Jewish heritage tour past eleven different towns and villages ...
Collectie > Literatuur > 12009354
meer treffers in Collectie > Literatuur
Misjpoge dl.3
Over Joseph Pasternak die door heel Nederland reist om mensen te voorzien van koosjer
eten, over de synagoge van Alkmaar, archiefbeelden van een bezoek dat koningin ...
Collectie > Audiovisueel > 40001790
