Hechalutz – Interviews's file / תיק , החלוץ – ראיונות

📜 The History of the Hechalutz Movement in Latvia and Lithuania: Training and Immigration

These sources document the extensive activity of the "Hechalutz" movement in Latvia and the experiences of its members in agricultural training farms. The documents include a historical overview of the early years of the movement, alongside photographs of groups of pioneers preparing to immigrate to the Land of Israel by crossing borders. A significant portion of the material is devoted to interviews and oral testimonies, in which participants describe daily communal life, the demanding agricultural labor, and the social challenges they faced. The sources emphasize the ideological formation of the young members, the study of the Hebrew language, and the efforts to preserve the organizational structure of the farm even under changing conditions. Finally, the texts address the fate of the movement with the outbreak of World War II and the impact of the Soviet occupation on the dissolution of the training farms. This documentation combines broad movement history with personal stories that illustrate the spirit of the period.

During the period between 1917 and 1920, the borders of Latvia underwent significant changes, when the region of Latgalia (Latgalia), including the city of Rezekne (Rezekne), was officially incorporated into the state only in 1920 (O35-1f). According to the testimony of Arie (Liba) Lek, his family moved into Russia during World War I due to the forced evacuation of Jews from Courland and Livland, but the Jews of Rezekne were not expelled at that time (O35-1f). In Rezekne, which served as an important spiritual and administrative center in Latgalia, there existed an extensive educational system that included primary schools for Jews, Russians, Latvians, and Poles, as well as gymnasiums (O35-1f). The source notes in handwriting that in Rezekne there operated a Hebrew gymnasium, but in the printed text it is stated that the primary languages of instruction were Russian and Yiddish (O35-1f). In the early years of Latvia’s independence, the economic situation in Latgalia was poor compared to the western regions, and impoverished neighborhoods such as "America" in Rezekne housed many families (O35-1f). In local political life, Jews participated in the city council, and figures such as Yitzhak Klabanov served as deputy mayor and effectively managed its affairs (O35-1f).

In the sphere of political organization and youth movements, a sharp ideological struggle took place between the Zionists and anti-Zionist movements such as the Bund and the Communists (O35-1f). The "Hechalutz" movement in Latvia began to take shape as early as 1917 following the Balfour Declaration and the conference of "Tzeirei Zion" in Petrograd (O35-6f). The first nuclei were established in the cities of Valka (Valka), Rezekne, and Daugavpils (Daugavpils), and later the center moved to Riga in 1920 (O35-6f). The Z.S. (Socialist Zionists) movement was very active among students at Riga University, where Jews constituted about ten percent of all students in 1926 (O35-1f). In handwriting on an official document of "Hechalutz" in Libau (Libau) dated 15 August 1921, there appears a request concerning the arrangement of work for members and listing the names of movement activists (O35-7f). The Borochov youth movement (later known as N.Z.H.) was dominant in many cities and focused on education in Zionist-socialist values (O35-1f). The Betar movement (Betar) appeared in Latvia later, around the visit of Ze’ev Jabotinsky in 1923, and began influencing students at the university (O35-1f).

The issue of immigration and training occupied a central place in the movement’s activities. Many training farms were established, including the farm at Naglia (Naglia) and the farm "Selshelat" (Selshelat), which was located about 40 km from Riga (O35-2f, O35-3f, O35-5f). In "Selshelat", dozens of members lived and worked under difficult physical conditions, engaged in logging, plowing, and dairy work (O35-3f, O35-5f). Relations with the local peasants, who were Latvians, Russians, or Germans, were complex; some showed understanding and even supplied agricultural produce to the pioneers, while others remained more distant (O35-3f, O35-4f). In addition to collective training frameworks, there was also "individual training", in which individual members were sent to work for private farmers in order to learn agricultural labor (O35-4f). Life in the training farms also included extensive cultural activity, study of the Hebrew language, and the holding of intense social "clarification discussions" regarding members’ suitability for communal life and immigration (O35-3f).

The economic and social processes in Latvia were also influenced by governmental changes; in 1940, with the entry of the Russians into Latvia, the dismantling of youth movements and training farms began (O35-5f). Members of "Selshelat" had to cope with the new regime’s demands to surrender the farm, and some members succeeded in immigrating to the Land of Israel just before the borders were closed (O35-5f). Information regarding the identity of the farmers involved in the individual training programs is sometimes unclear in the sources, and there are doubts regarding the professional competence of some of the employers (O35-4f).

Glossary

• Gymnasium: Prestigious secondary school (O35-1f).
• Training (Hachshara): A period of preparation through agricultural labor and communal life prior to immigration to the Land of Israel (O35-3f).
• Individual training: A training track in which a single pioneer works and resides with a private farmer (O35-4f).
• Clarification discussions: Internal social and critical discussions to evaluate members’ suitability for the movement (O35-3f).
• N.Z.H.: (Noar Tzofi Chalutzi) A Zionist youth movement in Latvia (O35-5f).
• Z.S.: (Socialist Zionists) A Zionist political party and ideological current (O35-1f).
• Latgalia: A region in eastern Latvia with distinctive cultural and economic characteristics (O35-1f).

List of Sources

• O35-1f : Interview with Arie (Liba) Lek on the history of his family and Jewish life in Rezekne, Latvia.
• O35-2f : Printed overview and photographs on the early years of the "Hechalutz" movement in Latvia and the Riga center.
• O35-3f : Collective testimony on daily life and agricultural work in the "Selshelat" training farm.
• O35-4f : Members’ testimonies on their experiences in the "individual training" track with farmers in Latvia.
• O35-5f : Interview with Yitzhak Sela on his activity in youth movements and training in Latvia until the outbreak of World War II.
• O35-6f : Detailed historical overview of the establishment of the "Hechalutz" nuclei in Latvia beginning in 1917.
• O35-7f : Handwritten document on official letterhead of "Hechalutz" in the Libau branch from 1921.

O35-1f

O35-2f

O35-3f

O35-4f

O35-5f

O35-6f

O35-7f

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