Ape File / תיק קהילה

✡️History of the Jewish Community of Efi, Latvia

The sources presented provide a historical and statistical overview of the town.ApeIn Latvia, with a special focus on my lifeThe Jewish communityThe documents include demographic and economic data from the 1920s and 1930s, indicating that the town's Jews were primarily engaged inIn tradeand owned most of the shops in the area. The description details the social structure of the community, its tendencyFor Zionismand the difficulties experienced by the children in the government education system. A significant portion of the texts is dedicated to the fate of the community during theThe Holocaust, from the Soviet occupation following the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact to the German occupation in 1941. According to the documentation, most of the town's Jews who were unable to escape to the Soviet UnionMurderedby Nazi forces. The review combines official data from the Latvian government and fact sheets fromMuseum of the Jewish People(ANU).

It is important to clarify at the beginning of the review that the sources deal with the settlementNose(Ape; in German:Appenhof), located in the districtValka(Valka) in the regionVidzeme(Vidzeme(formerly Lappland), in the northeastLatvia, near the border with Estonia (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f). Below is a comprehensive overview based on the archival sources:

Demographics and community development

At the beginning of the 20th century, they lived inNoseAbout200 Jews(C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f). Before World War I, several families from the settlement emigrated to the United States and South Africa (C15-1f, C15-4f).

According to the data in the table that appears in the sources, the following changes occurred in the Jewish population over the years:

• Year 1920:About120 Jews, which constituted 15% of the total population (C15-3f).
• Year 1925: 99 Jews, which constitute 10% of the population (C15-3f).
• Year 1930: 90 Jews, which constitute 10% of the population (C15-3f).
• Year 1935: 82 Jews, constituting 8.89% of the town's total 922 residents (C15-2f, C15-3f).

During the period of Latvian independence (1920–1940), the following people lived there:32 Jewish families(C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).

Community life, religion and education

The Jewish community inNoseEstablished institutions and internal leadership:

• leadership:A large community committee was elected to handle religious needs.7 friends(C15-1f, C15-3f).
• Religious life:The printed original from 1936 states that at the head of the "Moshe Community" (Moses' friends) stoodRaphael Schechter(Rafaels Šechters), who lived at 9 Dzirnavo Street (C15-2f).
• Education:Jewish children attended the state school, but suffered from bullying there (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f). The community considered establishing a Jewish school, but this did not materialize due to the small number of students (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).
• Political leaning:Most members of the community were inclined in their views toZionism, and the atmosphere in the community was described as national-Zionist (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).

Economy and trade

The local Jews made their living from trade, and most of the shops in the town were owned by them (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f). A statistical survey from 1935 confirms that most of the shops were Jewish-owned (C15-3f).

According to the list of businesses in the settlement (C15-2f), Jewish business owners (or those with names identified as Jewish in the sources) can be identified:

• Food products trading: Roche-Ida Feibelson(Roche-Eide Faivelsons),Moses Faybelson(Mozus Faivelsons),Wolf Feibelson(Vulfs Faivelsons), andElia Faybelson(Elja Faivelsons).
• Trade in textiles and other products: Aarons Minkow(Arons Minkovs) – watch trade;Roberts Portnoy(Roberts Portnoys) – manufacturing products;J. Mirsap(J. Mirseps) – Manufacturing products;Mina Kita(Minna Kitte) – Haberdashery products.
• Restaurants and hospitality: Leones Sneakers(Leons Sniķeris) andAnna Snikaris(Anna Sniķere) ran restaurants (traktieris).
• Liberal professions:The source indicates the area doctor.Janis Rauzines(Jānis Rauziņš) and the dentistHerta Stegmanis(Herta Stegmanis), but does not explicitly state their origin (C15-2f).

Holocaust period

The fate of the community was sealed following the events of World War II:

1. Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact:Following the agreement signed in August 1939, the Red Army entered Latvia and Soviet rule was imposed in the summer of 1940 (C15-1f, C15-4f). During this period, some of the Jewish-owned shops were nationalized (C15-3f).
2. The German occupation:Shortly after the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941), German forces captured Afa (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).
3. The fate of the Jews:A few members of the community managed to escape to the Soviet Union and other places (C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).All the Jews who remained in the city during the occupation were murdered.(C15-1f, C15-3f, C15-4f).

Archival notes and sources

• Handwritten information:On document C15-3f, a handwritten note appears in the upper left corner: "3/K G L/S HaMiqam/94". Also, the number "94" appears in a circle in the center of the page (C15-3f).
• Excellent bibliographical sources:The sources rely on official Latvian statistical publications from 1920, 1925, 1930, and 1935, as well as the newspapers "Das Falk" and "Primargan" (C15-3f).

List of sources

• C15-1f: A historical overview in Hebrew of the Jewish community of Ape, Latvia, including details about the community's institutions, cultural life, and the fate of the Jews in the Holocaust.
• C15-2f: Statistical and geographical documentation of the city of Ape from a Latvian publication (1936), including a map, population data, and information on businesses and public institutions.
• C15-3f: Document of the Center for Jewish Population Data in Ape in the years 1920-1935, a brief historical overview and a list of bibliographical sources.
• C15-4f: An information sheet in English from the "Beit Hatfutsot" Museum that reviews the history of the Jewish settlement in Ape and the experiences of the community during the Holocaust.

C15-1f

C15-2f

C15-3f

C15-4f

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