Dundaga file / תיק קהילה

These sources document the history of the Jewish community inDundagain Latvia, from daily life to its destruction in the Holocaust. The documents includeStatistical dataon demography and economic activities, alongside reviews of the transition from independent rule to Soviet and then German occupation. They emphasize the bitter fate of the Jews, most of whom were murdered in 1941 byThe Nazis and local collaborators, while some were sent to concentration camps. In addition, the sources present later commemorative efforts, such as the establishment ofMonument to the victims, and analyzes the historical research on war crimes in the region. This review combines dry administrative evidence withTragic documentationOf a community that was almost completely wiped out.

Based on the attached sources, the following is a detailed historical overview of the history of the Jewish community inDondega(Dundaga, in German:Dunday), a settlement located in the sub-districtVentspils(Ventspils, formerWindau) in the districtCourland(Kurzeme) Sit downLatvia(C29-1f, C29-4f). It should be noted that the sources deal with the community in Latvia and not in Estonia (C29-2f, C29-4f).

Geographical and economic background

The settlementDondegaIt was built on the land of a former manor and served as an agricultural center, with an area of ​​about 600 square kilometers (C29-3f, C29-5f). In the 1920s and 1930s it wasDondegaThe largest community in the Republic ofLatvia, and on the eve of World War II, the Jewish community there was the fourth largest in the district.Ventspils(C29-6f). The local Jews made their living mainly fromTimber trading, crafts and fishing (C29-1f, C29-4f, C29-6f).

Among the Jewish business owners in the settlement in 1935 were:Moses Israelson(Moses Israelson) andThe Lemchen Brothers(Brothers Lemchenu), who ran grocery and colonial goods stores (C29-2f). The printed text of the property owners list also indicatesMills Friedmanis(Males Fridmanis) as a food product merchant (C29-2f).

Demographics and community life

The Jewish community inDondegaIt was relatively small:

• In 1925 they lived in the rural area of ​​the settlement.30 Jews(C29-1f, C29-4f).
• In 1930 their number increased to63 Jews(C29-1f, C29-4f).
• In the 1935 census, the population of the settlement itself was15 Jews(which constitute 4.16% of the total 361 residents), while in the entire parish there lived44 Jews(C29-2f, C29-3f, C29-6f).

Politically, in 1933 the local Jews participated in the elections forZionist Congress(C29-1f, C29-4f). The vast majority voted forThe Revisionist List, and one vote was given to the "Socialist List" (C29-3f, C29-4f).

The Holocaust and Soviet Occupation

FollowingRibbentrop-Molotov Pact, entered theRed Armyto Latvia in the summer of 1940 and was ruled by a Soviet regime (C29-1f, C29-4f). On June 14, 1941, as part of the mass deportations carried out by the Soviets,DondegaFour Jews:Yizrael Yizraelson(1868-1941),Bers Yizraelson(born 1900),Moses to Manes(1885-1942) andRosa for fun(1885-1941) (C29-6f). Of these deportees, onlyBers YizraelsonSurvived (C29-6f).

With the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union, it was occupiedDondegaby the German army on June 22, 1941 (or early July 1941 according to another source) (C29-1f, C29-6f). During this period, murders against Jews by local collaborators ("self-defense forces" and the police) began: one Jew was shot near the school in the villageVidala(Vidale) and two Jews were murdered on a farm in the villageSelf-care(Sabdaga) (C29-6f). The original states thatprobablyAdditional Jews were murdered in the district at the same time (C29-6f).

In mid-July 1941, the remaining Jews in the settlement were arrested by the "Self-Defense" and local police (C29-6f). The men were imprisoned in the castleVentspils, and the women and children were transferred to the ghetto (C29-6f). The entire Jewish community ofDondegawhich was transferred toVentspilsMurdered in the forestCasino(Casino) by the local self-defense unit under the command ofOswalds Strouts(Osvalds Strauts), together with members of Einsatzkommando 2, the 9th German Police Battalion, and a unitArrays(Arājs) who came from Riga (C29-6f). The source states that the exact circumstances of the murder are unknown (C29-1f, C29-4f).

Dondangen Concentration Camp

Between the years 1943–1944 he worked inDondegaA concentration camp that was an extension of a campKaiserwald(Kaiserwald) (C29-5f, C29-6f). In the camp, sometimes called "Chicro" (Čiekuru), thousands of Jews (according to one estimate, over 6,000 people) from various countries were imprisoned, includingLatvia,Lithuania,Germany,Hungary,Czechoslovakia,AustriaandPoland(C29-5-1f). The prisoners were employed in forced labor under harsh conditions of hunger and disease, and a large number of them perished (C29-5-1f).

The settlement was liberated by theRed ArmyIn 1945 (C29-1f, C29-4f).

Commemoration

In 2007, it was inaugurated inDondegaMemorial stone in memory of the victims of the concentration camp (C29-5-1f). The ceremony was attended by the Israeli Ambassador to Latvia,Chen Ivri, representatives of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local residents and representatives of the Jewish community (C29-5-1f). A handwritten note on a research document states the subject: "Issues in Holocaust Research in Latvia" (The Issues of the Holocaust Research in Latvia) (C29-6f).

List of sources

• C29-1f: A historical overview in Hebrew of the Dundaga community in Latvia, demographic data and the events of World War II.
• C29-2f: Statistical and demographic data from the source "Latvijas ciemi" (1936) including a list of Jewish business owners and merchants.
• C29-3f: A historical summary in Hebrew about the settlement of Dundaga and a list of bibliographical sources for information about the place.
• C29-4f: An information sheet in English from the Jewish Diaspora Center that reviews the geographical location, economy, and fate of the Jews of Dundaga during the Holocaust.
• C29-5-1f: An article from a Latvian newspaper from October 2007 about the dedication ceremony of a memorial stone in memory of the victims of the Dundangan concentration camp.
• C29-6f: A research article by Dzintars Argalis on the fate of the Dundega community in the summer of 1941 and an analysis of the historiography of the Holocaust in Latvia.

C29-1f

C29-2f

C29-3f

C29-4f

C29-5-1f

C29-6f

**End of Sources Section**

**Return to Communities Table**