Four days in Eindhoven

The Rehovot team spent Yom Kippur in Eindhoven and played their third match of the tour the following day. Gigi described the visit in his in his diary:

Friday 14.9.56
In the morning we traveled to Eindhoven, on the way we passed through Nijmegen the city of marches, and the Rhine River. In Eindhoven is the Philips factory. We were divided into homes, I was with Chanan Shaiba. In the evening we went to Yom Kippur prayers.

Saturday 15.9.56
In the morning we went to Yom Kippur prayer, and in the afternoon we watched a soccer game on television, Russia Germany 2:1. And Holland Switzerland 3:2.

Sunday 16.9.56
At 14:00 we played our third game against the Eindhoven club and we won 10:20. In the evening a party was held on behalf of the community.

Monday 17.9.56
In the afternoon we left Eindhoven and returned to Hengelo.

The post's cover photo captures the team upon their arrival in Eindhoven, greeted by their host families outside the local synagogue. Both the Eindhoven Synagogue and St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Church were designed around the same time by the renowned architect Pierre Cuypers, with both structures replacing older places of worship.

The synagogue was consecrated in 1866. The synagogue was heavily damaged by the German bombing on September 19, 1944, one day after the liberation of Eindhoven. Restoration work began in March 1946, and the synagogue was reopened on May 22, 1947.

In 1953, a municipal plan was drafted to widen Kerkstraat to create a through-route between Paterskerk and Grote Berg. Consequently, the synagogue was slated for demolition. In February 1959, the synagogue was demolished without protests from the residents of Eindhoven. However, the road widening project was never carried out. A short history of the Jewish community and the synagogue in Eindhoven is available here.

A memorial plaque for the former historic synagogue in Eindhoven was unveiled on Kerkstraat in 2013. The video was filmed by friend of the blog, Barak Bringoltz.

This photo was taken prior to the third match against EHV Eindhoven, which Rehovot won 20-10. At the time, the Dutch premier league featured three teams from the city: PSV, DES, and EHV (which competed simply as "Eindhoven"). PSV was the strongest among them, having won the 1955 championship.

EINDHOVEN (HANDBALL) — ISRAELI TEAM 10-20.

On Sunday, a handball match was played between Eindhoven and a combination from Israel. The Eindhoven team suffered a heavy defeat of 10-20. At half-time, the score was 12-2 in favor of the Israelis.

The team's itinerary included a visit to the Philips factory. Although Gigi does not mention this visit in his diary, we do have a photograph of the team in front of the Philips sundial monument.

During the war, Philips made efforts to protect its Jewish employees. In 1943, the German occupying forces ordered the electronics company to open a branch inside the Vught concentration camp, aiming to force prisoners to contribute to the German war industry. Philips complied with this request but set certain conditions, one being that the workshop in Vught must remain under the company's management.

Working in the "Philips Kommando" meant a temporary reprieve from being deported to Germany, as Jewish prisoners were exempt from deportation for a period of time. Philips had already established a separate branch of its factory in Eindhoven for Jewish employees back in 1941. All the employees from this factory, together with their families, were transferred to the Philips Kommando in Vught in 1943. Just under a year later, these Jewish employees were deported directly from Vught to Auschwitz, but many of them survived.

The final photograph from their time in Eindhoven captures the team with their luggage piled behind them, waiting for the bus to take them back to Hengelo.