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For nearly four centuries, Curaçao has been a crossroads of Jewish life — a place of faith, commerce, and refuge whose influence spread throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. Many across the region trace their roots to this small island, where Sephardic and later Ashkenazi families built a thriving community at the heart of Willemstad.
This website, developed by the Jewish Museum Curaçao, invites you to explore that story from every angle: through its synagogues, cemeteries, and heritage sites; through guided Jewish heritage tours; through personal stories collected in One Story at a Time; and through our growing digital archive, Curaçao Jews: A Database of Memory.
Together, these pages uncover Curaçao’s remarkable Jewish legacy — a story still unfolding, one memory at a time.
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Curaçao’s Jewish heritage spans nearly four centuries — from the first settlers in 1651 to today’s living congregations.
Discover the story of faith, refuge, and renewal that continues to inspire scholars, descendants, and visitors around the world.
Walk in the footsteps of Curaçao’s Jewish pioneers. Join a guided tour with one of our expert heritage guides and experience the island’s Jewish story — from the Snoa and museum to the cemeteries, Landhuis Bloemhof, and more.
Our newest digital project is building a record of Curaçao’s Jewish people and families — one era at a time. The first phase, Collecting WWII Stories, documents Jewish lives connected to Curaçao during the 1930s and 1940s: those who lived here, found refuge here, or left traces abroad during the war.
This growing online resource preserves names, routes, and memories that reveal Curaçao’s unique role in global Jewish and wartime history.
Begin your journey in Willemstad’s historic heart, where the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue (1732) — the oldest in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere — stands beside the Jewish Museum Curaçao. Visit historic cemeteries, congregations, and family landmarks to experience 375 years of living heritage.
History comes to life through personal stories — portraits, recipes, wartime memories, and reflections collected by the Jewish Museum Curaçao. Each story was first displayed in our exhibitions and now forms part of our growing digital archive.
Browse stories from Community Roots, WWII, and Side Series, and see how Curaçao’s Jewish experience continues to unfold.
CuracaoJews.org is an initiative of the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum, functioning as the Jewish Museum Curaçao, as we celebrate 375 years of Jewish life documented on the island of Curaçao.