Daugavpils file (10) / תיק קהילה

According to the sources found in this notebook, the historical information focuses primarily on the Jewish community.Devinsk(Daugavpils, formerDingenburg) in Latvia, when the connection toEstoniaAppears in the context of a local archive containing documents and objects dealing with Jewish life inLatvia and Estonia(C40-1f). Below is a detailed overview based on the archival findings:

Geographical framework and research institutions

The cityDevinsk, which was annexed to Russia in 1772, served as an important historical crossroads in the region (C40-5f). A visit to the city in 2008 documented an archive managed byJoseph Rochko, which includes hundreds of documents, photographs and objects documenting the life of Jewish communities inLatviaAndEstonia(C40-1f). The archive presents materials on synagogues, welfare institutions and cemeteries in the area (C40-1f).

Demographics and legal status

• Population growth:In 1897, the Jewish population numberedDevinsk32,400 people, which constituted about 46.4% of the total population (C40-5f). In 1910 the number of Jews increased to 50,890 people (C40-5f).
• Economy and status:Most Jews were engaged in grain and timber trade, as well as in crafts such as clothing, metalworking, and construction (C40-5f). In 1812, Jews who did not belong to the merchant class were prohibited from settling within the city fortress (C40-5f).
• Visual documentation:There are pictures of the fort (Fortress) with handwritten notes wondering whether this is a “southern or western gate?” (C40-7f).

Key figures and their actions

• Rabbi Avraham Danzig:The author of the book"Human life", which operated inDevinsk(C40-5f).
• Rabbi Yehoshua Arash:Served asYeshiva HeadInDevinskAndMinsk(C40-4f). He was active in institutions"culture"and in the Zionist movement, and migrated with his family to Russia in 1915 before returning to the townRakishakIn 1922 (C40-4f).
• Sarah Feige Foner-Mynkin (1855-1937):Hebrew writer born inZagerand studied atDevinsk(C40-2f). She wrote the first Hebrew novel by a woman ("Love of the Righteous") and published memoirs of her childhood in Devinsk (C40-2f).
  • Research note:A handwritten note indicates that the information about her appears in the lexicon ofG. Kressel(C40-2f). The source states that it isprobablyWas not influenced by the Enlightenment movement (C40-2f).
• Meir Foner (1854-1936):Writer and journalist living inDevinskand wrote on Torah and historical topics (C40-2f).

The refugee crisis and expulsion in 1915

During World War I, the Jews of the region experienced mass deportations by order of the Russian army (C40-3f).

• The deportation process:Refugees fromSiauliaiand its surroundings were transported in closed freight cars under very difficult conditions toDevinsk(C40-3f). The source describes the arrival of trains loaded with sick, hungry, and frightened refugees (C40-3f).
• Aid institutions:Center"Visit to the sick"InDevinskBecame the main logistics center (C40-3f). Kitchens, clinics, and a relatives search center were established there (C40-3f).
• Use of public buildings:Due to the pressure, the refugees were housed in seminaries such as"Shabir", at the institution"Talmud Torah"and in the orphanage (C40-3f).

The Holocaust and Commemoration

• The massacre in 1941:A poem by the poetNina GrigorievaDescribes the massacre of Jews in the regionHay factoryInDaugavpils(C40-6f).
  • testimony:A handwritten note on the back of the page indicates that the poet saw the shooting with her own eyes in 1941, and that the tragedy accompanied her throughout her life (C40-6f).
• Commemoration in the United States:In the cemetery"Mount Hebron"In New York there is a special plot called"Dinabuyer Women"(Dinburg women) intended for those leaving the city (C40-8f). A handwritten note indicates that the familyMarkingBuried there is the family of the writer's mother (C40-8f).
• Daugavpils Cemetery:During a visit to the roots, the tombstone ofShneur Zalman Azrieloff(Ettingach) (C40-1f). The source states that the color of the tombstone wasperhapsBlack in the original (C40-1f).

Terms and concepts from the sources

Below are explanations for terms that appear in sources that are not common in modern Hebrew or that are borrowed from foreign languages:

• Payok:A term referring to a "ration" or food ration distributed to refugees. The source describes the "hour of the fayok" as a fateful hour in which people pinned all their hopes for survival (C40-3f).
• Mixed-race:A term that appears in legal-demographic discussions regarding Jews from nearby towns (such as fromCourland) who lived alongside the local community inDevinskDuring the Expulsion (C40-3f).
• Dinaburg:The historical name of the cityDevinsk(Daugavpils) as it appears in old documents and partly in the New York cemetery (C40-5f, C40-8f).
• Esplanada:Area or neighborhood inDevinskOriginally described as a place that combines old, dilapidated houses with rich, colorful gardens and houses (C40-1f).
• Shevir:The name of one of the main study centers inDevinskwhich served as a shelter for refugees (C40-3f).
• In the Enfilades:A type of slippers or pozmakhim; the source describes an old man lying "in the buff" on his feet in the dining room of the relief center (C40-3f).
• Dinabuyer Women:(Yiddish/German) "Women of Dingenburg"; the name of a plot in a New York cemetery designated for women from the city and their families (C40-8f).

List of sources

• C40-1f: A journal of a journey to the roots of the Daugavpils, including documentation of finding the grandfather's grave, a visit to the synagogue, the community center, and the local archives
• C40-2f: A lexical entry on the writer Sarah Feige Foner-Minkin and the writer Meir Foner, with handwritten notes.
• C40-3f: A detailed article from "Reshumot" documenting the 1915 deportation, the arrival of refugees in Devinsk, and the activities of the "Bikur Holim" institution
• C40-4f: A page from a book of remembrance that includes a photograph and description of the life and work of Rabbi Yehoshua Arash in Devinsk and in Zionism
• C40-5f: Demographic, economic and historical data on Dvinsk (Dinburg) including the 1897 census and a list of prominent rabbis
• C40-6f: A commemorative poem and handwritten testimonies by the poet Nina Grigorieva about the murder of Jews in Daugavpils in 1941
• C40-7f: A series of photographs of churches, the fortress, and public gardens in Devinsk, including handwritten identification notes and question marks
• C40-8f: Photograph of gravestones from the "Dinabuyer Frauen" section at the "Mount Hebron" cemetery in New York with a handwritten note about the Simon family

C40-1f

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C40-4f

C40-5f

C40-6f

C40-7f

C40-8f

**End of Sources Section**

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