Borovaja file / תיק קהילה

📜The Borovoya Community: The History and Destruction of a Jewish Town

These sources document the history of the Jewish community in the townIn BorovayaIn Latvia, also known asAntopolThe documents includeStatistical dataFrom the 1935 census, lists ofBusiness ownersand geographical maps that outline the structure of the settlement. Alongside the administrative information, the sources review theReligious and social life, including the activities of Zionist youth movements and the construction of synagogues. A significant portion of the texts is devoted to the fate of the community during theThe Holocaust, from the Soviet occupation to the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis in 1941. In addition, personal and religious documents are displayed such asKetubahand archive pages that commemorate the local heritage.

It is important to clarify at the beginning of the review that the attached sources focus on the communityIn Borovaya(Borovaja), located inLatvia(in the Latgale region), and not in Estonia (C18-1f, C18-4f). Below is a comprehensive historical overview based on archival sources:

Location and geography

The settlementIn Borovaya(also known in Jewish sources asAntopol– Antopol) is located on the bank of a riverMalta(Malta), near the train station of the city of Malta (also calledSilmala– Silmala) (C18-1f, C18-4f). Administratively, the village belongs to the districtRazkane(Rezekne) in the regionTo Italy(Latgale) (C18-1f, C18-4f). In 1936 the village was officially merged with the town of Malta (C18-1f, C18-3f). Handwritten notes indicate that information about the village appears under the heading "Latvijas ciemi Borovaja" (C18-6f).

Demographics and social structure

The Jewish community there was one of the last to be organized in Latvia (C18-3f, C18-4f). At the beginning of the 20th century, about 50 Jewish families lived in Borovaya (C18-1f, C18-3f). According to the 1935 census, the total population of the village was 715, of which176 Jews(about 24.61% of the total population) (C18-1f, C18-2f, C18-4f). The printed census indicates that 186 separate families lived in the village (C18-2f).

Economy and trade

Most Jews in Borovaya were engaged intrade(C18-1f, C18-4f). More than half of the shops in the village were Jewish-owned, including grocery stores.P. Matisonand ofHaima Juchas(C18-2f, C18-3f, C18-4f). Other Jews made a living as peddlers, from various craftsmen, and from selling agricultural produce from the area (C18-3f, C18-4f). The economic situation of most Jews was described as "sound," and they establishedLoan and savings fund(C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f).

Religious life, education and prominent figures

The community includedChabad followersNext toOpponents(C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). The prayers in the synagogue were conducted according to a "compromise text" (C18-4f). A footnote states that this text was determined byRabbi Yosef Rozin(the machine)"Rogachober") Medvinsk (C18-3f). First a wooden synagogue was built, which burned down, and later a new brick synagogue was built on land donated by a Polish landowner (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). Due to the lack of a Jewish cemetery in the area, the deceased were buried inRazkaneNearby (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f).

In 1929 he was appointedAharon Shahna PalczynskiTo the community rabbi (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). During the period of Latvian independence, a 6-class Jewish school operated in the town, to which a "room" was attached (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). Among the sources is a documentKetubahHandwritten original with signatures and traditional wording, although some of the names of the signatories and the location details in the manuscript are not clear enough (C18-5f). A handwritten note indicates the existence of "personal letters and memoirs" of community members (C18-6f).

Zionist activity

Youth MovementsHashomer Hatzair-NetzachandBeitarThere were activities in the settlement (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). In the elections to the 18th Zionist Congress in 1933, 67 of the local Jews voted for theRevisionistsand 36 for the listThe Working Land of Israel(C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f).

Holocaust period

FollowingRibbentrop-Molotov PactFrom August 1939, the Red Army entered Latvia and Soviet rule was established in the summer of 1940 (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). With the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, a few Jews managed to escape eastward (C18-1f, C18-4f). The Jewish community was liquidated in the fall of 1941 after the German occupation (C18-1f, C18-4f).

The sources present two versions of the murder of the Jews: according to one version, they were put in the basement of a local club and then murdered near the river (C18-1f, C18-4f). An "other version" states that the Jews were shot inNearby forest(C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f). Individual survivors were mainly those who fled deep into the Soviet Union or moved to live inRigaBefore the conquest (C18-1f, C18-3f, C18-4f).

H3: List of sources

• C18-1f: A historical overview in Hebrew of the history of the Jewish community in Borovaya (Antopol), Latvia, including details about the life of the community and the Holocaust period.
• C18-2f: Statistical data, maps and lists of business owners in Borovaya and nearby villages from the source "Latvijas ciemi".
• C18-3f: An extended description of the history of the Jews of Borovaya, the religious and educational institutions, and the destruction of the community during World War II.
• C18-4f: An English review of the Jewish community in Borovaya (Antopol) including information on the composition of the community, the Zionist movement, and the Holocaust period.
• C18-5f: Photocopy of a traditional handwritten Jewish ketubah document.
• C18-6f: A handwritten index and data collection page that includes a list of topics and sources of information about the settlement of Borovaya.

C18-1f

C18-2f

C18-3f

C18-4f

C18-5f

C18-6f

**End of Sources Section**

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