Estonian Jews in Holocaust's file / תיק – יהודים אסטוניים בשואה

These sources document the The rich and tragic history of Estonian Jewry Throughout the 20th century, starting from the heyday of Cultural autonomy up to the events of the Holocaust. The documents include Yiddish and Russian periodicals that testify to Vibrant community life, extensive political activity by Zionists and Bundists, and independent educational and cultural institutions. Alongside these, appear Personal and official records of persecutions, interrogation protocols of the political police, and testimonies of The liquidation of the concentration camps in the region towards the end of the war. The later sources deal withPreserving community memory and in public struggles over the commemoration of Nazi collaborators in the post-Soviet era. Overall, the collection presents a comprehensive picture of Cultural resilience In the face of physical destruction and attempts to restore Jewish identity in the country.

The history of Estonian Jews and their fate during the Holocaust is characterized by a sharp transition from the life of a prosperous community with unique rights to rapid and complete annihilation under the Nazi occupation. On the eve of World War II, the Jewish community in Estonia numbered about 4,500 people, with most of them concentrated in the cities of Tallinn and Tartu (H72-10f, H72-6F). The community benefited fromCultural autonomy A large area granted to it by law in 1925, which allowed the establishment of independent educational and cultural institutions (H72-12f, H72-26-08f).

With the beginning of the Soviet occupation in 1940, the property of the Jews was nationalized and their institutions were abolished, and in a deportation operation in June 1941, about 500 Jews were deported to Siberia (H72-10f, H72-6F, H72-29f). With the German invasion in the summer of 1941, about 3,000 Jews managed to escape deep into the Soviet Union, but about 1,000 remained under occupation (H72-10f, H72-12f, H72-20f).

Under Nazi rule and the assistance of local collaborators from the"Omekaitsa" (Omakaitse), the community was quickly liquidated. Estonia was the first country to be declared at the Wannsee Conference as"Free of Jews" (Judenfrei) As early as January 1942 (H72-10f, H72-12f, H72-6F). Later in the war, many concentration and labor camps were established in Estonia, including Kaluga (Klooga), Waiwara (Vaivara) andYagla (Jagala), to which Jews were brought from the ghettos of Vilnius and Kaunas and from other European countries (H72-11f, H72-12f, H72-20f, H72-6F, H72-7f).

Key figures

Victims:

• Paul Eppstein: One of the leaders of German Jewry who was deported to Estonia and acted under the leadership of the Jews (H72-10f).
• Michael Gelb: A Jewish resident of Tallinn who was arrested by the Estonian political police in September 1941 (H72-14f, H72-16f).
• Lola Lewinowitz: A resident of Tallinn who was arrested on charges of communist activity (H72-15f).
• Rahel Rubinstein: A Jewish woman who was arrested in Tallinn in October 1941 (H72-16f).
• Simon Rubinstein: An elderly, sick Jewish man who was interrogated and arrested by the authorities (H72-17f, H72-33f).
• Boris Makovsky: A Jewish engineer resident of Nõmme who was interrogated by the police (H72-24f, H72-33f).

Nazis and collaborators:

• Alfred Rosenberg: Senior Nazi ideologue and Minister of the Reich for the Occupied Territories in the East (H72-22f).
• Hinrich Lohse: Reich Commissioner of "Ostland", responsible for the administration in the Baltic region (H72-22f).
• Martin Sandberger: Commander of Sonderkommando 1a, who was directly responsible for the extermination of Estonian Jews (H72-10f, H72-7f).
• Aleksander Laak: The commander of the Jagella concentration camp, who was involved in the murder of thousands of Jews (H72-7f, H72-28-04f).
• Karl Linnas: The commander of the Tartu concentration camp, who was later tried for his crimes (H72-25f, H72-7f).

Expansion of important sources

• H72-10f: This source is a comprehensive historical overview of Estonian Jewry. It details the history of Jewish settlement in the 19th century, the golden age of cultural autonomy between the wars, and describes the rapid process of extermination under the Nazi occupation, emphasizing the role of the "Omkeitse" and the declaration of the state as "Judenfrei."
• H72-7f: This document is essential for understanding the organizational structure of the Nazi occupation regime in Estonia. It details the division of powers between SS units and the civil administration, describes the activities of "Einsatzgruppe A," and provides technical and administrative information on the system of concentration camps and forced labor established in the country.
• H72-6F: This source focuses on the statistical and social aspects of the Jewish community. It includes detailed demographic data from population censuses, information on the professional structure of Jews, and details on the fate of smaller communities in various cities throughout Estonia during the Holocaust.

List of sources

• H72-1f : A journal called "Young Jewish Thought" (Yevreyskaya Molodaya Mysl) from 1919.
• H72-2f : A booklet commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Yiddish Theater in Tartu (1917-1937).
• H72-3f : Cover of the book "Thinking Thoughts" by Meir Yosef Krafman (1904).
• H72-4f : "Shiroon" of the Academic Society for Jewish History and Literature in Tartu (1924).
• H72-5f : Cover of a study by Nosson Gantz on the history of the Jews in Estonia and the synagogue in Tallinn (1933).
• H72-6F : An article by Dr. M. Dvorzhetsky on the extermination of Estonian Jews and statistics of the community.
• H72-7f : A detailed report on the Nazi regime in Estonia, concentration camps, and SS activities.
• H72-8f : Photos and information about the Kaluga camp and the bodies of the prisoners who were murdered there.
• H72-9f : Biography of Mordechai Tenenbaum and information about his activities in the underground.
• H72-10f : A historical overview of Estonian Jewry before and during the war.
• H72-11f : Testimonies in Yiddish about the liquidation of the Kaluga camp and the fate of the prisoners.
• H72-12f : Data on Jewish life in Estonia, cultural autonomy and extermination.
• H72-13f : Semitic lists of Jewish prisoners in Tallinn and their addresses.
• H72-14f : Arrest warrant and administrative decision in the case of Michael Gelb.
• H72-15f : Estonian political police documents regarding Lula Lovinovich.
• H72-16f : Order on the arrest and imprisonment of Rachel Rubinstein in Tallinn Prison.
• H72-17f : Arrest protocol and medical report on Simon Rubinstein.
• H72-18f : List of prisoners executed in April 1942 in Tallinn.
• H72-19f : Lists of Jews murdered in camps in Estonia and a breakdown of the names of those deported.
• H72-20f : Maps of Jewish concentrations in Estonia and the death camps.
• H72-21f : Handwritten Semitic lists of Jews and underground fighters.
• H72-22f : Document in German about deportations, Rosenberg, Loza, and a description of the conditions in the deportations.
• H72-23f : Letter from an Estonian journalist (Ervin Martinsson) about exposing war criminals and a commemoration project.
• H72-24f : Protocol of interrogation of Boris Makovsky by the occupation authorities.
• H72-25f : An article about the war criminal Karl Linas and the functioning of the Tartu camp.
• H72-26-08f : An article on the history of Jewish autonomy in Estonia (in Russian).
• H72-27f : An article from the newspaper "Maariv" about the revelation of the Nazi past of an Estonian footballer.
• H72-28f : Testimonies and memories of survivors of concentration camps in Estonia (in Estonian).
• H72-29f : A historical overview in Russian by Dov Levin on the Jews of Estonia (1941-1945).
• H72-30f : An article about Jewish families searching for relatives and information about the extermination of the Jews.
• H72-31f : Report of acts of vandalism at the Jewish cemetery in Tartu.
• H72-32f : An article about the extermination camps in Estonia and the publication of a memorial book.
• H72-33f : Detailed testimony about the interrogation of Simon Rubinstein and Boris Makovski.
• H72-34f : An article in Hebrew about the extermination of Estonian Jews and the cultural destruction.
• H72-35f : An article about the burial of a Nazi in Tallinn and the public reactions to it.
• H72-36f : Historical photograph of a group of Jewish athletes in Estonia.

H72-1f

H72-2f

H72-3f

H72-4f

H72-5f

H72-6F

H72-7f

H72-8f

H72-9f

H72-10f

H72-11f

H72-12f

H72-13f

H72-14f

H72-15f

H72-15-1f

H72-16f

H72-17f

H72-18f

H72-19f

H72-20f

H72-21f

H72-22f

H72-23f

H72-24f

H72-25f

H72-26-1f

H72-26-1f

H72-26-08f

H72-27f

H72-28f

H72-28-04f

H72-28-06f

H72-29f

H72-30f

H72-31f

H72-32f

H72-33f

H72-34f

H72-35f

H72-36f

 

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