Leo Dribins,
Armands Gūtmanis,
Marģers VestermanisLATVIAs JEWISH COMMUNITY: HISTORY, TRAGEDY, REVIVAL Contents Opening Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Indulis Bērziņš Leo Dribins THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN LATVIA A Brief Chronological Survey The Ban of the Crusaders The Ban of the Kings The Gate of Piltene The Jews Settle throughout Kurzeme and Zemgale Jewish Refugees Settle in Latgale Judenherberge 18th-century Banishments The Benevolence of Catherine II and Ernst Biron The Kahali of Latgale The Jews and the Latvian Peasants Contrasts between Transformation and Emancipation The Good Years under the Rule of Alexander II Opposition to the Pogrom Policy Latvian Attitudes Jews During the Revolution of 1905 The Deportation of 1915 In Exile The Citizens of Independent Latvia Jews in the Latvian War of Independence The Demographic and Sociological Picture of the Latvian Jewish Community The Role of Jews in the Renewal and Development of the National Economy The Structure of Jewish Political Life Jewish Schools Jews in Latvias Cultural Life Religious Life The Attack of Anti-Semitism The Attitude of the Authoritarian Government of Kārlis Ulmanis Towards the Jews Under the Hammer and Sickle The Holocaust in Latvia The First Stage of the Greatest Criminal Offence The Ghetto Rumbula and Šķēde Hitlers Will Culprits and Accomplices Under the Second Soviet Occupation The Beginning of the Jewish National Awakening in Latvia The Revival of the Jewish Community The Decisive Days of 1991 Latvia Israel The 1990s on the Road to Integration The Contemporary Jewish Community of Riga The Jewish Community of Latvia
Marģers Vestermanis OPPOSITION TO THE HOLOCAUST IN LATVIA Armands Gūtmanis HOLOCAUST EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND REMEMBRANCE LATVIAN PUBLIC POLICY AFTER THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1991 Latvian Public Policy Education Research Remembrance
Leo Dribins The History of Jews in Latvia in Brief Agreements between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the State of Israel Opening Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Indulis Bērziņš Latvia has resolved to support the research of history and an assessment of the past. Equally important are the teaching of history and encouraging tolerance among fellow human beings. This book is devoted to the history of the Jewish community. It covers the more distant past of the Jewish community in Latvia, its best days in the 1920s and 1930s of independent Latvia, the tragic period of the Holocaust, and finally, the work being done in contemporary Latvia in the field of Holocaust education and research. Research is still needed on the destinies of individuals, countries and nations. Several times the last century has contradicted the majority opinion that economic development and respect for the individual increase along with the development of humanity. In the middle of the 20th century, economic and technological progress that could have been used towards the development of the State and society were instead misused for the achievement of ideological aims. Education and culture are essential in order to overcome prejudice, for learning the lessons of history and for eradicating extremism. Tolerance has been a current topic throughout time, as people have been prepared to defend their personal well-being even at the expense of others. Thus, those who rescued the Jews in Latvia during World War II deserve yet another mention: Žanis Lipke, Bruno Rozentāls and many others. The government of Latvia is determined to develop co-operation with the Special Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research to continue public education on these themes. The Ministry of Education and Science plays a special role in this work by co-ordinating the activities of public and non-governmental organisations. Under the auspices of the Latvian Commission of Historians, researchers in Latvia have initiated successful co-operation with colleagues in the United States, Israel, Germany, Sweden and other countries, thereby proving that they are an active part of the international scientific dialogue. The work and plans of the Centre for Judaic Studies of the University of Latvia, the Institute of the History of Latvia, the museum Jews in Latvia, the Association of Latvian History Teachers and the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia give evidence of extensive educational work in Latvia. In our country we are learning to understand how important it is to know that language, culture, territory and administration alone do not determine the strength of a nation. We believe that collective responsibility for the preservation of past experience and teaching it to new generations are also crucial factors. I support the idea and spirit of this book. I am pleased that the group of authors from Latvia, supported by the U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission, has succeeded in creating a book of lasting social significance. 
Indulis Bērziņš Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Latvia Leo Dribins THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN LATVIA A BRIEF CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY The Ban of the Crusaders The ancient Latvians peoples had no contacts with Jews. A Jewish community might have arisen (as it did in the 14th-century Lithuania), had the invading crusaders allowed this. They did not want representatives of Judaism to appear in lands under their rule. In 1306 (according to other sources in 1309), Sigfried von Feuchtwangen, Master of the German Order, issued a special decree that prohibited their immigration and stay in Livonia. Offenders were threatened with severe punishments. The Hanseatic League, too, did not want the Jews present in the Baltic lands, as they considered them dangerous rivals. However, historical sources show that individual Jewish merchants came to the Land of Māra, as the spiritual rulers, the bishops, were not so hostile towards the Jews. A 14th-century tombstone found near Jelgava and records on deals with a Jewish merchant Jacob in Riga in 1536 give evidence of the arrival of the Jews. It is likely that certain privileged Jews or those who had been granted special authority by the rulers of German lands arrived here from time to time, as the Federation of Livonia was a constituent part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (Heiliger Römisches Reich deutscher Nation). The Ban of the Kings In the 16th century after Livonia had lost the war with Ivan the Terrible of Russia, the laws of the German Order lost their validity. In 1561, by signing the capitulation treaty with Poland and Lithuania, the Order also managed to secure a promise from King Sigismundus II Augustus. The German aristocracy was promised that the legal regulations that were favourable to the Jews of Poland and Lithuania would not be valid on the territory of former Livonia. The King proclaimed that Jews would not be allowed to trade, collect taxes or customs duties (which they did in Poland and Lithuania) in Vidzeme and Latgale (the Duchy of Pārdaugava), and Kurzeme (Courland). On January 14, 1582, by surrendering to King Stephan Bathory, the German city council of the free city of Riga gained the right to make decisions concerning the arrival of Jews in the city and the length of their stay there. The above regulations retained their validity after 1621 when Riga surrendered to Swedish King Gustav Adolph. As a part of the privileges that were bestowed to the city, King Gustav Adolph endorsed the former rights of the council. However, by the end of the 16th century, some Jews who were intermediaries for Lithuanian and Polish merchants stayed in Riga for longer periods. They were protégés of Georg Radziwil, ruler of the Duchy of Pārdaugava. For several years the famous Jewish doctor K. Fiedler attended to the health care of Riga aristocrats. Opon leaving Riga for Moscow to attend Boris Godunov, he received a reference letter from the City Council, which said that during three years of therapeutic practice in Riga he had done no harm to anybody. The Gate of Piltene Upon the disintegration of Livonia, Johann von Münchausen, bishop of Kurzeme, started to invite Jewish merchants to his lands in Piltene and Aizpute. He needed rich and active people. The bishop planned to sell his estate to foreign lands, and the areas that were inhabited by Jews could be sold at a higher price. In Central Europe the Jews were considered better taxpayers and initiators of business activity. Upon the division of Livonia, the territory of Piltene was given over to the jurisdiction of Danish Prince and Duke Magnus. Denmark was rather tolerant towards the Jews, and in 1570 they received the right to free entrance in the territory of Piltene to engage in trade and craft, to possess real estate, and to practise their religious rituals. The first Jewish community on the territory of Latvia was developed in Piltene. When Denmark sold Piltene to Poland for 30,000 thalers in 1585, Stephan Bathory granted extensive rights to the Jews in the area and took them under his protection. In 1611, the territory of Piltene within Poland was granted autonomy, and the Jews preserved their privileges until 1717. A strong Judaic religious congregation also developed there. After 1585 Jews began to arrive from Prussia to Lower Kurzeme. In order to pay back the foreign debt, Poland had temporarily given Lower Kurzeme and Piltene over to the jurisdiction of the Prince of Brandenburg. The Jewish community of Aizpute developed in Lower Kurzeme. Already in the late 16th century Jewish merchants from Prussia were frequent guests around Liepāja. The amber that they bought from the peasants in that area was highly valued in the markets of Memel and Königsberg. The Jews who came from Germany spoke German and German Yiddish. They were well-educated and cultural people for the time. The Jews Settle throughout Kurzeme and Zemgale In the 17th century the Jews who came from Germany gradually settled in different areas of Kurzeme and Zemgale. They became the inhabitants of the German Duchy of Kurzeme the feudal territory of Poland. The Duchy often saw Jewish merchants from Poland and Lithuania. After the subjugation of Riga to Sweden, the Jews became the main mediators in trade with Poland-Lithuania. The dukes of Kurzeme were interested in the immigration of Jews, as they needed Jewish loans to carry out their business undertakings and Jewish skill in dealing with financial matters. Jewish immigration was particularly favoured by Duke Jacob, who entrusted the Jews with collecting customs and taxes. Zachary Daniel, a Jew, was even appointed as governor of the Liepāja coastline zone and was entitled to deal with all matters pertaining to the sales of the Dukes property. In this way the Jews, who were directly subordinated to the ruler, appeared in the Dukes court. Duke Friedrich Kasimir, Jacobs successor, permitted the local Jews to perform large-scale financial operations for his treasury, and to organise alcohol production and currency exchange in Jelgava, a city that was frequented by many merchants from different countries. Customs were almost completely entrusted to Jewish customs officers. In this way the Dukes revenues experienced a notable increase and one portion was invested in the construction of factories, ports and shipyards, and in polishing the splendour of the court. The aforementioned undertakings provoked sharp protests and counteraction from the side of the conservative opposition of landowners. In 1648, 1688 and 1698, the parliament of landowners, the Landtag, asked to stop patronizing Jews and even to banish them. Dukes partially restricted Jews by allowing them to reside only on one street (Judengasse, later Dobeles iela) of Jelgava. The construction of synagogues and arrangement of Jewish cemeteries was forbidden in Kurzeme. When a Jew died the body had to be taken to Lithuania to be buried there. The dukes, however, precluded the banishment of Jews. In the early 18th century the Jews of Jelgava were granted the right to build a synagogue and to establish their own cemetery. Jewish Refugees Settle in Latgale The first Jewish families arrived in Latgale in the 16th century as they fled the repressions of Ivan the Terribles troops. The families settled in the present-day Krāslava District. A considerable number of Jews immigrated to Latgale in the middle of the 17th century. They were refugees from the Ukraine and Belarus, where bloody massacres of Jews took place during the uprising headed by Bogdan Hmelnitsky. Polish authorities allowed the persecuted Jews to settle permanently in Latgale and to occupy themselves with craftmanship, trade and money lending, and to become their tenants. According to approximate estimations, in the late 17th century Latgale might have had about 2000 permanent Jewish residents. Daugavpils and Krāslava experienced the development of Jewish communities. In comparison to the Jews of Kurzeme, those who came to Latgale were less educated people. They strictly observed religion in their traditional life and spoke Polish Hebrew. The cultural centre of these Jews was in Vilnius. The rabbis of Vilnius conducted the religious matters of Latgale. The dukes of Kurzeme did not allow Jewish refugees to settle in the Duchy, and those who came to Jaunsubate were even banished. Judenherberge In the 17th century, as international trade relations expanded and the Hanseatic League disintegrated, Jewish merchants from Holland often came to Riga by ship. Jews from Prussia, Brandenburg, Poland and Lithuania were also regularly involved in trade there. In 1638, the Riga City Council appointed these guests a special place in the city suburbs, behind the wall and ramparts of the city the Judenherberge (now the intersection of Maskavas and Lāčplēša Streets). In that same year the City Council granted permission to Heinrich Rosen, a Christian, to build several Jewish buildings hotels. Rosen was also entrusted to look after the lodgers and punish them with a stick if they disobeyed the regulations of the City Council. The Council simultaneously warned the citizens that they were not allowed to provide night lodging to Jews. A serious fine was imposed for violation of this prohibition. The Judenherberge was actually a mini-ghetto controlled by the City Council. Its buildings burnt down during the Northern War. 18th-century Banishments As it altered Latvias destiny the Northern War also introduced considerable changes into the lives of Jews there. The influence of Poland noticeably declined. In 1721 Riga and Vidzeme were incorporated into the Russian Empire. The Duchy of Kurzeme increasingly felt the will of Petersburgs rulers and in 1795 it voluntarily surrendered to Russia. However, the empire of Peter I hated Jews. With the loss of Polish patronage, the Jews of Kurzeme were the first to suffer. In 1714, as he surrendered to the pressure of Judophobic land-owners, Duke Ferdinand ordered the Jews to be expelled from Kurzeme. A big fine, a thaler per day, was imposed on those who disobeyed the order. Richer Jews stayed by paying 400 thalers for the whole year. Those who were not so rich kept moving around, or paid off the local authorities with a bribe. Many landowners owed money to Jews and could not pay it back. This hampered the banishment of the Jews. The Duchy of Kurzeme, however, was subject to the rule of law, and the unpaid lender could not be banished. The Dukes court found a way out: the landowners who were indebted to the Jews were forced to gradually repay the debt to the State, and these payments served as a fine for the stay of the Jews. Thus, the campaign that was intended for the banishment of the Jews became a procedure for paying residence tax. Payments were made by both Jews and Germans. It was harder for the Jews during the 1740s, when the emissaries sent by Russian Tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna achieved their banishment from Jelgava. The disobedient ones were whipped. The destiny of several Riga Jews was even harsher. After surviving
the bombing of the city, famine and plague, they were banished on the order of the Russian Commandant. The City Council soon allowed them to return, and these people took an active part in the reconstruction of Riga. In 1727 Catherine I issued a decree on their banishment. The City Council, however, using the autonomy granted by Peter I, banished only immigrants from Poland, but German Jews were allowed to stay. They were advised to adopt Christianity and to Germanise themselves. And this happened. Elisabeth Petrovna also forbade Jewish merchants from Western Europe to enter Riga. Trade in Riga suffered from this. Only four very successful Jewish merchants remained in Riga, and they paid big taxes. The governor of Vidzeme granted them the status of Protected Jews (Schutzjuden). The Benevolence of Catherine II and Ernst Biron In 1764 Catherine II partly revoked prohibitions against the Jews that were issued by previous tsars. She also stated that from then on the Russian word zhid had to be replaced by the word yevrei in public documents, but in German the word hebräer or ebräer had to be used. In 1766 Baltic Governor General Brown (who was of Irish origin) issued special regulations that contained 14 clauses on Jews in the city of Riga. Jews were allowed to arrive and stay six weeks in Riga for commercial purpose in a specially appointed area of the city suburbs. The newly built Jewish guest house was opened on the current intersection of Maskavas and Dzirnavu Streets. This was a small city block situated near the bank of the River Daugava. Johann Benken, a Jew, was appointed administrator of the city block on contractual basis. In 1767 it was allowed to build a synagogue in the same location. Some Jews were permitted to live at Karls Ravelin (now the territory of the Riga Bus Terminal). Its inmate Abraham Kuntze created a wonderful beverage, which was later named Riga Balsam. Duke Ernst Biron, who sought to modernize his State by conforming to the absolutism of European Enlightenment, introduced a new attitude towards Jews in the Duchy of Kurzeme. The Duke chose the financier Levy Lipman, a Jew, to be his chief advisor. Lipman provided Kurzeme with foreign credits, and promoted the immigration of German businessmen and craftsmen from German lands. Tinsmiths, carpenters, glaziers, roofers, furniture makers and decorators, and jewellers came there. These craftsmen and master craftsmen also took part in the construction of the Jelgava and Rundāle castles, and during the rule of Peter Biron in the construction of Academia Petrina. In the 18th century many educated Jews came to the Duchy of Kurzeme they included teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc., who had studied in the gymnasiums and universities of Germany. They had integrated themselves into German society, yet they preserved their religious beliefs and Judaic traditions. In the late 18th century Jelgava was the home of Markus Heres, Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy, a fellow of the remarkable philosopher Moses Mendelssohn who was an emancipator of German Jews. There was a Jewish school in Jelgava where the language of instruction was German. The children there were taught in the spirit of Jewish Enlightenment and the haskala ideas. At the end of the 18th century about 9000 Jews permanently resided in Kurzeme and Zemgale. A tenth of Jelgavas inhabitants were Jews. In 1785 Catherine II issued an important decree that granted the Jews of Kurzeme the right to reside in the town of Sloka of the Vidzeme province. As citizens of Sloka they had the right to regular trade in Riga. That was how about 400 Jewish merchants came to Riga. They obtained temporary resident status in the city. Wealthier Jews were also allowed to reside outside the Jewish block. The Kahali of Latgale In the 18th century Jews remained segregated in Latgale. They had their own rather secluded and isolated community, the life of which was mainly determined by religious prescriptions. Jewish communities were called kahali. In Poland and Lithuania kahali had the right of autonomy. Kahali collected public and reparative taxes from their fellowmen, ensured public order, tried Jews both in cases of disputes and offences (except serious crimes against the State), ensured the enlistment of recruits, and also took care of the sick and old people. Of the 3000 Jews who resided in Latgale in 1766 the majority were craftsmen and petty traders pedlars. More enterprising Jews ran inns and pubs, produced alcohol and made beer. There were Jews, who rented the estates of Polish noblemen. These renters tried to run the estates rationally in order to earn good money. Peasants, therefore, were more exploited in these estates. This caused dissatisfaction with Jews and hatred against them. The same reputation was inherited by money-lenders or creditors. After the incorporation of Latgale into the Russian Empire (1772), to a certain extent, the situation of the local Jews was determined by their legal division into two classes: merchants and middle-class people. The former obtained the right to take part in the elections of city councils. In the late 18th century about one half of the urban residents in Latgale were Jews. In Daugavpils, 1373 persons or more than 60% of the citys 2200 residents were Jews. The decree issued by Catherine II in 1791 that restricted the settlement of Jews to certain zones affected Latgale in a peculiar way. The movement of Jews from rural areas to towns and villages was forcibly stimulated. Jews also had restricted leasing rights. This worsened their social situation. The life of town-dwellers was particularly difficult. In the late 18th century there were about 5000 Jews in Latgale. The Jews and the Latvian Peasants In the 18th century direct public contacts between Jews and Latvian peasants or serfs developed in the Duchy of Kurzeme. Farms were regularly visited by Jewish peddlers who sold the necessities of life, or who would trade them for agricultural products. In many places travelling Jewish peddlers were the only link between peasants and the towns. They tried to master Latvian and, though their pronunciation was not always very good, they could communicate with their customers. These travelling Jews brought news of the vicinity to peasants and offered them valuable advice for their everyday life and farming. Latvian folk songs and stories of the time describe the Jew as a stranger who differs in his appearance, clothing and traditions, but who is needed, is a Jewish neighbour, and is good for making deals. Jewish peddlers often stayed overnight at farmsteads and sometimes even spent several weeks there. It is noteworthy that in The ABC Book of Pictures (Bildu ābice) by Old Stender the Latvian letter Ž is associated with the word žīds (Jew). In the book Jews are characterised positively as tidy and scrupulous observers of their religious holidays and feasts, and as people whose religious behaviour could very well serve as a sample for many a Christian. It should be noted that the word žīds came to Latvia from Poland, and had no contemptuous colouring as it had in Russia. The word was also used by Polish Jews themselves. Contrasts between Transformation and Emancipation During the rule of tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I (18011855) the Russian government sought to implement the so-called transformation of Jews, i.e. measures that would force them to give up their traditional way of life and religion and turn them into Russian citizens. Attempts were made to implement the idea in 25 provinces that were part of the Jewish settlement zone. The measures severely affected Latgale a part of the Vitebsk province. Higher taxes were imposed on kahali, Jews were allowed to change their place of residence only with the permission of the authorities, and many Jewish boys under 12 were enlisted in preparatory military battalions cantons where attempts were made to convert them to Orthodoxy. From 1844 Jews had to pay a tax for wearing their special traditional clothing. The same year a decree was issued on the abolishment of the autonomous kahali, as they had not joined the transformation process. Jews were directly placed under general administration and Nicholas I alone, during thirty years of his reign, passed 600 laws and decrees that regulated the life of Jews. The Jews of Kurzeme were less affected by the policy of transformation. However, their emigration to Southern Russia was favoured in order to turn them to agriculture. About 2500 people left. Tempted by the government, several hundreds of Jews set out for Western Siberia, although the majority of them perished from cold and starvation. The local Russian administration simultaneously tried to attract rich Jewish merchants and involve them in local governments, thereby securing better funding for the local governments. The Jews made use of the situation to make life easier for their kinsmen. The activity and influence of Judaic religious parishes grew; they rendered help to poor families. Jews usually had 34 children, but in the first half of the 19th century the number of Jews in Latgale doubled, reaching 11,000 in 1850. In 1835 a regulation was enforced in the province of Kurzeme that granted Jews passports (often giving them a new surname), and permanent residents were allowed to practise freely chosen professions. Still, immigration from Poland and Lithuania was forbidden, and those who evaded taxes were banished. In the middle of the 19th century 23,000 Jews lived in the province. On December 17, 1841, the Riga Jews, who were temporary inhabitants, succeeded in getting the Russian Senate to issue regulations concerning their transition permanent resident status, albeit without the right to citizenship. The German rulers of the city were forced to allow this, although they insisted that on the streets the Jews had to behave like citizens and had to be dressed according to German fashion. The opening of a State-funded Jewish secular school in 1840 was a great achievement for the Russian Empire. The school was headed by Max Lilientahl, an active propagator of Jewish secular education. In 1851 the construction of a synagogue was permitted in Riga for the first time. In the first half of the 19th century many Jewish associations were founded. The most important one was Bikur Holim, a society for health care and care of the sick that was founded in Riga in 1829. The Good Years under the Rule of Alexander II After suffering defeat in the Crimean War, Russia was forced to introduce reforms and to modernize itself. New liberal legislation also essentially changed the legal status of the Jews. The battalions or cantons were liquidated, and restrictions concerning the settlement and education of Jews were repealed. When the extensive construction of railways and ports began, thousands of Jews from Poland, Lithuania and Belarus moved to Kurzeme, Zemgale and Riga. In 1867 there were 5254 permanent Jewish residents in Riga, or 5.1% of the citys population. In 1881 the Jews already reached 14,222 or 8.4% of the citys population. The bulk of the Riga Jews used German in social life, but about 6000 also spoke German at home. In 1881 there were 47,671 Jews in the province of Courland, or 8.2% of the total population. In 1881 they comprised 32% of the provinces town-dwellers, but in Tukums 46.5%, Bauska 59.4%, and Jaunjelgava 69.55% of the total population. The new Jewish immigrants mainly spoke Yiddish and Polish there. In Jelgava and Liepāja Jews continued to use German. After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 186365, the Jews of Latgale gradually started to use Russian. However, at home and among themselves they continued using Yiddish, thereby also preserving their Yiddish culture. The cities of Latgale were also Jewish in character: in the late 19th century the Jews comprised 46% of the population in Daugavpils, 54% in Rēzekne, and 54.5 % in Ludza. In the 19th century many Jews fostered the development of large-scale trade and industry. The Schlit and Berlin families dominated in the wood industry and wood trade. Schleime Schlit of Riga also established the flax processing company Emolips. Manufacturer Jacob Gindin played a leading role in alcohol production. In Daugavpils, Schleime Saks, a merchant of the First Guild who had immigrated from Poland, built and ran the largest match factory in Russia. In Zemgale and Latgale Jewish merchants took in their hands the buying and selling of grain. At the end of the 19th century the Jews owned ten banks in Riga. Jewish secular education witnessed rapid development. In the early 20th century in Riga alone there were 32 Jewish schools with 5000 pupils and 270 teachers. The Riga Polytechnic Institute had 200 Jewish students, or 10% of total students. In the province of Kurzeme in 1897 there were 29 secular and 142 religious Jewish schools. Attitudes towards Jews had changed on July 10, 1861, during a trip to the Baltic provinces, Alexander II received a Jewish delegation in Jelgava, and on July 28, he even visited the towns synagogue together with the royal family. In 1867, too, the Tsar met with representatives of Kurzemes Jews during his visit to Riga. Local Baltic German administrators also changed their attitudes. In 1861, for instance, Abraham Neuman, a Riga rabbi and director of the first Jewish school, was granted the title of the Honorary Citizen of Riga. However, the period of tolerance and understanding was rather short. Opposition to the Pogrom Policy After the murder of Alexander II in the spring of 1881, Russia experienced the outburst of political and economic anti-Semitism. Pogroms of Jews took place in the southern provinces. On May 3, 1882, Alexander III announced new provisional regulations on Jewish life, which were in force until February 1917. These regulations demanded that the Jews of Riga, Jelgava and Liepāja who did not work in officially registered professions had to leave the cities. As elsewhere in Europe, Jews reacted to this hostility by founding Zionist groups. Zionists urged Jews to prepare themselves for emigration to Palestine and to the USA. In the middle of the 1880s the group Hovevei Cion (the Zealous Ones of Zion) was formed in Riga and consisted of Jewish students. The participants studied Jewish history and dreamt about the revival of the Jewish State. In 1880 a Zionist organisation was established in Daugavpils. The Jewish community of Riga founded its own group of Zionists. Its leading representatives included Leibe Schlit, Wolf Lunz and Wolf Kaplan. In the 1890s the emigration of Latvian Jews to Palestine began. It is true that in the beginning there were few enthusiasts, but their hardiness and heroism made next generations return to the nations main source of power, the fatherland. Repatriates from Latvia took part in arranging the large Hadera settlement (camp) in Palestine. Many Jews actively joined the revolutionary struggle against the Russian monarchy. On the eve of the 20th century the local organisations of the Bund, a social democratic union of Jews that was founded in Vilnius, were formed in Daugavpils and Riga. For a certain period the centre of the Bund was located in Daugavpils. Latvian Attitudes In the 1880s about 20,000 Jewish refugees from the Ukraine, Belarus and Poland arrived in Latvia to escape the pogroms. The majority of Latvians and Baltic Germans were tolerant towards refugees. However, for the first time a part of the inhabitants also demonstrated a negative attitude, which was rooted both in religiously motivated prejudices and resentment of business competition. The Latvian public was not of uniform opinion regarding the Jewish question. The New Latvians (people who belonged to a social movement in Latvia in the 1860s1880s) and their followers acknowledged Jews as useful and necessary fellow human beings. Krišjānis Valdemārs urged Latvians to learn from Jews about how to reach prosperity and how to adopt their capacity for work and skill in finding the new and useful. On October 14, 1886, the newspaper Dienas Lapa underlined that Jews clearly show us how a small and despised people can become strong. Their example overtly shows what people can achieve through care, patience and a strong community. The growing Latvian conservative bourgeoisie, in turn, which was headed by Friedrich Weinberg, pressed for a boycott of Jewish goods, demanded a limit on their rights (particularly in Riga), and urged to refuse them equality. This was the beginning of local economic anti-Semitism. Latvian writers also had different opinions. In their literary compositions, Ādolfs Alunāns (Iciks Mozus), Augusts Deglavs (Žīdu meitiņa), and Rūdolfs Blaumanis (Skroderdienas Silmačos etc.) show a likeable and sincere image of the Jew. Andrievs Niedra (Kad mēness dilst) and Poruks (Mūžīgais žīds), however, see the Jews as evil characters that are cursed by destiny. There was a collision of tolerance and xenophobia, and the victim was the different one, the one who is often misunderstood. Jews During the Revolution of 1905 At the end of the 19th century there were 142,315 Jews living in Latvia, or 7.4% of the total population. The 1897 census counted 63,851 permanent Jewish residents in Latgale, 51,169 in Kurzeme and Zemgale, and 27,295 in Riga and Vidzeme. From a social viewpoint they were a diverse group. The majority were modest and poor. The Jewish business elite owned sawmills, tobacco and textile manufactories, factories of leather articles and large shops that sold ready-made clothes. The ideas of socialism gathered support among the poor Jews. In the autumn of 1904, the Riga Committee of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (LSDWP) and the Riga Committee of the Bund signed a co-operation agreement and founded the coordinating Riga Federative Committee. The main liaisons were the engineer Jānis Ozols (Zars) and the railwayman Samuel Klevansky (Maksim). On January 13 (26), 1905, the LSDWP and the Bund organised a general strike in Riga and a mass demonstration on the bank of the River Daugava. The activists of the Federative Committee were in the first ranks. Among the 73 demonstrators that were killed by the Tsars soldiers there were five members of the Bund. At the beginning of 1905 the Bund had more than a thousand members in Daugavpils. Its leaders were Mendel Shkutelsky, Mendel Deutsch and Leibe Berman. Strikes and demonstrations gathered about 11,000 workers and craftsmen who were mostly Jews. As in Riga, there were fatalities in Daugavpils, too (a monument dedicated to them was unveiled in 1925). In 1905, the Coordination Committee of the LSDWP and Bund was also founded in Liepāja. A strong Jewish fighters group, headed by Semion Nakhimson, was established there. In Riga the fighters of the Bund attacked the Riga Central Prison together with Latvian armed revolutionaries and liberated their arrested comrades in September of 1905. In Riga and Daugavpils, Latvian, Russian and Jewish revolutionary fighters joined forces to keep back the gangs of the Black Hundred, which tried to provoke Jewish pogroms. In Riga, the Black Hundred was also repelled by armed self-defence groups that were organised by Socialist Zionists. The days of the 1905 Revolution marked the beginning of co-operation between the first Latvian and Jewish civic political parties and groups. The Latvian Democratic Party supported full equality for the Jews. During the elections to the First State Duma of Russia, the Jews of Kurzeme supported the nomination of Jānis Čakste, but Latvians that of Nison Kaznelson, a doctor and Zionist. Both were elected. This co-operation continued during the Third and Fourth Duma elections. The Latvian Jews that were elected to the Dumas included Lasar Niselovich, Jacob Shapiro and Ezkiel Gurevich. Only five or six Jewish representatives were elected to the Dumas from all of Russia. The Baltic German and Latvian conservative parties also sharply opposed political co-operation between Latvians and Jews. F. Weinbergs Latvian Peoples Party, which manifestly rendered full support to the anti-Semitism of the Black Hundred, stood in the first ranks in this respect. Thus, the socialistic, liberal and conservative parties of Latvia had developed distinctly different views in regard to the Jewish question. The Deportation of 1915 From 1907 to 1914, owing to the rapid industrial development, once again many Jewish workers from Lithuania and Poland arrived in Latvia. In 1914 the total number of Jews reached 190,000. 20,000 of them were considered short-term immigrants, or resided there without the relevant permit from the authorities. Different Jewish cultural societies were active in Latvia, and new ones were also established. In 1910 a Jewish hospital, Linat hacedek, was opened in Riga. The hospital specialised in the treatment of elderly people. The Riga Jewish Educational Society played an important role in the upbringing of Jewish youth. The propaganda of Zionism grew stronger. It particularly stemmed from Zionist youth, its party Poalei Cion,, and the organisation of Zionist socialists. In 1907 the Jewish newspaper in Yiddish National-Zeitung appeared in Riga, and in 1910 the newspaper Die jidische Stimme. Jews increasingly announced themselves as an independent political force and tried to achieve the same rights for Jews as those that were enjoyed by the other citizens of the Russian Empire. Anti-Semitic circles sharply opposed these attempts. Latvian Marxist and democratic parties and organisations supported the struggle of the Jews for more extensive rights. This solidarity also manifested itself in 19111914, when the Jew Mendel Beilis was tried without any evidence. He was falsely accused of a ritual murder. Nearly the entire Latvian press condemned the falsified and obscure trial. Only the Jelgava newspaper Latviešu Avīze supported the accusation and the outburst of anti-Semitism in this connection. The newspaper was bought by the large-scale merchant J. Bisenieks, who made efforts to strengthen his position in the Latgale grain market by pushing out large-scale Jewish merchants. In principle, Latvian democratic forces condemned J. Bisenieks and the involvement of his company in the anti-Semitic campaign that was provoked by Russian chauvinists. Chauvinistic anti-Semitism most severely affected Latvias Jews during the World War I. In 1915, when the German army invaded Lithuania, Russian generals declared Jews as the main reason of their failures. They were accused of collaboration with the command of the German army and of espionage for Germany. A false story was spread that in Kuži (Lithuania) Jews had hidden a German secret unit in the rear of the Russian army and had helped it to carry out an operation. On April 17 (30), 1915, on the eve of the Jewish Shamot feast, Grand Duke Nikolay Nikolayevich, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, issued an order for the deportation of Jews residing in Lithuania and Kurzeme. They were to be deported to Inner Russia within a 24-hour with only ten days notice. About 40,000 Jews were taken away from Kurzeme and Zemgale in railroad cattle cars. The railroad cars bore the sign shpioni (spies). Many people died on the way. The deportees were settled to the provinces of Poltava, Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), Vladimir and Voronyezh, where they were met coldly and with hostility. The Jews of Liepāja and Aizpute escaped deportation, as no railroad cars were found for their hasty transportation. On April 19 the German army already crossed the railway line and on April 24 (May 7) they invaded Liepāja. The Jews greeted the German soldiers as their rescuers and liberators. The Latvian people did not support the violent action against the Jews. However, Latvians saw their greatest enemy in the German army and formed their riflemen battalions that guarded Riga and stopped the Germans from moving towards the north. For the first time in history the political opinions of Latvians and Jews radically differed. Each had their own approach and hope. This was determined by conditions that were created by foreign powers and by the World War. In Exile As the Latvians, from 1915 to 1916 thousands of Jews fled from Riga, Vidzeme and southern Latgale, forced out by war. About 75,000 Jewish refugees found shelter in Western and Central Russia. As the Latvians, the Jews founded their national committees for the care and protection of refugees there. The Jewish Social Committee for the Protection of Refugees functioned in Petrograd. It was headed by the scholar of law and lawyer Paul Mintz who was born in Daugavpils. His closest assistants were Mordekhai (Markus) Nurok, a rabbi of Jelgava, Eleazar Ettingen, Wolf Lunz and Max Laserson, associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the Petrograd University. This was the first creation of a representative unit of Latvian Jews. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Jews who had stayed in Riga founded the Democratic Party of Jews and National Democratic Union, which collaborated with Baltic German and Latvian civic democrats. Their aim was to achieve the return of refugees and deportees. However, this intention was counteracted by the German invasion of Riga in August 1917 and the Bolshevik October coup. Soviet power politically split the Latvian Jews who were then in Russia. Some began to return home after the Brest Peace Treaty, while others joined the Bolsheviks and decided to join their madcap experiment. Still others decided to wait and see which power would gain the upper hand in Latvia. The Citizens of Independent Latvia The Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on November 18, 1918, and was founded as a national Latvian State. However, its goal was to create a nation that would unite all of its citizens of all nationalities. As early as November 17, 1918, the Latvian Peoples Council (LPC) acknowledged the communities of non-nationals as national minorities. They were granted the right to delegate their representatives to legislative and executive bodies, and they were guaranteed the right to their culture and the preservation of their identity. The Law on Education, issued on December 8, 1919, provided minorities with the right to organise their national schools and run them, i.e. they could maintain educational autonomy. For the first time Latvian Jews became equal to other nationalities. The laws of the LPC also laid the foundation for the Latvian Jewish national minority and its cultural autonomy. This stimulated the growth of Jews loyalty towards independent Latvia. Such an attitude, however, developed gradually. In the beginning, the majority of Jews kept their distance from the Republic of Latvia, as they did not believe that the Latvians would be able to rationally run and safeguard their State. In December 1918 the small Jewish National Democratic Party delegated three representatives to attend the LPC meetings. There were some Jews within the faction of the LSDWP. They (Isac Rabinovich and others) submitted a draft law on the protection of minority rights. However, the draft law was never discussed. When the Latvian Red Riflemen arrived and the Soviet government that was headed by Pēteris Stučka seized power, many Jews supported it. In Riga there were several Jewish clubs that were headed by communists. Four Jewish primary schools were opened, and the newspaper Der Roiter Eimes (The Red Banner) was published. Soon, however, Jews were seriously affected by the prohibitions on free trade and the severe punishments for private initiative. The Red Terror put an end to the life of many Jews. Zionist organisations were banned and their members were persecuted in Latgale. Jews who worked in the local authorities were dismissed. The Jews who initially backed the Baltic German National Committee (about 100 Jews fought in the Landeswehr) were also disappointed. When the German Army invaded Riga many Jews were killed by the White Terror. This severe experience convinced the Jews that the Latvian provisional government headed by Kārlis Ulmanis represented the only democratic and legitimate power in the country. In July 1919, the Jewish National Democratic Party nominated its leader Paul Mintz to represent it in the government. He was appointed State Comptroller. Beginning with August 1919, there were already 14 representatives of Jewish parties and organisations in the Peoples Council: Mordekhay Dubin, Leibe Fischman, Judel Marx, Philip Latsky, Samuel Henkin, Jacob Landaus, etc. They took active part in the discussion on the citizenship law. The law allowed about 77% of Latvias Jews who had been permanent residents of Latvia since August 1, 1914, to become citizens of the Republic of Latvia. However, the Jewish deputies together with Baltic German representatives sharply opposed the principle of a Latvian national State. At a LPC meeting Ph. Latsky declared: The building of a State is not a profitable enterprise or a privilege of the national majority, but rather the matter of all inhabitants of Latvia. Conflicts of opinion were resolved through discussion and some sharp polemics. This was a multinational democracy. Jews in the Latvian War of Independence During the latter half of 1919, particularly during the attack by the army of Bermont and von der Golz, about one thousand Latvian Jews were enlisted in the Latvian army. About 200 Jews volunteered, and they were also among the ranks of the Kalpaks battalion. There were 31 Jewish officers. Four Latvian Jews were awarded the Lāčplēsis Order for heroism: Joseph Hop, Robert Maletsky and Max Gringut for participation in daring reconnaissance operations at the rear of the Red Army in 1920. Samuel Hop, brother of Joseph Hop, was awarded for removing two seriously wounded Latvian officers from the battlefield in the fights against Bermonts troops. The heroic deed of the famous Latvian Captain Hugo Helmanis was repeated by Lieutenant Beines Berman of the Cēsis infantry regiment. Prisoners-of-war and trophies were taken on June 1213, 1920, while he was commanding a raid that was carried out by 25 reconnoiterers in Russia, in the direction of Ostrov. For these deeds B. Berman was awarded the Order of Three Stars. Courage in battle was also shown by the soldiers Hirsch Berkovich, Eliah Richter, Philip Farbman, Joseph Binder, Moses Shpungin, Leo Blumberg and others. The Lāčplēsis Order was also awarded to Captain of Landeswehr cavalry Otto Goldfeld, a German-born Jew who went over to the Latvian national army and later took a Latvian surname Zeltiņš. More than 50 Jews died or were wounded in the Latvian battles for independence. The Jewish community had the moral right to consider itself a participant of the Latvian War of Independence. A Jewish society that united liberators of Latvia began operations in 1928. The society had more than 700 members. It educated Jewish youth in the spirit of Latvian patriotism and propagated military traditions of the Jewish people. Monuments to Jewish officers and soldiers who perished during the war were erected in Riga and Liepāja. In 1925 during peacetime the Latvian Army had about 1390 Jews who served actively or who were in service on re-engagement. This number corresponded to 1.65% of Latvias citizens of Jewish origin. Unfortunately, very few were in the officer corps: they were only in medical service. Jews did not enter Latvian Military School and were not invited to come there. The rank of officer was not conferred on them. This was a prejudice inherited from the Russian monarchy Jews were considered unsuitable for the rank of officer. This was an erroneous and xenophobic approach. The Demographic and Sociological Picture of the Latvian Jewish Community From 1920 to 1921 deported and evacuated Jews continued to return to Latvia. Once again the number of Jews in Latvia grew. An increasing number of Jews were granted Latvian citizenship. Table 1 The Number of Jews and Their Proportion in Latvias Population, 19201935 Year | Number of Jews
in Latvia | Proportion of Jews among Latvias population (%) | Proportion
of Latvian citizens among Jews (%) | 1920 1925 1930 1935 | 79,644 95,675 94,388 93,479 | 4.99 5.19 4.97 4.79 | 77.31 83.36 89.46 92.46 |
In Latvia, the demographic dynamics of Jews were positive. In the period from 1925 to 1935 their natural growth amounted to more than 4000 people. The decrease in the number of Jews can be explained by the emigration of 4500 Jews to Palestine. Between 1923 and 1936, 2207 Jews emigrated to the USA. Several hundred moved to other countries, including the Soviet Union, to take part in the formation of the Jewish autonomous region in the Far East. In the latter half of the 1930s, while trying to escape Nazi terror, more than a thousand Jews from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia came to Latvia. A part of them became permanent residents of the country. This increased the Jewish population to more than 95,000. An amendment to the citizenship law that was passed by the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) in 1927 increased the proportion of Jews among citizens. This amendment granted Latvian citizenship to persons who had resided in Latvia for at least 6 months prior to August 1, 1914 and who could provide proof of this (even if they had not acquired permanent residency). A referendum against the above amendment was proposed by the right-wing nationalistic forces and failed, as the majority of voters boycotted it. On December 1718, 1927, only a little more than 20% of the voters went to the poll-boxes; their percentage in Riga was 18.8%. The freedom of independent Latvia also spurred a rather active internal migration of Jews mainly from Latgale to the western part of the country, including to Riga. Some of the Jews from the towns and villages of Kurzeme also moved to the capital city. In the period from 1920 to 1935 the number of Jews in Riga increased from 24,000 to 44,000 and formed 11% of the citys population. The employment structure of Jews also changed. In comparison to the period before 1918, the number of petty craftsmen and traders decreased. The proportion of Jews employed in industries, large-scale trade and intellectual work became relatively larger. In 1930, 48.8% of Latvian Jews worked in trade, 27.7% in industry, 5.9% were engaged in free professions, 3.4% in health care, 2.9% in transport, 0.9% in agriculture, and 0.8% in administrative work. Very few worked in the State apparatus; this is one of the negative policy traits of that time. Nationalistic forces opposed the inclusion of minorities in the government and its agencies. However, about 6% of Jews were managers of business enterprises, shop managers, accountants and other significant employees in the public and private sectors. According to the 1925 census Jews comprised 36.27% of all private owners and 8.64% of the entrepreneurs in Latvia. In 1935 the proportion of Jews among the employers of Riga was 25.9% (Latvians were 51.6%). In 1935 the proportion of Jews in the employment structure of Latvia was as follows: 26.0% in trade, 9.8% in health care, 8.2% in free professions, education and art, 8% in industry, 2.8% in transport, 2.2% in public administration and the security service, 2.2% worked as domestic servants, and 0.1% worked in agriculture. Around 10% of Jewish families could not cover the most essential expenses. They received assistance from Jewish religious congregations and sometimes from the treasuries of secular communities. Still, this aid was not able to save many families from total impoverishment that particularly affected the villages and towns of Latgale. The Role of Jews in the Renewal and Development of the National Economy Jewish capitalists and entrepreneurs played a significant role in the renewal and development of Latvias national economy. Having just returned from exile, Jewish entrepreneurs started establishing banks, and crediting companies and co-operatives. The Riga International Bank, the Liepāja Traders Bank, the Private Joint-Stock Bank of Latvia, the Riga Traders Bank and the Northern Bank were particularly successful. They were the beginning of the development of Latvias banking system. In 1924 six banks that were founded by Jews held 60% of all capital deposited in Latvias banks. Jewish bankers used their wide international contacts with capitalists in the USA, Germany, England, Sweden and other countries to attract foreign investments to Latvias economy. The Private Bank of Latvia became the depository for gold that Czech soldiers had obtained from the Russian government, and which they had brought from Siberia. The Latvian-Jewish Association of Credit Unions was established, an organisation that united 21 savings and loan banks. In the early 1920s, over the course of two years, Latvian-Jewish financiers, manufacturers and traders received 30 million lats in currency grants sent from the USA. This made it possible to invest big capital in the establishment of new manufacturing companies and in the modernisation of the existing plants, particularly in the timber industry, rubber, textiles and paper production. The Jews of Latvia were also assisted by the American-Jewish charity association Joint. Jewish entrepreneurs and financiers who significantly contributed to the establishment and successful management of Latvias banks included the brothers Daniel and Jacob Hoff (of Jelgava), S. J. Saks, I. Friedman, F. Davson, F. Landau, N. Ginzburg, G. Frank, A. Kahn, N. Soloveichik, S. Gurevich, A. Rabinovich and others. S. J. Saks, I. Friedman and Doctor of Economics Benjamin Ziv were also financial advisors to the Latvian government and took part in the introduction of Latvias currency, the lats. Jews also had a significant impact on the development of Latvias credit system. In 1935 Jews comprised 10.2% of the people employed in credit institutions and 15.4% of those employed in insurance companies. According to the noteworthy Latvian economist A. Ceihners, in 1933 20.2% of Latvias industrial enterprises, 28.5% of all shops, and 48.6% of 1st- and 2nd-class trade facilities belonged to Jews. In 1935 Jews held 36% of the share capital of joint-stock companies, and the proportion of Jews public taxpayers (with an income of more than 2000 lats per year) was: 32.2% in industry, 47.9% in trade, and 22.5% in housing management. Jews owned 7% of the real estate in Riga. The business activities of the Jews helped to overcome the consequences of World War I and provided jobs to thousands of people. Of course, the income of Jewish financiers, industrialists and traders was rapidly growing. According to estimates by A. Ceihners, the average income of a Jew exceeded that of a Latvian approximately 1.8 times. The situation could be explained by the fact that most Latvians were employed in agriculture where the profit rate was low 24% per year. The profit rate in trade was 1015%, and in industry 810%. Thus, the Jewish citizens were earning more. Rich Jews invested large sums of money in the modernisation and enlargement of their enterprises, and provided assistance to the poor people of their community. The Structure of Jewish Political Life Having become citizens of Latvia, Jews showed considerable political activity. By May 15, 1934, there were several Jewish political parties in the Republic of Latvia. The most influential was the conservative religious association Agudat Israel, which was founded in 1920 and headed by Mordekhai Dubin. The association propagated Jewish religious traditions and in domestic politics the organisation collaborated with the Latvian Farmers Union and its leader Kārlis Ulmanis. M. Dubin was also a personal friend of K. Ulmanis. At the end of 1929 M. Dubin travelled to the USA to obtain a loan for overcoming the domestic crisis in Latvia. His mission was a success. Mizrahi, a second religious party, which was also Zionistic, was formed in 1922 and propagated repatriation to Israel (Palestine). The party was headed by Mordekhai Nurok. The party maintained close contacts with the World Congress of Jews, in which M. Nurok played an important role. In the Saeima Mizrahi supported Latvian right-wing centrist politicians. In December of 1926 President of Latvia J. Čakste mentioned M. Nurok among potential candidates for the post of Prime Minister. The Jewish National Democratic Party, which was founded in 1920 (headed by Leibe Fischman), was distinctly civic and centrist in character. It represented the interests of rich entrepreneurs and traders. Around the year 1924 the party lost its influence as it poorly looked after common Jewish interests. The left-wing political spectrum included the influential party of left-wing Zionists Ceire Cion (The Youth of Zion), which sought to combine the ideas of Zionism and the concept of democratic socialism. The left-wing Zionists wanted to develop a national and socially fair Jewish State in Palestine. The party was headed by the well-known scholar of law Max Laserson, who was also active in the League of Nations Minorities Commission. In 1931 Ceire Cion joined the Latvian Organisation of Zionist Socialists to form the Zionist Socialist Party. The Jewish-Latvian Marxist workers party Bund was headed by the physician Noah Maisel, and worked together closely with the left-wing Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party. The left-wing Jewish youth organisation Perecklub and the students union Zukunft (The Future) operated under the wing of Bund. The Bund organisation in Latvia actively opposed both the right-wing Latvian parties and the communists. In spite of their differing views, all of these Jewish political parties of Jews often joined forces in the Constitutional Assembly and the Saeima to express and defend a common viewpoint. This was particularly true when the question concerned common interests of Latvian Jews. It is noteworthy that Jews, who comprised 4.85% of Latvias citizens, elected 56 deputies to the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd Saeimas. This meant that the majority of Jews voted for the parties of their own community. In 1931 many Jews voted for the candidates of the LSDWP. This was the result of the economic crisis and due to heightened activities of anti-Semitic forces. Thus, support was sought from a Marxist party. Various Jewish political parties and groups nominated their candidates in local government elections, and the nominations were often successful. In 1922, 67 of the 726 city councillors in Latvia were Jews. In 1920 there were three Jewish councillors in the Riga City Council (out of 90). In Liepāja, Jelgava, Ventspils, Kuldīga, Tukums and Talsi Jews comprised 612% of the total number of councillors: four deputies (out of 20) in the Bauska Town Council, five (out of 20) in Aizpute, 14 (out of 30) in Rēzekne, and 10 (out of 20) in Ludza. Between 1928 and 1931 Jews held about one third of the seats in the Daugavpils City Council. Table 2 Jewish Deputies in the First Four Saeimas Parties | The 1st Saeima, 1922 | The 2nd Saeima, 1925 | The 3rd Saeima, 1928 | The 4th Saeima, 1931 | Agudat Israel National Democrats Mizrahi Ceire Cion Bund | 2 1 1 1 1 | 2 - 1 1 1 | 1 - 2 1 1 | 2 - 1 - - | Total | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
The Revisionist Socialist Party was active outside f the Saeima. It was founded in 1923 by Vladimir Zhabotinsky, a leader of the radical wing of international Zionism. He contributed to the foundation of the radical Jewish youth organisation Betar in Riga, which was later centered in Poland. Betar was preparing youth for armed struggle to recover the land of Israel and to establish a Jewish national State, and for further work in the re-established fatherland. There were about 2000 young people in Betar of Latvia. The youth organisation Necah also cultivated Jewish national traditions. It ran the Jewish scouts, and at different times had from 1800 to 3000 members. The illegal Communist Party of Latvia (CPL) was popular among and attractive to poorer Jewish young people. The chief leadership of the party was located in Moscow. The legal Jewish workers centre for culture and education Arbeterheim (The House of Workers) became a support organisation for the CPL. It supervised the activities of about 3000 members in Riga and branches in Daugavpils, Liepāja and Rēzekne. In 1922 Vladimir Mayakovsky visited and performed at the Arbeterheim of Riga. In 1920 Jewish communists also formed the illegal organisation Kamp Bund (The Bund of Struggle), which functioned as the Jewish section of the Communist Party of Latvia. Its leading members included Mark Donskoy, Iosif Lensky and Abraham Gurevich. The above organisations of communists carried out destructive and subversive activities, and maintained contacts with the USSR. However, they failed to influence the majority of Jewish youth. They were the representatives of the extreme minority that voiced totalitarian ideas. The Jewish Zionists and Betar fought against the communists and were often successful. Jewish Schools There was a broad network of Jewish minority schools during Latvias period of independence all the way till June 1940. Primary schools were mostly maintained or subsidised by the State and local governments. The majority of Jewish secondary schools belonged to private individuals or public organisations. Table 3 Jewish Schools in Latvia, 19191940 School year | Primary schools | Secondary schools | State-owned and municipal schools | Total | 1919/20 1922/23 1924/25 1933/34 1939/40 | 21 66 67 88 60 | 4 5 5 4 | 4 9 15 18 11 |
The network of schools ensured the education of Jewish youth in the spirit of their national identity. While 22% of children from Jewish families attended Jewish schools in 1922, in 1929 the number had reached 82%. Until 1934, many Jews also sent their children to German and Russian schools. In the beginning instruction in Jewish schools was mainly in Russian, but beginning with the latter half of the 1920s in Yiddish and Latvian. Other languages were also taught at the schools, including Hebrew, German, English and Russian. In 1930, 45.82% of the pupils in Jewish schools studied in Yiddish, 36.05% in Hebrew, 13.077% in German and 5.05% in Russian. In the 1930s there was an increase in the number of schools with Hebrew as the language of instruction. In Jewish schools much attention was devoted to teaching patriotism and loyalty to the state of Latvia. At the end of 1929 the Department of Jewish Schools in the Ministry of Education formed a commission to collect funds for the construction of the Freedom Monument in the centre of Riga. The commission issued an appeal to the parents of Jewish pupils, which ended with the following words: Let the Freedom Monument built by the people testify to the harmony among the population. There were also many Jewish students. Table 4 Jewish Students in Latvia Academic year | Number of students | % of all students | 1919/20 1924/25 1931/32 1936/37 | 265 564 769 463 | 19.57 8.84 8.77 6.83 |
The fall in the number of Jewish students was partly caused by non-democratic restrictions (enrollment regulations) or nationality quotas at several faculties, e.g. in law, medicine, etc., where from 1934 Jewish young people were enrolled according to a fixed quota. In the period from 1920 to 1937, 738 Jews had graduated from the University of Latvia. They made up 12.76% of all graduates. The intellect of Latvias Jews also manifested itself in their language abilities. In 1936 more than a half of Latvias Jews knew three or four languages and 6.5% knew five or more languages. In 1930, 62.46% of the Jews spoke fluent Latvian in Riga 68.92%, in Liepāja 88.4%, in Jelgava 90.52%, but in Daugavpils only 18.6%. Many elderly people and those who resided in Latgale and who did not live in a Latvian environment did not know Latvian. It has been estimated that in 1940 about 80% of Latvias Jews could communicate in Latvian. In his last interview, which the poet Rainis gave to the newspaper Segodnya, he highly praised the eagerness of Jewish youth to master the Latvian language and to take part at the events of Latvian social life. Rainis considered this a feature of the emerging common nation of Latvia, which served as a model for the young generations of other minorities. Jews in Latvias Cultural Life Jews also significantly contributed to Latvias culture life. At 3 Jēzusbaznīcas Street in Riga, the amateur Jewish Workers Theatre held performances from 1922 to 1934. The professional Jewish Minority Theatre (The New Jewish Theatre) began performances in the building of the Riga Jewish Club at 6 Skolas Street in 1926. It was headed by famous stage directors of that time: M. Morevsky, A. Schtein, Yuly Adler, Yefim Weisbein, Menachim Rubin, Rudolph Zaslavsky, etc. Its repertoire mainly included plays in Yiddish by Sholom Aleihem, Sholom Asha, Adam Goldfahden and other Jewish writers. The talented artist Mikhail Yo (Meier Ioffe) made scenery for the theatre. The playhouse often hosted Jewish theatre companies from New York, Warsaw, Vilnius, and Tel-Aviv. The participation of Jews in Latvias musical life was particularly expressive. Three seasons between 1926 and 1929, Emil Kuper was appointed the chief conductor of the National Opera. The music historian Vija Briede concludes: E. Kuper was tremendously important for the development of Latvian opera. He actually raised our theatre to the European level. In the season of 1937/38, the orchestra of the National Opera was conducted by the famous conductor Leo Blech, who had been the chief conductor of the German State Opera in Berlin for the previous 20 years. After 1945, he was again conductor at the State Opera in West Berlin. From 1936, young Leonid Zakhodnik was among the opera soloists. For many years the violin faculty at the Latvian Conservatory was headed by Professor Adolph Mez. The child prodigy Sarah Rashin was among his most talented students. In 1937, at the age of 17, she won the international competition in Brussels and was awarded the Prize of the Latvian Government. In 1931 music for the first Latvian feature film The Nations Son was composed by Marx Lavri, who was the conductor of the Palestinian National Opera in 19411947, and later worked for the Radio of Israel. In the 1920s there was a Jewish Conservatory in Riga, which was located at 11 Pauluchi (Merķeļa) Street. The famous singer Mikhail Aleksandrovich, an inimitable performer of Jewish folk songs, was among its students. The King of Tango Oscar Strock was No. 1 in popular music. His song Black Eyes was performed all over Eastern Europe and elsewhere. His songs Blue Eyes, My Last Tango and other melodies were also long remembered. Riga architecture included outstanding accomplishments of several Jews, including Paul Mandelstam, a classic Art Nouveau architect. In the Republic of Latvia many buildings were built according to his projects. They include the Jewish Club and a theatre building at 6 Skolas Street, a multiple-story department store at 5 Kalēju Street, the Trade Bank of Riga at 1 Smilšu Street, the office and apartment building at 57 Elizabetes Street, buildings at 17 Stabu Street, 40 Bruņinieku Street, 97 Brīvības Street, etc. Participation of Jews in sports also deserves mention. Particularly important were the clubs Hakoah and Makkabi. The football team of Hakoah played in the higher league and supplied three soccer players to the Latvian National Team. The forward Westerman was the most famous among them. He scored 12 goals during the national games. In the period between 1919 and 1940, 40 Jewish newspapers and magazines were published in Latvia. The following newspapers existed the longest: Das Folk (The People), which voiced Zionistic views (19201927), the newspaper of left-wing Zionists Frimorgn (In the morning) (19261934), and the conservative newspaper Haint (Today), which was published by Agudat Israel (19341940). Jewish journalists also ran the newspaper Segodnya, one of the most popular newspapers in Latvia, which was published in Russian. Religious Life The majority of Latvian Jews were religious people. There were about 200 Judaic congregations. Daugavpils alone had 40 synagogues and oratories, Riga had 30 (including 14 synagogues, of which 4 were choral), Rēzekne had 10, etc. The Jewish community in all of Europe knew the rabbis of Bauska Izhak Kohen and Mordekhai Eliasberg, the Riga rabbi Mendel Saks, as well as the outstanding theoreticians of Judaism and rabbis of Daugavpils Iosif Rosin and Meier Simhe, and the Jelgava rabbi Levy Ovchinsky. In Latvia the Hassidim movement had rather large influence. It was prominently represented by the aforementioned I. Rosin, GAON of Rogacheva. The party Agudat Israel (later an organisation) was also oriented towards Hassidim and its national religious conservatism. In 1927 when the KGB arrested and sentenced to death Lubavich Rebe Iosif Isak Shneerson, head of hassidic Habada movement, M. Dubin went to the capital of the USSR. Through the leading authorities he achieved the liberation of Shneerson and obtained a permit for his departure for Latvia. The Government of Latvia supported the humane mission of M. Dubin, gave shelter to I. I. Shneerson, and granted him Latvian citizenship. Riga became the world centre of Hassidim for a short period. From there Shneerson went to Poland, but in 1939 the Embassy of Latvia helped him to leave Warsaw, which was occupied by Germans, and to emigrate to the United States of America, where the strongest centre of Hassidim was developed in New York. The Attack of Anti-Semitism After World War I Europe saw a flare-up of anti-Semitism that had not been seen since the Middle Ages. However, the 20th century witnessed not only the expansion of religiously motivated anti-Semitism, but also racial anti-Semitism. Jews were hated and persecuted as a hostile race. This type of racism spread in a particularly dangerous manner in Germany, where it became the basic element of the ideology of the National Socialist Party, which was headed by the political madcap Adolf Hitler. In Latvia anti-Semitism never became widespread. No government or Saeima encouraged it. Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics, the son of a Jew and a Latvian, was the first Foreign Minister of Latvia and twice its Prime Minister (from 1921 to 1924). He was respected by both Latvians and Jews. However, among nationalistic political circles, who wished to develop Latvia into a country of pure Latvian ethnicity, there were rather many people who hated Jews. They motivated their xenophobia with the supposedly excessive influence of Jewish entrepreneurs and bankers in the economy, and the detachment of Jews in their religious and secular national life. Thus, they considered that the interests of the Jews were contrary to national aims. The arguments of the above anti-Semites ignored the historical reality of Latvia. Latvians were in need of capital for the development of industry and trade not because of Jews. Rather, the savings of more than 60 years of hard work had to be used to buy out land that was owned by the Baltic German landed gentry. The segregation of the Jews arose due to their discrimination in the Russian Empire. It could be overcome by encouraging their integration in the society of independent Latvia. Anti-Semites denied such an opportunity. Judophobic propaganda was effective. In June 1920 hooligan groups brutally insulted and robbed people of Jewish nationality in Riga, Rēzekne and Daugavpils. The authorities stopped the excesses. On June 26 the governmental bulletin Valdības Vēstnesis published the appeal Latvians and Jews, which pointed out the historically peaceful and friendly co-existence of Latvians and Jews and also stressed that it was important to safeguard this tradition. The appeal said that all Latvian citizens who honestly fulfilled their obligations and were loyal to the State would enjoy equal rights and security. In the early 1920s, however, the right-wing radical nationalistic Latvian press the newspapers Latvijas Sargs, Zemgalietis, Vienots Spēks, Vairogs, etc. often wrote about the danger of Jews and their bad habits. The publication of the Christian National Union Tautas Balss particularly stood out. The editors G. Reinhards and J. Dāvis published their own anti-Semitic articles in the newspaper. In this way they hoped to attract a larger number of voters to their party from the poorly educated and socially dissatisfied social strata. During the election to the 1st Saeima in 1922, the CNU got four seats, but in the 2nd Saeima, which was elected in 1925, they obtained only two seats. It turned out that the anti-Semitic slogans were effective only during post-war economic hardships, when culprits for the situation were sought among non-Latvians. As the economic situation in Latvia grew more stable, ethnic relations became more tolerant. However, the anti-Semites did not calm down even then. The head of the National Union Arveds Bergs became the leader of economic anti-Semitism. In 1921 he started publishing the newspaper Latvis and in 1922 he founded the National Club of Latvians. Members of the club were particularly active among the student population and provoked an attack against Jewish students at the University of Latvia in the autumn of 1922. In this connection, during the meeting of December 9, 1922, the Cabinet of Ministers discussed the question of anti-Semitism in Latvia and condemned the political hooliganism of the extreme nationalists. However, the democracy of Latvia did not forbid the propaganda of anti-Semitism. Thus, the National Club continued its destructive activities and on January 23, 1925, a group of its terrorists threw a hand grenade into the synagogue at 124 Dzirnavu Street. In February of 1925 a bottle with poisonous substances was tossed into the premises of the Jewish Social Democratic Organisation Perec at 96 Dzirnavu Street. In 1925 the club was shut down for promoting political violence, although it continued to function for two more years under a different name. Anti-Semitism was cultivated also by far right organisations, such as Tēvijas sargi, Latvijas sargi, Latviešu aktīvo nacionālistu savienība, etc. Anti-Semitic prejudices and views grew stronger starting with 1930 when Latvia was affected by the world economic crisis. The financial situation of many Latvians worsened, their small businesses went bankrupt, and the country witnessed mass unemployment. The Jewish population also suffered from the crisis, although the businessmen of Jewish origin displayed more stability. They were saved by better opportunities to receive foreign credits, and their capital reserves were also larger. On the whole, Latvias national economy benefited from this. However, anti-Semitic propagandists declared that contrary to Latvians, the Jews themselves benefited from the crisis and were thus deepening it by bringing about misery and poverty. The pro-fascist xenophobic and anti-Semitic organisation Ugunskrusts was founded (with about 2000 members) in 19311932. In 1933
it was renamed Pērkonkrusts. The core of the organisation was formed by the former members of the National Club and anti-Semitically disposed staff members and students of the University of Latvia. Gustavs Celmiņš, a fanatic adherent of nationalistic totalitarian order and an anti-Semite, became the leader of the organisation. The programme of Pērkonkrusts foresaw the forcing out of Jews from Latvia by creating an atmosphere and conditions that would pressure them to emigrate. From 1933 Pērkonkrusts was also affected by A. Hitlers anti-Semitic policy in Germany. On January 30, 1934, the Riga Regional Court found Pērkonkrusts guilty of conspiracy, criminal propaganda and other breaches of law,
and outlawed the organisation. Its activists, however, continued their activities illegally. The Attitude of the Authoritarian Government of Kārlis Ulmanis Towards the Jews The organisers of the coup of May 15, 1934 were not anti-Semites. Neither was their leader Kārlis Ulmanis, chairman of the Farmers Union, who became the head of the authoritarian government. K. Ulmanis was influenced by the totalitarian ideas of Europe and the model of B. Mussolini, but he never liked Hitlerism or Nazism. At a government meeting K. Ulmanis stressed that Latvia would never have anti-Jewish laws. Of course, the aim of the authoritarian governments economic policy the development of State capitalism by concentrating bank capital and large-scale production in the hands of the Latvian State affected the interests of many Jewish financiers and businessmen. For instance, on January 18, 1938, the State took possession of Latvias seven largest textile enterprises, which belonged to Jews. Many Jewish owners were refused import licences. After 1934 Jewish capital started flowing away from Latvia to the USA, Great Britain and other Western countries, and many specialists also emigrated. This weakened the economic prospects of Latvia. The measures of K. Ulmanis authoritarian power in the field of education and culture also affected the life of Jews. Autonomy in the administration of their schools was liquidated. It was decided that their children could study only at Jewish schools where lessons would be held in Latvian and Jewish, but the children of mixed Latvian-Jewish families could study only at Latvian schools. The teachers of democratic and left-wing propensity were dismissed. In November 1934 strikes of protest took place at several Jewish schools in Riga. This led to the expulsion of more than 40 secondary school students. Institutions of higher education restricted the enrollment of Jews and limited their career opportunities in business, law and even medicine. On the whole, the deviation from the Satversme (Constitution) of Latvia, which declared that the power of the State belongs to the body of its citizens, weakened the ability of the Jewish community to preserve its ethnic and cultural identity. However, K. Ulmanis government did not put obstacles in the way of Jewish schools and cultural societies. In school year of 1939/40 there were 60 Jewish primary schools and 11 secondary schools 8 of the latter were private. (In the school year of 1933/34 there were 100 Jewish primary schools and 14 secondary schools.) A considerable portion of Jewish children started to attend Latvian schools. Their parents made this decision due to the necessity to adapt themselves to the national policy of the authoritarian power. After the coup of May 15, the activities of all Jewish political parties were brought to a halt. M. Dubins conservative Agudat Israel, however, was allowed as an organisation. K. Ulmanis and M. Dubin maintained friendly private relations. This was affirmed by the fact that in 1937 K. Ulmanis and J. Balodis, Minister of War, greeted M. Dubins son and his new wife, the daughter of the Vienna chief rabbi, with flowers at the Riga Railway Terminal. However, these relations had no affect on the regimes ethno-policy. The government of K. Ulmanis also allowed the activities of several Zionist-influenced organisations and groups, including Betar, and showed approval of their aims and tasks. On September 27, 1937, Ludvigs Sēja, Latvian representative to the League of Nations, officially confirmed in Geneva that the Jewish question did not exist in Latvia and that Latvian people sympathised with the aspirations of the Jewish people to return to their historical fatherland, Palestine. This could be interpreted as Latvias support of Zionism. The government of K. Ulmanis took several measures to stop the propa-ganda of anti-Semitism. Already in 1934 nearly all anti-Semitic publications were listed as undesirable newspapers and magazines and therefore closed down. The publication Latvis, headed by A. Bergs, was also closed down. On September 16, 1935, the last bastion of the anti-Semitic press, the magazine Tautas Vairogs, was eliminated. It was closed by the Minister of the Interior for the propagation of ethnic hatred. K. Ulmanis personally forbade the dissemination of J. Dāvis anti-Semitic brochures, and at the meeting of the Riga Society of Proprietors he declared to all the members that he would not allow the continuation of Dāvis anti-Jewish activities and would burn his brochures. The police confiscated J. Dāvis new editions. However, during the years of K. Ulmanis authoritarian power, propagators of anti-Semitic ideas continued their activities under restricted conditions. Underground groups of Pērkonkrusts continued to protest the presence of Jews in Latvias public life. In 1938 G. Celmiņš wrote to his companions from Helsinki: [..] with the establishment of a new age, the fate of the Jews will be decided in a final and radical manner, and not a single Jew will be left in the European countries. From 1935 the national socialistic organisation Kustība (Bewegung), which had developed within the community of Latvias Baltic Germans, also spread anti-Semitic views. Its leaders had direct contacts with H. Himmler and R. Heydrich. It also organised the dissemination of anti-Semitic literature published in Germany. The Baltic German magazine Baltische Monatshefte became the megaphone of anti-Semitism in Riga. The press censorship of the government did not respond to the facts. Presumably, this was caused by an unwillingness to provoke the dissatisfaction of Germany. By autumn of 1938, the government of K. Ulmanis accepted many Jewish refugees from Germany. A certain part of them stayed in Latvia, including Shimon Dubnov, an outstanding Jewish historian and author of the 10-volume World History of Jews, who continued his studies in Riga. However, after the incorporation of Sudetenland into Germany the sheltering of refugees was stopped. On October 13, 1938, 77 Jews from Vienna who had come to Riga on the steamship Regina were not admitted to Latvia. In 1939 German Jews from German-occupied Klaipeda were also not let in. Beginning with autumn of 1938 the persecution of Jews intensified in Germany and Hitler threatened to settle accounts with the Jewry of all Europe the Jewish community of Latvia discussed their situation with concern and alarm. After the seizure of Czechoslovakia and Klaipeda in the spring of 1939 many Jews foresaw that Germany would attack the Baltic States, which were not able to defend themselves. The reserved position of Great Britain and France led to the conclusion that the Stalinist Soviet Union alone was the superpower that would be capable of saving Baltic Jews from extinction. This illusory idea was actively spread by Jews who were members or supporters of the illegal Communist Party of Latvia, and who were also active in the pro-communistic Latvian Union of Working Youth. September through October of 1939 Latvian Jews were very upset by the news of persecution that had been carried out by Nazi occupants against Jews in German-occupied Poland. They were horrified at news of mass evictions of Jews, confiscation of their property, and the killing of their intellectuals. The inhabitants of Latvia had no information about the MolotovRibbentrop (StalinHitler) Pact, and many people, therefore, considered military co-operation with the USSR desirable in order to prevent the possible aggression of Germany against Latvia. Jewish left-wing strata happily welcomed the Mutual Assistance Pact and the stationing of Soviet troops in the territory of Latvia, which was forced upon the country in October of 1939. Many Jews, who had not much liking for communism at all, considered it a favourable temporary solution. There was still hope that the fate of Latvia would finally be decided by the victory of the Allies on the Western Front. 1940 was met in this atmosphere. Under the Hammer and Sickle The fast military victory of Nazi Germany over Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium, the fall of Paris and the capitulation of France in June 1940 caused alarm and fear among all inhabitants of Latvia. Jews were particularly worried. Thus, on the morning of June 17, 1940, many felt relieved upon hearing the news on the Riga radio Latvia had accepted the proposal of the USSR to let into its territory additional contingents of the Red Army. Young people of a left-wing disposition went out on the streets to welcome the army as friends and rescuers. Many of them were still not aware that the occupation of Latvia and the loss of its independence had begun. The conservative and Zionistic Jewish strata understood the situation, yet they cherished the hope that Stalinism would not be so merciless in the Baltic countries as in the USSR and that democracy, which was forbidden after May15, would at least partially be renewed. The illusion rapidly disappeared when the occupants openly forced the incorporation of Latvia into the Soviet Empire. Yet, even under these conditions the Jewish citizens chose to obey the new power. They considered it better to lose property under Soviet occupation than to become doomed death inmates of the ghetto under the yoke of Nazi occupation. The activists of Agudat Israel and Mizrahi behaved with reserve toward Soviet occupants. They regretted the lost presidency of Kārlis Ulmanis and trusted neither A. Kirhenšteins nor V. Lācis, seeing them as mere puppets. The Jewish youth organisation Betar immediately developed its underground network and sought to continue the propagation of Zionism. The shutdown of Zionist and Jewish conservative and religious societies, clubs and educational institutions started as early as July 1940. The destruction of the Jewish community was taking place. This destruction was completed in the spring of 1941, when the Society of Jewish Culture in Latvia was closed on March 23, and the society Bikur Holim was closed on April 14. The agricultural farm Jaunklinči, where people who wished to emigrate to Palestine were trained, was also liquidated. The fact that Jewish communists and Komsomol members also took part in the liquidation commissions does not change the essence of the matter. Jews were deprived of the main supports for their national identity. In 1940 the left-wing Jews actively participated in the formation of the administrative apparatus. They were appointed as employees of commissariats, managers of nationalized enterprises, functionaries of the Party and Soviet bodies and political workers. However, there were few Jews among the leading staff of the occupation regime. Out of the 100 members of the so-called Peoples Saeima, which voted for the incorporation of Latvia into the USSR, there were only two Jews. Out of the 35 members in the Central Committee of the CPL there was only one Jew, but there were no Jews among the puppet Peoples Commissars of Soviet Latvia. Among top officials was the Jew Semion Shustin, Deputy Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR), and Commissar of the State Security of the LSSR since April 1941, who was sent to Latvia from the USSR to head persecutions. This odious person had no connection with the Latvian Jews. He was a cynical careerist, who had turned his back to his nationality and advanced himself in 1937. The arrests of Latvian Jewish political figures started in August 1940. David Warhaftig and Mahanud Alperin, leaders of Zionist-revisionists, were arrested first. The leadership of Betar was persecuted thereafter, and in the winter and spring of 1941 the arrests took place of M. Nurok, M. Dubin and other leaders of Jews, Zionists, the conservatives and right-wing socialists. The lists that contained the names of the persons to be arrested were approved by S. Shustin. However, the Jews suffered the most during the wave of reprisals on June 14, 1941, when 553 Jewish-Latvian public figures were also arrested (about 13% of all arrestees). There are records about the deportation of 1212 Latvian citizens of Jewish nationality (12.5% of the people who were deported to the remote territories of the USSR). In reality the number of deported Jews was larger. The deported persons included I. Rabinovich and I. Bērzs, members of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia, N. Maisel, member of the first three Saeimas and head of the Bund, P. Mintz, etc. Men were sent to the camps of Solikamsk, Vyatka and Vorkuta, while their wives and children to Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and other places. Around half of the Jews who were repressed died. Among them were also P. Mintz, N. Maisel, I. Rabinovich and M. Dubin (during the second deportation in 1956). Almost the entire leading elite of the Latvian-Jewish community was arrested and deported. There were no people left who could organise the Jews to fight for their rights. The Holocaust in Latvia The term Holocaust comes from Greek words holos (all, without no remains) and cantos (burnt to ashes, incinerated). It thus denotes total annihilation. The contemporary interpretation of the word Holocaust means the physical annihilation of all people belonging to a certain nation, where no one is spared or given mercy, in order to eradicate the nations existence and to prevent its possible revival. From the early 1920s the German National Socialist Party set the following goal: to expel all Jews from Germany and to promote the disappearance of Jewry in all Europe. The Nazis considered that by having Jews present they would fail to prevent the influence of the ideas of democracy, liberalism, the free market and socialism, and they would fail to erect a clean Aryan Germany and Europe, clad in barbarian traditions. On March 1941, in preparing the attack against the USSR, Hitler had commissioned Heinrich Himmler, Chief (Reichsführer) of the SS, and Reinhard Heydrich, head of the German Security Service, to organise the immediate and complete annihilation of the Jews who reside in the German-invaded territory of the USSR. For this purpose five special mobile units of the German police and security service (Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD or in abbreviated form Einsatzgruppen) were formed. The Nazi leadership decided to involve local anti-Semites of the invaded territories in the extermination activities. This particularly concerned the Baltic countries and Western Ukraine. In June 1941 R. Heydrich, who headed all the Einsatzgruppen, gave a secret instruction and asked to create the impression that the actions were a spontaneous expression of anti-Jewish hatred carried out by Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Latvians, Estonians and Belorussians themselves. The instruction said: No obstacles shall be put in the way of the wishes of self-purification shown by anti-communists and anti-Jews in the newly-invaded lands. On the contrary, these actions should be intensified, leaving behind no evidence and, if necessary, they should be correctly channelled, giving the self-defence groups no possibility of later reference to any orders or political promises. It was planned to film and photograph the criminal actions of local anti-Semites and of other Nazi-henchmen in order to make a stock of evidence. The intention was to falsify history and to compromise the conquered nations. Latvia witnessed the arrival of Einsatzgruppe A, which was commanded by Brigadenführer SS (Major-General) W. Stahleker, Doctor of Law. It consisted of 990 men from the German police, Gestapo and the SS of Weapons (Waffen SS). The group was divided into special killing units (Einsatz and Sonderkommando), with 150 murderers prepared for mass executions in each. People who were familiar with local conditions, who from 1939 to 1941 had either emigrated or fled from Latvia and were well-known for their anti-Semitic disposition, followed the Einsatzgruppe from Germany. They were quick to establish contacts with several anti-Soviet groups of resistance and individual members of the Pērkonkrusts organisation in Soviet-occupied Latvia. These people were given a hint to become involved in the extermination of Jews and the supporters of the Soviet power without trial. The First Stage of the Greatest Criminal Offence The attack of the German army was very successful and by July 8, 1941, the entire territory of Latvia was under its rule. Only about 15,000 Latvian Jews managed to evacuate themselves to the east. More than 75,000 of them were left at the mercy of the Nazis. That was how the illusion ended that the USSR would protect and save the Jews. In Latvia the Holocaust started on the night from June 23 to 24, 1941, when in the Grobiņa cemetery SD murderers killed six local Jews, including the town chemist. On the following days 35 Jews were exterminated in Durbe, Priekule and Asīte. On June 29 the Nazi invaders started forming the first Latvian SD auxiliary unit in Jelgava. Mārtiņš Vagulāns, member of the Pērkonkrusts organisation, was chosen to head it. In the summer of 1941, 200300 men in the unit took part in the extermination of about 2000 Jews in Jelgava and other places in Zemgale. The killing was supervised by the officers of the German SD Rudolf Batz and Alfred Becu, who involved the SS people of the Einsatzgruppe in the action. The main synagogue of Jelgava was burnt down through their joint effort. After the invasion of Riga W. Stahlecker, assisted by the members of Pērkonkrusts and other local collaborationists, organised the pogrom of Jews in the capital of Latvia. Viktors Arājs, aged 31 at the time, former member of Pērkonkrusts and a member of a student fraternity, was appointed direct executor of the action. He was an idle eternal student who was supported by his wife, a rich shop owner, who was ten years older than him. Arājs had worked in the police for a certain period of time. He stood out with his power-hungry and extreme thinking. The man was well fed, well dressed, and with his students hat proudly cocked on one ear. On July 2 V. Arājs started to form his armed unit of men who were responding to the appeal of Pērkonkrusts to take arms and to clear Latvia of Jews and communists. In the beginning the unit mainly included members of different student fraternities, while later on many degraded and degenerated individuals also joined. In 1941 altogether about 300 men had applied. The closest assistants of V. Arājs included Konstantīns Kaķis, Alfrēds Dikmanis, Boris Kinsler, and Herberts Cukurs. On the night of July 3, Arājs Commando started arresting, beating and robbing the Riga Jews. On July 4, the choral synagogue at Gogoļa Street was burnt, and thereafter, the synagogues at Maskavas and Stabu Streets. Many Jews were killed during those days, including the refugees from Lithuania. In carts and blue buses the murderers of Arājs Commando went to different places in Kurzeme, Zemgale and Vidzeme, killing thousands of Jews there. These killings were supposed
to serve as an example to other anti-Semitic supporters of the Nazi invaders. Individual Latvian self-defence units were also involved in the extermination of Jews. In the district of Ilūkste, for instance, Jews were killed by the self-defence death unit of commander Oskars Baltmanis, which consisted of 20 cold-blooded murderers. All killings were supervised by the officers of the German SS and SD. In July 1941 the mass killing of Riga Jews took place in the Biķernieku Forest. About 4000 people died there. The executions were headed by Sturmbannführers (majors) H. Barth, R. Batz, and the newly-appointed chief of the Riga SD Rudolf Lange. In Liepāja the first mass killing of Jews took place on July 3 and 4, when about 400 people were shot dead, and on July 8 when 300 Jews were killed. The German group of SD and policemen did the shooting, while the members of Latvian self-defence convoyed victims to the killing site. On July 13 the destroying of the large choral synagogue of Liepāja began. The rolls of the Scripture were spread on the Ugunsdzēsēju Square, and the Jews were forced to march across their sacred things, with watchers merrily laughing at the amusing scene. The above operations took place under the direct leadership of Erhard Grauel, commander of the Einsatzgruppes Sonderkommando. Thereafter he went to Ventspils. The killings were jointly carried out by German policemen and the men of the local self-defence. On July 1618, 300 people were shot dead in the Kaziņu Forest. In JulyAugust the remaining 700 Jews of the town were shot dead, while the Jews of the region were killed in the autumn. The shooting was carried out by German, Latvian and Estonian SD men who had arrived by ship. Soon a poster appeared on the KuldīgaVentspils highway, which said that Ventspils was Judenfrei (free of Jews). In Daugavpils the extermination of Jews was initially commanded by Erich Ehrlinger, chief of Ensatzkommando 1b. By July 11 they had killed about 1150 people. Ehrlingers work was continued by Joachim Hamann, who was liable for the killing of 9012 Jews in the city and in southern Latgale. The chief of the local auxiliary police Roberts Blūzmanis had rendered active assistance by ensuring the moving of the Jews to the Grīva ghetto and transporting them to the killing places. In Rēzekne killings were carried out by a German SD group, which was helped by self-defence men and Arājs murderers. About 2500 people were exterminated. By October 1941, altogether about 35,000 Latvian Jews were killed. As stated by the outstanding Latvian historian Andrievs Ezergailis, this was the beginning of the greatest criminal act in the history of Latvia. From July 1941 the Jews of Latvia were also humiliated in different ways and deprived of the rights that were enjoyed by the other citizens of Latvia. Jews were strictly forbidden to leave their homes in the evening, at night and in the morning. They were allotted lower food rations, they could only shop in some special stores, and they had to wear the mark of recognition the yellow Star of David on their clothes. It was forbidden for them to attend places where public events took place, including cinemas, athletic fields and parks. They were not allowed to use trains and trams, to go to bath-houses, use pavements, attend libraries and museums or to go to schools, and they had to hand over bicycles and radios. Jewish doctors were only allowed to advise and treat Jews, and they were forbidden to run pharmacies. Maximum norms for furniture, clothes and linen were also soon introduced for Jews. All articles above the norm were subject to confiscation for the needs of the Reich. All jewelry, securities, gold and silver coins had to be handed over without delay. Many things were usurped by German officials and their local servants. Anti-Semitism became the source of their enrichment. The above misers were directly interested in the extermination of Jews. This guaranteed that nobody would demand back the stolen items. The Ghetto On July 27, 1941, State Commissar (Reichskommissar) Hinrich Lohse (earlier Gauleiter of Schleswig-Holstein), ruler of the Baltic lands and Belarus or Ostland as the territory was called by the invaders made his guidelines on Jewish question public. Jews, in his opinion, had to be used as a cheap labour force by paying them minimum wages or by providing them with a minimum food ration with whatever may be left over after supplying the indigenous Aryan population. In order to govern the Jews they had to be moved to special areas where ghettos would be arranged and they would be forbidden to leave the area. W. Stahlecker protested against the idea of H. Lohse and demanded that the extermination of the Jews be continued. Berlin, however, passed the power to the civil administration of occupation force and it did things its own way. The area of the Latgale Suburbs in Riga was chosen for the Riga Ghetto. It was mainly inhabited by poor people: Jews, Russians and Belorussians. The ghetto bordered on Maskavas, Vitebskas, Ebreju (Jewish), Līksnas, Lauvas, Lazdonas, Lielā Kalnu, Katoļu, Jēkabpils and Lāčplēša Streets. About 7000 non-Jews were moved from there to other flats in Riga. More than 23,000 Riga Jews were ordered to move to the territory of the ghetto. There now were more than 29,000 inmates in the ghetto, including those who had already previously resided there. The Jewish Council was formed within the ghetto, which was assigned the task of regulating social life. The Jewish police force for the maintenance of order formed there. It consisted of 80 men armed with sticks and rubber truncheons. The ghetto was enclosed by a barbed-wire fence. Wooden barriers (logs) were placed on the main streets at the entrance, and the Latvian police were stationed as guards there. Jews were allowed to leave the ghetto only in work columns and in the accompaniment of guards. Individual Jewish specialists could come and go by displaying a special yellow ID. Leaving independently was severely punished. Moving to the ghetto ended on October 25, 1941. In the ghetto the Jews were very crowded: 34 square metres were allotted per person. There was also great poverty, as food rations were given only to those who worked, i.e. to about a half of the ghetto inmates. They had to maintain their 5652 children and 8300 elderly and disabled people. The ghetto only had 16 groceries, a pharmacy and a laundry, and a hospital was arranged, which was headed by Professor Vladimir Mintz, a surgeon. The Council of the ghetto was situated in the former Jewish school building at 141 Lāčplēša Street. The historian Marģers Vestermanis writes: The members of the Jewish Council, including the lawyers D. Elyashev, M. Mintz and I. Yevelson, and their volunteer assistants did all they could to somehow relieve general suffering. (Ves termanis M. Juden in Riga. Ein historischer Wegweiser. Bremen, 1996, S. 29.) Jewish policemen, too, tried to somehow protect their fellowmen. The inmates strived to preserve themselves, and there was even an illusion of survival. A resistance group was formed that bought weapons. The Daugavpils Ghetto was set up in Grīva at the end of July, 1941, when all surviving Jews in the city were moved there. Jews from other towns and villages of Latgale and even Vidzeme were also brought there. Altogether the ghetto had about 15,000 prisoners. The engineer M. Movshenson ran the Council of the ghetto. His father had headed the city of Daugavpils in 1918 during the previous period of German occupation. Zaube, the German commandant of the Daugavpils Ghetto, stood out for his extreme cruelty. He practised the killing of offenders, especially of those who had brought in food, on the inner square of the ghetto in front of all inmates to frighten and to humiliate them. It was in Daugavpils that the liquidation of ghetto inmates started. On November 810, 1941, 3000 people were killed in Mežciems. The operation was headed by Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant-Colonel) Günter Tabbert, who was then 25. The Liepāja Ghetto was only founded in June 1942 when the majority of Jews had already been killed. It occupied a small block in the central part of the city. Israelit and Kagunsky, the leaders of the ghettos Council, arranged for a synagogue, a medical centre and a library. Professor Iosif Steiman writes: The ghetto of Liepāja had slight-ly better conditions if compared to those in the ghettos of Riga and Daugavpils. This was mainly due to the German commandant Kershner, whose behaviour towards the Jews, unlike the majority of the Nazis, was humane. (Šteimanis J. Latvijas ebreju vēsture. Daugavpils, 1995. 116. lpp.). Rumbula and Šķēde Hitlers Will A. Hitler was well informed about the killing of Jews in Latvia and had more than once expressed his satisfaction about the course of events. The ghetto situation, however, did not satisfy him and H. Himmler. In late October of 1941 they came to the idea of creating special extermination grounds on the territory of occupied Latvia for the extermination of the Jews from Central Europe, and, first and foremost, those from Germany. For this purpose nearly all Latvian Jews had to be killed (leaving alive only several thousand of the able-bodied for later killing) to free room for the deported German Jews in the ghetto and the starvation camps of Riga. To ensure proper action, Himmler appointed Friedrich Jeckeln as the new Obergruppenführer (General). He was chief of the SS, SD and the Police in Ostland, and an experienced chief of the Prussian Police and organiser of mass killings in the occupied Ukraine. He arrived in Riga on November 10. The administrators of Ostland were immediately instructed to carry out consistently Hitlers will concerning the total extermination of Jews in the Baltic | 
