Kuresaare's file / תיק – קורסארה

These documents describe the history of the Jewish community in the port town of Kuressaare (Arensburg) on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. The first settlers arrived in the second half of the 19th century, and at its peak the community numbered more than one hundred people, most of whom spoke Yiddish. Over the years the Jewish population declined due to migration to large cities, so that by the 1930s only a few dozen Jewish residents remained, engaged in crafts and trade. The sources also describe the general and educational aspects, noting that the children of the community attended Estonian and German schools. The final and tragic chapter deals with the period of the Holocaust, when after the German occupation in 1941 the Jews who remained in the town and failed to escape eastward were murdered. The information is based on statistical data and historical testimonies that preserve the memory of the community that was destroyed.

Below is an expanded overview of the places, events, and the Jewish community in the town of Kuressaare, as reflected in the sources:

Main Locations

• Kuressaare: A port town located on the southern coast of the island of Saaremaa (E16-1F, E16-4f). The town is also known by other names: Arensburg in German and Kingisepp (E16-1F, E16-3f). Politically, between 1919–1940 it was part of independent Estonia, and in the summer of 1940 it was annexed by the Soviet Union (E16-1F, E16-4f).
• The island of Saaremaa: The island on which the town is located, known in German as Osel (E16-1F, E16-3f).

The Jewish Community: Development and Demography

• Early settlement: Jews began settling in Arensburg in the mid-19th century (E16-1F, E16-3f). In 1881 their number reached 110 people, and for 80% of them Yiddish was their mother tongue (E16-1F, E16-4f).
• Religious and educational institutions: In 1882 the community received permission to open a house of prayer (E16-3f, E16-4f). The children of the community studied in Estonian and German schools (E16-1F, E16-3f).
• Decline of the community: Over time the community diminished due to migration to large cities or abroad (E16-1F, E16-4f). In 1922 there were 39 Jews (about 1% of the population), and in 1934 their number fell to only 22 (E16-1F, E16-3f).

Economy and Society

The economic situation of the Jews in the town was generally stable (E16-1F, E16-4f). Data from 1935 detail the occupations of families in the community:

• Crafts: three families (E16-3f, E16-4f).
• Real estate: three families (E16-3f, E16-4f).
• Professions: three families (E16-3f, E16-4f).
• Trade: one family (E16-3f, E16-4f). In that year only 15 Jews were registered in the town (E16-1F, E16-4f).

Historical Events and the Holocaust Period

• The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact: Following the agreement signed in August 1939 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Estonia was annexed by Soviet rule in the summer of 1940 (E16-1F, E16-4f).
• The German invasion (Operation Barbarossa): On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. As the German army approached, some of the Jews of Kuressaare managed to escape eastward by sea (E16-1F, E16-3f, E16-4f).
• The fate of the Jews during the Holocaust: The town was occupied by the German army during the summer of 1941 (E16-1F). The Jews who remained and failed to escape were murdered by the occupiers during the autumn of 1941 (E16-1F, E16-4f).

List of Sources

• E16-1F : Hebrew overview of the history of the Jewish community in Kuressaare, demography and its fate during the Holocaust.
• E16-3f : Statistical and economic data on the Jews of Kuressaare, including information about schools and prayer permits.
• E16-4f : English summary of the history of the Kuressaare community (community number 1637), including details of occupations and the Holocaust period.

E16-1F

E16-3f

E16-4f

** end of Kuresaare files **

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