Kuklya Ber Idelevich (1903)

Kuklya (Kukla) Ber Idelevich (born October 11, 1903, Rezekne) — laborer.

Ber Kuklya was born into the family of a cart driver Idel Gershovich Kuklya (1861, Rezekne – died in 1941 during evacuation) and a housewife Riva-Lea (née Klyatskina) Kuklya (1863–1905, Rezekne).

He completed four grades at a Jewish elementary school (1911–1915, Rezekne). In Rezekne, he was an apprentice in the workshop of mechanic Sheibel (1915–1917), then worked as a porter and general laborer for Gurvich and Gordon (1917–1918), as a worker at an oil press plant (1918–1920), and later as a porter and cart driver employed by Gurvich (1920–1924). He served in the Latvian army (1924–1925), then worked as a porter and hired cart driver (1925–1940).

From 1940 to 1941, he was an inspector for the nationalization of private businesses and for the protection of socialist property from theft and sabotage. In 1941, he served as a firefighter in the NKVD fire brigade. During World War II, he was evacuated to the town of Pavlovo-on-Oka, Gorky Region, where he worked as a porter, then in a local kolkhoz, and as a member of the fire team (1941–1944). Later, he served as a fighter in an operational group of the militarized fire brigade in Moscow (1944), and then as a firefighter in a militarized fire unit in Riga (1944–1960). Due to illness, he was unemployed in 1960–1961, and afterward worked as a laborer for the Multibranch Home-Work Cooperative (1961–1978, Riga).

In his first marriage to Hana Gdalievna Kuklya (née Zlotina) (1902, Rezekne – died in 1941 during evacuation), the couple had children: Riva Berovna Kuklya (1928, Rezekne), Gdalya Berovich Kuklya (1932, Rezekne), Motl Berovich Kuklya (1937, Rezekne), and Rafael Berovich Kuklya (1939, Rezekne). All perished together with their mother in 1941 during evacuation from Rezekne.

In his second marriage to Elka Itzikovna Kuklya (née Shugal or Shugol, first married name Levin) (1914, Rezekne), he had a daughter — Ida Berovna Toker (née Kuklya) (born 1946, Riga).

In 1978, Ber Kuklya received permission to emigrate to Israel, where since 1975 his wife’s sister, Bunya Itzikovna Kur (née Shugal or Shugol) (born 1930, Rezekne), had been living.

Family:

Idel Gershovich Kuklya (1861–1941) — father
Riva-Lea (née Klyatskina) Kuklya (1863–1905) — mother
Chava Idelevna Donova (née Kuklya) (born 1888, Rezekne; emigrated to Paris in 1910; no contact after 1939) — sister
Motl-Leib Idelevich Kuklya (1890, Rezekne – died 1920) — brother
Fruma Idelevna Kuklya (born 1893, Rezekne; emigrated to Paris in 1928; no contact after 1939) — sister
Hertz-Avrom Idelevich Kuklya (born 1895, Rezekne; emigrated to Paris in 1913; no contact after 1939) — brother
Chaya-Rokhl Idelevna Kuklya (born 1898, Rezekne; emigrated to Paris in 1928; no contact after 1939) — sister
Hana Gdalievna Kuklya (née Zlotina) (1902–1941) — first wife
Riva Berovna Kuklya (1928–1941) — daughter
Gdalya Berovich Kuklya (1932–1941) — son
Motl Berovich Kuklya (1937–1941) — son
Rafael Berovich Kuklya (1939–1941) — son
Elka Itzikovna Kuklya (née Shugal or Shugol, first married name Levin) (born 1914) — second wife
Ida Berovna Toker (née Kuklya) (born 1946) — daughter

Bunya Itzikovna Kur (née Shugal or Shugol) (born 1930, Rezekne) - wife’s sister