Saldus File (1) / תיק קהילה

📜 Dr. Zidon's Manuscript: Memoirs 1941–1945

The documents before us present Personal handwriting Documenting memories and experiences from the period World War II Between the years 1941–1945. Sources include Personal diary Written in Russian and Latvian, alongside handwritten notes inHebrew which identify the text as the writings of Dr. Zidon. The documentation focuses on dramatic events in cities such as Riga and Pskov, and describes the movement of wounded, medical activity, and difficult living conditions under fire. References to appear between the pagesMilitary officials, names of colleagues and lists that mix personal experiences with reports of the situation at the front. This collection constitutes Historical evidence A documentary about the lives of medical personnel and survivors in and around Latvia during the war years.

Dr. Jacques (Zidon) Zidon Related to the community Saldos (Saldus) on several levels:

• Hometown: The handwritten notes that appear on the documents explicitly state that Dr. Tsidon Born in Saldos (Saldus is my b.p.).
• Visits during and after the war:
  • In May 1945, after news of the victory was announced, Dr. Sidon notes in his diary that he headed towards Saldos. He describes the city asEmpty and ruined as a result of artillery shelling, and specifically notes the destruction inSynagogue Street (Sinagog. uly.) and at the Stieglitz House.
  • During the winter break (probably late 1945 or early 1946), he decided to travel to Saldos for a few days to visit people who had returned from the Soviet Union.
• Relations with community members and survivors: Dr. Sidon mentions in his diary the names of Jews from Saldos whom he met or heard about their fate, including:
  • Kosna Tablestock (Kosne Tabelshtok) andShayka Buchman (Shaike Buchman), who returned from the Soviet Union.
  • Abe Klein (Abe Klein), who also moved from the city.
  • During his visit to the city, he met his former neighbors, the Kalkis (Kalkis), who recognized him only after he introduced himself by name.
  • He also tried to find out through community members, such as Dr. Landau who worked in Subate before the war, details about the fate of others, such as Mishka (Mishka).

Dr. Jacques (Zidon) Zidon (Dr. Jack Zidon) is the author of memoirs and a personal diary documenting his experiences as a physician during and after World War II.

Background and military activity in World War II

• Military doctor: Dr. Sidon served as a doctor in the Red Army during World War II.
• Hospital train service: Most of his activities described in the sources took place within the framework of medical evacuation units and hospital trains (such as RPE 95, BCN 155 and BCN 148). He traveled with these units throughout the Soviet Union and Europe, including the cities of Vologda, Moscow, Kharkov, Rostov-on-Don and Riga.
• Medical work under fire: The diary describes intensive work treating the wounded, performing surgeries and stopping bleeding, sometimes under shelling or in difficult field conditions. He worked alongside senior medical figures such as Prof. Artiuch and Dr. Hanoch.

Jewish Identity and the Holocaust

• Dr. Sidon was Jewish, and his writings show a great deal of reference to the fate of the Jews in the territories liberated from the Nazis.
• He describes the painful encounter with survivors in cities like Rostov and Riga, the testimonies of the destruction of communities, and his personal feelings about the future of the Jewish people after the Holocaust. In one passage, he even contemplates the possibility of emigrating to Palestine (the Land of Israel).

Academic career and life after the war

• Lecturer in Riga: After the end of the war, Dr. Tsidon worked as a lecturer in anatomy and physiology at the Agricultural Academy (Agricultural University) in Riga.
• Connection to Israel: According to Hebrew notes attached to the documents, Dr. Tsidon later lived in Israel, at 53 JNF Street in Givatayim.

The manuscript

Dr. Tsidon's diary is written in Russian and Latvian and spans the years 1941–1946. The documents include photographs of his original notebooks, which also include poems (such as a poem by Heinrich Heine) and personal notes alongside historical and medical documentation.

Historical Overview: The History of Latvian Jewry During and After World War II (1941–1946)

Opening and archival background

The review below is based on the personal diary and memoirs of Dr. Jacques (Zidon) Zidon (Jack Zidon), which were recorded in Russian and Latvian manuscripts between 1941 and 1946 (C84-11). The source includes photographs of original notebooks that were submitted to the archive on October 19, 2005 (C84-11). According to notes in the notes attached to the document, the information in the manuscript may be a copy and not the original writing of Dr. Zidon himself, and doubts are raised regarding the identity of the writer of some of the sections (C84-11). Information from footnotes and notes indicates that in later years Dr. Zidon lived in Israel, at 53 KKL-JNF Street in Givatayim (C84-11).

The outbreak of war and the evacuation from Latvia (June 1941)

On June 22, 1941, in the town of Gaigleba (Gaigalava), the first news of the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union and the German bombing of cities such as Kaunas, Vilnius and Riga were recorded (C84-11). Dr. Tsidon describes the tense atmosphere, the vague news that came over the radio in Latvian and Russian, and the panic that gripped the Jewish population as the German army advanced (C84-11). In the city Razkane (Rezekne) The local medical system at the beginning of the fighting is described, including the work of doctors such as Dr. Feitelson, Dr. Pollack And Dr. Gershon, who worked under heavy pressure treating the wounded arriving from the front (C84-11). The diary notes that on June 26, 1941, a mass evacuation of refugees and Jews began towards the border with the Soviet Union, using trains and improvised transport under shelling (C84-11).

Medical service at the front and on hospital trains

A large part of the documentation is dedicated to Dr. Tsidon's service as a military doctor in various medical evacuation units of the Red Army, including RPE 95, BCN 155 and-BCN 148 (C84-11). His duties included intensive medical care on trains that traveled along the front lines and in the rear, in cities such as Vologda, Moscow, Kharkiv andRostov-on-Don (C84-11). Dr. Tsidon worked alongside medical figures such as Prof. Artichoke (Artyukh) and Dr. Enoch, and describes in detail surgeries, dressings, and stopping bleeding of seriously wounded (C84-11). The sources describe grueling work in field conditions, shortages of food and medical equipment, and dealing with aerial bombings on medical trains (C84-11).

The discovery of the destruction of Jewish communities

With the liberation of territories from Nazi occupation, Dr. Sidon documents the first testimonies about the fate of the Jews left behind. In the city Rostov, he describes a conversation with a local doctor who told how the Germans ordered the Jews to form a "religious community" for the purpose of detailed registration, which was then used to round them up and execute them in the pits (C84-11). Upon liberation RigaThe diary describes the painful encounter with the destroyed ghetto and the news of the murder of thousands of Jews inRombola (C84-11). Sidon mentions the names of individual survivors he met, including Ilya Semin (Ilya Semin) and family suburb (Ferber), who survived in hiding or under assumed identities (C84-11).

Jewish cultural life and identity in the shadow of war

The sources describe attempts to maintain an affinity for Jewish culture even during military service.Moscow In 1944, Dr. Sidon visited the State Jewish Theater and watched the play "Tuvia the Milkman" starring Shlomo Michaels (C84-11). In his diary he expresses feelings of deep loneliness and alienation, and describes the difficulty of witnessing the destruction of the Jewish communities in Latvia (C84-11). Sidon reflects on the future of the Jewish people and the possibility of emigrating toPalestine (Eretz Israel), noting that he felt that Jews had no secure future in the Soviet Union (C84-11).

Academic activity and reconstruction in post-war Latvia

After the end of the war in 1945, Dr. Tsidon returned to Riga and joined as a lecturer atanatomy And for physiology inAgricultural Academy (C84-11). He describes the organizational difficulties at the institution, the shortage of textbooks, and the complexity of teaching Latvian and Russian to students who had returned from the front (C84-11). The diary details his professional relations with the academy's human resources director, Wintholde (Vintholde), and with the librarian Valletta Grizina (Velta Grizina) (C84-11). A notable event recorded in the diary is the trial and public execution of seven German generals, headed by Friedrich Jaklen (Friedrich Jeckeln), which took place in Riga on February 10, 1946, in the presence of a large audience (C84-11).

Prominent figures and their work

• Dr. Jacques (Sidon) Zidon: A physician and lecturer, author of a diary, who served in the Red Army's medical unit and documented his experiences (C84-11).
• Shlomo Michaels: A renowned Jewish actor and director, whose work in the Moscow theater is mentioned in the original as a source of inspiration (C84-11).
• Friedrich Jaklen: A senior SS commander who was responsible for the murder of Jews in Latvia; the diary describes his execution in Riga (C84-11).
• Prof. Artioch: A senior physician mentioned as an authority figure in military medical units (C84-11).
• Ilya Semin: A Jewish engineer and Holocaust survivor in Riga mentioned in Dr. Sidon's post-war meetings (C84-11).

Terms and concepts from the sources

• RPE 95 (РПЭ 95): A military medical evacuation unit that operated on trains (C84-11).
• BCN (БСН): Military hospital train (Sanitary Train) for transporting wounded (C84-11).
• Gaigalava: The settlement where Dr. Sidon stayed at the outbreak of war in June 1941 (C84-11).
• Rumbula: The massacre site near Riga where the city's Jews were murdered (C84-11).
• Agricultural Academy: The institution where Dr. Sidon taught in Riga after the war (C84-11).
• Palestine: The term originally appears in reference to the Land of Israel as a destination for immigration (C84-11).

List of sources

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• C84-11f – Press clippings and historical reports on events and figures in the Jewish community

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