Cesis file / תיק קהילה

🏰Chronicles of Cesis Castle: Seven Hundred Years of History

These sources describe theThe complex history of the city of Cesis(also known as Venden) in Latvia (not to be confused with Cesis in Estonia), with a deep focusIn the annals of the Jewish communityThe documents include:Demographic and statistical data, detailed lists of residents' names and their professional occupations, and a review ofReligious and educational institutionswho operated in the city over the years. Special emphasis is given to the political changes in the region, starting from the periodThe rule of the Livonian Orderand up to modern times, including the effects of the world wars. The later chapters in the texts document theThe fate of the Jews in the Holocaust, their persecution under the Nazi occupation and the activities of the Zionist movements before the war. In addition, the sources presentGeographical and economic aspectsof the city through maps and descriptions of infrastructure, thus providing a broad picture of social life and commerce in the settlement.

The attached sources deal with the history of the Jewish community in the cityCesis(CēsisIn Jewish sources:And sheath; in German:Wenden), located in the districtVidzeme(Vidzeme) in the northLatvia(C98-1f, C98-4f). The following is a comprehensive historical overview based on these sources only:

History of the Jewish community in Cesis (Venden)

The beginning of the settlement and demographic growthThe cityCesisFounded in 1200 by the Livonian Order (C98-1f, C98-4f). The earliest mention of a Jewish presence appears in a document from1593, which mentions an expulsion order issued by the King of Poland against the Jews, although the original states that "the expulsion order was probably not actually carried out" (C98-3f). Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, only a few Jews, merchants with special permits, lived in the city, and the community began to organize only at the end of the 18th century with the arrival of Jews from Lithuania and Kurland (C98-1f, C98-3f, C98-4f).

Information regarding the identity of the first Jew to settle permanently in the city involves a degree of uncertainty; an archival study based on resident lists from 1893 states that it was "probably"Shmuel Lipmanov Rosenthal(Shmuel Lipmanov Rozental), a native of Courland who settled in the city in1840(C98-5f). A handwritten note in the margin of a population list records that in 1840 the Jews numbered 10 (C98-3f). In the 1850s, nine Jews joined the settlement.Cantonists– Discharged soldiers who served in the Russian Imperial Army (C98-3f).

Population figures indicate a significant increase in the late 19th century: in 1868 there were 18 Jews in the city, and in1897Their number reached368 people, who constituted 6% of the total population (C98-1f, C98-3f, C98-4f). After World War I, the community shrank to 244 people in 1920, and in 1935 there were 180 Jews living in the city (C98-1f, C98-2f, C98-4f).

Community life, religion and educationInitially, prayers were held in a rented house, and only later was asynagogue(C98-1f, C98-4f). The first rabbi of the community wasRabbi Katz(C98-1f, C98-4f). In the 1920s he served as rabbiBenjamin Eliyahu Remigolsky, who studied in the Vilna and Lida yeshivots and founded a school in the city called "Hadar Binyamin" (C98-3f). He later served asRabbi Avraham Slobin(C98-3f).

An attempt to establish a Jewish school in the city failed, and the children of the community attended the German general school (C98-1f, C98-4f). In the afternoons the boys attended theroomHebrew and Bible (C98-1f, C98-4f). A prominent educational figure was the teacherMartinson(Martinson), who lectured on Jewish literature (C98-1f, C98-4f). A 1964 testimony indicates that in the period between the two world wars the community numbered about 25 families (C98-7f).

Economics and political activityThe first Jews in the city were peddlers, artisans, and small traders (C98-1f, C98-4f). Lists from 1893 show that many of the Jews were engaged inGlazing(Glaziers), alongside tailors and butchers (C98-5f). During the period of Latvian independence, most Jews were engaged in trade and liberal professions and their economic situation was described as satisfactory (C98-1f, C98-4f).

Zionist youth movements stood out in public activity: in the 1920s, branches of"The Pioneer"And **"Resurrection", and in the 1930s most of the young people joined the Betar movement (C98-1f, C98-3f, C98-4f). In the elections to the 18th Zionist Congress (1933), 40 out of 44 eligible voters voted for the list.Revisionist** (C98-1f, C98-4f).

The Holocaust and the German occupationFollowing an agreementRibbentrop-MolotovThe Red Army entered Latvia in the summer of 1940 and Jewish institutions were liquidated (C98-1f, C98-4f). In mid-June 1941, a number of wealthy Jewish families were deported toSiberia, including the familyChernobrogord(C98-1f, C98-7f).

The Germans occupied Cesis on July 4, 1941 (C98-1f, C98-4f). About 20 Jews managed to escape to the Soviet Union before the occupation, but most of the community remained in the city (C98-1f, C98-4f). During the summer of 1941, the Jews of Cesis were murdered near a lake a few kilometers from the city (C98-1f, C98-4f). A handwritten testimony indicates that the murder took place near a camp calledNimuchi(Nimueis) (C98-3f). A 1964 testimony mentions a non-Jewish person namedElmar(Elmar), who was executed along with the Jews for defending them (C98-7f). Only four Jews survived in the city until the end of the war after they managed to hide (C98-1f, C98-4f).

After the liberation of the city by the Red Army in the fall of 1944, some of the survivors returned, but most of them later immigrated to Israel (C98-1f, C98-4f). The synagogue building was converted into a club for the Jewish movementKomsomol(C98-1f, C98-3f, C98-4f).

List of sources

• C98-1f: A historical overview in Hebrew of the history of the Cesis (Venden) community from its beginnings to after the Holocaust
• C98-2f: Statistical and geographical description in Latvian of the city of Cēsis (1936), including maps and population data
• C98-3f: Historical and demographic information in Hebrew about the Jews of Cesis, including population tables and community institutions
• C98-4f: A historical overview in English of the city of Cesis and the local Jewish community, including the Holocaust period
• C98-5f: List of Jewish residents of Cesis from 1893 translated from Latvian archives, including occupations and ages
• C98-6f: A page from a Latvian newspaper (1924) reviewing the history of the historical buildings and fortresses in the city of Cesis
• C98-7f: A draft community register in Hebrew based on testimony from 1964 regarding the history of the Jews of Cesis

C98-1f

C98-2f

C98-3f

C98-4f

C98-5f

C98-6f.jpg

C98-7f

**End of Sources Section**

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