Jewish cemetery

Municipal Monument.
Monument number: 73
The Jewish cemetery on the Zeddamseweg in 's-Heerenberg was put into use around 1752. This year is mentioned in a court report from 1765. The cemetery is a municipal monument. The 22 mainly upright stones are all oriented to the east. The oldest stones have only Hebrew text, the later stones often have both Hebrew and a Dutch text. During the construction of the fire station, the tombstones that were here were moved. Until that time there was also a Metaher house, also called Bet Tohorah, where the ritual wasting of the corpse. This is now gone. After the Second World War, it was not feasible for the remaining Jewish community in the Netherlands to properly maintain their approximately 250 cemeteries. Not even in the municipality of Bergh. Now it is a good Jewish custom to also offer something, if you ask for something. And there was something special to offer in exchange for the maintenance of the cemetery. At least this was the thought of the Israelite congregation in Doetinchem, which included 's-Heerenberg. It was proposed to the municipality by letter to accept as a gift the last demonstrable possession of the Jewish community of 's-Heerenberg that came from the synagogue in exchange for the maintenance of the cemetery. "Because," they wrote, "this property is already in Your possession, without your knowledge of it." You can still admire this gift in the town hall, of course adapted to the requirements of the time. On February 14, 1949, the congregation gratefully accepted the candle crown from the former synagogue that had long been present in the town hall. In 1954 Huis Bergh was concerned about the fate of this cemetery and concluded a maintenance agreement with the Israelite municipality of Doetinchem, which included 's-Heerenberg.
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