A new purpose
After years of vacancy, the Jewish Work Village in the Wieringermeer polder is being repurposed. The Working Village was founded to provide Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria with an education. They are part of the pioneers of the polder. It was an optimistic start of a new future that ended gruesomely for a number of them. This gripping story will soon be told in the new Jewish Work Village Memorial Museum.
The Jewish Work Village will not solely focus on the past, but also offer hope for the future. It will provide housing for the migrant workers who are currently coming to Wieringermeer. They are the pioneers of this era, in the fields and in the greenhouses. They form a pillar of the Dutch economy and deserve proper housing.
The Jewish Work Village deserves a future as a living monument. A monument that tells the story of the Jewish pioneers while accommodating the migrants of our own era.
Joep Karel
Joël Cahen
Together with historian and heritage developer Joël Cahen and others, owner and initiator Joep Karel wants to fulfill his wish to breathe new life into this exceptional place by letting past and present come together.
Our plans
The Exhibition
The Jewish Work Village Memorial Museum honours the Jewish residents by telling their story in the place where they lived and worked between 1934 and 1941. At the same time, this exhibition tells the story of the Wieringermeerpolder.
Housing for migrant workers
In place of the original sixteen barracks of the Work Village, seven buildings will be erected to provide housing for migrant workers.
Landscape
The area surrounding the Work Village used to be a green island in the open space of the polder. Future use will be based on the past. There will be a monumental garden, a communal garden, space for recreation and a large parking space for visitors.