The Struggle of Riga's Jews for Aliya's file / תיק – מאבקם של יהודי ריגה לעלייה

This collection of sources documents the The struggle to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust In Latvia under Soviet rule, with a special focus on the massacre site inRombolaThe documents reveal the Sisyphean attempts of the Jewish community to accept Official recognition and compensation about confiscated property, alongside bureaucratic correspondence with government officials on issues Restoration of rights and preservation of gravesFrom the memoirs and clippings, a picture emerges of Civil resistance, when the Jews of Riga worked to clean up and cultivate murder sites despite Police harassment and government restrictions. In addition, sources include Literary works and poems which express the national pain and the deep connection to the Land of Israel during that period. This is a moving historical record that combines Cold bureaucracy of the state and The warm memory and the determination of the survivors and their families.

The sources provide a broad and detailed picture of The Jewish Struggle in the Soviet Union, and in particular the Jews of Riga, for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust, the revival of Jewish culture and the right to immigrate to Israel. The struggle focuses on the site of the mass murder inRomboli and in bold protest actions in Moscow and Riga (H24-1f, H24-11f).

Major events

1. Romboli Massacre (1941): Murder of approximately 38,000 Jews of the Riga ghetto in the Romboli Forest by the Nazis and their Latvian accomplices (H24-1f, H24-3f). The sources describe how the Soviet authorities attempted to obscure the Jewish identity of the victims and present them as "peaceful Soviet citizens" (H24-1f, H24-3f).
2. The struggle over the Romboli monument (1960s): A group of Jewish activists in Riga worked secretly and under difficult conditions to mark the mass graves, clean up the site, and erect signs and a monument with a Yiddish inscription (H24-3f, H24-6f, H24-7f). The struggle involved constant confrontation with police and KGB harassment, which included the demolition of temporary monuments and the dispersal of memorial rallies (H24-1f, H24-6f).
3. Hunger strike in Moscow (March 1971): A group of dozens of Jews from Riga and Lithuania arrived at the presidential palace in Moscow and declared a hunger strike in protest at the refusal to allow them to immigrate to Israel (H24-2f, H24-8f). This event, which received international coverage, ended with a meeting with the Soviet Minister of the Interior, Shchelkov, and a promise (partially fulfilled) to reconsider the immigration applications (H24-8f).
4. Leningrad Trials (1970): An attempted hijacking of a plane by a group of Jews (Operation Wedding) with the aim of drawing world attention to the plight of Soviet Jews (H24-11f, H24-9f).

Central places

• Rumbuli: The site of the mass murder near Riga, which became a symbol of the Jewish national struggle (H24-1f, H24-5f).
• Riga: The center of Zionist activity, where underground studios for learning Hebrew and a Jewish choir were established (H24-7f, H24-11f).
• Office of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (Moscow): The place where the historic hunger strike took place in 1971 (H24-8f).
• Bikernieki Forest: Another murder site near Riga where memorial services were also held (H24-1f, H24-6f).

Key figures

Jewish victims and activists

• Shimon Dubnov: A renowned Jewish historian who was murdered in Romboli; his last call "Yeden, Schreibt und Verschreibt" (Jews, write and document) served as an inspiration to activists (H24-1f, H24-3f).
• Jean Lipka: Righteous Among the Nations who saved dozens of Jews in Riga during the war (H24-1f, H24-7f).
• David Gerber: A central activist in the struggle for the establishment of the monument in Romboli and the documentation of the events (H24-1f, H24-7f).
• David Silberman: An aliyah activist who participated in the hunger strike in Moscow and documented it in his diary (H24-2f, H24-8f).
• Prof. Herman Bernover: A prominent Jewish scientist and immigration activist who waged a prolonged struggle, including a hunger strike, until he received permission to leave (H24-14-23f).
• Grisha Feigin: A Jewish officer who sought to immigrate to Israel and was forcibly hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital as punishment for his activities (H24-13f).
• Ruth Alexandrovich: A young Jewish woman who was arrested for Zionist activity and distributing Jewish literature (H24-11f).
• Yosef Mendelevich: One of the Leningrad trial convicts who became a symbol of the Prisoners of Zion (H24-9f).

Nazis

• Adolf Eichmann: The sources note that his capture and trial in Israel (1960) sparked a wave of national awakening among Riga Jews and pushed them to investigate the events of the Holocaust in their region (H24-1f, H24-3f).

List of main sources

• H24-1f : A historical overview of the struggle to commemorate the victims of Romboli and the awakening of Jewish identity in Latvia.
• H24-2f : The magazine "Ha'uma" which includes the description of the hunger strike in Moscow in 1971 by David Zilberman.
• H24-3f : An article in English describing Rumboli as Riga's "Babi Yar" and the impact of the Eichmann trial on the Jews.
• H24-4f : A review in Russian about the struggle to regulate the memorial site in Romboli, accompanied by photographs of signs.
• H24-5f : Deborah Segal's testimony about the Holocaust in Latvia and the destruction of Jewish cemeteries.
• H24-6f : Chronology and handwritten report of the protest and commemoration activities in Romboli.
• H24-7f : Detailed handwritten testimony by David Gerber about Jewish life in Riga after the war and the establishment of the choir.
• H24-8f : A handwritten diary describing the hunger strike of 57 Riga Jews in Moscow in 1971.
• H24-9f : A proclamation by the "Maoz" Association for the Prisoners of Zion, including a list of prisoners and their periods of imprisonment.
• H24-11f : A collection of articles on the Jewish national awakening in the Soviet Union and ways to promote immigration.
• H24-12f : Soviet legal documents regarding the rehabilitation of G.I. Shor and the restitution of his property.
• H24-13f : Appeal by doctors from Riga against the forced psychiatric hospitalization of Grisha Feigin.
• H24-14-4f : A journalistic article about the struggles of Geula Gil and Holocaust memory in Romboli.
• H24-14-20f : Articles on the commemoration of the victims of Romboli and the struggle of Rabbi Zeev Wolf Huberman.
• H24-14-23f : Articles about Prof. Herman Bernover's struggle for immigration rights and observance of mitzvot.

 

– H24-1f

– H24-2f

– H24-3f

– H24-4f

– H24-5f

– H24-5-1f

– H24-5-3f

– H24-6f

– H24-7f

– H24-7-1f

– H24-7-8f

– H24-7-17f

– H24-8f

– H24-9f

– H24-9-3f

– H24-10f

– H24-11f

– H24-12f

– H24-13f

– H24-14-11-1f

– H24-14-13-1f

– H24-14-14-1f

– H24-14-15-1f

– H24-14-16-1f

– H24-14-17-1f

– H24-14-20-1f

– H24-14-21-1f

– H24-14-23-1f

– H24-14-3-1f

– H24-14-4-1f

– H24-14-5-1f

– H24-14-5-1f

– H24-14-7-1f

– H24-14-13-2f

– H24-14-2f

– H24-14-11-1f+3f

– H24-14-11-3f

– H24-14-13-3f

– H24-14-14-1fa+3f

– H24-14-14-3f

– H24-14-15-3f

– H24-14-16-3f

– H24-14-17-1f+3f

– H24-14-17-3f

– H24-14-20-3f

– H24-14-21-3f

– H24-14-3-1f+3f

– H24-14-3-3f

– H24-14-3f

– H24-14-4-3f

– H24-14-5-3f

– H24-14-7-1f+3f

– H24-14-7-3f

– H24-14-4f

– H24-14-10-5f

– H24-14-13-10+11+5f

– H24-14-13-5f

– H24-14-14-5f

– H24-14-16-5f

– H24-14-17-5f

– H24-14-3-5f

– H24-14-5-5f

– H24-14-5f

– H24-14-7-5f

– H24-14-15-6f

– H24-14-6f

– H24-14-7f

– H24-14-15-8f

– H24-14-8f

– H24-14-9f

– H24-14-10f

– H24-14-11f

– H24-14-12f

– H24-14-13f

– H24-14-14f

– H24-14-16f

– H24-14-17f

– H24-14-18f

– H24-14-19f

– H24-14-20f

– H24-14-21f

– H24-14-22f

– H24-14-23f

– H24-14-24f

– H24-14-25f

– H24-14-26f

 

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