Strijen

A small number of Jewish families settled in Strijen in the province of South- Holland at the beginning of the 19th century. Prior to 1857, the Jews of Strijen belonged to the Jewish community at Oud-Beijerland; thereafter they enjoyed independent status. In 1857, the community built a synagogue of its own on the Kerkstraat. A Jewish school located on the Boompjesstraat was opened in 1874. Twenty years later, the Strijen community established a cemetery on the Oud Bonaventurasedijk in the northern part of the village. The cemetery was also used by the Jews of 's-Gravendeel en Puttershoek.

Jewish cemetery in Strijen

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F. Keller

The management board of the Strijen community consisted of two members. The community maintained a single voluntary organization, a burial society. The Jews of Strijen worked as watchmakers, livestock traders, and butchers.

Memorial Stone for Dordrecht Jews at the cemetery in Strijen.

During the World War II German occupation of the Netherlands almost all the Jews of Strijen were deported and murdered. After the war, the synagogue was converted into a private residence. In 1948, the Jewish community of Strijen was dissolved and the locale placed under the jurisdiction of the Jewish community at Rotterdam. The Jewish cemetery at Strijen was repaired and cleaned in 1988; it is currently maintained by the local authorities.

The Jewish population of Strijen and surroundings:

The size of the Jewish community over time

1809

19

1840

35

1869

56

1899

50

1930

26