Viski file / תיק קהילה

🗺️ Map of Daugavpils County settlements

These sources document the rich and tragic history of the Jewish community in the town. Whiskey in Latvia. The documents include Statistical data, detailed lists of Jewish homeowners From 1935 and a review of local religious and educational institutions, including the dynasty The rabbis of the Palczynski familyAlongside the administrative information, the sources describe the Trading life The lively and active youth movements in the town between the world wars. A significant portion of the texts is dedicated to the period The Holocaust, from the Soviet and German occupation to the brutal murder of the town's Jews in the forest PogoliankaIn addition, personal documents such as passport of a local resident and maps indicating the geographical location of the town in Daugavpils district. The sequence of sources creates a comprehensive picture of Community life which were cut short when it was almost completely destroyed in 1941.

History of the Višķi Community

The town Whiskey (Daugavpils district, formerly Dvinsk), located in the province To Tagala (Latgale) in eastern Latvia, founded in the 17th century (C49-4f, C49-7f). According to sources, the Tsarina was born in this settlement Catherine I (C49-1f, C49-7f). Throughout the 19th century and until the Holocaust, Jews constituted the majority of the town's population (C49-4f, C49-7f).

The beginning of the community and its institutions

Jews began to settle in the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (C49-1f). The community established public institutions, including Sherva Kadisha, a public bathhouse, and an association "Visit to the sick" (C49-1f, C49-4f).

One of the central figures in the leadership of the community was the rabbinical family Palczynski (Pelchinski/Pulchinski), who served as local rabbinate for about 90 years (C49-1f, C49-4f). The first of them was Rabbi Moshe (Michel) Palchinsky, known as "the Elevated One from Sovalk", and served in his position for over 40 years until his death in 1907 (C49-7f, C49-3f). He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Shlomo Palchinsky, for about 25 years until the mid-1930s (C49-7f, C49-3f). The last of the dynasty was Rabbi Yaakov Meir Palchinsky, whose Torah innovations were published in the monthly "Knesset Israel" in Tammuz 1939 (C49-7f, C49-3f).

The town between the world wars

During World War I, some members of the community abandoned their homes and moved deep into Russia (C49-4f, C49-7f). Upon their return after the war, many found their homes damaged or destroyed, and they were rebuilt with the help of the community committee elected in 1920 and the assistance of the **Joint** organization (C49-1f, C49-4f). In 1921, a four-class Jewish elementary school was established in the town, where the language of instruction was Yiddish (C49-1f, C49-4f).

Economically, most of the town's Jews made a living as peddlers or in various crafts (C49-1f, C49-4f). According to a 1935 statistical survey, out of 58 shops and businesses in the town, 50 were owned by Jews, including clothing, shoe, hardware, and grocery stores (C49-1f, C49-7f). The handwritten text indicates that in 1935 there were 158 houses in the town, of which 88 were owned by Jews (C49-5f). The sources indicate that in that year, there were 423 Jews Out of a total population of 750 (C49-1f, C49-3f, C49-4f).

Political life in Viszky was lively and included branches of the **"Bund"**, which also operated a youth club, and the "Youth of Zion" (C49-1f, C49-4f). From the 1930s, youth movements also operated "Hashomer Hatzair-Netzach" and **Beitar**, with most Zionists supporting the Revisionist party (C49-1f, C49-4f). In the 1930s, there was a decline of about 20% in the Jewish population due to economic stagnation and migration to large cities, preparation for aliyah to Israel, or migration overseas (C49-7f).

One of the residents of the town documented in the sources is Gita (Astra) Tsivian (Gita Civjana), born in 1894, whose passport from 1921 was preserved in the Riga Police Archives (C49-8f).

Holocaust period

Following an agreement Ribbentrop-Molotov, the Red Army entered Latvia in August 1939, and in the summer of 1940 a Soviet regime was established (C49-1f, C49-4f). Under this regime, businesses and shops were nationalized, and Jewish public life was liquidated; the Hevra Kadisha Society was closed by military order on December 12, 1940 (C49-1f, C49-7f).

With the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, some of the young Jews fled eastward (C49-1f, C49-4f). On June 28, 1941, the town was occupied by the German army (C49-1f). On the night of July 28, 1941, the Jews of Vyški were deported toDvinsk Ghetto (Dvinsk Ghetto) (C49-1f, C49-7f). The sources state that on their way to the ghetto, Jews were shot by Latvians who had gathered on both sides of the road near a monastery. Eglund (Aglona) (C49-7f).

After spending several days in the overcrowded Dvinsk ghetto, the Jews of Vyshki were told that they were being transferred to another ghetto, but in fact they were taken to the forest. Pogolianka (Pogulianka/Fogolankh) nearby, where they were murdered as part of an operation called "The Provincial Aktion" (Provincial Action) (C49-1f, C49-4f, C49-7f). Among the victims was the last rabbi of the community, Rabbi Yaakov Meir Palchinsky (C49-3f, C49-7f).

A unique story is mentioned regarding two The Usdin Brothers (Usdin) Moishki, who worked in a peat mining camp nearIzaputa (Eizpoteh) and managed to escape; they hid with two other Jews for a long time in the ruins of an ancient fortress in the area, but were discovered and murdered in 1944 (C49-3f, C49-7f). The town was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944 (C49-1f, C49-4f).

Unique terms and concepts

• Latgale: A region in eastern Latvia where the town of Viški is located.
• Provincial Action: A German term for the operation to eliminate Jews in rural towns and transfer them to centralized murder.
• The Joint (Joint / JDC): A Jewish-American aid organization that helped rebuild the community after World War I.
• Pogulianka: A forest near Dvinsk (Daugavpils) that served as the site of mass murder of the region's Jews.
• Yiddish: The language of instruction in the Jewish school in the town between the world wars.

List of sources

To view the document, click on its number.

• C49-1f – A historical overview in Hebrew of the Jewish community in the town of Vishki, its institutions and its fate during the Holocaust.
• C49-2f – Demographic information and lists of homeowners and businesses in Vyški from the source "Latvian Villages" from 1935.
• C49-3f – A historical overview in Hebrew that includes tables of data on the Jewish population in Vishki over the years.
• C49-4f – Information pages in English from the Diaspora Center about the history and Jewish community in Vishki before and during the Holocaust.
• C49-5f – A handwritten Semitic list of Jewish homeowners in Vyshki in 1935, along with population data.
• C49-6f – Map of Daugavpils County showing the geographical location of Viški and the towns in the area.
• C49-7f – A detailed description in English of the history of the Jewish community in Vyshki, including the town's rabbis and the events of the war.
• C49-8f – Documentation and passport photo from Yad Vashem's database of names for Gita Tsibiana from the town of Vyshki.

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