- Dumesh family that was still
in Višķi by around 1908. Three of the children were already
in the US. The people are (L to R) Artzik (Arthur), Neima (Anna), their mother Sheina-Freida (Sadie),
Wulf (William) and Feiga (Fannie)
- Wulf (William) Dumesh, around 1911, shortly
before coming to the US. William was Bruce's grandfather.
We don't know how old this picture is. The story I heard is that it was sent before the
war with a note saying "We are taking care of the graves, please send money". After the
war, there were no more communications.
A man simple and honest, our teacher Chaim Yehushua Bar Zev Dumes
died 24 Shevat year 5664
A modern picture of the grave of Chaim Yehushua Bar Zev Dumes
I need help with the Hebrew!
Here Lies Buried
The important woman Mrs.
Sarah-Pesya (Sora-Pesha)
Daughter of Mr. Moshe (Moses)(?)
Died on the 12th(?) of Kislev(?)
In the year 5690(?) - December 13/14, 1929
Mr. Shlomo (Solomon) the son of Mr.
Ezra(?) 2(?)
Days in the month of Heshvan(?)
In the year 5640(?) - October 18/19, 1879(?)
A humble and straightforward man
Reb Shimon ben Yosef
Alsihuvitz
died 27 Shevat
5700 (2/6/1940)
Unknown
here lies buried
the virgin Bracha Hinda
daughter of Reb Yitzchak Refael
Ulman died 25 Nisan 5687 (May 4/5, 1929)
may her soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life
here lies buried
Reb Shemuel son of Reb
Yosef that died
26 days Tevet
in the year 5643 [or 5646] (February 2/3, 1883)
may his soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life
here lies buried
Reb Yosef son of Reb
Yitzchak who died
9 days to the month
of Nisan
in the year 5639
(April 1/2, 1879)
may his soul be bound in the bond of everlasting life
This map courtesy of Meyer Melers from "Jewish
Cemeteries in Latvia"
ױשקי
,
Вишки,
Višķi,
Viski, Wyschki or Vishki
was a small shtetl about
15 miles North-East of
Dvinsk (today Daugavpils) in the
Gubernia of
Vitebsk when it belonged to the Russian Empire.
Višķi is today in the South-East end of Latvia, in an area known as Latgale.
Višķi came into existence in the 17th century.
The Jewish community formed in Višķi at the end of the 18th century and from that time until post WW II
formed the
majority population of Višķi. Population tables
of Višķi from 1847 - 1935 show the Jewish majority.
If you care to, please read the detailed history of Višķi.
You can read about the Rabbis of Višķi. The pictures
of the Rabbis and synagogue of Višķi are from the wonderful book Latvia
Synagogues and Rabbis 1918-1940. Go to http://www.shamir.lv/ for more info.
Please look at this list names of some of those who died
during the Holocaust in Višķi.
If you have any information, pictures, stories, etc regarding Višķi, please contact
Modern Map of Viski
Names compiled from the Višķi Cemetery
A hand-drawn map of Višķi as remembered
by Esther Shor from the 30's.
A Latvian Government trade
bulletin from the year 1936 showing businesses in Višķi
list in Latvian of 88
Jewish home owners in Višķi in 1935 page 1
home owners page 2
Petition of the board of the Jewish
community to appoint Yankel Meyer Platsinsky as Rabbi in Višķi 1930
Biographical notes on
Rabbi Y.M. Platsinsky 1939
Click on the image for the full sized version
Click on the image for the full sized version
Usdin/Alterman Family Data courtesy of Christine Usdin
Dumesh Family Data courtesty of Bruce Dumes
Vadim Dumesh shares memories of Višķi as told by his grandfather Leizer Dumesh.
As it turns out, not all the Dumesh families were related, as can be the case where the
surname comes from a place name. According to Alexander Beider in A Dictionary of
Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire, the name "Dumes" and "Dumesh" were from
the village of Domashi, about 35 miles from Višķi in what is now Belarus. We have verified this
by DNA tests between Bruce Dumes and Vadim Dumesh, great-great-grandson of Genoch, listed in
the 1897 census.
This page was designed by
webmaster for the JewishGen Latvia SIG.
Freel free to visit
Dumes.Net, my family website.
"To speak the dead man's name is to make him live again"
These are some of the names of people who died at the hands of the Nazis during the
Holocaust in Višķi. This list is by no means definitive.
If you have any names to add, please contact
- Hena Dumesh
- Jankel-Leib Dumesh
- Jossel Dumesh
- David Dumesh
- Nota Dumesh
- Doba Dumesh
- Liba Dumesh
- Genech Dumesh
- Jossel Dumesh, from Višķi, died in the Red Army near Staraya Russa
- Judel Dumes, from Višķi, died in the Red Army in Courland
Vishki was a very small borough bestead by even smaller villages and farms. This is
why Jews living in Vishki were craftsmen or owned small shops selling various commodities
and first necessity goods. All the Jews spoke Yiddish, most of them Latvian and just a few
German or Russian. When I was a kid, I only spoke Yiddish and Latvian.
Our family had a house that wasn’t too big, but was newer and better-built then most of
the houses in Vishki, with a garden and a vegetable garden in the back yard. My father, Israel
Dumesh was a shoe-maker; he was cutting out leather billets for shoes, boots and moccasins
for men, women and children. He was working at home, where he had had an equipped
workshop and met his clients. My mother, Bluma Dumesh, was a dressmaker; she was
sewing dresses and coats. Israel and Bluma always had plenty of work, we weren’t rich but
neither were poor and parents always worked very hard to make sure that we (children) have
all that we need.
But as normal as our life was, I think my father always dreamt of moving from
country-side Vishki to a big city like Dvinsk (Daugavpils), Rezekne or even Riga. That’s
why when in June 1940 the Reds (Soviet Army) came, he closed his workshop, went to
Dvinsk on foot and took a train to Riga to look for a job. There he found a job in a tannery,
found a place to rent, and after 4 months came back to Vishki to move the family to Riga.
We had spent winter in Riga, fascinated by the beauty of the big city. But after 7 months after
our arrival, WWII started; Israel was 36 at that time.
Somehow, perhaps from rumors spreading in Jewish neighborhoods, my father knew
what would happen to us if Germans were to come. He joined the Workers Guard, an armed
civil militia under control of the Red Army, but only because families of the Guardians were
subject to evacuation upon demand. On June 22nd war started, and on the 27th June father
forced us to take a bus to evacuate to Russia; on our way to the bus we also took my mother’s
sister and her 2-year-old daughter. Only 4 days later, on the 1st of July 1941 German forces
had entered Riga.
Father couldn’t evacuate, stayed in Riga and was sent to the Ghetto. But he was a
working man with skillful hands; Germans were using people like this for work. When in
November 1st mass executions had started, he among about a hundred other Jews was
transferred to Mezhapark (woods close to Riga, where a concentration camp Kaisenwald was
located). He stayed there until October 1943, when together with war prisoners they were
taken to Germany by Baltic Sea in big barges.
He then was imprisoned in a concentration camp by Stuttgart, which in March 1945
was liberated by the Soviet soldiers. Many survivor Jews after liberation hurried back home,
but my father again proved to be a wise man and took a moment to think the situation over.
Latvia by that time was already under a Soviet Occupation, Stalinist repressions and ethnic
cleanings were raging. Any war prisoner that had survived German captivity was treated as a
traitor, who "supposedly" collaborated with Nazis in exchange for their life. Same judgment
applied to Jews who got through concentration camps alive, many of them were imprisoned
and deported to Siberia without any investigation or trial. To avoid such a faith, Israel joined
Red Army and was fighting against the Nazis up until the end of the war when he was
demobilized and returned to Riga as a hero and a liberator. He was even conferred a
decoration upon the "Victory over Germany".
When my father returned to Riga, he found us right away; we have returned from
evacuation by that time and were staying with some friends of my mother, where in a room
of 20 square meters about 15 people were sleeping. We were granted an apartment in the
centre of the city, and a normal life finally started. I went to school, before that I had only
learned for one year in Hedera in Vishki. Father never spoke about what he had experienced
during the war, all the horrors of ghetto, concentration camps, death and famine. He always
said that knowing that he had saved his family was the only thing that was keeping his heart
warm. But as all Holocaust survivors, he had had a deep psychological trauma for the rest of
his life.
After returning to Riga, father had opened a small shoe-making workshop in the center
of the city. He was managing the workshop, there were 3 other shoe-makers working with
him, all Jews. They were doing pretty good. Father spoke Russian pretty well, but his written
Russian wasn’t so good, so I was helping him out with book keeping. His workshop was
working until 1951, when my father’s unique ability to foresee dangers worked again. In the
early 50’s Soviet Union started to fiercely eliminate any kind of private ownership; many
entrepreneurs, partnerships and enterprises were nationalized and its managers often
imprisoned or deported. Same faith would await Israel also, hadn’t he closed his workshop
and moved to work for a state-owned shoe factory. He was working there for 25 years, had
made a good career from a simple worker to the head of one of the production units and
retired in 1974.
That’s in short about my father Israel Dumesh. I have always been very proud of him;
he was a strong man who went through a lot in order not to perish and save his family. A real
hard worker respected in the community and loved by the closed ones.
Told by Leizer Dumesh, recorded and translated by Vadim Dumesh
1875
In 1875 list of Jews of Dvinsk and district (LSHA, 4936-1-26):
- Dumesh Jankel, son of Chaim - 58 years old
- Israel, son of Leib Dumesh, drafted into army in 1862
- his brother Wulf, 36 years old
- Itsik, son of Jankel, 30 years old
- sons of Wulf: Chaim (my great-grandfather) 15, Leiba 10, Sender 8
- Efraim, son of Chaim Dumesh 60
- his son Schmuel 17
- brother of Wulf, Movsha-Meyer 29
- Zalman, son of Movsha Dumesh 37
- his brother Abram 33
- Itsik, son of Jankelk Dumesh 30
- Idel Israelevitch (meaning "son of Israel") Dumesh 44
In 1875, list of owners of houses in Vishki mentions:
Wulf Dumesh
Jankel Dumesh
Idel Dumesh
(LSHA, 4983-2-436-110)
1897
This is the family of my great-grandfather Chaim Yehushua Dumes (pronounced Dumesh then).
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the house of Dumesh (the house was wooden and covered by wooden tiles) lived:
- Dumesh Chaim, son of Schaye-Wulf, 40 years old, born and registered to Vishki, literate
in Hebrew, learned at home,
glazier and cabman it is very rare to have 2 professions named.
- his wife Sheina-Freida, daughter of Abram, 35 years old, literate in Hebrew,
born and reg. to Vishki,
learned at home, at husband
- daughter Sora-Tzipa, 16 years old, illiterate, at father
- son Avram-Leib, 12 years old, literate in Hebrew, learned at home, merchant (our Louis obviously took to business at a young age!)
- dauther Riva-Toiba, 8 years old, at father, illiterate
- son Artsik, 4 years old
- daughter Feiga, 2 years old
(Latvian State Historical Archives, fond 2706-inventory 1-file 69-page 352-353)
Other Dumesh families of Vishki:
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the house of Dumesh lived:
- Dumes Shender son of Wulf, 26 years old, literate in Hebrew, learned at home, glazier
- his wife Chane Abramova (daughter of Abram) 23 years old, born and reg. in Vishki, literate
learned at home, owner of shop of small goods
- daughter Sora-Tzipe, 3 years old
- daughter Rocha-Feige, 6 months old
(Ibid, pages 283,284)
Haya was married to a Dumes, but he's dead and unfortunately, the census doesn't
tell us what his name was.
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the house of Dumesh lived:
- Dumesh Haya daughter of Gershen, 45 years old, widow, literate in Hebrew, owner of a shop of
small goods, born and reg. in Vishki
- her son Kuska Wulfovitch, literate in Hebrew, learned at home, 13 years old, at mother
- daughter Fruma, 4 years old
- renter of apt. Itzik Fleksin, 50 years old, merchant, peddler
- his wife Freida Fleksin, 40 years old
(Ibid, pages 285, 286)
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the hosue of Dumesh lived:
- Leib on of Wulf Dumesh, 30 years old, born and reg. in Vishki, literate in Hebrew,
learned at home, glazier
- his wife Sora-Feiga, daughter of David, 30 years old, born in Dvinsk
- son David, 8 years old, literate in Hebrew, learned at home
- son Israel, 5 years old
- son Nota, 2 years old
(Ibid, pages 354, 355)
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the house of Grab lived:
- Dumesh Genoch, son of Idel, 35 years old, born and reg. in Vishki, literate in Hebrew,
learned at home, master tinsmith.
- his wife Chaya, daughter of Pinhas, 35 years old, born in Dvinsk, literate in Hebrew,
learned at home, at husband
- daughter Geta, 13 years old, illiterate
- daughter Elka, 11 years old, illiterate
- daughter Sora, 8 years old, illieterate
- daughter Lesa, 6 years old
- son Schlema-Jankel, 4 years old
- son Fabish-Elya, 1 year old
- father of Genoch, Dumesh Idel, son of Israel, 75 years old, widower, born and reg. in Vishki,
literate in Hebrew, learned at home, at son
(Ibid, pages 350, 351)
In Vishki on Rizhskaya street in the house of Dumesh lived:
- Dumesh Itsik, son of Jankel, 50 years old, temporary absent, literate, learned at home,
master glazier
- his wife Chana, daughter of Leib, 50 years old, born in estate Kamenitza, illiterate
- son Leiba-Berka, 25 years old, temporary absent, literate, learned at home, glazier
at father
- son Israel-Mendel, 15 years old, born in Vishki, temporary absent, literate, learned at home,
at father
In Dvinsk (not Vishki) on Shilderovskaya street 49, lived:
- Dumesh Rocha, daughter of Leib, 45 years old, widow, born in Vishki,
as shop of small goods, illiterate
- daughter Chava, daughter of Benjamin, 20 years old, born in Dvinsk, literate,
learned at home, at mother, trade in the shop
- daughter Sara, 19 years old, literate, learn at home, trade in the shop
- daughter Riva, 8 years old
(LSHA, 2706-1-47)
1935
In 1935 among owners of houses in Vishki mentioned the following:
- Israel Dumesh
- Henoch Dumesh
- Wulf, Jossel, Chaya and Lea Dumesh
- Leib Dumesh
there was a shop of colonial goods owned by Genja Dumesh on Aglonas Street 40.
1895
In the fund documents of the 1875 census there is an information stating that in
the Dvinsk district,town Vishki lived:
Gerten Leibovich Alterman,age 58
Kusel Gertenovich Alterman,age 42
Bierko Kusielovich Alterman,age 13 (12)
Sara Kusievna Alterman,age 13(MY GREAT GRAND MOTHER)
Raim-Shmuil Gertenovich Alterman,age 39
Gerten Raimovich-Chmuilovich Alterman,age 2
1897
There is certain information,stating that in 1897,in the Dvinsk district(Daugavpilski),
town of Vishki,on Petersburg Street,in the house of Danilevich,there lived the
family of a Vishki(petty)bourgeois(merchant)Beines Usdin:
- Beines Yankelevich(also Eliokimovich)Usdin,age 35,born Vishki,occupation-clock/watch maker.
- his wife Sarah Kusievna Usdin(maiden name Alterman),age 35,born Vishki.
- son Kuska Beinessovich Usdin,age 13,born-same.
- daughter Khana Beinessovna Usdin,age 12,born- same.
- daughter Dobe-Elka,age 11,born-same
- son Zalman-Eliokim(same in documents)Beinessovich Usdin,age 8,born the same on september15,1889(MY GRAND FATHER).
- son Berka-Shmuila(Ber Schmuil)Beinissovich Usdin,age 4,born -same(acording to the birth registry-born may18,1893.old style)
- daughter Raissa Beinissovna Usdin,age 3,born-same.
- son Abraham-David Beinissovich Usdin,age 10 months,born same
In 1897 in town Vishki,on Petersburg street,in the house of Moll,there also lived
the family of a Vishki(petty)bourgeois(merchant)Nachman Usdin.
- Nachman Yankelevich (also Eliokimovich)Usdin,age 40,born in Vishki,
occupation-trinket store merchant.
- his wife Sora Piescha Moshevna Usdin(maiden name not stated)age 38,born city of Dvinsk
- son Avsei Nachmanovich Usdin,age 18,born Vishki
- son Itzyk Nachmanovich Usdin,age 15,born Vishki
- son Rouvin Nachmanovich Usdin,age 11,born Vishki
- son Berka Nachmanovich Usdin,age 6,born Vishki
- daughter Khaika Nachmanovna Usdin,age 1,born Vishki
- daughter Ester Nachmanovna Usdin,age 3,born Vishki.According to the birth registry,Ester-Rivka Nachmanovna Usdin was born on december28,1893(old style)
In the registry of births of the Rabbinats of Latvia, there is an information
stating that on april 17,1902 in Vishki a son was born to Benis Yankelevich Usdin
and Sarah Kusievna Alterman: Raim Beinesovich Usdin.
To get a full size copy of this, click on the image
Click on the image for a larger version
Click on the image for a larger version
Click on the image for a larger version
Viski Population
| Year | Total Population | Number of Jews | % |
|---|
| 1897 | 959 | 668 | 69.6 |
| 1925 | 758 | 510 | 67.3 |
| 1936 | 750 | 423 | 56.4 |
* table from "Holocaust in Latgale" by Iosif Rochko, and used with permission.
For a period of around 90 years, the Pluchinsky/Platsinsky/Ploschinsky family served as Rabbis of Višķi.
The first was Rabbi Moshe (Mishel) Platsinsky served as rabbi for more than 40 years. He was known in
his youth as the "genius of Suwalki".
SUWALKI, a town of Russian Poland, capital of the government of the same name,
situated at the source of the Hancza, a tributary of the Niemen, 65 m. by rail N.W. of Grodno. Pop. 27,165.
www.1911encyclopedia.org
After Moshe's death in 1907, he was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Judah Leib Solomon Platsinsky,
born Jan 29, 1876 in Višķi.
Rabbi Judah Leib Solomon Platsinsky (1876-ca.1930)
His son, Yankel Meyer Platsinsky, born on June 6, 1902 in Višķi, studied in Palestine and at the
Kovno Yeshiva (Kaunas, Lithuania)
where he was ordained. He served as Rabbi in Višķi from 1931 and perished in Višķi in 1941.
Rabbi Yankel Meyer Platsinsky (1902-1941)
Feb. 22, 1927
For your Bar Mizvah, Hymie Yushua Dumes
From Mother and Dad
The Old Synagogue of Višķi on Riga St., built 1880 and rebuilt in 1936. All that exists today
is the foundation.
In the Russian Empire before the Bolshevik Revolution, the Empire was divided into
districts known as Gubernias, which were named for the largest city in the district.
The Vitebsk Gubernia occupied land that now exists in modern day Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia.
In this map from 1891, Višķi is spelled Wyschki. This was a German map and of course, in German,
a "W" is prounced as a "V" as in "Was ist los?". Russians do not transpose "W" and "V" as the movies
would lead us to believe.
You'll note that Dvinsk, known today as Daugavpils in Latvia, was referred to on this map as Dunaburg.
This is because the Germans always referred to Dvinsk by that name.
Višķi is a small town in the Daugavpils district (formerly Dvinsk).
The settlement, where the Empress Ekaternia I was born, was founded in the 17th century.
During the years 1920-1940, it was part of independent Latvia.
Jews began to settle in the place at the end of the 18th century and the beginning
of the 19th century. From the end of the 19th century until the Holocaust, the
Jewish community comprised the majority of the inhabitants. The institutions at the
service of the community were: a hevra kadisha, a public bath house and "bikkur cholim"
(sick visiting society). From the second half of the 19th century for a period of 90 years, the
officiating rabbis were from the Plachinski family.
During World War I, many members of the community fled to the interior of Russia. On their
return, after the war, many jews found their homes damaged or destroyed. They were
repaired with the assistance of the community council which was elected in 1920 as well as
by the "joint" (a relief agency of American Jewry). In 1921, a Jewish elementary school with
four classes was opened. Yiddish was the teaching language.
The majority of the jews eked out a living as peddlers or at various trades. After
World War I, despite welfare grants by the "joint", many of the young Jews left the place
because of the lack of opportunities for earning a living. In 1935, of the 58 businesses in Viski, 50 were
Jewish owned. A mutual credit fund operated in the town between the two world wars.
The first Jewish political party opened in Viski was the socialist "Bund", which also ran
a youth club. There was also the "young zion" zionist party. From the 1930s, the
following zionist youth movements were active: Hashomer Hantsair-Netzach (pionerring
scouts) and Betar. During the same period the majority of zionists supported the
revisionist zionist party.
In 1935, there were 423 Jewish residents in a total population of 750.
Following the Ribbentrop-Molotove accord, signed by Germany and the USSR in August 1939,
the Red Army entered Latvia. In the summer of 1940 a Soviet government was installed.
The new regime nationalized businesses and shops, and Jewish public life was liquidated.
On the outbreak of war between Germany and the USSR (June 22, 1941) a number of young Jews
escaped to the East. A few days later German forces captured the town. On June 28
the Jews of the town and nearby towns were sent to the Daugavpils ghetto. After several days they
were taken to the Pogulianka forest and murdered in the "provincial action" (an
operatiohn to liquidate the Jews of country towns).
In July 1944, the Red Army liberated the town.
* this history courtesty of the Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews in Israel
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