Vestnis Karl

Westen, Karl (Vestens, Kārlis) Leopold Zivcon was murdered soon after the Germans occupied Liepaja, Latvia, on June 24, 1941. When the ghetto in Liepaja was established in July 1942, Leopold’s wife, Riva, and their daughter, Ada, had to move into the designated area. A year later, in October 1943, the ghetto was liquidated, and the Jews were taken to the Kaiserwald concentration camp in the Riga area. Riva and Ada were put in the Riga Ghetto, but this ghetto too was to be liquidated. The two managed to escape from the ghetto with the help of a Latvian policeman, who took them to Kārlis Vestens, a violinist and a prewar acquaintance of the Zivcons. Vestens opened his home to the fleeing Jewish mother and her infant child. Vestens was already providing food for his Jewish friend, a cellist by the name of Lev Aronson, who was living in hiding and sometimes came to stay with his friend. The danger of hiding Jews was great, and Vestens expressed his deep fears of keeping Riva in his home for a long period. Nevertheless, he did not hesitate, and when Riva became ill, he kept her and her daughter in his home. Once she recovered, Riva wanted to return to Liepaja, and Vestens bought a train ticket for her, presenting his identity card as required by the occupying authorities, and he gave her some vodka and cigarettes so she could bribe police agents. In Liepaja, Riva went to the home of Robert and Johanna Seduls (recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in 1981), whose names and address had been given to her by her brother-in-law in the early days of the occupation. Although they were already hiding 10 other Jews, the Seduls took Riva to the cellar, where she joined the others and was able to survive until the liberation. Ada was brought to the home of Otilija Schimelpfenig (recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in 2006). After the war Vestens left Latvia, first going to Germany and then immigrating to Sweden, where he lived under the name Karl Westen. The story of Riva Zivcon’s survival was recorded by Kalman Linkimer, who began to write a diary in June 1941, when Latvia was occupied by the Germans. Linkimer, one of the Jews hidden by Robert and Johanna Seduls, wrote down the story of each person hiding with him in the cellar, including Riva Zivcon. On December 18, 2012, Yad Vashem recognized Kārlis Vestens as Righteous Among the Nations.