Nieuwe Joodse begraafplaats

The first Jewish settlement in Vaals took place with the exodus of the Jews from Prussia (Germany) (late 18th century) in response to the Napoleonic era. Scarce sources mention the admission of Jews to the then tolerant Vaals. Jewish cemeteries are laid for eternity, until the resurrection of the dead in a messianic age, as the Jewish prophets foretold.

Instead of flowers, small pebbles are seen on Jewish graves or tombs worldwide. In Judaism, cemeteries have the same sacred status as that of synagogues. It is forbidden to enter the cemetery on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Men and boys must always wear a head covering when visiting or working in the cemetery. The new Jewish cemetery was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The Jewish community of Vaals had its heyday at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the graves date from that time. Jews from Germany and Belgium were also buried there because of the State guarantee, since 1814, regarding eternal burial, which was not guaranteed in the neighboring countries.

The cemetery was in use until just before the deportation and murder of the Jews, during the occupation of the Netherlands, by National Socialist Germany (1940-1945). This cemetery contains one of the oldest tombstones in Limburg. An unknown woman died in 1756.