Skrunda file / תיק קהילה

These sources document the history of the Jewish community in the town. Skrunda in Kuldiga County, Latvia, from the beginning of the 20th century until its destruction. The documents show Statistical data On population size, lists of Business and residential building owners, and details about the economic and religious lifestyle of the residents. The texts indicate that the community was Zionist in nature, sent her children to education in nearby cities and maintained a limited community life in rented apartments. The sources describe the transition from Latvian independent rule to Soviet annexation, culminating in the tragedy of Holocaust periodWith the German invasion in June 1941, the town's Jews were shot and murdered outside the settlement, thus ending the Jewish settlement there.

History of the Skrunda Community

The town Skrunda Located in the sub-district Koldiga (Kuldiga), which is in the region Kurzema (Kurzeme), which was formerly known as Courland (Kurland), in Latvia (C88-1f). The town lies on the railway line Riga-Liepaja (C88-3f). Between 1920 and 1940, the town was part of independent Latvia and served as a commercial center for the surrounding farming communities (C88-1f).

Demographics and community development

On the eve of World War I, she lived inSkrunda Only one Jewish family (C88-1f). In a handwritten note that appears inarchives It was noted that the family name was Bloomberg, and that she owned an estate and a dairy factory (C88-3f). After the war, additional Jewish families from the surrounding area began to settle in the town (C88-3f). In 1925, there were 16 Jews in the town, constituting 0.4% of the total population (C88-1f, C88-3f). In 1930, the number of Jews increased to 52 (about 1% of the population), and in 1935, 30 Jews lived in the town out of a total population of 1,087 (C88-1f, C88-3f, C88-4f).

Economy and employment

The town's Jews were mainly engaged in petty trade and in trading agricultural products from the surrounding area, such as Animals, Trees andSkins (C88-1f). Inarchives It is noted that individual families had agricultural farms (C88-1f). Family Bloomberg owned a large store, and the family Abstruk, which numbered three people, was engaged in trade (C88-5f). The family of Zvi Bogen She lived on a farm outside of town, and her father was a partner in the store with Zvi Katz andPakhtovich (C88-5f). According to the statistical book "Latvijas ciemi", in 1935 it was listed inSkrunda Property owned Judea (C88-2f).

Religious life, education and Zionist activity

The small community did not establish any formal public institutions such as a synagogue or school (C88-3f). Public prayers were held inRented apartment On Sabbaths and holidays only (C88-1f). The community employed a local Jew named Joseph (or Yosla) Yabuski, which served asslaughterer, A reader andcantor (C88-3f, C88-5f). For education, the Jews sent their children to schools in nearby cities, Aizpute (Aizpute) andLiepaja (Liepaja) (C88-1f).

Most of the town's Jews were Scores, and some immigrated to Israel (C88-1f). In 1933, 11 members of the community participated in the elections for the 18th Zionist Congress; nine voted forSocialist Zionist Party, one toeast And one forIDF (C88-1f, C88-3f). Young people from the Zionist movement, some fromRiga andLiepaja, received agricultural training on Jewish farms inSkrunda Before their immigration (C88-1f). Among others, a group of pioneers from the The Young Guard The machine "Ginosar"She underwent training on the Bogen family farm, probably In 1938 (C88-5f).

Prominent figures and their work

• Joseph (Yosela) Yavovsky: He served as the central figure in the town's religious life, serving as a sheriff and cantor (C88-5f).
• The Bloomberg family: The first and oldest Jewish family in the settlement (C88-3f).
• Jewish doctor (name not given): She was married to a Latvian doctor, and was initially kept alive thanks to her profession and the intervention of the mayor (C88-3f). In 1943 she was faced with a choice: sterilization or entry into the ghetto. LiepajaShe underwent the operation under difficult conditions that damaged her health, and was then transferred to the ghetto anyway (C88-3f).

Holocaust period

Following an agreement Ribbentrop-Molotov From 1939, Latvia was annexed to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940 (C88-1f). A week after the German attack on the Soviet Union, on June 22, 1941, the German army occupied Skrunda (C88-1f). Inarchives It is described that at the beginning of the occupation, all the Jews of the town were gathered in the center of the settlement (C88-3f). A few days later, they were taken out of the town and shot dead (C88-1f, C88-4f).

Among the victims was a young Jewish man who was a member of theKomsomol (Communist Youth Movement), who was severely tortured before being murdered (C88-3f). According to the testimony of Zvi Bogen inarchivesThe Nazis took his family members and their whereabouts were unknown (C88-5f).

Terms and concepts from the sources

• IDF: The Revisionist Zionist Alliance.
• Komsomol: The youth movement of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
• training: A period of agricultural and practical training that pioneers underwent in preparation for immigrating to the Land of Israel.
• Latola point: A service point (possibly a gas station or collection point) owned by the "Apekol" company (C88-4f).

List of sources

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