Jewish Historical Museum
Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2-4
Tel. (020) 269-945
website: www.jhm.nl

Jewish Community Information Websites:
http://www.haruth.com/JewsNetherlands.html [October 2000]
http://www.nik.nl [October 2000]

The more than 223 Jewish cemeteries now are owned by a private organization that wishes to remain anonymous. All burial information on the cemeteries is available in the Joods Cultureel Centrum in Amsterdam and in Hilversum. According to a member of Beth Chaim, over the years, the municipalities in the Netherlands did nothing to maintain the cemeteries. Many of them are in a terrible condition. A small group of volunteers named themselves "Beth Chaim" [House of the Living]: The Workgroup Meppel" in Meppel gave guidance to more than 300 pupils and individuals in the summer of 1998 when they started the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Meppel.

In February 1999, the Beth Chaim Workgroup Meppel became Beth Chaim Foundation, working closely with a cemetery consultant responsible for all the Jewish cemeteries in the Netherlands. The Foundation cannot do anything without permission of the anonymous organization that owns the cemeteries. In March 2000, the Beth Chaim Foundation has restored two cemeteries and is working on more projects for the future. The Beth Chaim Foundation is an organization of Jewish people and people with a Jewish background with seven in the organization's management. Their goal is the restoration of Jewish cemeteries throughout The Netherlands by all kinds of people: students, Christians, and Jews. BCF emphasizes education of the youth of the Netherlands. BCF management includes:

• Joodse begraafplaats Boddenstraat: {10304} dates from 1842, oppervlakte 0.23 ha
• Joodse begraafplaats Kerkhofweg: {10305} dates from 18de eeuw, gesloten 1842, oppervlakte 710 m2

• Alkmaar Jewish Cemetery [Joodse Begraafpaats Alkmaar]: Located 250 m from the Openbare Begraafplaats in Noord-Holland, the present town population is 25,000-100,000 with 100-1000 Jews. The locked Progressive-Reform cemetery key is located at Openbare Begraafplaats. The last known burial was in 2000. The isolated urban site, between houses, is separate, but near other cemeteries. A sign in Dutch and in Hebrew marks the site: "The stone will remind us, the sons and daughters of our community. Taken away and killed by the occupiers."
        Reached by turning directly off a public road, the site is open with permission via a continuous fence, head of trees or bushes, and a gate that locks. 100-500 gravestones in the cemetery are in original location with more than 75% broken or toppled. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem, disturbing stones. Water drainage is good all year. No special sections. The oldest stone dates from around 1750. The 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st century granite and sandstone finely smoothed stones have Hebrew inscriptions. A special memorial monument to Holocaust victims exists.
        The national Jewish community owns the property only used as a Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are commercial or industrial and residential. Compared to 1939, the boundaries are the same. Rarely, private Jewish and non-Jewish visitors stop at the site. Past care includes patching broken stones and clearing vegetation by local/municipal authorities. Current care is occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities. A preburial house exists. Vegetation is the oldest part of the cemetery is a very serious threat.
        Bert de Jong, bdejong67@hetnet.nl completed the survey on 12 Sep 2003. He visited the site in May 2003. No interviews or additional documentation were used to complete the survey. [October 2003]

• Ashkenasi Cemetery: 1750-1880 - 150 gravestones. No sign indicates the walled and locked cemetery with high grass. The stones, all virtually identical, generally are in excellent condition with Hebrew inscriptions but the occasional European day and month. Nechama Hirsch-Mayer is doing indexing. Source: Aubrey@Jacobus.japhet.demon.co.uk

• Portuguese Jewish Cemetery [Bet Chaim] at Ouderkerk: Located in Ouderkerk village on the Amstel River, about five miles south of Amsterdam, is a very old cemetery surrounded by a fence with locked gates. All burials are in aboveground concrete vaults. Only a few graves have upright headstones. This burial site for Sephardic Jews of Amsterdam dates to 1614, if not earlier. The oldest tombstone dates from 1616 but most date 1650-1750. The cemetery is located on a narrow, residential street across from private dwellings with a walkway leading from the street. An old building to the right of the walkway bears a worn sign in Dutch stating that entry to the cemetery is restricted. The cemetery includes the grave of poet, historian, and scholar Menasseh ben Israel, the rabbi who convinced Oliver Cromwell to readmit Jews to England and the teacher of Baruch Spinoza. Buried here is Michael de Espinoza (father of Baruch de Espinoza), Dr. Ephraim Bueno (painted by Rembrandt), and Abigail da Penha, model for Rembrandt's The Jewish Bride. At the entrance is the "Metaarhuis" [pre-burial house]. Recently reprinted is "The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel - Images of a Portuguese Jewish cemetery in Holland" in Dutch and English that gives a history of the cemetery and a short overview of the history of the Portuguese Jewish community. The Portuguese Synagogue is located near the Rembrandt House, the Moses en Aronkerk, and the Jewish Historical Museum. The synagogue book and gift shop may have the gate key to the cemetery. Directions to Portuguese Cemetery: By car - take A2 south towards Utrecht to exit 9 (A9) towards Ouderkerk. About four miles on the right side of the road is a farm with a windmill. On the left is the entrance to the town and a town park. Cemetery is located on a street to the left at the end of the road. Source: Freedman, Warren. World Guide for the Jewish Traveler NY: E.P. Dutton. First Ed. 1948, pp. 23236-237; 239; 242. See: Rand McNally CityFlash Map for Amsterdam, 1992-1993 Ed., Hallwag AG, Bern. Benelux und Nordfrankreich Maps Booklet, Copyright by Ravenstein GmbH; Cityplans. The Netherlands by Cito-plan b.v. Den Haag, map p. 11. Source: Benjamin B. Terner, 19 Hickory Hill Court, Silver Spring, MD 20906 301-871-2370.
       "At the entrance to the cemetery stands the Metaarhuis, which served as the place for the ritual cleansing of the corpses." Source: Israelowitz, Oscar. Guide to Jewish Europe. Brooklyn, NY: Israelowitz Publishing, 1995, p. 211. [October 2000]
        See Ouderkerk photos at http://ouderkerk.nykerk.nl from Menno Nykerk; e-mail: mln@nykerk.nl.
     http://www.cardozo.org/bethhaim: Restoration and historical information from Beth Chaim Foundation. [December 2002]
        "Here on four hectares is the oldest Jewish cemetery in The Netherlands. Beth Haim, which ironically means, The House of Life, dates back to the 17th century. It was established out of necessity, by the Sephardic Jewish community, who had been exited from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. In the centre of this picture-perfect town only 11 miles from Amsterdam, records show that over 27,000 people are buried in Beth Haim including the parents of the famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The first burial in 1624 was of a young child. As I walked to a gate near the city's river, I was told by the caretaker who has brought along her frisky terrier, that it was at this landing platform where boats would bring the bodies - the most convenient means of transport to the cemetery at that time." Source: http://www.jewishwanderer.com [December 2002]
         "Castro, D. H. de (David Henriques). KEUR VAN GRAFSTENEN OP DE PORTUGEES-ISRÄELIETISCHE BEGRAAFPLAATS TE OUDERKERK AAN DE AMSTEL MET BESCHRIJVING EN BIOGRAFISCHE AANTEKENINGEN: MET PLATEN / SELECTED GRAVESTONES FROM THE DUTCH PORTUGUESE JEWISH CEMETERY AT OUDERKERK AAN DE AMSTEL WITH DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: WITH PLATES. This new aumented edition, issued in a limited run of only 500 copies, an English translation of de Castro's historical commentary, including descriptions of six additional tombstones; additional photographs, more than a century old, showing details that have since been obliterated in the cemetery itself; an introductory article in English and Dutch by Julie Marthe-Cohen; and a selected bibliography on the Portuguese-Jewish cemetery at Ouderkerk and other affiliated burial grounds by F.J. Hoogewoud of the Biblioteca Rosenthaliana and Dr. Falk Wiesemann of the Heinrich-Heine Universität, Düsseldorf. Source: http://www.DanWymanBooks.com [December 2002]

BOOKS:

De Joodse begraafplaats te Overveen (The Jewish Cemetery in Overveen Amsterdam by J. Mejer and J. Slagter. Harlem, 1983.96 pages, illustrated, Dutch. S84B1739.

Notes: 112 + # +6 tombstones, 1797-1939 + 1940-1945 + 1945-1981, chronology, register of Adath Jeschurun synagogue in Amsterdam, cemetery and synagogue history. Source: Tagger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.

Kol bat galim (Voices of the seas Kingdom), by G. Polak. Amsterdam, 1867. 16 pages, Hebrew. R79A7100.

Notes: 24 tombstones, 1673-1867, outstanding personalities: men and women, some Ashkenazim. Source: Tagger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.

Tavei chayim lezikhron hametin (Signs of life to remember the dead) by G. Polak. Amsterdam, 1861. 7 pages, Hebrew. 29V4817.

Notes: 1 tombstone, 1861, eulogy and biography of Meir Lehren, Meuderberg cemetery history & description, bibliography on European Jewish cemeteries. Source: Tagger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.

The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel: Images of a Portuguese-Jewish cemetery in Holland by L. Alvares Vega. Assen, 1979.

60 pages, illustrated, Dutch and English. 80B1001. 1994 new edition S96B4161. Notes: 59 tombstones, 1614-1750, + 3 tombstones, 1864-1892, Portuguese Jewish history in Holland, cemetery plan. Source: Tagger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.

Auswahl von Grabsteinen auf dem Niederland-Portuguese-Israel Begraebnissplatz

(A choice of tombstones from the Jewish Dutch-Portuguese burial place) by H. de Castro. Keiden, 1883. 125 pages, illustrated, Dutch & German. 2 29V4826. Notes: 28 tombstones (some more than one person in one tombstone), 1614-1730, list of tombstones, large biography, register 1616-1630. Source: Tagger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.

• Situated between Arnhem and Zutphen and officially the smallest town in the Netherlands, Bronkhorst's history goes back for 1000 years. Today, this pretty tourist village is served by the A\N 48 with regular bus service from Zutphen Train Station (no. 52) The small, beautifully maintained cemetery is open at all times, reached either by footpath from behind the house known as the 'Heeren van Brokenhorst' or via the street named the 't.Hof' that leads from the wider Onderstraat. An excellent leaflet entitled "Town Walk through Bronkhorst" can be bought at the Dickens Museum (no kidding!) situated on the Onderstraat. Only eighteen tombstones remain standing, all of which have been recorded and submitted to the project, with the exception of one which is inscribed in Hebrew text only. The earliest burial dates from 1876, the most recent from 1963. Submitted by Angela Shire, London: jashire@cs.com

• Joodse begraafplaats - Dedemsvaart (Avereest): {10307} gesticht 1833, oppervlakte 2 ha

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10308} grootte 8.100 m2, staat op monumentenlijst.

• Joodse begraafplaats {10310} dates from 1870, oppervlakte 2.980 m2. Aantekeningen overgenomen uit ?n van de grafboeken: Overzicht van de situatie op de begraafplaats. Gezien van het achterste gedeelte van de begraafplaats zijn nog 14 graven niet in gebruik genomen. Een deel staat op naam. Zonder mattsewot zijn 119 graven. Behalve no. 171 komen de nummers in rij 13 ook in andere rijen voor. Het valt niet met zekerheid te zeggen of er op bedoelde 6 nummers reeds graven zijn. Dat zelfde geldt in beperkte mate voor de kinderrijen. En wel voor de nummers 1 t/m 61 en 69, 70 en 71. Alsmede voor een andere kinderrij genummerd 65 t/m 69. Naast deze nummers zijn nl. wel kindergraven onder andere nummers gedolven. Er stonden 12 mattsewot waarvan de namen in geen enkel register ingeschreven stonden. Wel staat ingeschreven, doch zonder nummer, Oppenheim, Clara, zodat dit graf niet bekend is. De graven op het achterste deel zijn thans ingeschreven onder letter c. Van de graven van Spier en Berg is ?n foutief voorzien van nummer 11; het andere draagt geen nummer. Het niet in gebruik zijnde no. 21 staat niet aangegeven.
  Niet ingeschreven stonden 12 namen en wel: van Engel no. 65: S.Prins no. 24; M.Oppenheim; H.B. de Leeuw; Jansje van Hamburg; de Vries; de Vries; Bendiks-Salomons; Gelder; B.I.Oppenheim; Vrouw van David Visser; M.L.Oppenheim.
       TRANSLATION courtesy of Ron van Diejen rovadian@rendo.dekooi.nl [October 2000]: Jewish cemetery {10310} dates from 1870, surface: 2.980 sq m. Notes taken from one of the grave registers: General view of the situation at the cemetery. Seen from the back of the cemetery are 14 unused graves. A part is in name. Without matsevot are 119 graves. Except number 171, the numbers in row 13 are also in other rows. It is uncertain if the intended 6 numbers have bodies. The same can be said of the children's graves for the numbers 1 to 61, number 69 to 71. Also for another children's row is numbered 65 to 69. Next to these numbers are children's graves under other numbers that were dug up. There were 12 matsevot in which the names were not found in any register. Listed but without a number is Oppenheim, Clara, so where this grave is is unknown. The graves in the back part are listed under letter C. From the graves of Spier and Berg is one wrong with number 11, the other one does not have a number. The not in used number 21 is not listed. Not listed are 12 names: Van Engel number 65, S. Prins number 24, M. Oppenheim, H.B. de Leeuw, Jansie van Hamburg, De Vries, De Vries, Bendiks-Salomons, Gelder, B.I.Oppenheim, Wife of David Visser, M.L. Oppenheim.

• Joods begraafplats (Jews' Burial Ground): The small moated town of Elburg lies to the northeast of Amsterdam and west of Zwolle. The well-preserved Jewish cemetery, enclosed by a high brick wall, is entered through an iron-barred gate, over which hangs a plaque inscribed with an extract from Psalm 23-4. On either side are plaques bearing the following names: D. BEEM, B. de HOND, Ez BEEM, S.de HOND-BEEM, S BEEM, D Ez de HOND, E RACAU, J de HOND, I FORSTER, K de HOND, C FORSTER, A de LANGE, J FORSTER, J de LANGE, S FORS TER, M de LANGE, H v HAMBERG, J VECHT, J STEINHAUER, S VECHT-LEVIE, M VECHT-LEVIE
       Inscribed on the gate (Dutch text, followed by English translation): "Die Geliefd en bemind waren tljdens hun leven zijn ook in de dood niet gescheiden. (Those who were loved during their lives, in death are not forgotten.) Hun aandenken zij tot zegen. (Their memory is as a blessing.) Ter blijvende naged achtenis aan alle joodse medeburgers die gedurende de 2ND werlde-oorlog door de duitse terreur uit ons midden werden weggerukt. (To the everlasting memory of all those Jewish fellow-citizens who during the Second World War, under the German reign of terror, were taken from amongst us.)"
       Wall Plaque: "Joods begraafplats (Jews' Burial Ground): 'Woning der levenden' noemen joden hun begraafplats deze begraafplats werd in het begin van de 18DEeuw aangelegd. De tekst boven de ingang betkent (The Jews called their burial grounds the 'House of Life'. This cemetery was founded in the 18th Century.)"      The text over the entrance reads:) 'Al ging ik ook in de schaduw des doods ik zou geen hwaad vregen want gij zijt bij nij' (Although I walk in the shadow of Death, I will have no fear for Thou art with me.)
       The locked cemetery contains over 100 stones, most in excellent condition. A local guidebook speaks of the earliest stone dating to 1768, but this does not appear among those listed. These range from 1803 to the most recent, dated 1974. Detailed transcripts of all stones, generously provided by the Elburg Archivist, have been lodged with the Dutch Genealogical Society. These include Hebrew inscriptions and Dutch translations, plus photographs of each stone: the number against each submitted name corresponds to the matching sheet lodged with DutchGen. For information regarding access, write in the first instance to the VVV (Dutch Tourist Office) Elburg. The submitter of this data is unable to provide any further information. Angela Shire; 14 February 2000; e-mail: jashire@cs.com
        UPDATE: Elburg Jewish Cemetery [Joodse Begraafpaats Elburg]: Located in Gelderland, 20 km from Zwolle, the current town population is 5,000-25,000 with no known Jewish population. The Progressive-Reform cemetery on flat land is isolated in the corner of a park and marked by a sign or plaque in Hebrew and Dutch that mentions Jews and the Holocaust. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission via a continuous 3 m masonry wall with a locking gate.
        Pre-WWII and current size of the cemetery is 30x30 m with 102 memorial markers, all in original location. More than 75% are broken or toppled. Vegetation and water drainage are not problems. No special sections. The 19th century marble and granite tombstones are finely smoothed and inscribed with Hebrew.
        The national Jewish community owns the property only used as a Jewish cemetery. Rarely, private Jewish and non-Jewish visitors stop at the site. Past care includes patching broken stones. Current care is occasional clearing or cleaning. No structures. Weather erosion is a moderate threat.
        Bert de Jong, bdejong67@hetnet.nl completed the survey on 12 Sep 2003. He visited the site in May 2003. No interviews or additional documentation were used to complete the survey. [October 2003]

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10313} dates from about 1700, oppervlakte 1120 m2

• Spinoza Tomb: "After his death, his remains were not permitted to be buried in any Jewish cemetery. Spinoza is buried in the churchyard of the Nieuwe Kirk on Spuistraat." Source: Israelowitz, Oscar. Guide to Jewish Europe. Brooklyn, NY: Israelowitz Publishing, 1995, p. 213. [October 2000]

• Joodse begraafplaats - Jodenbergje :{10314} dates from about 1761, opgeheven ca. 1910, oppervlakte 500 m2
• Joodse begraafplaats - Mulopad {10315} dates from about 1910, oppervlakte 1100 m2

• Hattern Jewish Cemetery [Joodse Begraafpaats Hattern]: Located in Gelderland, 7 km from Zwolle, current population is 5,000-25,000 with fewer than 100 Jews. Last known Jewish burial in the unlandmarked suburban cemetery near the river Lissell was 9 March 1981. Separate, but near other cemeteries, the site has no sign or marker. Located by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The site has a hedge or row of trees and a locking gate.
        Pre-WWII and current size of the cemetery is 30x30 m with 33 memorial markers, none in original location. None are broken. Vegetation and water drainage are not problems. No special sections. The oldest stone dates from 1883. The 19th century granite tombstones are finely smoothed and inscribed with Hebrew.
        The national Jewish community owns the property only used as a Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are residential. Occasionally, private Jewish and non-Jewish visitors and local residents stop at the site. Past care includes patching broken stones. Current care is a regular caretaker paid by local contributions. No structures. Weather erosion and vegetation are moderate threats. Security is a serious threat.
        Bert de Jong, bdejong67@hetnet.nl completed the survey on 12 Sep 2003. He visited the site in May 2003. No interviews or additional documentation were used to complete the survey. [October 2003]

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10316} dates from 1852, oppervlakte 382 m2

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10317} dates from 1775, oppervlakte 1.650 m2

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10318} dates from 1841, oppervlakte 3.478 m2

• Joodse begraafplaats {10309}

• Joodse Begraafplaats Meppel: The town is in the (county/province) Drenthe -- Address: Steenwijkerstraatweg, Meppel. Telephone: area code 0522, number 251182 or 0522-259288 (Mrs. E. van der Horst, Vice Chairman, Beth Chaim Foundation) Current Population: city 26,000 people, in the whole county 30,000 people. The number of Jewish people is unknown. The cemetery is about 3-4 miles outside of Meppel, next to a B-road from Meppel to Steenwijk. It is separate with a field on one side, a few (2-3) houses, and another small road leading to a very small lake with about twenty houseboats. The property is only used as a Jewish cemetery. The cemetery burials were Jews and Jewish people outside Meppel. The cemetery dates from 1766, with the last burial, Mr. Stoppelman, in 1965. Jewish community in Meppel, before WWII, was around 250 people. The first Jewish community in Meppel existed before 1766. Because Meppel had two steamships sailing from Meppel to Amsterdam, the 19th century Jewish community was large. Of 6,000 inhabitants, around 600 were Jewish. Meppel was one of the ten rabbinates in the Netherlands when, around 1880, The Netherlands was divided in ten different rabbinate sections. In 1900-1920, many Jews moved to Amsterdam. In 1942, the Germans deported the entire Jewish population of the city of Meppel (243 people). In 1945, only eight people came back from the concentration camps. The Jewish community ceased to exist 1964. The synagogue was demolished in 1960. After W.W.II, many Jewish communities in the Netherlands disappeared with nobody left to care for the graves of their ancestors. The Beth Chaim Foundation secretary office: Dhr. R. van Diejen, Zuiderlaan 127, 7944 EC Meppel, The Netherlands is charge of this site and may have additional information. This foundation will create a computerized burial list from an existing register. Elsbeth v.d. Horst has been asked to the map of the cemetery to be included here later. The Council of Meppel probably has some archival information that needs to be researched and added. Documents from the Jewish community of Meppel are at the NIK in Amsterdam.
       Access is always open; traditional, no flowers. NIK in Amsterdam has owned the Jewish Cemetery in Meppel since 1945. The cemetery contains 320 stones and is undergoing restoration started in 1998. The Jewish community that used this cemetery was Orthodox and Reform/Liberal. The cemetery is on flat land with a sign in Dutch: "Jewish Cemetery Meppel" and a Mogen David. Neighbors have the key to the gate. The cemetery was divided into sections: parnassim, rich people, poor people, people from outside Meppel, and children. Inscriptions are in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Dutch. 320 gravestones are in original location. Many of the stones are Belgium soft sandstone or Belgium hard sandstone with one or two of marble. There are single and double gravestones, some with Cohen (blessing hands) or Levite (jug) symbols. The cemetery is still active (i.e., available upon request.) The cemetery is visited rarely by organized Jewish groups. (In 2000, a group of 25 people from the north of Holland visited the cemetery). Since the Beth Chaim Foundation began restoration, more than 200 people have visited the cemetery. There should be 600 people buried in total but many stones have disappeared. Before 1990, there was vandalism. The missing stones probably result, not because of demolition, but because twenty to forty years ago, it was normal in The Netherlands to take stones from abandoned or unused cemeteries and use them for backyards, gardens, and roads. Inside the cemetery is a "Metaheir-house" (pre-burial house) dating from 1895, now a monument. Inside the Metaheir house is a wooden board with Jewish inscriptions that still require translation.
       Repair/maintenance: repairing broken gravestones, replacing gravestones that had fallen down, cleaning gravestones, repainting text and symbols in black, removing moss done since Summer 1998. (Planned for 2001 is restoration of the 1895 entrance gate.) Restoration is done by a group of Beth Chaim Foundation volunteers. Dhr. R. van Diejen, Secretary of the Beth Chaim Foundation, Meppel, The Netherlands, Europe completed this survey on 10-Mar-2000: e-mail rovadian@rendo.dekooi.nl.

• Bloemendaalsestraat Cemetery: Inventoried in 1990 by ?. Address: Soesterweg 126, Nijkerk, not far from Amersfoort

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10319} dates from about 1800, oppervlakte 1194 m2

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10320}

• Shomre Hadas: the greatest Jewish Community in Antwerp, founded in about 1920, but many are reburied there from an old cemetery in Antwerp (Kiel).
• Frechie Foundation, named after the founder Henri Frechie. Since 1910, mainly Dutch Jews (about 1800) from Antwerp, Ashkenasic and Sephardic, are buried or reburied on this cemetery. On the cemetery of the Frechie Foundation a park for Brussels and a park for the Sephardic Community in Antwerp are located. Information: pub02679@innet.be
• Mahsike Hadas: Located behind Frechie Foundation, burials date since 1910. The Mahsike Hadas is the 2nd Jewish Community in Antwerp and the most religious.

• Joodse begraafplaats: {10321} dates from 1878, oppervlakte 1.060 m2. De oorspronkelijke begraafplaats De Hagen werd in 1949 geruimd, nadat in 70 jaar daar niemand meer was begraven. De stoffelijke resten zijn overgebracht naar de huidige begraafplaats. TRANSLATION courtesy of Ron van Diejen rovadian@rendo.dekooi.nl [October 2000]: Jewish cemetery {10321} dates from 1878, surface 1.060 m2. The original cemetery "De Hagen" was cleared/emptied in 1949; after 70 years, there were no burials. The remains were taken to the presentcemetery.

• Ashkenazi Cemetery: This fenced cemetery adjoining the synagogue is well maintained but only a handful of stones remain. Used 1740-1942, the maximum burials was 250 in 1942. One prominent name is Poppers from the 1800s. Source: Aubrey@Jacobus.japhet.demon.co.u.
       The Jewish cemetery today is situated along the Spoorstraat (Spoor is railway on the road to the railway station. In former times the name of the Spoorstraat was Coestege, meaning cow path. The farmers with houses in the village of Winterswijk used this path to bring their cows to the meadows outside the village. Thus, the cemetery was situated in the past outside of the village Winterswijk. An 1808 report about Gelderland stated that Jews did not have synagogue property of their own in the "ambt Breedevoort". They rented rooms of parts of houses to use as a sjoel or synagogue. Only the people from Winterswijk have a small piece of ground as their own property used as a cemetery. The eldest document about this cemetery is from December 28, 1691 about a piece of ground situated along the Coestege near "den Joeden Kerckhoff" [Jewish churchyard]. I found another two documents, dated In 1733 about "den Joeden Kerkhoff" in the same area. In 1774, my ancestor Arnoldus Hoitink (1725-1808) had to pay two guilders tax for "een gaarden den joeden kerkhoff genaemt". Because he was the owner of a garden named "the Jewish churchyard situated along the Coestege" he had to pay this tax. On October 26th 1808,my great-great-grandfather, Gerrit Hoitink, and his wife Johanna Geertruid Schepers (also on behalf of his brother Willem Hoitink and his sisters Johanna and Geziena Hoitink who all lived in Amsterdam) sold a piece of ground for the price of 120 guilders to the Jewish community of Winterswijk. Representatives of the Jewish community were Casper Abrahams [Caspar Abrahams was born Winterswijk 1758 and a son of Abraham Arentzen and Clara Abrahams. He was a businessman and married 1783 Susanna Seligs or Zeligs and in 1798 he married Deva Jacob Schaap.] and Nathan Benjamin. By comparison, at that time, you could buy a house for the price of 500 guilders. This cemetery (red) was used from 1808 until 1 January 1884. The Winterswijk administration wanted this cemetery closed for some unknown reason and changed the ground for a piece of ground along the Grindweg on the road to Bredevoort. D is a house. The oldest tomb stone is from 1817. There are two stones from the Ricardo family, Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam buried 1825 and 1837 and some very weather beaten stones with the names Gans en Pop. In 1887, the Jewish committee decided to build a new synagogue and therefore bought another piece of ground, near the cemetery. (See A on the map.) This Synagogue was completely restored in 1984 and for this occasion the Dutch Post issued a special stamp. There were about fifty Jews in Winterswijk in 1808. From 1795 until 1813 by the French troops of Napoleon occupied Holland. In 1812, everyone was obliged by the French authorities to choose an official family name. (Code Civil). Caspar Abrahams had 13 children and choose the name "Cohen". David Levie, Levie Abraham en Berend Abraham choose the name "Wijler". Jacob Benjamin en Levy Benjamin choose the name "van Bingen." In Dutch, this can mean he came from Bingen, a German town. Berend Salomon choose the name "Berendsen"; and Mijer Simon choose the name "Poppers". Most of these families were connected with each other. Their relatives also lived in the villages around Winterswijk, in the Netherlands, and in villages just over the German border. Source: Hans Hoitink; Bunschoten the Netherlands: j.g.w.hoitink@planet.nl