Borne

The village of Borne is one of the first places in the province of Twente where Jews settled. Indeed, there is mention of Jewish residents in Borne as early as 1695.

By 1817, the Jewish community of Borne was had achieved independent status. Under the hierarchy of communities established in1821 by the Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap (the central consistory of Dutch Jewry), however, the Borne community became part of the Bijkerk (subsidiary community) of the town of Goor. In 1838, due to the growth of its population, the Borne community was awarded the semi-independent status of Kerkelijke Bijeenkomst.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Jews of Borne maintained their own cemetery in the nearby village of Buren. In 1848, the growth of the community led to the establishment of a second cemetery, this within the boundaries of Borne itself. The Borne synagogue was built in 1842 and, according an inscription on its façade, was consecrated one year later. Communal organizations included a society for the study of Torah, which also served as a burial society, and a women's society that maintained the interior of the synagogue and its appurtenances. In 1897, the community constructed a building to house its Jewish school.

The growth of Borne can largely be attributed to the Jewish family Spanjaard, which developed a flourishing textile factory in the village. By 1910, however, the growth of the Jewish community had peaked and its numbers began slowly to decline.

In November, 1942, most of the Jews of Borne were deported to Germany, from whence only a few returned alive. A few of the members of the Borne community managed to survive the war in hiding. The Borne community's synagogue, ritual bath, and Jewish school were badly damaged during the war by members of the Dutch Nazi Party (NSB) who were quartered there. Valuables belonging to the synagogue had been moved to a bank in the city of Hengelo but were lost during a bombardment in 1945.

After the war, the synagogue was partial restored and subsequently served other functions. In 1985, the Borne Synagogue Foundation completed a full restoration of the former synagogue, ritual bath, school, and teachers' quarters. The buildings are now used for cultural activities. During the post-war period another former Jewish school building, located on the Oude Kerkstraat, was used as a butcher's store and then as a storage place. The building was razed in 1998 but under the proviso that it be rebuilt in its original form. Rebuilding was commenced in 2003. When completed, the building will serve as a private residence.