The Jewish community of Harderwijk 

-:Names mentioned in the article in order of appearance 

Till the names adoption (1811):-

 

Gabriel de Salazar, Johanna Mulert Johansdr., family Italiaander,Jacob Eleaser, Heiman Mozes Heiman,  Salomon Heiman, Cosman Jacob Marcus,  Emanuel Benjamin, Jacob Meyer Cohen,  Godschalk Mozes, Asser Ephraims, Abraham Gabriels, Mozes Israel da Costa, Abraham de Vries, Josephus Veersheim,  Benjamin de Serra,

 

The early period

Already during the Middle Ages, Jewish communities, or groups of Jews,  settled in the former duchy of Gelre, especially along the Rhine and the IJssel.

In 1349 a terrible plague broke out and the Jews were accused of having poisoned the wells. A horrible massacre took place by large groups of "Flagellants," a kind of religious fanatics. The same happened in Gelre. The Jewish communities of Arnhem, Nijmegen, 's Heerenberg, Deventer, Zwolle and Kampen, were destroyed.

Although Harderwijk was at the time a Hanzeatic city and an important commercial center, it harbored no Jewish inhabitants, possibly because most of the commercial connections of Harderwijk were aimed at the Northern countries. The Jews however  migrated from the south and had their connections usually with the Rhine region.

By edicts of  Karel V and of Alva in the year 1570, the few Jews from the North of Holland were expelled.

The first Jews to settle there again were the Marranos, Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, who had been living there as crypto-Catholics since the inquisition in 1492. They chiefly settled in the big cities, mainly in Amsterdam, but also in smaller places. Some places welcomed the settlement of these people, due to their commercial connections. Harderwijk however seemed not to be among them. Nevertheless somebody by the name of Gabriel de Salazar was mentioned, married to Johanna Mulert Johansdr., who passed away in 1590. It is not entirely clear whether de Salazar was a Jew, but there is no doubt that his family name was of Marranos origin.

In about 1600 the family Italiaander settled in  the adjacent town of Nijkerk.

They were  tobacco growers and merchants. They kept a home-synagogue and over the years a Portuguese community was formed there.

The first report on Jews, in the old archives of Harderwijk, dates from 1657. One Jew, who had settled in the small town, had to leave since "Jews are not allowed to live here." It is not clear whether this decree was based on an earlier resolution of the town fathers. It is possible that Zutphen, with which Harderwijk had close connections, served here as an example. Jews were not allowed to live in Zutphen till 1796, when legal emancipation put an end to such practice. On 11 March 1667 the Town Council allowed the Jewish butcher Jacob Eleaser to settle in town.

 

The synagogue

Unlike towns like Arnhem, Wageningen, Zwolle, Amersfoort en Nijkerk, the Jewish community in Harderwijk was established only in 1759, and always remained small and insignificant. This was strange for a town which, at the time, had favorable connections by land and sea and moreover possessed a university.

Possibly Heiman Mozes, holder of the loanbank, kept a home-synagogue, since he lived  in Harderwijk for about 27 years.

In 1759 the Town Council allowed Heiman and Marcus to hold Jewish religious services in a backroom, rented from Marten Vermeer. Obviously they had a "minyan" only then. In 1773 a synagogue was founded, or maybe was already in existence. When this synagogue had deteriorated, a new one was built in 1817 in the Jodenkerksteeg. Maintenance costs were covered by fines, membership fees from new members and  from the so called "schnoderen," a voluntary contribution by people called to the Torah. In 1839 this synagogue was restored and remained in use till the second World War. A stone commemorizes the restoration. The synagogue itself remained intact during the war, but the ornaments and the Holy Ark disappeared. It is possible that the Torah scrolls were transferred to the synagogue of Winterswijk. After the war, in 1947, the synagogue was sold to the municipality of Harderwijk.

 

The Mikwe

In 1762 mention of a "mikwe" is made in one of the documents.

 

The cemetery

A document from 30 September 1716 confirms that on that date "the excavated wall behind the Great Gate was ceded to the holder of the bank, Heiman Mozes Heiman, to be used as a cemetery for him and his servants." It is unknown whether this spot was ever used for this purpose. In 1764 another cemetery was inaugurated, obviously also behind the Great Gate, and from 1852 a cemetery in Tonsel was used. After the war the community of Harderwijk used the present cemetery in the Lindenlaan, which  has been well kept till today.

 

The Jewish school

Till 1857 the Jewish children studied at a Jewish school. Afterwards they studied at  the public regular school and received Jewish schooling in a new classroom. The same building also housed the mikve and a meeting room.

 

Sustenance

Like everywhere, the Jews in Harderwijk could not become guild members and therefore they were only able to make a living by commerce and trade. In Harderwijk this included among others, the tobacco trade. But they could also become butchers and it seems that in this capacity they were quite welcome. There were also lotteries and the loan bank was in Jewish hands. There were poor families and also well-to-do ones.

 

The Loan Bank

On 19 September 1715 Heiman Mozes Heiman received a charter to lease the loan bank for a period of 12 years, under the same conditions granted to the holder of such a bank in Zutphen in the year 1660, provided that he would make a yearly payment of 10 guilders to the town and 25 guilders each to the orphanage and the hospital.

The first Jews allowed to settle in most towns, were often the owners of the loan bank. That the arrival of  Heiman Mozes Heiman was accepted by the town, is found in an official record from 30 September 1716, stating that for the loan bank, founded in 1590, "we have been looking for a Jewish bank holder for a very long time."

On 5 March 1742 the Town Council allowed the children of Heiman Mozes Heiman,

to keep temporary possession of the bank.

However in the year 1754 Salomon Heiman yielded his banking charter. The bank was leased to Jacob Marcus & Sons. In 1771 it was recorded: "Cosman Jacob Marcus, as heir to his father Jacobus Marcus, is obliged to continue the leasing of the loan bank till 1 May 1772." In August 1774 Emanuel Benjamin and Jacob Meyer Cohen took  over the leasing for 1/16 of its profit and even in 1846 a Jewish inhabitant of the town leased the bank for 332 guilders a year.

Lottery

For the organization of the "chartered town lottery" assistance from Jewish side was solicited, as appears from the names of Godschalk Mozes and Asser Ephraims.

Abraham Gabriels a former money changer in Amsterdam and later a citizen of Harderwijk, was a remarkable and colorful character.

For many years Harderwijk lacked a good harbor, where ships could easily anchor. In 1762 Abraham Gabriels, together with some non-Jewish business partners, offered a solution which apparently would solve the problem.

A so called tontine loan would be arranged, which would cover the building of a harbor, costing about 200,000 guilders. During the lottery sale, Abraham Gabriels, discovered  some coins which were too light. After further inspection it turned out that fraud had been committed.

In 1763 Abraham Gabriels discovered the culprit and travelled to the Hague, to meet the general essayist of the United Netherlands. After investigation it turned out that the guilty person was the corrupt mint master C.C. Novisadi, who was very influential. Gabriels was taken hostage. The citizens of Harderwijk objected and succeeded in freeing him. The corrupt mint master met a bad end, but Gabriels did not receive the approval and thanks due to him. He only received a small compensation for his expenses. Furthermore he regrettably had to declare that he and his partners were unable to recruit the necessary funds for building the harbor. Citizen Gabriels became "the Jew Gabriels" again.

 

The university of Harderwijk

Harderwijk had a university. Notwithstanding the decree from 1657, forbidding Jews to live in town, Mozes Israel da Costa promoted a year later at the university and received a law degree. The fact that Jewish students were living there, may have been the reason that the kosher butcher, Jacob Eleaser, received permission in 1667 to settle in Harderwijk. In 1690 "Jews are permitted to live here and to establish their business". In 1706 Jews were still not eligible to receive civil rights, but in 1716 they could become "poorters," which still did not entitle them to full civil rights.

In 1711 Abraham de Vries promoted in Harderwijk. He  became a doctor to the poor at the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Amsterdam. In 1760 Josephus Veersheim promoted there, who fulfilled the same function at a later date. More Jewish students promoted in Harderwijk especially in medicine.

It is remarkable that in 1683 a Jewish student from Antwerp, Benjamin de Serra, was promoted tot Medicinae Doctor. He was however required to take not only the Hippocratic oath, but also a second one, promising to assist not only his own fellow believers but also Christians.

In 1744 one student objected to take the oath bareheaded and Professor J. de Gorter allowed the taking of the oath with a covered head. Obviously there was a sympathetic attitude towards the  Jews. Professor Johan Meier also lectured at this university. In 1715 he successfully defended some Jews from Nijmegen, accused of ritual slaughter. As a rule the relations between Jews and non-Jews in Harderwijk were good.

 

The founding of a community

 

It goes without saying, that the Jewish community of Harderwijk was not founded by the privileged group of university students, who stayed in town only temporarily, and certainly not by individuals, like the butcher Jacob Eleasar, who usually came and disappeared.

The founding of the community should rather be credited to Heiman Mozes Heiman, who, as mentioned before, received a license in 1715 to maintain a loanbank and who after a year was offered a cemetery behind the Large Gate. It seems that till his death in 1742 he remained a banker. There is however no proof at all that he was indeed buried in the piece of ground allotted to him.

Quite often Jews were buried in another town, lacking a cemetery of their own.

The facts show that the Jewish community as a whole was acknowledged as such.

In 1659 it was decided that only protestant-reformed persons could become burghers of the town, but in time this position was moderated, also with regard to Jews.

As mentioned above, in 1706 the Jews of Harderwijk received "poortrecht", but no civil rights. They were not entitled to execute any profession connected to a guild, but they did have to pay for these services. The document from 1762, mentioning the mikwe, also noted the obtaining of civil rights.

During that period, subjects like caring for the poor and matters about a synagogue  show up in the documentation. Jews who wanted to get married were ordered to do so according to the existing laws, and not only according to Jewish synagogue law. The Parnassiem were ordered not to receive Jewish guests from out of town, without ensuring prior agreement from the Mayor. The following document stressed the insecure position of the Jews: "And finally the Jews in general and everybody of them, are being ordered to keep rest and peace amongst each other. At the first  proven complaint they will be punished either by the closure of their church, or by being forbidden to live here any longer. In that way their community and households will be punished and ligitated against as  facts show !"

It was clear that the Jews were not allowed to quarrel amongst each other.

In 1862 a new set of regulations was approved. At that time the members of the Jewish community were divided into two groups: the matriculated and the non- matriculated. The members of the first group were able to purchase their membership,

while the second group had not been able to pay the required amount of purchase, which was 20 till 30 guilders.

The first group enjoyed several privileges: They could become a member of the synagogue council, or receive assistance in case of poverty. Only those of perfect moral behavior were eligible and those who were married, had to be married in accordance with general  and Mosaic law.

Since voting rights were connected to prosperity, it was only a small group of people who made all decisions. The church council had absolute power, from birth to grave, everything was fixed by regulation.

In 1809 the Jewish community counted 38 members. In 1817 there were only 9, mostly poor. During the 19th century the Jewish community kept growing, but as a whole, remained rather small. In 1821 the community belonged to the network synagogue of Elburg. In 1840 there were 56 members, in 1869 there were 192. After 1885 membership decreased, like in most small Jewish communities in Holland, since many left for the big cities. In 1899 there were only 81 members left in Harderwijk.

In 1930 there were 57 members. In 1913 the communities of Harderwijk, Ermelo and Putten, had a joint membership of 57 members: 53 were Dutch-Ashkenazi and

4 Dutch- Portuguese. In 1930 there were 57 members and in 1938, 56.

After the war the Jewish kehilla of Harderwijk was left with only 10 people.

The French period

In 1796 the French period propagated equal rights for all civilians and segregation of church and state. The local authorities were not allowed anymore to interfere in church matters of any congregation. It became obligatory to choose a family name, which also applied to the 38 Jews in Harderwijk.

 

Summary

The Jewish community owned a synagogue, founded in 1817, located at the so called "Jodenkerksteeg." They had a cemetery of their own, a ritual bath, a room for biblical study and a school for religious instruction consisting of two classes. The community employed - an unpaid - ritual butcher and  and a gazzan, who was also a teacher, against payment.This paid employment ceased in 1911.

Afterwards the community could not afford this anymore, and the position was taken up by young men who had just got their degree.

 They had two societies: Talmud Torah and Hevras Nosjim shel Emmes for women. The first one dealt with the study and commentaries of the Bible, while both societies  assisted sick persons and the dying and took care of the deceased.

In 1907 there was some commotion when the mayor, Mr. Kempers, moved the elections for the municipal council to a Saturday. The council drew his attention to this fact, but  the mayor replied that “the Jews are only guests here”. This happened more than a century after emancipation! The intervention of the Dutch Prime Minister, Dr. A. Kuyper was required.

About 1920 Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe came to Harderwijk. In 1925 a Jewish Military Home was established there, because many Jewish soldiers from Amsterdam were quartered in Harderwijk; the Jewish community was happy with this influx.

In 1947 the community of Harderwijk was abolished. What was left, was annexed to the community of Amersfoort and the synagogue was sold to the Harderwijk municipality.

 

Source:-Map “Harderwijk” with sundry articles and other material in the library of the  Center for Research on Dutch Jewry (Jerusalem).

 Extracted in Dutch from the source:-Yael Benlev-de Jong

Translation into English:-Mechel Jamenfeld

Editing:- Ben Noach

Final review :- Hanneke Noach