Nijverdal

History

Before World War II, Nijverdal had a small Jewish community. The municipal seat of the area, Hellendoorn, had a small synagogue and Jewish cemetery. The synagogue still exists as a storage shed behind one of the houses in the village, and the cemetery is no longer in use. It has about 20 graves, most from the nineteenth century and early 20th century. The municipality maintains the cemetery and protects it from vandalism. The Jewish community was essentially erased by the Holocaust. Most of its members were murdered in Sobibor or Auschwitz. On 22 March 1945, Nijverdal was severely bombed by American bombers who were originally targeting the German town of Groß Reken, but due to a shortage of fuel, the commander decided to change the target to a different strategic location. This location was the Zwolle-Almelo railway passing through Nijverdal. Over 73 people were killed, mainly at the Grotestraat and Rijssensestraat. Many people were out shopping and gardening that day due to the sunny weather conditions. In 1955, part of the municipality of Wierden was annexed (Eversberg, Konijnenbelt, Slettenhaar and Lochter) which is the only part of the municipality located on originally Twente soil. In the late 70's the quarter of 'Groot Lochter' arose here.