Kaunata file / תיק קהילה

✡️ History of the Jewish community in Kaunāta, Latvia

These sources document the history of the settlement. Counta (Kaunata) in Latvia, focusing on the community Jewish which flourished there from the beginning of the 20th century. The documents include Statistical data On the composition of the population, lists of property owners and geographical maps that locate the village in the district RazkaneIt is evident that the community maintained an active religious and economic life, which included the establishment of synagogue and managing most of the local businesses during the period of independent Latvia. However, the sources describe the end of the community following The Nazi occupation, when dozens of Jewish residents were murdered by local forces. Overall, the information provides a panoramic view of the growth of the settlement, its social structure, and the tragedy that befell it during The Holocaust.

The settlement Kaunata (Kaunata), known in Jewish sources as Covnut (Kovnat), founded in 1902 in the district Razkane (Rezekne; in the past Režica – Rieshiza), located in the region To Italy (Latgale) in the east Latvia (C101-1f, C101-3f, C101-4f). Jews began to settle in the place shortly after its founding and were among its first residents (C101-1f, C101-3f). The settlement is located near a lake Evolvs (Ivgolovas), and in the 1930s there were no tourist accommodation facilities (C101-2f).

Demographically, in 1920 the Jewish population in the settlement was 66, constituting 38% of the total population (C101-1f). Printed statistics from 1935 show that the settlement had 172 residents at that time, of whom 63 were Jews (36.63%), 60 were Latvians, 41 were Russians, and 8 were Poles (C101-2f). The printed lists of residents list the names of the owners of property and businesses in the settlement, including Jews such as Yodel Glazerman, Hymans Diamonds, Leiva Diamonds, Shloma Averbuch, Source Schatz, Maras Rabinovich, Moses Minkins andReese Gurevich (C101-2f).

The economic situation of the Jewish community was described as good, and most of them owned their own homes (C101-1f, C101-4f). In 1920, a process of rehabilitation of the community began with financial assistance from theJoint (the Joint), which allocated a budget of 22,000 Latvian rubles for this purpose (C101-3f, C101-4f). Within this framework, a charity fund was established under the name "Gemilluth Hesed" (C101-1f, C101-4f). In 1935, of the 15 shops operating in the village, 12 were Jewish-owned, and 14 of the 38 houses in the settlement belonged to Jews (C101-3f, C101-4f).

In the area of ​​religion and society there is some uncertainty in the sources; while one source states that it was built synagogue, was employed slaughterer and in the 1930s he served as rabbi, another source explicitly states that the community did not have a synagogue or cemetery (C101-1f, C101-3f, C101-4f). However, it is noted that the shochet Rabbi Yitzhak Hirsch Served the community (C101-3f). On the political level, after the elections to the 18th Zionist Congress in 1933, a branch of the Zionist Party was established in the settlement. United Socialist Zionist Party (C101-1f). In the same year (or in 1931 according to another record), four members of the community, including the son of the butcher Hirsch, were accused of underground communist activity and put on trial (C101-3f, C101-4f).

The fate of the community in the Holocaust began with the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 (C101-1f). At that time, there were about 50 Jews in the settlement, who were murdered in groups of ten by local Latvian auxiliary police from the nearby town. Razkane, under the command of Majkowskis (Majkovskis) (C101-3f, C101-7f). A final group of about ten Jews hid on a farm about 8 km from the settlement, but their fate is unknown (C101-1f, C101-7f). By July 1942, a total of 126 Jews from Kaunate and the surrounding settlements had been murdered (C101-1f).

In addition to Kaunate, the sources mention the settlement Malta (Malta), founded around 1868 (C101-2f). In 1935, 107 Jews (38.63% of the population) lived in Malta out of 277 residents (C101-2f). Various public institutions operated in this settlement, including a Russian school and a pharmacy run by Vince Trikales (C101-2f).

Geographical and organizational terms

• Latgale – One of the four historical cordilleras of Latvia, located in the eastern part of the country.
• The Joint (Joint / AJDC) – A Jewish-American aid organization established to assist Jews around the world.
• Gemilluth Hesed – A traditional community institution for interest-free loans (gamilot chesadim), designed to assist those in need with economic rehabilitation.

List of sources

To view the document, click on its number.

• C101-1f – A historical overview in Hebrew of the Kaunata community (Kuvnat), detailing demographic data, economic situation, political activity, and a description of the community's murder in the Holocaust.
• C101-2f – Information pages from a Latvian statistics book from 1936, including demographic data, lists of property owners, and information about the settlements of Kaunata and Malta.
• C101-3f – Historical documentation in Hebrew that includes a population development table, details about community and religious life, underground political law, and a detailed report on the destruction of the community.
• C101-4f – A summary document in English that reviews the history of the Kaunata settlement, the economic situation of the Jews, the establishment of the charity fund, and a description of the Holocaust period.
• C101-5f – Map images from the Google search engine showing the geographical and topographical location of the settlement of Kaunata in Latvia.

⬅ Back to the list of documents