Sliedrecht
The Jewish community at Sliedrecht was established in approximately 1830. A synagogue was built in the town on the dike of the river Merwede in 1845. Prior to then, the Jews of Sliedrecht met for prayer in the building of a former workshop for spinning wool. The Sliedrecht community buried its dead in the Jewish cemetery at Dordrecht. At the outset of the 20th century, the community was governed by a council consisting of five members. By 1920, the synagogue was no longer in use.
Synagogue Sliedrecht, 1984
Under the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, almost all of the Jews in Sliedrecht were deported and murdered. The synagogue building was sold soon after the war. The Sliedrecht community was officially dissolved in 1947 and the locale was placed within the jurisdiction of the Jewish community at Dordrecht.
Synagogue Sliedrecht, 2003
In 1998, the building that had once served as the synagogue of Sliedrecht was threatened by reconstruction of the dike on which it stood. The building, which was of wood, was then cut into 11 sections and stored away. The former synagogue was reassembled in 2002 only ninety meters away from its original location and re-consecrated as a synagogue in October 2003. Its interior was refurnished in part with elements from the interior of the former synagogue of Zaltbommel. A ritual bath was installed in the cellar of the rebuilt synagogue.
The Jewish population of Sliedrecht and surroundings:
The size of the Jewish community over time
1809
47
1840
61
1869
52
1899
43
1930
33