The Old Country

Višķi, ױשקי , Вишки, Viski, Wyschki or Vishki

Viski is pronounced Vishki, though often written as Viski. The Latvian alphabet has 33 letters. They have two types of what we'd called an "s", one written as "s" and the other written as š, which is pronounced "sh", and this is the type of "s" in Višķi.

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. Our Gubernia was Vitebsk. Our home is a small place called Viski (pronounced like "Vishky") in Latvia. My grandfather told me that I could remember it because it rhymes with "whisky", which it only does when you are inebriated enough to say it like "Wishkey". :-) After becoming involved with researching our family history, I became extremely curious about what life in Viski would have been for my grandfather, who left Viski in 1912, when he was 10 years old. The Old Synagogue of Višķi on Riga St., built 1880 and rebuilt in 1936. All that exists today is the foundation. 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. Daugavpils, by the way, has had an interesting history of name changes. Dinaburg (1275—1656) ? Borisoglebsk (1656—1667) ? Dinaburg (1667—1893) ? Dvinsk (1893—1920) ? Daugavpils (1920—today)

The historical origin of the name Vishki, which is explained with the help of Sanskrit language. [translater's note: it is commonly believed that ancient predecessors of today’s Latvian and Lithuanian languages were the closest languages to Sanskrit out of all European languages] Sanskrit was an ancient scientific and religious language in India. The word “vish” means “going inside”, “entering” and the word “kr” – means “to act”, “to trade”, “to get”. Combining these words, an expression is formed – “place or square, which is entered to trade, act, get”. Being more concise, a “market square”. Obviously, first such “market square” in our region was formed in the place which was called Vishki. * From Eleonora Petrovna's book "No Viš?u pagasta v?stur?", translated by Vadim Dumesh

The History of Višķi

Marta Skavronskaya (1684-1727) was born in the village of Vishki. She was the wife of Peter I and was called Ekaterina I, empress of all Russia(1725-1727).

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.

During the years 1920-1940, it was part of independent Latvia.

The majority of the jews eeked 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.

Vishki, about 1940. Upper row, from the left: Liba Dumesh, Tsipa-Lea Dumesh. Lower row, on the right, Doba Dumesh. All the others are unknown.

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 operation 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

Population of Višķi

Viski Population

Year	Total Population	Number of Jews	Percent of Jewish Population
1847	?	194	?
1897	959	668	70
1914	1200	850 (est.)	70 (est.)
1920	832	567	68
1925	757	510	67
1930	770	530	68
1935	750	423	56

Rabbis of Višķi

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

Rabbi Judah Leib Solomon Platsinsky (1876-ca.1930)

After Moshe's death in 1907, he was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Judah Leib Solomon Platsinsky, born Jan 29, 1876 in Višķi.

Rabbi Yankel Meyer Platsinsky (1902-1941)

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.

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.