Tukums was our primary stop, home of our great-great-grandparents' families, the poor Blumenfelds and the wealthy Klatsovs.
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| On the square, kitty-corner to the bank which was once the Klatsov store |
We met Aleksandrs, a Hobbitish fellow with a great Russian
accent, who proceeded to lead us around the central square area, which is pretty
much still as David B described it...grey pavings...shops new and old, wood and
stone... The prominently located site of David’s maternal grandfather has been
replaced by a bank. It was still functioning as a store and owned by his uncle
David Klatsov as late as 1937...however it was torn down as a derelict in 1946
because the owner – David K – had disappeared in 1941. This, Fred deduced via
the Yadvashem website of Holocaust victims, was because David and his son were
killed in June ’41 soon after the Nazi occupation.
We had a long meeting with
the director of several Tukums museums, who also showed us around the otherwise
closed-on-Mondays history museum. She was fascinated by our story as there is
little written record by inhabitants of the time, let alone Jews, of whom there
are virtually zero remaining ...in 1880 57% of the town was Jewish. The old
synagogue now functions as a sports court.
Interestingly, the Klatsov property is visible not only
in a good many of the historic photos of Tukums but in the main museum display,
a lazy-susan depicting the square at three times in history. We’ver developed a
whole new spin where this is not only poor David Blumenfeld’s story but that of
his mother, and her wealthy family who opted to stay in Latvia and relish their
success only to perish as David found success, free in America.
Anyway we also found out to our disappointment that
David’s father’s house was not actually the original building but built in 1924.
It just looked 150 years old!
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| This may have been my great-great-grandmother Leah Klatsov's house |
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| The old synagogue, now a gymnasium |
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| Site of my great-great-grandfather BenZion Blumenfeld's house |
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| In case you get lost in town... |
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| Storage shed |
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| The old Jewish cemetery |
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| Harmony Street |
2 comments:
Nice contrast in that last photo. Thank you for linking from your 200 Sepia Saturday post. There is something so sad about an abandoned cemetery.
A rather modest little town, in my opinion. It look sad to me. Could the collective memory remember despite itself its somber history.
I daresay those who moved away made the smart choice.
Thanks for sharing!!
HUGZ
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