The author

For years the author Ton Steenbergen has researched the historic aspects of Wageningen, town of the well known Agricultural University of the Netherlands. He wrote several books about these subjects and has published many articles in newspapers and magazines. He was also editor of and writer for the "Historical Association of Wageningen". More than thirty-five years ago the author started his research on the Jewish community of Wageningen and its neighborhood.

The interest of the author for the Jewish community in his natal town awoke during his youth. In the street were he lived with his parents, brothers and sister the old Jewish cemetery was situated. Going to his catholic primary school, the future-writer passed the cemetery four times a day. How often did he look through the iron gate at the gravestones, with their Hebrew and Dutch inscriptions and was asking himself "Who were they, who are buried here".

Ton Steenbergen is seen as the expert on Jewish history of Wageningen
and surrounding communities. In 1966 he published his first article about this subject.

On the 4th of May 2000 through the initiative of the author, a monument was unveiled in Wageningen for those inhabitants who were deported to one of the concentration-camps during the Shoah and did not return. This monument was erected opposite the place of the destroyed synagogue. This monument could be realised with the help of the "Foundation Jewish Monument Wageningen and neighbouring communities". The foundation succeeded to gain support of the community of Wageningen for this idea and was able to collect the money necessary for the realisation. The author is secretary of this foundation.