Act to Preserve History of Jewish Communities in Northeastern Holland

The Province of Groningen in northeastern Holland has undertaken to preserve the history of the Jewish communities that resided there before World War II whose archives were destroyed during the Nazi occupation. The provincial authorities announced that they would register all gravestones in the Jewish cemeteries in Groningen and record the inscriptions on each in book form.

The gravestones are virtually the only surviving record of the several thousand Jews who lived in Groningen city and various provincial towns and villages before the war. The majority of them were deported by the Nazis. The survivors moved to other parts of Holland or settled in Israel and other countries. There are presently only two Jewish congregations in the province and most of the cemeteries are no longer in use.