Zaandam
It is
not known exactly when Jews first settled in Zaandam, but it is
certain that an organized Jewish community arose in the town by the
beginning of the 19th century.
During the first half of the 19th century, the community held
religious services in a synagogue located on the Kuiperspad. The
Kuiperspad synagogue also housed the community's Jewish
school.
A new synagogue, built on the Gedempte Gracht, was completed and
consecrated in 1865. Beginning in 1887, the community buried its
dead in a cemetery of its own on the Westzanerdijk.
The
Zaandam community was governed by a board consisting of five
members. Other official positions within the community included a
treasurer for the collection and disbursement of aid to Jews in
Eretz Israel. The majority of the Jews living in Zaandam worked as
craftsmen, merchants, were shopkeepers. Since 1896 Zaandam was home
to a scent and flavorings factory, owned by two Jews named Joseph
Polak and Leopold Schwarz.
Zaandam, like the town of Weesp, was a favorite place
amongst Amsterdam Jews at which to marry. Marriage fees were lower
in Zaandam and Weesp; however, to marry in Zaandam, couples had to
inscribe themselves as local residents for a period of six
weeks.
The Jewish population of Zaandam and surroundings began to decline
at the turn of the 20th century. This trend continued over the
decades that followed. Just prior to the Second World War however,
a substantial number of Jewish refugees from Germany and Central
Europe settled in Zaandam.
During the World War II German occupation of the Netherlands, many
people in Zaandam and surroundings took part in the February Strike
in 1941 protesting initial arrests and deportations of Jews. The
Jews of Zaandam were the first to be deported from the province of
North Holland to the city of Amsterdam. From Amsterdam they were
sent to the detention and transit camp at Westerbork and from there
were deported to concentration camps in Poland. Very few of their
numbers returned alive. Several dozen local Jews managed to survive
the war in hiding. The synagogue was damaged during the occupation;
parts of its interior and contents were destroyed and the rest
stolen. Six Torah scrolls, however, were hidden and recovered after
the war.
A Jewish community took shape once again in Zaandam during the
postwar years. The synagogue was restored in 1950. The building was
sold in 1974 following a second restoration; the local community
had become too small to be able to continue to support a synagogue
of its own. The former synagogue presently serves as an art
exhibition hall.
A monument to the memory of local Jews murdered during World War II
was unveiled in the town hall at Zaandam in 1990. A similar
monument stands in the local Jewish cemetery. In 2002, a monument
to the Jewish employees of the former Polak and Schwarz scent and
flavorings factory was unveiled at the entrance to the Maison
d'Essence apartment complex, built on the site where the factory
once stood. A bronze statue of a book-filled bookcase emplaced at
the Vaartkade in Zaandam stands as a memorial to Dutch-Jewish
writer Carry van Bruggen, who spent her childhood years in
Zaandam.
Jewish population in Zaandam:
| 1809 | 107 |
| 1840 | 144 |
| 1869 | 144 |
| 1899 | 186 |
| 1930 | 126 |
| 1951 | 24 |
| 1971 | 24 |
| 1998 | 41 |
Collectie en mediatheek
Ensemble Ferry / Ferry Bob Scholte
1940
object, affiche. titel, Ensemble Ferry / Ferry Bob Scholte. maker, anoniem. materiaal,
papier. datering, 1940. hoogte, 84.6. breedte, 59.06. collectie, ...
Collectie > Museumstukken > 07599
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
Fotoalbum
1927-1940
Fotoalbum met 17 foto's van Roosje Drilsma en haar broertje, circa 1927-1940.
Collectie > Fotos > 40004385
meer treffers in Collectie > Fotos
[Binnenland] : Zaandam
1906
Tijdens een kerkenraadsvergadering werd aan de heer NS van Thijn een kiddoesjbeker
met inscriptie overhandigd ter gelegenheid van zijn aanstaande huwelijk. De heer ...
Collectie > Joodse pers > 20058915
meer treffers in Collectie > Joodse pers
De joodse gemeenschap in de Zaanstreek
1990
De joodse gemeenschap in de Zaanstreek.
Collectie > Literatuur > 11000700
