Tilza file / תיק קהילה

✡️ The history of the Tilza community and its fate in the Holocaust

The sources presented provide a historical and statistical overview of the settlement. Tilza (Tilza) in the Avarna district of Latvia, focusing on the life of the Jewish community there. Official lists from the 1930s detail the The demographic structureThe public institutions and the extensive economic activity in the village, where Jews constituted a significant part of the population, Merchants and business ownersThe documents document the region's transition to Soviet control following the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact In 1940, a change that preceded the end of the community. With the German invasion in the summer of 1941, Holocaust period in the area, during which all Jewish residents who failed to escape were murdered by the Nazis and local collaborators. This information combines Dry statistics and a tragic testament to the utter destruction of a vibrant rural community.

The settlement Tilza (Tilža), which was formerly known as Kokoreva (Kokoreva), located in the district Avernae (Abrenes) in the region To Italy (Latgale), in the northeast Latvia (C53-1f, C53-2f). Between 1920 and 1940 the settlement was part of independent Latvia (C53-1f). According to the printed information in the archive, in 1930 there were 46 Jews living in the rural area of ​​Tilža (C53-3f). At the beginning of the document there is a handwritten entry: "1024 K II STBH 179" (C53-1f).

Demographics and structure of the settlement before the war

According to the 1935 census data appearing in the statistical yearbook "Latvijas ciemi", the population of Tilža numbered 662 residents, of whom 61 Jews who constituted 9.22% of the total population (C53-2f). The Jewish community was largely composed of merchants, and owned 15 local stores (C53-1f, C53-3f). The entire settlement at that time had 357 families (C53-2f).

Economic life and business owners in the community

The detailed documentation in the "Archive" reveals a long list of Jewish business owners who operated in the settlement in 1935 (C53-2f). Among the merchants in the field of food and colonial goods were: Avram Brevarnik (Abram Bravarniekas), Elfriede Baldaus (Elfridas Beldaus), Mira Shvolba (Meres Svalbas), Petr Platnik (Peter Platniek), Zelma Richter (Zelmas Richter), Bertha Baldaus (Bertas Beldaus), Itzik Yocha (Icika Juchas), Alfon Shvagrov (Alfona Svagrova), Meyer Kaufman (Meijer Company) andDonna Brevarnik (Donas Brovarniks) (C53-2f). He worked in the butchery and meat trade. Itzik-Janka Kaplowicz (Icika-Jankela Kapelovica), and in the textile and manufacturing sector, Chaim Kaufman (Haima Kopmana) andWolf Novomysl (Vulfa Novomisla) as owners of shops selling fabrics (C53-2f).

In other areas, the names stand out Moshe Kaufman (Moiseja Kopmana) andFaivish Kaplovich (Faivica Kapelovica) who dealt in ready-made clothing, and Yosl Yocha (Josels Jucha) who owned a hardware store (C53-2f). Israel Schneider (Izraels Snejers) operated a barber shop in the settlement (C53-2f). On one of the documents dealing with this data, the notation "247" appears in prominent handwriting (C53-3f).

Holocaust period

The process of destroying the community began in the summer of 1940, when Latvia Annexed to the Soviet Union following Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact Signed in August 1939 (C53-1f, C53-4f). With the entry of the Red Army and the assumption of Soviet power, a process of Sovietization began that changed the face of the economy and the public connection of the local Jews (C53-3f, C53-6f).

On June 22, 1941, shortly after the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union, the region was occupied by the Nazi German army (C53-1f). The occupation reached Tilza at the end of June or the beginning of July 1941 (C53-3f). According to the sources, all the Jews who were in the settlement at that time and did not manage to escape deep into the Soviet Union were murdered during the summer months of 1941 (C53-1f, C53-3f). The murder was carried out by the Germans and their Latvian collaborators (C53-4f, C53-6f).

Geographical terms and concepts

• Latgale: A historical region located in the northeastern part of Latvia (C53-1f).
• Abrenes: The name of the administrative district in Latvia in which the settlement of Tilža was located during the period in question (C53-3f).
• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact: A non-aggression pact signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939, paving the way for the annexation of the Baltic states (C53-4f).
• Sovietization: The process of transforming state institutions and the economy into the Soviet model after annexation to the Soviet Union (C53-3f).

List of sources

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• C53-1f – Information in Hebrew about the settlement of Tilza in Latvia, including demographic data from 1935 and a description of the fate of the Jewish community during the Holocaust.
• C53-2f – Detailed statistical data from the book "Latvijas ciemi" (1936) on the settlements of Tilza and Viliaka, including demographics, lists of property owners and businesses.
• C53-3f – A brief historical overview in Hebrew of the settlement of Tilza, including Jewish population data from 1930-1935 and a list of bibliographical sources.
• C53-4f – An information sheet in English from the Jewish Diaspora Center that reviews the history of the Tilza community, its geographical location, economic composition, and its destruction in the summer of 1941.

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