Rundeni file / תיק קהילה

The sources presented provide Historical and statistical documentation of the village Rondani (Rundēni) in the Lodz region of Latvia, focusing on the small Jewish community that lived there. The data includes Population censuses from the 1920s and 1930s, showing that only a few Jews lived there within a diverse local population. Some of the documents detail the The economic structure of the settlement, including a list of business owners, shops and public institutions that operated there before World War II. Alongside the dry data, the sources describe the The tragic fate of the village's Jews during the Holocaust, from the Soviet occupation to their murder by the Germans and local collaborators in the summer of 1941. Finally, it is noted that after the war the bodies of the victims were located and brought For Jewish burial In the cemetery in the nearby town of Lodz.

Historical Overview: The Jewish Community in Rundēni

Geographical and administrative background

The settlement Rondani (Rundēni) is a village located inLodz Province (Ludza), also known by its historical name Lucin (Lyutzin), inside a rope To Italy (Latgale) in eastern Latvia (C112-1f, C112-4f). According to a statistical document from 1936, the village was previously called Rondani (Rundānim) and is located within the Regional Council (Pagasts) of Rondani (C112-2f). The settlement was described as a small center including a church, schools and the administrative center of the council, with the river flowing nearby.Icha (Ičas) (C112-2f). Access to the settlement was limited; it is located 24 km from the railway station inZilopa (Zilupe), and it was noted that there was no regular bus service to the location (C112-2f). At the top of one of the documents appears a handwritten entry "STBH 196", which is probably an archival marking (C112-1f).

Demographics and economic life in independent Latvia

Between 1920 and 1940, the settlement was part ofIndependent Latvia (C112-1f, C112-4f). The Jewish presence in the village was very limited: in 1925, there were 4 Jews living in the village, and in 1930, their number had increased to 8 (C112-1f, C112-3f). According to the 1935 census, the village population was 288 residents, of which only 5 Jews (1.74% of the population), while the majority of the inhabitants were Latvians (55.55%) and Russians (32.99%) (C112-2f, C112-3f). Despite their small numbers, Jews were integrated into commercial life; a prominent figure was Frida Talpis (Frida Talpis), who owned thepharmacy (Aptieka) (C112-2f). Other businesses in the settlement included a wine shop owned by Anton Danilevich and a tobacco shop owned by Alexander Spadzers (C112-2f).

The Holocaust and the German occupation

after Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (Ribbentrop-Molotov) Pact signed in August 1939, Latvia was annexed toSoviet Union In the summer of 1940 (C112-1f, C112-4f). With the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the area was occupied by German Army July 1941 (C112-3f, C112-4f). During the summer and fall of 1941, the Jews of Rondani were murdered by the Germans and local Latvian collaborators (C112-1f, C112-5f). The sources indicate that the murders were committed in a building or in the fall of that year, and that the victims were murdered together with Jews from nearby settlements (C112-3f, C112-5f).

Commemoration and burial after the war

After the end of the war, Jews who returned to the provincial town Lodz The mass grave where the victims were buried (C112-3f) was located. Found at the site 36 bodies, who were removed from the site and brought for official burial in the Jewish cemetery in Lodz (C112-3f). The information about these events is based on several bibliographical sources cited in the documentation, including the book by Max Kaufman On the extermination of Latvian Jews and official population census data (C112-3f).

Terms from the sources

• Latgale: A historical district in eastern Latvia.
• Ludza/Lyutzin: The provincial city; "Lutsin" is its historical/Russian name.
• Pagasts: Rural regional council, an administrative unit in Latvia.
• Rundāni (Rundani): The former name of the settlement is Rondani as it appears in Latvian sources.
• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact: Non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from 1939.

List of sources

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