Ventspils file / תיק קהילה

✡️ The Jewish community in the city of Windau (Ventspils)

These sources document the History of the Jewish community in the city of Windau (Ventspils) in the Courland region, Latvia, from the 18th century until after the Holocaust. The collection includes Genealogical studies About the Lipschitz family, who were the pioneers in Jewish settlement in the area, alongside historical reviews of The growth of religious institutionsDocuments from archives, demographic lists, and newspaper clippings in Hebrew and German detail the city's educational and economic The influence of Zionism and socialism about local public life. A significant portion of the material is devoted to the tragedy of The destruction of the community in the Holocaust, detailing the murders in the nearby forests in 1941. In addition, the sources present Personal testimonies and bibliographical lists which serve as a basis for comprehensive historical research on Latvian Jewry. The photographs and documents preserve the The memory of the individuals and the community Which ceased to exist.

History of the Ventspils (Windau) community

The city Ventspils (Ventspils), known in Jewish sources asWendine or Window And in German asWindow (Windau), located in the subdistrict Courland (Kurland) on the Baltic Sea coast, near the mouth of the riverWente (Venta) (C47-4f). The settlement began as an ancient fortress in the 10th century, when the status of a city was granted to the place in 1378 (C47-1f, C47-4f). Over the years the city was under the rule of Order of the Knights of the Order of the Holy Trinity, Duchy of Courland (under the protection of Poland), and in 1795 was annexed toRussia (C47-4f, C47-6f). The city's importance stemmed from its being a port city whose waters do not freeze in winter (C47-4f).

The beginning of settlement and the growth of the community

The first Jew to settle in the city in 1780 was Yekutiel Kaufman Lifshitz (Jekuthiel Kaufmann Liebschutz), who came fromPrague (Prague) (C47-11f, C47-13f). According to a family tradition appearing in the sources, he was a merchant who was commissioned by Duke Peter Byron (Duke Peter Biron) to help develop trade and supply the needs of the court (C47-13f). He was followed by other Jews from nearby villages, fromPrussia, fromLithuania And from the nearby city Pilten (Pilten) (C47-4f). The Jewish settlement there was only legally recognized after Courland was annexed to Russia (C47-4f).

In 1831, the community was founded Sherva Kadisha and a cemetery (C47-1f). The Jewish population grew steadily: in 1835 there were 485 Jews, and on the eve of World War I, in 1914, the community reached its peak with about 5,000 people, who constituted about 19% of the total population (C47-1f, C47-4f).

Religious, social and educational institutions

The Center for Religious Life in Clal Large synagogue, Beit Midrash and a number of private minyanim (C47-4f). Among the institutions serving the community were the "Visit to the sick", public bathhouse andMikvah (C47-4f). The printed lists indicate that the first rabbi of the community was Rabbi Eliyahu Jacobson (Elijah Jacobsohn), who served until his death in 1864 (C47-3f). He was followed by the rabbis Mordechai A. Samonov (Samunov), and his grandson Rabbi Ephraim Samonov, who served from 1897 until after World War I (C47-1f, C47-4f).

In the field of education, the city Talmud Torah and a number Rooms Private (C47-4f). Before World War I, a Russian state school for Jewish boys was opened in the city (C47-4f). During the period of independent Latvia, the municipality established a Jewish elementary school, and the community established Jewish Gymnasium (C47-1f). The languages ​​of instruction in these institutions were Russian and German, and Talmud Torah continued its activities (C47-4f).

Economy and trade

Most Jews were engaged intrade Or were Craftsmen (C47-4f). The Jews were prominent in the economic development of the city, and among them were wealthy merchants who dealt mainly in thetree, thegrain AndSkins, as well as building contractors and bankers (C47-4f). Doctors, dentists and pharmacists worked in the liberal professions (C47-4f). At the beginning of the 20th century, a loan and savings fund was opened for them (C47-4f). During the period of independent Latvia, a branch of the "Merchants' Bank of Libau" and the "Merchants' Club" of Jewish homeowners and merchants (C47-4f) operated in the city.

Key figures and public activity

One of the most prominent figures in the city was Yaakov Shapira (Yancov Shapira), a community member who was elected in 1907 as a delegate tolike The Second Duma in Imperial Russia, as part of the struggle for equal rights for Jews (C47-4f). Another prominent figure was Max Berman (Max Berman), one of the founders and heads of the Sports Association "Maccabi" in the city (C47-5f). The sources also mention the Dr. Yitzhak Kaplan (Itzhak Kaplan), who was a dedicated Zionist and a respected physician (C47-5f).

Members of the socialist **"Bund"** party were active in revolutionary activities in the early 20th century (C47-4f). After World War I, most of the community tended toZionism (C47-4f). Parties such as "Youth of Zion", "The Eastern" and **"The Zionist Organization", and youth movements such as "Beitar" and"Hendror"** (C47-1f, C47-4f). Some members of the community immigrated to Israel and others donated money to the settlement (C47-4f).

The First World War and the interwar period

In 1915, during World War I, the Jews of Courland were deported to the Russian interior as "unreliable elements" (C47-4f). The deportation was carried out within just 24 hours and the Jews were transported in cattle cars (C47-11f). After the war, some Jews returned to the city, and the community reorganized (C47-4f). In 1920, the community numbered 863 (11% of the population), and in 1935 their number had increased to 1,246 (C47-4f).

The Holocaust: The Destruction of the Community

after Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact From August 1939, the Red Army entered Latvia and established a Soviet government there in the summer of 1940 (C47-4f). Businesses and shops were nationalized, and Jewish property owners were deported toSiberia (C47-4f, C47-32f). With the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Jews enlisted in the **Workers Guard** (C47-4f). When the Soviets began to retreat, only a small number of Jews managed to escape to the Russian interior, and the young among them joined theRed Army (C47-4f).

On July 1, 1941, the city was occupied by German forces, leaving about 1,000 Jews (C47-4f). During the second week of the occupation, members of the community were concentrated in synagogues and several buildings near the river (C47-4f). Movement restrictions were imposed on them, they were required to wear the The yellow patch and sent to forced labor (C47-4f, C47-33f).

The executions began in the third week of July 1941, when hundreds of Jewish men were shot inKazin Forests (Kazin forests), about 2 km south of the city (C47-4f). On 3 and 17 October 1941, the remaining members of the community – 533 people, mainly women and children – were murdered (C47-1f, C47-4f). The sources describe an incident in which two young Jews, who had been ordered to dig their own graves, attacked their guards and killed nine of them before being shot dead (C47-1f, C47-4f).

Among the most notable victims was Dr. Pittsberg (Pitselberg), the community doctor, who refused to leave his patients and was murdered along with them (C47-5f). The city was liberated by the Red Army in 1944 (C47-4f). In 1959, the authorities established a memorial site for the victims of fascism in the Kazin Forest, but the site contains no indication that most of those murdered were Jews (C47-4f).

Terms and concepts from the sources

• Cantonists: Jewish children who were forcibly taken for long-term service (25 years) in the Imperial Russian army with the aim of converting them to their religion (C47-13f).
• Duma: An advisory and legislative body in Imperial Russia (C47-4f).
• Hevra Kadisha: An association of people engaged in the burial of Jews according to Halacha (C47-4f).
• Visiting patients: Traditional Jewish association for assisting and visiting the sick in the community (C47-4f).
• Tzeirei Zion / Betar / Hamizrachi: Zionist movements and parties with various political and religious overtones (C47-4f).

List of sources

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• C47-1f – A historical overview printed in Hebrew on the history of the city of Wendspils (Window), the development of the Jewish community there and its destruction during the Holocaust.
• C47-2f – A collection of statistical data, maps, and detailed lists of businesses, educational institutions, and professionals in the city of Vēstpils in the Latvian language (1936).
• C47-3f – A comprehensive historical overview in Hebrew about Vannestpils, including demographic tables, details about public life, politics, and the community, as well as a list of sources.
• C47-4f – A historical summary in English (from Beit Hatfutsot) about the Vannestpils community, reviewing its history from the Middle Ages, through the world wars, and to the Holocaust period.
• C47-5f – A detailed article in Hebrew about the Windau community, its prominent figures, its rabbis, its educational and cultural institutions, and the events of World War II.
• C47-6f – Maps of the Vēstpils district and geographical-historical information about the city from the book "Latvia Country and People" from 1967.
• C47-7f – Title pages and table of contents of a collection of studies on the subject of Holocaust research in Latvia (Volume 8) published in Riga in 2003.
• C47-8f – Title page and excerpt from the book "History of the Jewish Settlement in Courland" by Levi Obczynski, which deals with the history of the community in Windau and Rabenya.
• C47-9f – A poster or collection of demographic data and documents in German dealing with the history of the Jews of the provinces of Livonia and Courland from 1853.
• C47-10f – A portrait photograph of a bearded Jewish man accompanied by the stamp of the Historical Archives of the Association of Latvian and Estonian Immigrants in Israel.
• C47-11f – Detailed interview protocol with Dr. Lipschitz (January 1979) including testimonies about the Windau community and its families, as well as handwritten bibliographical notes.
• C47-12f – A clipping from the "Ma'ariv" newspaper from June 1973, containing an article about Yitzhak Berman, his sporting activities in Latvia and the "Maccabi" team.
• C47-13f – An article in English by Zeev Moshe Lipshitz reviewing the history of the first Jewish settler in Windau and his family, accompanied by notes and archival sources.

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