Nomme's file / תיק – נומה

These sources review the history of the small Jewish community in Nõmme, a suburb of Tallinn in Estonia, from the beginning of the 20th century until after the Holocaust. The texts provide demographic data, describe the residents’ professional occupations, and note that they relied on the religious institutions of the capital due to the absence of local infrastructure. With the German occupation of the area in 1941, acts of robbery and arrests began that led to the murder of Jewish men, women, and children in Tallinn. These documents also record the fate of the few survivors, a small number of families who managed to flee deep into the Soviet Union and returned after the war. The historical account emphasizes the destruction of the community by local "Omakaitse" forces and the Nazis, using statistical lists and testimonies from the Soviet and German occupation periods.

Below is a comprehensive historical overview of the Jewish community in Nõmme (Nomme), based on the attached archival sources.

General Background and Demography

The settlement of Nõmme (in German: Nomme), which eventually became a suburb of the city of Tallinn (Tallinn), the capital of Estonia, was part of independent Estonia between 1918 and 1940 (E10-1f, E10-4f). A few Jews began living in the settlement already at the beginning of the 20th century, but the census conducted in 1922 contains no data indicating their presence (E10-3f).

In 1934, 75 Jews were recorded in the settlement out of a total population of 15,105 (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). However, according to information based on a census conducted by the "Cultural Council" in 1935, the number of Jews had declined to only 34 persons (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

Among the 34 Jews recorded in 1935, the following details were noted:

• Gender: 19 men and 15 women (E10-3f).
• Citizenship and military service: 9 of them held Estonian citizenship, and 9 of the men had previously served in the Estonian army (E10-3f).
• Age distribution: 6 elderly persons (age 65 and over), 10 children (ages 0–16), and 18 people of working age (17–65) (E10-3f).

Employment, Education, and Community Life

The distribution of professions among community members included: 4 craftsmen, 3 clerks, 3 professionals, 2 merchants, 2 unskilled workers, and one person engaged in renting apartments (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

In the field of education, the printed text states that among the adults there were 5 individuals with higher education (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). Regarding secondary education there is some discrepancy: one source notes 5 individuals with secondary education (E10-1f), while another notes 7 (E10-3f). The remaining community members studied in elementary school, in a "cheder" (a traditional Jewish elementary school), or with private teachers (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

Due to the absence of communal or religious institutions in Nõmme, the Jews received communal services from the institutions of the Tallinn community (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). Politically, it is noted that 19 residents participated in 1925 in the elections for the 14th Zionist Congress (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

The Holocaust Period and the German Occupation

Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed in August 1939, Estonia was annexed in the summer of 1940 by the Soviet Union (E10-1f, E10-4f). Under the Soviet regime, changes occurred in Jewish life, and some Jews were absorbed into governmental institutions (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). With the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, some of the local Jews fled together with the retreating Soviets into the interior of Soviet territory (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

In August 1941 the Germans occupied Nõmme (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). Immediately after the occupation, members of the Omakaitse ("Estonian Self-Defense") began arresting the Jews who remained in the settlement and looting their property (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). A handwritten note on the source states that the local commander of the Omakaitse was Ottovald Mikst (Ottovald Mikst) (E10-3f).

The sources detail specific events of persecution:

• On September 9, Alexander Rubin and his wife were arrested, sent to prison in Tallinn, and later executed (E10-3f).
• Their daughter, Ruth Rubin, aged 14, was robbed (her gold watch and other valuables were stolen) and later arrested and murdered (E10-3f).

By October 10, 1941, ten Jewish men from Nõmme had been arrested and taken to prison in Tallinn, where they were murdered together with other Jews (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f). Later the women and children were also taken to prison, where they shared the same fate as the men (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

After the end of the war, two or three Jewish families who had managed to escape to the Soviet Union before the German occupation returned to Nõmme (E10-1f, E10-3f, E10-4f).

List of Sources

• E10-1f : Hebrew overview of the history of Nõmme, including demography, employment, and Holocaust events.
• E10-3f : Document containing detailed statistical data on the community, education, and a detailed description of murders and looting (including handwritten notes).
• E10-4f : English overview summarizing the history of the community in Nomme, its population, and its destruction during the Holocaust.

E10-1f

E10-3f

E10-4f

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