Plavinas file / תיק קהילה

📜 The History of the Flavinas Community: Flourishing and Ruin

The sources present a historical and statistical overview of the town. Flavinas in Latvia, focusing on the life of the local Jewish community. The documentation includes Population data, details about the economic structure of the town and information about educational and cultural institutions that operated there between the two world wars. A significant portion of the material is dedicated to the period The Holocaust, and describes the German occupation, the murder of Jews and local public activists in 1941. In addition, exhibits Official documents, maps of the town and photographs of Monuments In memory of the victims and the restoration of cemeteries. The combination of sources provides a broad view of The growth of the settlement, the merger with the town of Gostiny and the liquidation of the community during the war.

Geography and Urban Development

The town Pļaviņas Located in the district Riga In Latvia, on the banks of the riverDaugavaThe settlement began to develop around 1905, and in 1927 it received city status. The town is located at a railway junction, and industries developed there. cement and stations flourBetween 1920 and 1940, the town was part of independent Latvia, and in 1927 it was united with the neighboring town of Gostini To create one municipal authority (C94-1f, C94-2f, C94-3f, C94-4f).

Jewish Demographics and Community Life

The Jewish presence in the town has changed over the years in accordance with municipal mergers. In 1925, there wereFlavinas Only 15 Jews out of a population of 1,457. After the unification with GostoniThe united Jewish community numbered 635, which constituted about 24% of the total population. In 1935, 35 Jewish residents were registered in the town out of a total population of 1,496. Socially, the community identified with theZionism, and during the 1930s, a branch of the youth movement operated there. "Herzliya", belonging toOverall scores (C94-1f, C94-3f, C94-4f).

Economy and employment

In 1935, out of 61 shops in the town, 13 were owned by Jews. Also, one out of three local doctors was Jewish. The archival records include names of business owners and economic institutions; among others, it mentions Hello Skolnik (Šloms Skolņiks) As a business owner for trading inColonial goods And small goods on the street Church 26aIn addition, it is noted that hotels, restaurants, windmills, sawmills and an electric power plant operated at the site (C94-1f, C94-2f, C94-4f).

The Holocaust and the German occupation

Following an agreement Ribbentrop-Molotov Signed in August 1939, Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940. On June 22, 1941, war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union, and about ten days later it was occupied. Flavinas By the German army. According to the sources, all the Jews found there during the occupation were murdered by the Germans and their Latvian collaborators (C94-1f, C94-4f, C94-9).

Commemoration and memory

onarchives There is a picture of a memorial erected in memory of the murdered. According to the inscription on the monument in Latvian, in July 1941 the "fascists" murdered Soviet activists of the city, among them: Jāni Zupu, Kārli Kozlovski, Linu Rizgu also Skolnik with his family (Skolniku ar zamięty) and other members whose names were not mentioned.Handwritten note Attached to the photograph of the tombstone, it is stated that the photo was given toarchives by Yaakov SkolnikA printed document is added in .archives It repeats the names of these murdered people and notes that many more whose names are unknown were murdered. In addition, the 2005 article mentions a project to restore the Jewish cemetery inGostoni With the participation of youth from various countries, and the rabbi is mentioned Israel Eisenscherf (C94-5f, C94-6f).

Restoration and cleaning of the Jewish cemetery in Gostini

• Andris Grīnbergs – Author of the article covering the project (C94-6f).
• Miriana van der Velden – Participant in the project from the Netherlands (C94-6f).
• Dace Joze – Project participant from the city of Flavinas (C94-6f).
• Anika Gītse – Project participant from Germany (C94-6f).
• Andreas Eichner – Participant in the project from Austria (C94-6f).
• Viktors Deliks – A 74-year-old veteran resident who lives inGostoni In 1941. He shared with the young people his memories of the Jewish community and the events of the war, including stories about Jews who tried to hide from the Nazis (C94-6f).
• Helmuts Banders – Mayor Flavinas, who expressed support for the project and noted its importance for preserving local heritage (C94-6f).
• Rabbi Israel Aizenšarfs – A rabbi who addressed the religious and moral importance of keeping Jewish cemeteries clean and tidy as an expression of respect for the dead (C94-6f).

Historical terms and concepts

• Herzlia Movement – A youth movement of the general Zionist movement that operated in Latvia between the two world wars.
• Colonial goods – A retail grocery store that sold products imported from overseas, such as sugar, coffee, tea, and spices.
• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact – Non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (1939) which included a secret protocol for the division of spheres of influence in Eastern Europe.

List of sources

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• C94-1f – A summary printed in Hebrew on geography, demography, economy and the Holocaust in the town of Flavinas.
• C94-2f – A statistical data file in Latvian (1936) that includes a map and detailed information on administration, education, and economy in Flavinas.
• C94-3f – Information sheet in Hebrew with a demographic table detailing the number of Jews in Flavinas between the years 1925–1935.
• C94-4f – A historical and demographic overview in English of the Flavinas community on behalf of Beit Hatfutsot, including the Holocaust period.
• C94-5f – Documentation of a memorial monument for those murdered in 1941, including a photograph, a handwritten note, and a translation of the names of those murdered into Hebrew.
• C94-6f – An article from a Latvian newspaper from 2005 dealing with the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Gostoni by young volunteers.

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