The Jews in Latvia
The Jews in Latvia
Contributor(s): Mendel Bobe (Editor), S. Levenberg (Editor), Z. Michaeli (Michelson) (Editor)
Subject(s): Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
Published by: CEEOL Digital Reproductions / Collections
Summary/Abstract: The Association of Latvian and Esthonian Jews in Israel have decided (1971) to publish a collection of essays dedicated to the memory of our martyrs who were exterminated in the Second World War; and in this way to show how much World Jewry and we ourselves lost by the annihilation of this community which numbered almost one hundred thousand souls. The essays should give a description of normal Jewish life in Latvia; the struggles of Latvian Jewry as a national unit, its cultural, social and economic existence including organisations, institutions, political parties, etc., from the beginnings of Latvian independence till the end came in the Ghettoes. (Foreword)
Series: CEEOL COLLECTION JUDAICA
- Page Count: 384
- Publication Year: 1971
- Language: English
Introduction
Introduction
(Introduction)
- Author(s):S. Levenberg
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:7-18
- No. of Pages:11
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE JEWS IN LATVIA. A Historical Survey
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE JEWS IN LATVIA. A Historical Survey
(FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE JEWS IN LATVIA. A Historical Survey)
- Author(s):Mendel Bobe
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:21-77
- No. of Pages:57
- Summary/Abstract:FIRST evidence of Jews in Latvia may be found in the ledger of a merchant from Riga of the year 1536, who recorded: “From the Jew Jacob, received for sale and also sold to him...” Their end came with the transfer of the remains of the Kaiserwald Concentration Camp to Germany in 1944. Hence the reckoning of four hundred years.
THE COMMUNAL IMAGE OF LATVIAN JEWRY
THE COMMUNAL IMAGE OF LATVIAN JEWRY
(THE COMMUNAL IMAGE OF LATVIAN JEWRY)
- Author(s):Isaac Maor (Meirson)
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:78-93
- No. of Pages:16
- Summary/Abstract:The Jews of Latvia were not of a single kind from the social and economic viewpoint either. There was a recognizable social differentiation among them, and they engaged in manifold and widely-differing crafts, trades and professions. Among them you would find merchants large, medium and small; industrialists and craftsmen of every kind; manual and skilled workers, clerks and members of the free professions.
THE JEWS AND THE LATVIAN PARLIAMENT, 1918-1934
THE JEWS AND THE LATVIAN PARLIAMENT, 1918-1934
(THE JEWS AND THE LATVIAN PARLIAMENT, 1918-1934)
- Author(s):Max Matatyahu Laserson
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:94-185
- No. of Pages:92
- Summary/Abstract:The first period of Latvia’s independent existence was not a convenient one for any open efforts of the Jewish minority to ensure its rights. Enemy forces had not yet left the country. They continued to threaten the independence of the youthful State, and hence the time was not yet ripe for the preparation of an organic Constitution. On 18th November, 1918, to be sure, the National Council had met in Riga and solemnly proclaimed the Independence of Latvia. This, however, was only a first step intended primarily for the outer world, particularly the victorious Allies in the West. At the time the Members of the Council were concerned only with sketching the basic foundations of the future political and social structure.
JEWISH CULTURAL AUTONOMY AND THE JEWISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS
JEWISH CULTURAL AUTONOMY AND THE JEWISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS
(JEWISH CULTURAL AUTONOMY AND THE JEWISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS)
- Author(s):Z. Michaeli (Michelson)
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:186-216
- No. of Pages:31
- Summary/Abstract:At the beginning of the 19th century only a few dozen Jewish families were to be found in those northern districts of Tsarist Russia which ultimately became the independent Latvian state. By 1940 this community numbered 100,000; and if it contributed so much to the Hebrew cultural renaissance in spite of its limited size, this was largely due to the cultural autonomy accorded it by independent Latvia.
JEWISH TRADITIONAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE LATVIAN COMMUNITIES
JEWISH TRADITIONAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE LATVIAN COMMUNITIES
(JEWISH TRADITIONAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE LATVIAN COMMUNITIES)
- Author(s):Abrham Godin
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:217-229
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:jewish schooling;
- Summary/Abstract:This account of Jewisb traditional religious life in Latvia is divided into two sections : First, tbe period till the establishment of Independent Latvia; and second, tbe years of the Independent State, i.e., 1920 to 1940.
JEWS IN THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF LATVIA
JEWS IN THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF LATVIA
(JEWS IN THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF LATVIA)
- Author(s):Benjamin Sieff
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism, Socio-Economic Research
- Page Range:230-240
- No. of Pages:11
- Summary/Abstract:Jews had occupied leading positions in industry, commerce and banking before the War, and were the representatives of Russian companies in Riga, Liepaja (Libau) and other cities. Among them were branch managers of important St. Petersburg banks, such as “The Azovsko-Donskoi Bank”, “The Russian Foreign Trade Bank”, etc. They headed outstanding industrial undertakings, e.g., “Phoenix” (railway wagons), “Provodnik” (goloshes) etc. In 1918 the Jews began to return from Inner Russia to Latvia, bringing with them precious metals, foreign currency and drafts on foreign banks. They actually laid the foundation of Latvian currency which, however, was stabilised only during the second half of 1921, after heavy upheavals.
TOWNS AND PEOPLE – RIGA
TOWNS AND PEOPLE – RIGA
(TOWNS AND PEOPLE – RIGA)
- Author(s):Mendel Bobe
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:243-261
- No. of Pages:19
- Summary/Abstract:In an earlier section we described the rapid growth of the Jewish population of Riga from about 400 souls in 1842 to a total of 33,000 in 1913. These seventy years were accompanied by an exceptional development in the economic significance of Riga Jews for the trade of the entire region; leading to open and concealed toleration on the part of the Tsarist authorities towards this Jewish concentration, though it was outside the Pale of Settlement. Here we shall try to show who these Jews were who took so active a part in stabilizing the position of their community; and this not only with regard to their economic significance but also on account of their unique qualities as a Jewish community first and foremost.
TOWNS AND PEOPLE – DVINSK
TOWNS AND PEOPLE – DVINSK
(TOWNS AND PEOPLE – DVINSK)
- Author(s):Moshe Amir (Bliach)
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:262-275
- No. of Pages:14
- Summary/Abstract:The Dvinsk to which memory returns is the famed City and Mother in Israel, teeming with Jews, hospitable beyond belief, bubbling with communal activities. The realisation that it has been silenced makes one quiver and shake; remembering what the murderers did to this creative centre and source of culture which no longer exists. The purpose of the present essay is to offer a memorial in order that future generations, offspring and descendants of those who once dwelt in Dvinsk, may know their forefathers and bear them in mind. For the ashes of our martyrs were turned into fertilizer for the fields. Their bones were ground into phosphates, the very hair of their heads was taken to be stuffed
JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN KURLAND. In memory of my native town Windau
JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN KURLAND. In memory of my native town Windau
(JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN KURLAND. In memory of my native town Windau)
- Author(s):Shaul Lipschitz
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:276-284
- No. of Pages:9
- Summary/Abstract:Kurland was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1795. Its Jewish population at that time amounted to less than 5000 souls. It is interesting to note that only 20% lived in towns, while 80% found a livelihood in the countryside, on the large estates of the German Barons, as petty artisans, innkeepers, land tenants and peddlers. In 1850, fifty-five years later, the Jewish population in Kurland had grown to 22,000; and by the end of the century, in 1897, it reached the impressive number of 51,000.
MEN AND DEEDS
MEN AND DEEDS
(MEN AND DEEDS)
- Author(s):Menahem Beth
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Antisemitism
- Page Range:285-335
- No. of Pages:51
- Summary/Abstract:Various personalities who were active in one field or another in Latvia or who achieved fame beyond her borders, have been referred to in the essays of this volume. There were certain sections, such as the account of Riga, in which the persons described constituted an inseparable part of Jewish life. Indeed, it would have been impossible to give an account of Riga Jewry without them. In other cases the city or region merely served as their place of origin; and their activities often took them far from their birthplace. We feel it necessary to include them in this volume too, in order that Latvian Jewry should bear her outstanding sons in mind. Since there is not enough space to supply comprehensive details, the list of sources provided will enable those interested to learn more about them.
ESTONIAN JEWRY. A HISTORICAL SUMMARY
ESTONIAN JEWRY. A HISTORICAL SUMMARY
(ESTONIAN JEWRY. A HISTORICAL SUMMARY)
- Author(s):Ella Amitan-Wilensky
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:336-347
- No. of Pages:12
- Summary/Abstract:The State of Estonia was founded in 1919 and consisted of the former Russian Government District of Estlandia and half of the one-time Government District of Livonia. At the height of its development the Jewish community of this little country numbered about 5,000, or some 0.4% of the total population, which amounted to rather more than 1,125,000. In spite of their scanty numbers compared with the Jewish populations of Latvia and Lithuania, however, the Jews of Esthnia constituted a kind of multum in parvo.
THE WAR YEARS IN LATVIA REVISITED
THE WAR YEARS IN LATVIA REVISITED
(THE WAR YEARS IN LATVIA REVISITED)
- Author(s):Max Kaufmann
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:351-369
- No. of Pages:19
- Summary/Abstract:To write of the great destruction of the Jewish community at the hands of the Hitlerites is far from easy, for in doing so many nightmares are revived. The urge to write this article has been furnished by the famous words of Queen Esther: “For how could I endure to look on the evil that is to befall my people? and how could I endure to look on the extermination of my kindred ?” (Esther, VIII, 6). In a similar vein immediately after the Holocaust I answered an inner call to make a record on paper, and thus preserve for history, my recollections of what happened to Latvian Jewry during the Second World War.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(BIBLIOGRAPHY)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:Hebrew
- Subject(s):Bibliography, Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:372-393
- No. of Pages:2
INDEX
INDEX
(INDEX)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, History of Judaism
- Page Range:375-384
- No. of Pages:10
