Anonymous testimony on the Holocaust in Latvia's file / תיק -עדות אנונימית על השואה בלטביה

This source shows Handwritten testimony which documents the Persecution of Latvian Jews Under Nazi occupation starting in the summer of 1941. The writings describe in chilling detail the The mass massacres, the arbitrary arrests and severe abuses carried out by the Germans and local collaborators in cities like Riga and OsakaThe document sheds light on Burning of synagoguesThe murder of the Jewish intelligentsia and the process The establishment of the ghetto while denying basic human rights. Beyond describing the atrocities, the source immortalizes moments of Spiritual resilience, such as the playing of Jewish songs in the heart of the inferno. This testimony serves as a vital historical record of the **destruction of the community** and the suffering of the victims in the early stages of the Holocaust in the region.

The documents before us provide a chilling description of the The extermination of Latvian Jews With the beginning of the German occupation in the summer of 1941, focusing on the city of Riga and its surroundings. The testimonies, based on the manuscript of an anonymous eyewitness who perished, detail the brutal collaboration between Nazi forces and local Latvian collaborators.

Key events and the process of destruction

• The beginning of the occupation and the arrests: German forces arrived in Riga at the end of June 1941, and on July 1 the city was completely occupied. Immediately afterwards, Mass arrests of Jews, without any need for formal orders or charges, with the initial target being the Jewish intelligentsia: doctors, engineers, lawyers and factory managers.
• Torture in the Prefecture: Many Jews were brought to the police headquarters (prefecture) in Riga, where they underwent severe torture that included hard labor without water, humiliations (such as shaving beards with blunt scissors or dancing naked), and arbitrary murders.
• Burning of synagogues: In July 1941, a wave of arson attacks on Jewish synagogues and houses of prayer began. In the Choral Synagogue on Gogol Street, about 18 people were burned alive, including the city rabbi. Similar incidents occurred in synagogues on Moscow Street and Illukasta Street.
• The establishment of the ghetto: In August 1941, orders were issued restricting the movement of Jews, requiring them to wear a yellow badge (on the chest and back), and ordering the establishment of Riga Ghetto In the "Moskovsky Forstadt" area. The area, intended for 10,000 people, was populated by approximately 30,000 Jews in overcrowded and difficult sanitary conditions.

Key figures

Victims:

• Hello Kobyakov: The one who prepared and preserved the original manuscript of the anonymous witness.
• A. Beidelman: A well-known lawyer in Riga who was murdered in the garden of his home by Latvian collaborators.
• In Bruyères: A murdered dentist.
• S. Mandelstam: A well-known architect was murdered.
• The son of the goldsmith Vidzer: An 18-year-old boy brutally tortured to death in the prefecture.
• Young Jewish pianist (anonymous): In the inferno at the prefecture, he played the piece "To Me, To Me" before being led to execution.
• Dr. S. Abramson and his sister Anita: They chose to commit suicide to escape the horrors.
• Dr. Friedman's family: An entire family of doctors and medical students who committed suicide together.
• Rabbi Kilov: The rabbi of Riga who was murdered in the burning of the Choral Synagogue.
• Dr. Alanush Bagh: A dentist and university lecturer who was murdered in the old Jewish cemetery.
• Rabbi M. Zak: A chief rabbi in Latvia who was tortured and severely beaten.
• Dr. Kissan: He ran an orphanage for children whose parents were arrested.
• Schlager: An immigrant from Austria was appointed head of the "Jewish Committee."
• Golstab, Minsker, Dr. Blumenfeld, Menz, Blumenau, Kaufer: Members of the Jewish committee established by the authorities.
• Krupkin, Zakhar Gurevich, Leo Cao: Public figures and lawyers who were arrested.

Nazis and collaborators:

• Members of the "Perkonkrusts" organization: A Latvian fascist organization whose members actively and on their own initiative participated in the acts of murder and torture.
• Latvian Volunteer Police: They acted in the service of the Germans, carrying out arrests and murders.
• The SS forces and the German police: The Nazi bodies that aimed at the extermination of the Jews.

Expansion of important sources

The main source available to us is Document H62-1f, which constitutes a rare and direct testimony written in real time or very close to the events. The importance of the source stems from the fact that it describes not only the German actions, but also the local cruelty of the Latvian collaborators, which at times exceeded that of the Germans. The document lists specific names of victims and places, thus giving a human face to the national tragedy of Latvian Jewry.

List of sources

• H62-1f : Detailed handwritten testimony (in Russian) by an anonymous eyewitness about the persecution of the Jews of Riga and Latvia in the summer of 1941, including descriptions of torture, murder in synagogues, mass suicides, and the establishment of the ghetto.

H62-1f

 

** end of Anonymous testimony about the Holocaust of Latvian Jewry files **

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