Vaals, Limburg, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Plaats van Deportatie / Ort der Deportation / Place of Deportation
— Rondwandeling Joods Vaals —
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, October 28, 2023
1. Plaats van Deportatie / Ort der Deportation / Place of Deportation Marker
(Dutch:)
Plaats van deportatie van de Vaalser Joden
De rondwandeling "Joods Vaals" voert langs de verschillende punten van de Joodse geschiedenis in Vaals, die terug gaat tot het begin van de 18e eeuw. De wandeling begint en eindigt hier op het Wilhelminaplein, de plek vanwaar in 1942 en 1943 de Vaalser Joden werden gedeporteerd. Na de inval van de Duitse troepen op 10 mei 1940 begonnen enkele weken later reeds de represailles tegen de Joden.
In totaal zijn 31 namen van Joden bekend die in 1942 en 1943 uit Vaals gedeporteerd zijn, twee zijn later weggevoerd. De meesten van hen zijn in de vernietigingskampen, vooral in Sobibor en Auschwitz, vermoord. Niet van alle slachtoffers is de datum van overlijden bekend. In de Duitse kampen overleden 27 mannen en vrouwen. Het jongste slachtoffer was zes jaar oud.
Van 19 Joodse inwoners is het lot onbekend. Dit geldt met name voor diegenen die konden onderduiken of die uit Vaals naar elders vertrokken zijn.
De rondwandeling begint in de Kerkstraat, aan de overkant van deze weg. Routeteken: menora.
(German:)
this page online
Der Ortsrundgang “Jüdisches Vaals” führt entlang der verschiedenen Punkte der jüdischen Geschichte von Vaals, die bis ins frühe 18. Jahrhundert zurückgeht. Der Rundgang beginnt und endet hier am Wilhelminaplein, jenem Ort, von wo 1942 und 1943 die Vaalser Juden deportiert wurden. Nach dem Einfall deutscher Truppen am 10. Mai 1940 begannen schon wenige Wochen später die Repressalien gegen die Juden.
Insgesamt sind 31 Namen von Juden bekannt, die 1942 und 1943 aus Vaals deportiert wurden, zwei wurden später weggeführt. Die meisten von ihnen wurden in den Vernichtungslagern, meist Sobibor und Auschwitz, ermordet. Nicht von allen Opfern ist das Todesdatum bekannt. In den deutschen Lagern starben 27 Männer und Frauen. Das jüngste Opfer war sechs Jahre alt.
Von 19 jüdischen Einwohnern ist das Schicksal unbekannt. Das trifft vor allem auf jene zu, die untertauchen konnten oder die von Vaals in andere Orte verzogen sind. De rondwandeling begint in de Kerkstraat, aan de overkant van deze weg.
Der Rundweg startet in der Kerkstraat, auf der gegenüberliegenden Straßenseite. Routekennzeichen: Menora
(English translation:)
The "Jewish Vaals" walking tour takes you past various points of Jewish history in Vaals,
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, October 28, 2023
2. Place of Deportation Marker - wide view
A total of 31 names of Jews who were deported from Vaals in 1942 and 1943 are known, with an additional two who were deported later. Most of them were murdered in the death camps, mostly in Sobibor and Auschwitz. The date of death is not known for all victims. 27 men and women died in the German camps. The youngest victim was six years old.
The fate of 19 Jewish residents is unknown. This applies in particular to those who were able to go into hiding or who were able to leave Vaals for elsewhere.
The walking tour starts in Kerkstraat, across the street. Route sign: menorah.
Gedeporteerde Joodse Vaalsenaren tussen 25 augustus 1942 en 9 april 1943
Gedeporteerde Joden / Deportierte Juden / Deported Jews (between August 25, 1942 and April 9, 1943):
Adolf Adler - Hortense Adler-Blüm - Julius Alexander - Erna Alexander-Herz -Carl Baer - Paula Baer-Maijer - Wolfgang Bernheim - Jonas Drielsma - Adele Drielsma-Salomon - Ferdinand Drielsma - Jacob Drielsma - Arnold Drielsma - Erwin Eliasar - Julius Elkan - Mathilde
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, October 28, 2023
3. Place of Deportation Marker - wider view
——
Slechts vier Vaalser Joden hebben de kampen overleefd / Nur vier Vaalser Juden haben die Lager überlebt / Only four Jews from Vaals survived:
Lieselotte Hirsch (1923) - Ernst Inow (1913) - Ferdinand Kaufmann (1923) - Benno Schwarz (1909).
Erected by Heemkundekring Sankt-Tolbert Vaals.
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the The Holocaust series list. A significant historical date for this entry is August 25, 1942.
Location. 50° 46.293′ N, 6° 1.407′ E. Marker is in Vaals, Limburg. Memorial is on Maastrichterlaan, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Maastrichterlaan 29, Vaals, Limburg 6291 AC, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers
circa August 25, 1942
4. Marker detail: Deportation onlookers
This view is looking north on Wilhelminaplein, with the deportees likely being some 10-30 meters outside the picture (on the left), roughly where the marker stands.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Plaats van deportatie van de Vaalser Joden (Heemkundekring Sankt-Tolbert Vaals). The QR code on the marker leads to a page with additional information in Dutch and German. The page repeats the list of deportees, and also provides a timeline of events from the May 1940 invasion onwards. Of note are the last two dates on the timeline, which are specific to Vaals and are printed in translation below.
Excerpt: August 25, 1942 - The Vaals Jews gather at 6 p.m. on Wilhelminaplein in front of the town hall, to leave home and family. The people of Vaals look on at this heartbreaking event (see photo). At 6.45 pm a bus from the L.T.M. and they have to step in, facing a dark future. As it turns out, they are first taken to Westerbork and from there to various extermination camps.(Submitted on December 19, 2023.)
April 9, 1943 - Last deportation of mainly elderly people who are transported to Vught by taxi. From there they are taken to the extermination camps.
2. The Holocaust in the Netherlands (Wikipedia).
Overview: The Holocaust in the Netherlands was organized by Nazi Germany in occupied Netherlands as part of the Holocaust across Europe during the Second World War. In 1939, there were some 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands, among them some 24,000 to 25,000 German-Jewish refugees who had fled from Germany in the 1930s (other sources claim that some 34,000 Jewish refugees entered the Netherlands between 1933 and 1940, mostly from Germany and Austria). Some 75% of the Dutch-Jewish population was murdered in the Holocaust. The 1947 census reported 14,346 Jews, or 10% of the pre-war population. This further decrease is attributed to massive emigration of Jews to the then British Mandate of Palestine (present-day Israel).(Submitted on December 19, 2023.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 19, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 60 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 19, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
