Nereta file / תיק קהילה

📜 The history of the Nareta community and its fate in the Holocaust

These sources describe the history of the settlement. Nereta in Latvia, focusing on the economic and demographic life of the community before and during the war The HolocaustStatistical documents from 1936 present a detailed overview of Infrastructure and business in the settlement, alongside data on the composition of the Jewish population, which numbered only a few dozen. Historical records document the The German occupation in July 1941, which led to the murder of local Jews and the hiding of their bodies under the floor of a local dairy. After the liberation of the area by The Red Army In 1944, the remains of the victims were transferred to an organized mass burial in the city of Yakubpils. These materials, which come from the Diaspora Home, among others, combine Administrative data Dry with tragic documentation of the destruction of the community.

Geographical and administrative background

The settlement Nareta (Nereta) is located in the sub-district Yekapils (Jekabpils), belonging to the region Zamgla (Zemgale) in Latvia (C72-1f). During the years 1920–1940 the settlement was part of independent Latvia (C72-1f). At the top of the original page the handwritten marks "628 II"And the name"NERETA" (C72-1f). Another source indicates in a handwritten note in parentheses that the area belongs toCourland (Kurland) and adds the number "342" in prominent handwriting (C72-3f). The village is located near the border with Lithuania and is considered a vibrant commercial center in the southern region of the country (C72-2f). The printed text of the source states that the village developed significantly following the division of the estate lands in 1924 (C72-2f).

Demographics and population composition

In 1925 they lived in the agricultural area of Nareta 62 Jews (C72-6f). By 1930 the number of Jews had increased to 70 (C72-1f). According to the printed census data from 1935, the total population of the settlement was 612, of whom 54 were Jews, constituting 8.82% of the population (C72-2f, C72-5f). In that year, the village had 306 men and 306 women, divided into 166 families (C72-2f). The majority of the population was Latvian (80.88%), and other minorities included Lithuanians (4.09%), Germans (2.45%), Russians (2.13%), and Poles (1.47%) (C72-2f).

Infrastructure, Economy and Trade

The settlement enjoyed transport links that included a train station within the village and a regular bus line to the city of Riga (C72-2f). The physical infrastructure included 71 houses, the vast majority (92.95%) of which were built of wood (C72-2f). Most of the houses were lit by kerosene lamps, and only two houses had electric lighting (C72-2f). Economically, Nareta It served as a service center and included a hotel, a second-rate inn, grocery stores, a restaurant, a teahouse, two bakeries, a flour mill, and a sawmill (C72-2f). Jewish-owned or operated businesses mentioned in the text include the grocery store of Itzik-Meir Jacobson (Icika-Meiera Jākobsona), a ready-to-wear clothing store Livas Meilach (Libas Meilachs), leather trade managed by Samuel Jacobson (Samuel Jacobson), and shoe stores of Abram Nadel (Abrama Nadela) andLeyva Nadal (Leiba Nadela) (C72-2f).

Community life and political activity

The Jewish community inNareta She was involved in Zionist political activity (C72-1f). In the elections for18th Zionist Congress Held in 1933, 23 voters from the settlement (C72-6f) participated. All voters unanimously supported the list "The Eastern" (C72-1f, C72-6f). The general public institutions in the settlement included a community council, a police station, a post and telegraph office, an elementary school, a dairy, and two churches (C72-2f).

The Holocaust and Commemoration Period

after Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact From 1939, Latvia was annexed to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940 (C72-1f). At the end of July 1941, about a month after the German army invaded, Jews were murdered Nareta by the Germans (C72-6f). The bodies of the murdered were hidden under the floor cowshed Local (C72-1f, C72-3f). The English source states that the bodies were hidden under the floor of a dairy (C72-6f). The settlement was liberated in early August 1944 by The Red Army (C72-1f, C72-7f). After the war, Jewish survivors who returned to the area removed the bones of the murdered and buried them in a mass grave inYekapils (C72-1f, C72-5f).

Terms and concepts

• Zemgale: One of the four historical ropes of Latvia (C72-1f).
• The Eastern: Religious Zionist political movement and list (C72-1f).
• Jekabpils County: The administrative unit to which the settlement of Nareta belonged (C72-2f).
• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact: Non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that paved the way for the annexation of Latvia (C72-1f).

List of sources

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• C72-1f – A historical summary in Hebrew of the history of the Nareta community, including demographic data, Zionist activity, and details about the destruction of the community in the Holocaust.
• C72-2f – Official statistical documents from Latvia (1936) including data on the population of Narta, the settlement's infrastructure, a map of the district, and a list of business owners.
• C72-3f – A historical overview in Hebrew with handwritten notes detailing the history of the settlement, the percentage of Jews in the population, and the process of removing the bodies of the murdered after the war.
• C72-4f – A historical summary in English from the Museum of the Jewish People, reviewing the life of the community in Narta between the world wars and the murder of Jews by the Germans in 1941.

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