Druten
By early in the nineteenth century, several Jewish families lived in Druten. By 1859, they had organized themselves into an independent Jewish community. In 1860, the community consecrated a synagogue located on the Nieuwstraat. A cemetery, located on the Gelenberg in the village of Afferden had been in use since 1836.
In 1885, the Druten community celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its synagogue. Thereafter, the Jewish population of Druten began to decline. In 1900, the community was absorbed into that of Nijmegen. The synagogue remained in use until 1906. The building was subsequently put to other uses and was finally razed in 1977. The cemetery was cleared away in 1961 and the remains of the dead were brought to the Jewish cemetery on the Kwakkenbergweg in Groesbeek. In 2001, a plaque commemorating the Druten synagogue was unveiled on the Waalbandijk.
The Jewish population of Druten and surroundings:
The size of the Jewish community over time
1809
4
1840
15
1869
57
1899
43
1930
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