Eindhoven
Despite the granting of occasional exceptions, prior to 1771 it was forbidden for Jews to spend the night or reside in Eindhoven. Thus, beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, Jews began to settle in towns and villages in the surroundings of Eindhoven rather than in the city itself. The nearby town of Helmond and the village of Tongelre each had synagogues in private homes as well their own Jewish cemeteries. A Jewish cemetery was established in the village of Woensel in 1747.
In 1772, the council of Prince Willem V ordered the city fathers of Eindhoven to admit Jews and protect their interests and cease discriminating against them. Nevertheless, prior to the introduction of full civil liberties throughout the Netherlands in 1796, obstacles continued to be placed in the way of Jews establishing themselves in Eindhoven.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Jews of Eindhoven had opened their own synagogue and school. A synagogue was also opened in a private home in the nearby village of Stratum. By 1810, a donation from King Louis Napoleon helped make possible the razing of the Eindhoven synagogue and the construction of a larger sanctuary on its site. The synagogue in Stratum was subsequently closed.

After 1850, the Jewish population of Eindhoven grew rapidly and the city became the seat of the chief rabbinate of the province of North Brabant. Once again, the Eindhoven synagogue proved to be too small and in 1866, a new synagogue was constructed adjacent to the old one. The old synagogue was renovated and converted into a school building.
Many of the Jews of Eindhoven were poor and relied on support from a local council for the poor which, in turn, received its funding from the Jewish community. In 1907, the community established a lending fund. Other community institutions in Eindhoven included a burial society, a society for aiding refugees, a society for Torah study, and a number of women's societies. A theater society and a youth club were established early in the twentieth century. By the 1930s, two Zionist groups were active in Eindhoven.
Most of the Jews of Eindhoven worked as butchers, cattle dealers, shopkeepers, and hawkers. At the start of the twentieth century, several Jewish families played important roles in the rise of industry in the city. These included the Elias family, manufacturers of textiles.
During the 1930s, Eindhoven absorbed a large number of Jewish refugees from Germany, including many children. By 1938, the Eindhoven community was the largest in North Brabant.
During the early years of the Second World War, the Jewish population of Eindhoven continued to grow, in part due to the establishment of a special section for Jewish workers at the Philips factory. The section was staffed by Jewish employees of Philips transferred to Eindhoven from throughout the Netherlands.
In September 1941, following the exclusion of Jewish children from public schools, regional Jewish elementary and trade schools were established in Eindhoven. Deportations of Jews from the city commenced in August, 1942. Although the Jewish workers at Philips at first were spared, they were deported to the concentration camp at Vught in 1943 and were taken to Auschwitz early in 1944.
Eindhoven, together with the entire southern part of the Netherlands, was liberated by Allied troops in September of 1944. In all, more than half of Eindhoven's pre-war Jewish population survived the war. During the war, the synagogue was plundered by the Germans and, soon after the liberation, was further damaged by two bombs. In January, 1945 the Jewish Coordination Commission was established in Eindhoven to represent Jewish interests to Dutch authorities. The Commission moved to Amsterdam following the liberation of the north of the Netherlands in May of 1945.
During the post-war period, Jewish life in Eindhoven was re-established. Today, a number of Jewish organizations and organizations with ties to Israel are active in the city. The damaged synagogue was razed and, in 1958, a new synagogue was inaugurated in a residential building on the Hendrik Casimirstraat. Eindhoven's Jewish cemetery is located near the corner of the De Groenewoudseweg and Marconistraat. It was renovated in 1998 by the organization 'Boete en Verzoening' (Penance and Reconciliation). In 1990, a monument commemorating the Jewish men, women, and children of Eindhoven murdered during the war was unveiled on the Anne Frankplantsoen.
The Jewish population of Eindhoven and surroundings:
The size of the Jewish community over time
1809
186
1840
212
1869
274
1899
339
1930
431
1951
210
1971
164
1998
102