The Holocaust in Various communities's file / תיק – השואה בקהילות שונות

This collection of sources documents the The painful history of Latvian Jewry During and after World War II. The documents include Named lists of those who perished from schools and local communities, alongside detailed testimonies of Massacres and deportations carried out in various cities and towns. Official correspondence and articles reveal the The effort to commemorate the victims through the establishment of monuments and the holding of memorial ceremonies at the sites where the atrocities took place. In addition, journalistic materials examine the The question of local cooperation with the Nazis and the political implications of Holocaust remembrance in modern Latvia. In doing so, the sources provide a broad perspective that combines Personal, historical and political documentation of the destruction of the community and the preservation of its memory.

The documents before us reveal a painful picture of the fate of the Jewish communities in Latvia during the Holocaust, focusing on local events, key figures, and the post-war memory struggles.

Events and geographic centers

Varklāni: With the outbreak of war, the town was filled with refugees from Riga and nearby cities (H9-1f). On June 28, 1941, the Red Army withdrew and fighting began at the front, and many of the Jews tried to escape towards the Russian border but were forced to turn back after the road was blocked by the Germans (H9-1f). On July 1, the Germans entered the town, led by local collaborators (H9-1f). In August 1941, the town's Jews were rounded up, taken to the Jewish cemetery, where they were forced to dig pits for themselves and murdered (H9-1f).

Ančupāni Hills and Rēzekne: This place served as a mass murder site where thousands of Jews from Razkana and the surrounding area were shot in the fall of 1941 (H9-2f, H9-3f). The sources describe a struggle with the Soviet authorities over the nature of the commemoration at the site: while the authorities sought to commemorate the "Soviet citizens" who fell in the fight against fascism, survivors such as V. Yoft demanded recognition that most of the murdered were Jews who were murdered because of their religion (H9-2f, H9-3f).

The village of Audriņi: This village was completely destroyed by the Nazis in January 1942 as punishment for aiding Soviet prisoners of war (H9-3f). The men of the village were shot in the market square of Rezkna, and the rest of the inhabitants were murdered in the Anchopany hills (H9-3f).

Poguļanka: A site near the city of Ludza where hundreds of Jews were massacred in August 1941 (H9-7f). The source describes a memorial rally held at the site on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy (H9-7f).

Key figures

• Janis Pikšis: A young Latvian from Varkalian who grew up among Jews and tried to protect them when the Germans entered. He was murdered by local collaborators along with his Jewish friend Reuven (H9-1f).
• Celmiņš: The leader of the group of collaborators in Varkalyan, who led the murders and looting in the town (H9-1f).
• V. Iofet: A survivor who worked vigorously against the newspaper "Rīgas Balss" and the authorities to ensure that the commemoration of the murdered in the Ančupani Hills would include explicit reference to Jews (H9-2f, H9-3f).
• Leonid Koval: Writer and chairman of the Jewish community in Jurmala, author of the book "The Book of Salvation" (Книга спасения), which compiles testimonies about the ghettos and camps in Latvia (H9-6f).
• Guntis Ulmanis: The President of Latvia, whose family ties (his relative Eduards Olmanis) were investigated in connection with collaboration with German intelligence before the war (H9-8-1f, H9-8f).

Additional lists and testimonies

The sources include detailed Semitic lists of victims:

• List of students and teachers from the Jewish school inGoldingen From 1935 who perished in the Holocaust (H9-4f).
• List of family members Levenson and Berkowitz From the city Liepaja (Libau) Murdered between 1941–1945 (H9-4-3f, H9-4f).

List of sources

• H9-1f : The Holocaust on the Warklian community – detailed testimony about the occupation of the town and the murder of the Jews.
• H9-2f : Correspondence with the newspaper "Rigs Bells" – letters from W. Yoft regarding the monument in the Anchopani Hills.
• H9-3f : Testimony and correspondence on the subject of the Anchopani and Odrini hills – a compilation of materials on the commemoration struggles in Soviet Latvia.
• H9-4-3f : List of murdered members of the Levenson and Berkowitz families – documentation of the fate of family members from Liepaja.
• H9-4f : List of students and teachers from the Jewish school in Koldiga – Semitic documentation of the school community.
• H9-5f : A document in Yiddish – testimony or a letter including family names and places in Latvia.
• H9-6f : Review of the book "The Book of Salvation" – an article about Leonid Kobel's book documenting the ghettos.
• H9-7f : "There will be no forgetting" – an article about a memorial rally for the victims of Pogolyanka near Lodz.
• H9-8f : "And you, Olmanis, I ask that you stay" – an article about the Latvian president and his family's ties to the history of the war.

 

– H9-1f

– H9-2f

– H9-3f

– H9-4f

– H9-4-3f

– H9-5f

– H9-6f

– H9-7f

– H9-8f

– H9-8-1f

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