Material on the Holocaust in Latvia's file / חומר על השואה בלטביה, תיק אישי

These sources document the The cultural and community life of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Latvia who were in the DP camps in Germany after the war. The documents include Posters and invitations for memorial gatherings ("Grief Academy") Commemorating the murder of Latvian Jews, alongside reports of Yiddish theater activity which produced plays with a heavy emotional and historical charge. You can also find here Literary works and poetry Written in the ghettos and camps, expressing the pain and destruction alongside the desire to commemorate the victims. In addition, the collection contains Historical evidence of the extermination of Jews in Latvia, charts of Family genealogy trees and official documents dealing with the search for relatives and justice. The sources are centered on Activities of the Latvian Displaced Persons Committee, which combines the preservation of national memory with attempts to restore Jewish life in post-war Europe.

The sources provide an extensive glimpse into the cultural life, memory, and struggle for justice of Latvian Holocaust survivors in the DP camps in Germany and in the post-war years.

Cultural and theatrical life in the displaced persons camps

A central component in the reconstruction of life after the Holocaust was Jewish theater. Theater "MIKT" (Minchener yidiszer Kunstteater) operated in Munich and in the displaced persons camps in the American occupation zone (H61-11-10f, H61-11-5f). The theater staged classical and modern plays, including "The Bloody Joke" (Der blutiker Shpas) by Sholem Aleichem, which was a great success (H61-11-2f, H61-11-4f, H61-11-9f). These plays were not just entertainment, but a means of expressing Jewish pain and resilience; the audience responded with great excitement to scenes that recalled the horrors of the "Aktionen" and life in the ghettos (H61-11-6-01f, H61-11-9f). Another notable play was "I am alive" (Ich leb) by Moshe Pinchevsky, which dealt with the heroism of the partisans (H61-11-3f, H61-11-7f).

Commemorating the Victims of Latvian Jewry

The survivors devoted much effort to the commemoration of the destroyed communities. Every year, "mourning academies" were held to mark the anniversary of the liquidation of the Riga ghetto (December 8) (H61-11-11f, H61-11-12f). The academy held in 1946 in the Neu-Freimann camp was attended by some 90,000 Jews, and speeches were given that emphasized the magnitude of the disaster and the duty of revenge and remembrance (H61-11-8f, H61-11-5f). The sources emphasize that the extermination of the Jews of Latvia was particularly swift and brutal, with about 95% of the community murdered (H61-11-6f, H61-11-7f).

The fight for justice

The sources also deal with the pursuit of Nazi criminals and their accomplices. A prominent document discussesHerbert Zukurs (Herbert Cukurs), a Latvian Nazi criminal who was responsible for the murder of thousands of Jews in Riga and sought asylum in Brazil (H61-11-8f). The survivors worked to bring his crimes to the attention of the world and prevent him from escaping punishment. In addition, the sources make it clear that a significant part of the murder was carried out by local Latvian "volunteers" even before an official order from the Germans (H61-11-6f).

Expansion of important sources

• H61-11-6f: This document constitutes significant historical evidence that places a heavy responsibility on the local population in Latvia. It describes how Latvian students and young people began murders, robberies, and arson of synagogues immediately upon the entry of the Germans (H61-11-6f).
• H61-11-8f: This source is important because of the dual documentation it provides – on the one hand, the mass memorial ceremony showing the communal cohesion of the survivors, and on the other, the report on the efforts to locate the war criminal Herbert Zukurs (H61-11-8f).
• H61-1f: A long manuscript in Yiddish containing memories and detailed documentation of events in the Riga ghetto, including names of people and dates of Aktions (H61-1f).

Key figures

Victims and survivors (activists, artists and intellectuals):

• Eliyahu Goldberg: A member of the community who fell in the defense of Ein Gev in 1948 (H61-11-14f).
• Benjamin Nutshin: A survivor who died in 1947, his memory was brought up in community publications (H61-11-7f).
• Benjamin Goldstein: A survivor who was summoned to give testimony to the police and wrote memoirs about the ghetto (H61-1f, H61-2f).
• Israel Visit: Director and leading actor at the "MIKT" theater, who directed the plays "The Bloody Joke" and "I Am Alive" (H61-11-10f, H61-11-6f).
• Moshe Edelstein: A Jewish poet who published poems dealing with the pain of the Holocaust and life in the camps in the newspaper "A Heim" (H61-7-1f, H61-7-8f).
• Yitzhak Katzenelson: Poet (author of "The Poem on the Murdered Jewish People") whose poems were distributed among the survivors (H61-5-1f).
• Reuven Rubinstein: Editor of the newspaper "Unzer Weg" (Our Way) which operated in Bavaria (H61-11-11f).
• Y. Putskin: Former leader in the Riga community and active in the Survivors' Committee (H61-11-8f).
• Yuri Galenkov: Poet and dissident (mentioned in the context of poems published in the camps) (H61-11-3f).

Nazis and collaborators:

• Herbert Zukurs: Latvian war criminal, murderer of Riga Jews (H61-11-8f).
• General Jeckeln: Commander of the SS and police in Latvia who was responsible for the extermination of the Jews (H61-11-6f).
• Dr. Dietrich: Mentioned as holding an office in the German administration in Latvia (H61-7-8f).

List of sources

• H61-1f : A detailed manuscript in Yiddish that includes memories and testimonies from the Riga Ghetto.
• H61-2f : Police summons for Benjamin Goldstein from 1978.
• H61-3f : Lists of names and genealogical tree charts of Jewish families.
• H61-3-1f : Handwritten list of names and family connections.
• H61-3-3f : A detailed handwritten family tree chart.
• H61-4f : A page containing the poem "Children's Shoes from Lublin" by Johannes R. Bachar.
• H61-5f : Poems by Yitzhak Katzenelson in Yiddish ("Deri Lider").
• H61-5-1f : Part one of the poems of Yitzhak Katzenelson.
• H61-5-3f : Part two of the poems of Yitzhak Katzenelson.
• H61-5-5f : Part Three of the Poems of Yitzhak Katzenelson.
• H61-6f : Lyrics and notes for the song "Exodus" (Takadu-Lid) in memory of the illegal immigrants.
• H61-7f : Pages of the newspaper "A Heim" with poems by Moshe Edelstein and reports on Zionist activity.
• H61-7-1f : A poetry section in the newspaper "A Heim" featuring young poets.
• H61-7-3f : An article about the activities of the General Zionist Organization in Bavaria and a report on soccer games.
• H61-7-6f : Continued reports on sports and Zionist activity in the DP camps.
• H61-7-8f : Excerpts from literature and poetry by Moshe Edelstein about the Holocaust period.
• H61-7-9f : Continued excerpts from literature and poetry in the newspaper "A Heim".
• H61-8f : A Yiddish poem about the destruction of European Jewry.
• H61-9f : A short handwritten passage in Yiddish (continuation of H61-1).
• H61-10f : Advertisement for the "Academy of Grief" to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Latvian ghettos.
• H61-11-1f : An article dealing with the "Five Questions" and the historical context of the Holocaust.
• H61-11-2f : Theater review of the play "The Bloody Joke" in Munich.
• H61-11-3f : A poem by Yuri Galenskov and news about the theater performance "I Am Alive".
• H61-11-4f : You wrote an extensive review of the theater play "The Bloody Joke."
• H61-11-5f : Information about the "MIKT" theater and the Mourning Academy at the Freiman Camp.
• H61-11-6f : An article in German about the extermination of the Jews of Latvia and a theater review in Yiddish.
• H61-11-6-01f : A review of the performance of Sholem Aleichem at the Prince Regent Theater in Munich.
• H61-11-7f : Report on a memorial for 30,000 victims in Latvia and announcements of mourning.
• H61-11-8f : News about the war criminal Herbert Zukurs and a report on the Abel Benoi-Freiman Academy.
• H61-11-9f : A detailed review of cultural and theatrical life among the survivors.
• H61-11-10f : An article about the premiere of "The Bloody Joke" performed by She'erit HaPleita.
• H61-11-11f : Report on the anniversary of the murder of the Jews of Riga and the activities of the Survivors' Committee.
• H61-11-12f : Announcements to the Jewish public from Latvia about memorial conferences in Munich.
• H61-11-13f : An advertisement inviting Latvian immigrants to the Academy of Mourning in 1947.
• H61-11-14f : A mourning notice for the fall of Eliyahu Goldberg in the defense of Ein Gev.

H61-1f

H81-1-1

H61-2f

H61-3f

H61-3-1f

H61-3-3f

H61-4f

H61-5f

H61-5-1f

H61-5-3f

H61-5-5f

H61-6f

H61-7f

H61-7-1f

H61-7-3f

H61-7-6f

H61-7-8f

H61-7-9f

H61-8f

H61-9f

H61-10f

H61-11-1f

H61-11-6-01f

H61-11-2f

H61-11-3f

H61-11-4f

H61-11-5f

H61-11-6f

H61-11-7f

H61-11-8f

H61-11-9f

H61-11-10f

H61-11-11f

H61-11-12f

H61-11-13f

H61-11-14f

** end of Material on the Holocaust in Latvia files **

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