Vapne Vulf Naumovich (1909)

Vapne (Wapne) Vulf (Wulf) Naumovich (born 31 December 1909, Līvāni) – tailor.

Between 1924 and 1926, Vulf Vapne trained in carpentry and photography in Līvāni. From 1926 to 1937, he apprenticed as a tailor. In 1927, he moved to Riga, and until 1934 worked as a tailor's assistant in Kadik’s workshop. In parallel, he completed six grades of evening school in Riga (1929).

From 1934 to 1939, he worked as a cutter in a ready-made clothing shop in Līvāni, and from 1939 to 1940 as a cutter in a private shop in Riga. Between 1940 and 1941, he worked as a master tailor in a military department of Riga’s Spetstorg.

In 1941, he was evacuated to the Kazakh SSR, where he worked until 1942 as a cutter at an industrial cooperative in the town of Ushtobe. In 1942, he moved to Sverdlovsk Region and remained there until 1946, employed as a cutter in a tailoring workshop serving the mining authority at the Polunochnaya station (Kamenka settlement).

Returning to Riga in 1946, Vulf Vapne worked as a cutter at the tailoring workshop of the Torgmormtrans industrial complex until 1950. From 1950 onward, he worked as a cutter in the cooperatives Bērnu Apģērbs and Rosme, at the Saule factory, and at the Riga Custom Tailoring Factory.

From his marriage to Betiya Vapne (née Levina) (b. 1911, Līvāni), two daughters were born: Sima Vapne (married name: Los, Evgeniya) (b. 1949,Riga) and Meri Manoim (née Vapne) (b. 1959, Riga).

Vapne’s parents and siblings perished during the Holocaust:

– Naum Vapne (b. 1877, Līvāni – d. 1941, Līvāni) – father
– Khaya-Ginda Vapne (b. 1883 – d. 1941, Līvāni) – mother
– Leiba Vapne (b. 1904, Līvāni – d. 1941, Līvāni) – brother
– Iosif Vapne (b. 1906, Līvāni – d. 1941, Līvāni) – brother
– Rakhil Vapne (b. 1920, Līvāni – d. 1941, Līvāni) – sister

His brother Isser Vapne (b. 1911, Līvāni) and sister Shifra Ben (née Vapne) (b. 1914, Līvāni) emigrated to Palestine in the 1930s. Another brother, Lazar Vapne (b. 1917, Kovrov), lived and worked in Latvia in the postwar years.

In 1966, Vulf Vapne and his family applied for permission to emigrate to Israel.

Betiya Vapne (née Levina) (b. 1911, Līvāni) – wife
Sima Vapne (Los, Evgeniya) (b. 1949, Riga) – daughter
Meri Manoim (née Vapne) (b. 1959, Riga) – daughter
Naum Vapne (1877–1941) – father
Khaya-Ginda Vapne (1883–1941) – mother
Leiba Vapne (1904–1941) – brother
Iosif Vapne (1906–1941) – brother
Rakhil Vapne (1920–1941) – sister
Shifra Ben (née Vapne) (b. 1914) – sister
Isser Vapne (b. 1911) – brother
Lazar Vapne (b. 1917) – brother