Griva File / תיק קהילה

📜 Memories and testimonies of Jewish life in the town of Griva

The sources before us outline a comprehensive historical overview of the city. Gariba In Latvia, with a deep focus on my life The Jewish community The local history from the 18th century until its destruction. The documents include Statistical data, donor lists, press clippings, and personal testimonies detailing the social structure, religious and educational institutions, and the extensive economic activity in the city. Special emphasis is given to key spiritual figures, primarily Rabbi Kook who was born there, alongside a description of the development of political movements such as Zionism and the BundThe sources document the challenges faced by residents, from severe floods to the effects of World War I and the Russian Revolution. The final and tragic chapter in the documentary deals with the period The Holocaust, including testimonies of persecution, forced labor, and the liquidation of the community in the Daugavpils ghetto. In conclusion, the collection serves as a memorial to a vibrant Jewish life that was cut short, alongside geographical and administrative information about the area throughout the generations.

The city Grīva Located on the south bank of the riverDaugava, also known as the Dvina, opposite the city of Daugavpils (C26-1f, C26-4f). It is located in the Zemgale, which was previously known as part of a terrorist Kurland, in Ilukšta County, Latvia (C26-1f, C26-4f). Throughout the 19th century, Griba was considered a suburb of Dvinsk, and only in 1912 was it granted official city status (C26-4f). Jewish settlement in the place is documented from the early 18th century (C26-4f).

The Jewish community began to be officially organized during the 19th century, but religious institutions existed even earlier; Jewish cemetery The place was consecrated around 1720, and in 1831 a Sherva Kadisha With the opening of a new cemetery (C26-4f). In 1878 the community was officially recognized by the government, although institutions such as a bathhouse, a mikveh, a slaughterhouse, and a charity fund had been operating even earlier (C26-1f, C26-4f). Demographically, the community experienced significant growth: in 1897 the Jews numbered 3,027 (about 38% of the population), and in 1910 their number reached a peak of 5,207 (C26-1f, C26-4f). Most Jews lived on the city's main street and earned a living from petty trade, various crafts, or as workers in the factories of nearby Dvinsk (C26-4f).

The religious and spiritual life of the city was extensive and included four synagogues that served different groups, including Opponents andHasidim (C26-1f, C26-4f). Among the buildings were the "Old Beit Midrash", the "Old Minyan", the "New Minyan" of the Hasidim and a synagogue built by the Aharonovitch brothers (C26-3f). The community was headed by prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Yaakov Yitzhak Elisberg, who served as the first official rabbi in the first half of the 19th century (C26-3f, C26-4f). A key historical figure born in Griba in 1865 is Rabbi Yitzhak Avraham HaCohen Kook (Ra'i'ah), who later became the Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel (C26-1f, C26-3f, C26-4f). In addition, he worked in the city Rabbi Eliyahu Aharon Mileikovsky, who later immigrated to Israel and served as a rabbi in Tel Aviv (C26-3f). In the field of education, they were active in the city Talmud Torah, a sitting room and four rooms (C26-4f).

In the early 20th century, the community was beset by disasters and political upheavals. In 1903, Heavy floods of the Daugava River, resulting in the deaths of about 200 people and extensive destruction of residential buildings (C26-3f, C26-4f). Starting in 1913, an increase inAntisemitism, and during World War I the city was largely destroyed and most of its Jewish residents were forced to flee (C26-4f). After the war, a gradual return of Jews to the city began, with the assistance of theJoint Community institutions were restored, including the bathhouse, and a credit fund was established (C26-1f, C26-4f). However, the community was significantly reduced: the sources present slightly contradictory data for 1930, with one source indicating 227 Jews and another indicating 229 (C26-1f, C26-4f). In 1921, a Jewish elementary school was opened where classes were conducted in Yiddish, but it was closed shortly after due to a lack of students, and the children were transferred to parallel classes at the Latvian school or in Dvinsk (C26-1f, C26-4f).

The Holocaust period began with the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the entry of the Red Army into Latvia in the summer of 1940, when Soviet rule was established and Jewish businesses were nationalized (C26-4f). In June 1941, with the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Grīva was occupied by German forces (C26-1f, C26-4f). Immediately after the occupation, murders of Jews began, including young people who were members of communist youth movements (C26-4f). On July 10, 1941, forced labor was imposed on the Jews, and at the end of July, the remaining Jews in the city were transferred toDvinsk Ghetto (C26-1f, C26-4f). The community was finally liquidated in August 1941 as part of the mass murder of the Jews of the provinces (C26-4f). Testimony of Avram Zelikman, born in Griba (1911), describes in detail the difficult conditions in the ghetto and the murder of his family members on the website Pogulianka (C26-8f). Zelikman notes that he himself was sent to forced labor, transferred to the concentration camp Stutthof and ultimately survived (C26-8f).

Terms and explanations

• Kurland: A historical region in Latvia that was formerly an autonomous duchy.
• Zemgale: One of the four historical cordilleras of Latvia, located in the south of the country.
• Sherva Kadisha: A Jewish community organization responsible for the care of the dead and their burial according to Halacha.
• Opponents: A movement in European Jewry that opposed the Hasidic movement.
• Pogulianka: A site near the city of Dvinsk that served as a mass murder site for the region's Jews during the Holocaust.
• nationalization: A process in which the state takes ownership of private property or businesses.

List of sources

• C26-1f: A historical overview of the Geriba community, including demographic data, religious institutions, the city's rabbis, and a description of the Holocaust period.
• C26-2f: Statistical and geographical description of the city of Griba from an official Latvian publication from 1936 dealing with economics and demography.
• C26-3f: Detailed historical documentation of the beginnings of the Jewish settlement in Griba, community institutions, prominent rabbis such as Rabbi Kook, and natural events.
• C26-4f: An English-language review of the history of Geriba Jewry, its educational institutions, religious life, and the extermination of the community by the Germans in the Holocaust.
• C26-5f: A collection of handwritten pages in Yiddish and Russian that include memoirs, notes, and personal documentation of the life of the Jewish community over the years.
• C26-6f: An official document from the "Yavne" center in Latvia confirming payment for obtaining an immigration certificate to the Land of Israel for a resident of the community.
• C26-7f: List of names of donors or signatories from the community of Geriba and nearby settlements as they appeared in a Hebrew publication from 1875.
• C26-8f: Avram Zelikman's personal testimony about his experiences as a Maghreb Holocaust survivor, including details about the Dvinsk ghetto and the Stutthof camp.
• C26-9-1f: Press reports from the Hebrew newspaper "HaMelitz" from 1900 regarding religious and community events among the Jews of Geriba.
• C26-9-2f

C26-1f

C26-2f

C26-3f

C26-4f

C26-5f

C26-6f

C26-7f

C26-8f

C26-9-1f

C26-9-2f

C26–10f

**End of Sources Section**

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