Documents of Ghetto Riga's file / תיק – מסמכים של גטו ריגה

These sources document the events of Rafael Lazarson, born in Riga, through personal documents from the period The Holocaust And before. The collection includes Graduation certificate from a private Jewish school in Berlin, detailing his grades and assessments of his behavior as a teenager. In addition, Latvian passport Sleeps with his photo and personal details, alongside armbands of "Council of Elders" and of the work group commander. Additional movable items are Yellow patches in the shape of a Star of David, indicating the obligation to identify Jews. These documents constitute visual evidence of the individual's sharp transition from the routine life of Education and civic identity to the reality of persecution and labeling under Nazi rule.

The sources provide a painful and multidimensional glimpse into life inRiga Ghetto and in Latvia under Nazi occupation, documenting the bureaucracy of extermination, the forced labor, and the remnants of Jewish life that preceded the war.

Key figures mentioned in the sources

Victims and survivors:

• Raphael Laserson: A student born in Riga who studied at the Jewish community school in Berlin and received a high school diploma in 1939 (H46-18f, H46-19f).
• Mendelis Vulfovičs: A Jewish resident of Riga who documented his registration in the ghetto, the obligation to wear the yellow patch, and his work in a peat factory (H46-8f, H46-21f).
• Bērs Matisons Krasta: Served as a soldier in active duty artillery service in Latvia between 1934–1935 (H46-1f).
• Mozus Matross: A bookkeeper by profession who received a "craftsman" diploma in Riga in 1939 (H46-2f).
• Israel Flešers: A Jew born in 1892 who served as a reserve soldier (H46-3f).
• Benjamin Joffe: A resident of the Riga ghetto who worked for the railway authority in 1942 (H46-23f).
• Samuel Schmehmann: A Jew who received a housing order from the Jewish Committee in Riga in 1941 (H46-26f, H46-27f).
• Susi Strauss: A Jewish woman from the Berlin group who was assigned to peat work, as indicated by her equipment list (H46-31f).
• Abraham Grafman: A Jew from Warsaw who wrote a note in Russian in 1944, asking to tell his family that his relatives were still alive (H46-38f).
• Kalamans Levins: Received a special work permit to work on Sundays in Riga in 1941 (H46-20f, H46-24f).
• B. Duskin: He was employed at the SS clothing repair facility ("Kleiderkasse-SS") (H46-22f).
• Mortscha Wospe and Mendel Seligmann: Forced laborers mentioned in the report on a work unit (H46-25f).

Nazis and collaborators:

• Dr. Drechsler: The Commissioner General (Generalkommissar) in Riga (H46-17f).
• Schröder: SS commander and police major general (H46-17f).
• Wolfsberger: Major General and Commander of the Security Zone in Latvia (H46-17f).
• Dankers: Director General of the Interior (H46-17f).
• A. Valdmanis: Director General of the Judicial Administration (H46-29f, H46-53).
• Major Schu: A Nazi officer mentioned in the context of a work unit (H46-25f).

Expansion of important sources

The sources reveal the complex bureaucratic mechanism that was used to manage the lives of Jews and exploit them:

1. Diary/notebook from the ghetto period (H46-12f): This is a rare document written in Yiddish and Hebrew, including notes and schedules from 1943. The notebook is described in the handwriting as "a Nazi certificate from the ghetto on a Yiddish form" (H46-12f).
2. The propaganda poster "Letten!" (H46-17f): A German leaflet from February 1943, appealing to Latvians and attempting to recruit them for the war against "Bolshevism." The leaflet uses strong anti-Semitic rhetoric and accuses Jews of controlling the Soviet Union and plotting to destroy Europe (H46-17f).
3. Work control book (Kontrollbuch) (H46-7f): A personal notebook issued to Jews in Riga and used as a tool to track their forced labor. The notebook bears the humiliating stamp "JUDE" (H46-7f).
4. Torah scroll remains (H46-13-05-06f, H46-13f): Pieces of parchment from the Book of Genesis testify to the destruction of communities and synagogues, but also to the attempt to preserve sacred relics (H46-13-05-06f, H46-13f).
5. Hanging report (H46-36f): A short, chilling note in German reporting the hanging of four Jews. The official reason was "theft of German property," a common pattern of executions as collective punishment and deterrence (H46-36f).
6. Armbands and Yellow Badge (H46-44f): Physical items illustrating the hierarchy in the ghetto, including armbands of the "Council of Elders" (Aeltesten-Rat) and the "Column Commander" (Kolonnen-Führer), alongside cloth Stars of David (H46-44f).

The sources also document the sharp transition from a normative life of earning a living, studying, and military service (H46-1f, H46-2f, H46-19f) to a reality of overcrowding in forced housing (H46-26f), hard labor in weapons factories and bondage (H46-15f, H46-31f), and statistics of deportations to the extermination camp. Salespils (H46-28f).

List of sources

• H46-1f : Latvian military certificate (Apliecība) of Ber Matisons from 1935.
• H46-2f : Diploma of Assistant Artist (Amata Zeļļa) in the literature profession of Mozus Matross from 1939.
• H46-3f : A detailed Latvian military service record book of Israels Fleksers, including personal details and service records.
• H46-4f : Boris Duškins' Latvian passport, including entry visas, official stamps, and a photograph.
• H46-6f : Austrian identification card (Erkennungskarte) of Jakob Grünsweig from 1936.
• H46-8f : Registration card (Registrācijas kartiņa) of Mendelis Vulfovičs from Riga, which includes instructions on wearing the Star of David.
• H46-9f : Hungarian exemption certificate (Mentességi igoslavný) with a photograph confirming protection for family members.
• H46-10f : French identity card for a non-German citizen (Nichtdeutscher) named Adrien Prodhomme from 1944.
• H46-11f : Official stationery of the State Jewish Theater (Ebreju Teātris) in Riga.
• H46-12f : A calendar and diary in Yiddish for the year 1943 (1942-1943) that includes handwritten personal notes.
• H46-13-05-06f : Photocopy of parchment fragments from verses from the Book of Genesis (Chapter 1).
• H46-13f : Parchment pages with verses in script from Genesis.
• H46-14f : German work permit (Bescheinigung) for a Jew employed by a cable company from 1942.
• H46-15f : Work permit or order from a workshop of the Generalkommissar in Riga from 1943.
• H46-16f : A personal letter in Yiddish written by hand on plain paper.
• H46-17f : A German propaganda leaflet addressed to Latvians (Letten!) against Bolshevism and Judaism.
• H46-18f : Official announcement (Mitteilung) from a school in Berlin regarding the acceptance of student Raphael Laserson for exams.
• H46-19f : Raphael Laserson's high school diploma (Zeugnis der Reife) from the Jewish Community School in Berlin, 1939.
• H46-20f : German traffic permit in Riga for Levins Kalamans allowing traffic in the city even on Sundays.
• H46-21f : Registration documents, cargo deposit certificate and work permits for Mendelis Vulfovičs in Riga.
• H46-22f : Confirmation of employment in Riga for Boris Duškin in the SS clothing unit (Kleiderkasse).
• H46-23f : Work permit for Benjamin Joffe in the Riga ghetto and housing order from the Jewish Committee.
• H46-24f : Motion approval for Levins Kalamans, which includes the use of Jewish Theater stationery.
• H46-25f : Handwritten report on a day off from work for various German-managed worker units in Riga.
• H46-26f : Official housing order of the Riga Jewish Committee (Žīdu Komiteja) for Zamuelis Šmemanis.
• H46-27f : Housing instruction in German from the Jewish Committee in Riga (Jüdisches Komitee) for Samuel Schmehmann.
• H46-28f : Legal form of the Jewish Committee in Riga and statistics of deportees to the Salaspils camp.
• H46-29f : Official letter from the legal administration in Riga regarding the transfer of Jewish community records (births, marriages and deaths).
• H46-30f : Collection of receipts, donation certificates and announcements from Jewish, religious and Zionist institutions in Riga.
• H46-31f : Lists of personal belongings and clothing in German for Lusi Strauss from 1943.
• H46-32f : List of worker movement (absorption and departure) in the furriery and transportation professions from 1944.
• H46-33f : List of men designated for work or deportation in Riga, divided by groups and cities.
• H46-34f : Confirmation of the delivery of 50 fur coats for repair at the army clothing warehouse in Riga.
• H46-35f : Personal account (Personīgais rēķins) detailing items of clothing and shoes issued to employees.
• H46-36f : A printed German announcement of the execution by hanging of 4 Jews for stealing German property.
• H46-37f : List of women who were transferred to work in a concentration camp (Kasernierung) according to their professions (tailoring, sewing).
• H46-38f : A note in Russian by Avraham Grafman and a journalistic report on the elimination of an armed "Jewish gang" in Riga.
• H46-39f : A song in German based on the story "Suppenkaspar", written as a birthday present in the Riga ghetto.
• H46-40f : Detailed name lists of women and children divided into geographical groups (I-V).
• H46-41f : Semitic lists of Jewish craftsmen employed as furriers and tailors.
• H46-42f : Employee lists are divided by origin groups (Cologne, Hanover, Kassel, Bielefeld, Vienna, etc.).
• H46-43f : Long lists of names of workers or candidates for deportation in Riga.
• H46-44f : Photographs of personal belongings and badges: armbands for positions in the ghetto (Aeltesten-Rat) and cloth Stars of David.

 

 

– H46-1f

– H46-2f

– H46-3f

– H46-4f

– H46-5f

– H46-6f

– H46-7f

– H46-8f

– H46-9f

– H46-10f

– H46-11f

– H46-12f

– H46-13f

– H46-13-05-06f

– H46-14f

– H46-15f

– H46-16f

– H46-17f

– H46-18f

– H46-19f

– H46-20f

– H46-21f

– H46-22f

– H46-23f

– H46-24f

– H46-25f

– H46-26f

– H46-27f

– H46-28f

– H46-29f

– H46-30f

– H46-31f

– H46-32f

– H46-33f

– H46-34f

– H46-35f

– H46-36f

– H46-37f

– H46-38f

– H46-39f

– H46-40f

– H46-41f

– H46-42f

– H46-43f

– H46-44f

 

** end of Documents of Ghetto Riga files **

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