Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter

Sadly, not much remains of the old Jewish quarter in Amsterdam.  At the beginning of WWII, one in ten people living in Amsterdam was Jewish.  By the end of the war, 100,000 of Holland's 135,000 Jews had been deported and died, and of those who survived, only 5,000 or so returned to Amsterdam. 

In the years that followed many of the buildings in the Jewish quarter, situated next to the Amstel River in southeast Amsterdam, fell into disrepair.  Today, the neighborhood pretty much blends into the city. 

There are a few key buildings/monuments significant to the history of Amsterdam Jews that are still standing, most notably the Anne Frank House and the Portuguese Synagogue.  Doug and I took a tour of the latter while my father-in-law was visiting last week. 

In light of recent events around the world, including Saturday's attacks on a synagogue in Copenhagen, we felt very reflective of all the lives that have been lost to religious persecution and intolerance.

Digital image courtesy of The College of Charleston Libraries.

The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam is the second oldest synagogue in Europe (Prague's is the oldest), opening its doors in 1675.  The above engraving captures the dedication ceremony. 

The huge building still operates without electricity--no lights, no heat.  The effect is stunning at night when all 1,000 candles in the enormous copper chandeliers are lit for services, which takes a caretaker over 4 hours to complete.

It is remarkable that the Nazi's did not destroy it during the WWII.  It was even saved from becoming a deportation center (to concentration camps) when a member of the Jewish community convinced the authorities it wouldn't make a good holding station due to all of the windows, which would be impossible to cover up.

In the far end of the picture below is the Holy Arc, which always faces Jerusalem and holds the Torah scrolls.  In the foreground is the tebah, a raised platform from which the rabbi leads the service.

Jewish people from all over Europe came to the Netherlands during the 17th century.  The Dutch were master traders during this period and had encountered people from all over the world.  They exhibited a tolerance for people of all beliefs and customs, placing business opportunities above issues of difference.

Sephardic Jews fled Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition under Ferdinand and Isabella's violent efforts to spread Christianity/Catholicism (the same duo who funded the expeditions of Christopher Columbus to the Americas). For generations, they had been forced to convert to Christianity, but in Amsterdam they were able to establish a community for themselves and eventually build a monumental synagogue in 1675.

The tebah.

The Holy Arc.

 Like my visit to the Anne Frank House, where I walked away haunted by the words and voice of Otto Frank, Anne's father and sole survivor of the Secret Annex, I was also haunted by these benches at the Esnoga or Portuguese Synagogue.

The benches have compartments in the seats (you can the hinges and square outline), which were assigned to members of the synagogue to hold their holy books and other belongings between visits. On February 22, 1941, when the Nazis began rounding up Amsterdam's Jews to ship them to extermination camps, no one had time to retrieve their things.  Most synagogue members were never to return, and in honor of their memory the compartments remained locked, unused and undisturbed for decades.  It was only with the threat of insect infestation that they were opened and the contents taken to various places for preservation.

Very moving.