Daugavpils files (7)/ תיק קהילה

📜List of survivors fromRadziwillowAnd Dvinsk: Documentation and Memory

This collection of sources presentsHistorical and news documentationThe fate of the Jewish community inDaugavpils(Dvinsk) in Latvia, with a special focus on the atrocities ofholocaustThe articles and documents, written in Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian, describe theThe massacrein the Pogolyanka forest and the difficult life within the local ghetto. A significant portion of the materials deals with the efforts ofExposing mass gravesIn the 1980s, commemorative actions and testimonies of survivors seeking to preserve the memory of the murdered. In addition, the sources review theThe rich historyof the city's Jewry before the war and the attempts to restore the cultural heritage after it. Through lists of names, photographs and reports of memorial rallies, the collection serves asYad VashemTo a community devastated under the Nazi occupation.

This review is based on the sources found in the archives and deals with the history of the Jewish community inDaugavpils(Dvinsk) and the involvement of Estonian penal units in war crimes during World War II.

History of the Jewish Community in Dvinsk (Daugavpils)

Jews began to settle inDinaburg(former name of Daugavpils) in 1784, when the Jewish population in the city numbered 3,674 (C37-15f). Over the years, the city became an important industrial and commercial center, and in 1913 the Jewish population reached a peak of 55,700 (C37-15f). At the beginning of the 20th century, Jews constituted about half of the city's population (C37-14f). The community was known for its prominent rabbis, includingRabbi Meir Simcha HaCohenandRabbi Yosef Rosen(The genius Rogachev) (C37-15f). The city had extensive educational and cultural institutions, including the Gaisma school and the Jewish theater club (C37-15f). In 1920, after the war, the number of Jews had decreased to 11,800 (C37-15f).

The Holocaust of the Jews of Daugavpils and the Penal Units

On June 26, 1941, German forces enteredDaugavpils(C37-12f). According to an official report, by mid-July 1941, 1,150 Jews had been executed by the unit.Einsatzkommando 1b(C37-12f). Later, a ghetto was established in the city where the Jews of the area were concentrated, and mass murders were committed inPogoliankaAndFrom Mazzei(C37-12f, C37-13f). According to one source, about 33,000 Jews were massacred in the region and only about 25 survived (C37-8f). Another source notes that the 1990 declaration of the Supreme Council of Latvia stated that over 80,000 local Jews were murdered in the Latvian Holocaust (C37-12f).

Crimes of Estonian penal units

The sources contain detailed information about the activities ofEstonian penal unitswho worked in the Nazi service in the Pskov and Novgorod regions (C37-13f, C37-5f). According to the testimony ofVasily Nadorziano, an Estonian penal unit operated in villages in the areaPolanovskyin 1942 and committed murders and rapes (C37-13f). The source names Estonian collaborators, including the commanderLieutenant Alexander Pigley, andHarry Yuksas,Georg and Ski,Edward Lumista,Arnold PontefractandWerner Soar(C37-13f). AgainstAlexander PigliIt is alleged that he executed dozens of people with his own hands (C37-5f).

Commemoration and Exhumation of Mass Graves

In 1989, excavations began in the forest.From Mazzei(Mezciems) initiated by Jewish war veterans and cultural activists, includingS. FishandA. Fishlev(C37-10f). The excavations uncovered two pits about two meters deep containing human remains, including skulls of women and children with gunshot wounds (C37-10f). Approximately 400 bodies were found and were brought for burial in a formal ceremony on July 9, 1989 (C37-10f, C37-11f). Hundreds of people attended the event and gave speeches, including:A. VidevskyandR. Stroda(C37-11f). The Latvian Righteous Among the Nations is also mentioned in the sources.Janis LipkaWho helped save Jews (C37-11f).

Information from footnotes and manuscript

• On a document showing the picture of theThe genius of Rogachev, a handwritten note appears with the date4.12.81(C37-16f).
• A document in Yiddish contains a handwritten note with the date.3/6/1926(C37-1f).
• A note attached to the document indicates the year in handwriting.1986Next to the inscription "Historical Archives" (C37-19f).

Unique terms and concepts

Below are explanations of the terms that appear in the sources:

• Pogulianka: A site in the forest near Daugavpils that served as the site of the mass murder of the Jews of the ghetto (C37-12f).
• Mezciems: A former resort area near Daugavpils where mass graves of victims of fascism were discovered (C37-10f).
• Einsatzkommando 1b (EK 1b): A sub-unit of the German "Einsatzgruppe A", which was responsible for the murder of Jews in Latvia (C37-12f).
• Punitive Detachment (Punitive Detachment/Karatelny Otryad): Military or police forces used for repression, murder, and terror against the civilian population and partisans (C37-13f).
• Dinaburg: The historical name of the city of Daugavpils until 1893 (C37-15f).

List of sources

• C37-1f: A Yiddish newspaper clipping dealing with the situation in Dvinsk after the catastrophe, with a date from 1926.
• C37-2f: List of names of Jewish survivors from Dvinsk who survived the Holocaust, including children.
• C37-3f: A description in Hebrew and Yiddish of the process of deportation and murder of the Jews of Dvinsk during the Nazi occupation.
• C37-4f: News in Hebrew about the massacre in Daugavpils, including lists of survivors and a search for relatives.
• C37-5f: Yiddish article about the Dvinsk community and the Rogachev genius with a handwritten note from 1981.
• C37-6f: A report in Yiddish about a meeting in Daugavpils with a handwritten note mentioning the archive from 1986.
• C37-7f: An article in Yiddish about the destruction of the Jewish community in Daugavpils and the memory of the artist Shlomo Michaels.
• C37-8f: A newspaper clipping in Hebrew by Eliezer Drobish describing the massacre of the Jews of Dvinsk and the surrounding area.
• C37-9f: A journalistic report on excavations in the Mazzei Forest and the identification of Holocaust victims who were massacred in the area.
• C37-10f: An article about the discovery of mass graves in the Mazzei Forest and the exposure of the remains of 400 victims of fascism.
• C37-11f: Report on an official burial ceremony for Holocaust victims discovered during excavations in the Mazzei Forest in 1989.
• C37-12f: A historical overview of the Holocaust of the Jews of Daugavpils, the establishment of the ghetto, and the actions of the Einsatzkommando.
• C37-13f: Letters about the fate of prisoners of war and a report on the crimes of Estonian penal units in the Novgorod region.
• C37-14f: An article on the history of the Jews of Daugavpils, the activities of the LOEK organization, and the publication of a memorial book for the community.
• C37-15f: A detailed overview of the Jewish community in Daugavpils from 1784, its institutions and prominent rabbis.
• C37-16f: An article about Jewish cultural, theatrical and literary life in Daugavpils throughout the generations.
• C37-17f: An article accompanied by photographs from the uncovering of mass graves of Holocaust victims in the Pogolianka Forest.

C37-1f

C37-2f

C37-3f

C37-4f

C37-5f

C37-6f

C37-7f

C37-8f

C37-9f

C37-10f

C37-11f

C37-12f

C37-13f

C37-14f

C37-15f

C37-16f

C37-17f

**End of Sources Section**

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