International Jewish Cemetery Project - Netherlands
Joodse Begraafplaats Cemetery: Located in Hoeksche Waard, Zuid Holland, the alternate name is Strien. Current town population: 10.000 with current Jewish population close to none. Postal address of cemetery: Oud-Bonaventurasedijk. See pictures and translations of tombs at http://www.zwarenstein.nl. Person to contact about grave locations: www.zwarenstein.nl.
The earliest known Jewish community in town dates from around 1800. An independent community was established in 1857. The inactive cemetery was established in 1895. Other towns/villages that used this cemetery was Gravendeel and Puttershoek. An other individual interested in the not land-marked site, who may share information is W.B. van der Hoek (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) who has the caretaker's name, address, and telephone. The caretaker has the key.The last known Jewish burial was 17 August 2002.
The isolated rural (agricultural) cemetery location on flat land has a sign in Hebrew that reads as quotes Job 3:18. Reached by turning directly off a public road and crossing private property, access to the cemetery is open with permission of the caretaker/secretary of the foundation. The cemetery is surrounded a narrow water and trees and a small locking gate. The rather small cemetery has no special sections.
The oldest known gravestone date is 1896. 31 graves and 24 gravestones are in the cemetery in original location. The 19th, 20th and 21th century gravestones of diverse materials are flat, shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, horizontally set stones and flat, low in-ground plaques with Hebrew and Dutch inscriptions. The cemetery contains one special memorial monument to a few specific family members who where Holocaust victims. The present owner of the cemetery property is the municipality. Properties adjacent to the cemetery are agricultural and residential. Rarely, family members and private visitors visit the never vandalized site. Past maintenance includes re-erecting stones, cleaning stones, clearing vegetation. Individuals or groups of non-Jewish origin and local or municipal authorities provide the care. The cemetery was restored in 1996. The regular caretaker is paid by the local government. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house. No threats.
M.H. Zwarenstein, Bentelo 6 3085 AH Rotterdam, The Netherlands, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. visited the site in 2004 and completed the survey.
The following documentation was used: Pictures of gravestones in the archive of the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. NL. Pictures, newspaperarticles and translations of the tombstones can be found on her website: www.zwarenstein.nl. [January 2004]