Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas religious marriage records. Collection

In 1931 Shomre Hadas, an orthodox Jewish community founded in Antwerp in 1920, merged with the Jewish Community of Antwerp, officially established in 1816. The name of the congregation then became the Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas. The community’s main synagogue, inaugurated in 1893, was located at Bouwmeestersstraat in Antwerp, and was also known as the Dutch Synagogue, a reference to the many Dutch Jews and their descendants who contributed to the project. The community also ministered a synagogue at the corner of Van den Nestlei and Oostenstraat in Antwerp, which was inaugurated in 1928, and a synagogue located at Terliststraat 35 in Antwerp. Just before the outbreak of war the Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas was estimated to comprise about 3200 souls. During the war, the Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas continued to conduct marriages until the summer of 1942, although the synagogue at Van den Nestlei was ransacked during the 'Antwerp pogrom' of 14 April 1941. During this outbreak of anti-Semitic violence an angry mob attacked and destroyed two Antwerp synagogues and the house of a rabbi. The first post-war wedding conducted by the Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas was celebrated on 5 November 1944. The synagogue at Van den Nestlei was restored after Liberation and reopened its doors as the Romi Goldmuntz synagogue in 1954. The Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas continues its work until this day.

In 2021 the Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitise the religious marriage records drawn up by their community in the years preceding the war (1937-1939), during the war (1940-1942) and in the years immediately following the occupation (1944-1947).

Jewish Community of Antwerp Shomre Hadas, 2021