This detailed drawing dates from 1869 and shows the two synagogues in Amsterdam at the time. On the left is the Portuguese Synagogue and on the right is the High German Synagogue. Aside from the two synagogues, the unknown artist has drawn a number of people in front of the buildings going about their everyday business. The people are dressed in traditional European clothing from the mid-nineteenth century, and in the middle of the drawing, a distinguished person is passing by in a carriage being pulled by four horses. The two synagogues are on either side of a canal, used extensively for transportation in Amsterdam.
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The Jewish Community of Amsterdam – The largest and most significant Jewish community in Holland was located in Amsterdam, and it has existed for around 400 years. Sephardi Jews first settled in the city in the sixteenth century, many originating in families who had been expelled from Spain at the end of the previous century. The Jews flourished in Amsterdam, where they were allowed to practise their religion freely, and they contributed to the city’s economic growth in the seventeenth century. The first Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Amsterdam in the middle of the seventeenth century, fleeing from pogroms in Poland. Ashkenazi Jews soon outnumbered the Sephardi community, and by the end of the eighteenth century it was one of the largest communities in Western and Central Europe, earning Amsterdam the name “Jerusalem of the West” and “Mokum,” the Yiddish word for “place,” symbolising its status as a safe haven. During World War II, Holland was occupied by Nazi Germany, and the Jews of Amsterdam were rounded up and deported to concentration and death camps. Anne Frank, who was originally from Germany, spent the war years hiding in an Amsterdam attic, until she was discovered and sent to Buchenwald. Her famous diary provides unique documentation of these times and draws millions of tourist to her last home in the city. In total, at least 80 percent of the Dutch Jewish community were murdered during the Holocaust. In the years following the war, the Jewish community slowly rebuilt itself. Today, there are many synagogues in Amsterdam – among them the historical Esnoga synagogue – providing for the different Jewish communities and denomination. There are also Jewish primary and secondary schools, cultural organisations, and youth movements.
Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam – This synagogue dates back to the seventeenth century, when the Sephardi Jewish community of Amsterdam purchased the site and inaugurated the synagogue five years later in 1675. The synagogue is also named Esnoga which is the Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish language) word for synagogue. The Sephardi community was very wealthy, which explains the large and grand building. The inscription above the entrance is from the Book of Psalms – “In the abundance of Thy lovingkindness will I come into Thy house” – and also includes the year 1672, when the synagogue was supposed to have been completed, and the name of the chief rabbi at the time, Aboab. In the courtyard next to the synagogue are the winter synagogue, offices, and the famous Ets Hayim Library, one of the oldest Jewish libraries in the world. The synagogue is still furnished with the original wooden benches, and the floor is covered with fine sand, according to the old Dutch Jewish tradition. The women’s gallery is supported by 12 stone columns representing the 12 tribes. The synagogue is lit with large brass chandeliers that hold 1000 candles and has as many as 72 windows.
The High German Synagogue – The High German or Great Synagogue dates from 1671, when the building was first dedicated. Around half of the money for the building was loaned to the community by the city authorities, and this enabled the community to build a ritual bath (mikveh) and houses for various members of the synagogue staff. The inner dimensions of the synagogue are almost square and could seat around 800 people. The marble ark, still in evidence today, was a gift to the synagogue when it opened and has since been restored. Numerous restorations were carried out over the years, with the windows having been replaced just 10 years before this picture was created. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Germans closed the synagogue and used much of the interior wood for fuel. Once the war was over, the council organised a thorough restoration, and the building became the Jewish Historical Museum in 1988.
