Verdicts against Murderers's file / תיק – פסקי דין נגד רוצחים

These sources document the Persecution of Latvian Jews During the Holocaust, focusing on the figure of Victor Arrais and the fate of the community in Riga. The first document is verdict which details the life story of Arais, commander of an auxiliary police unit that carried out Mass murders in the service of the Nazis. The second source reviews the Establishment of the Riga Ghetto in the Maskavas district, describing the difficult living conditions, the confiscation of property, and the brutal evictions. The information highlights the Local cooperation in the genocide and the massacre in the Rumbola Forest, where tens of thousands of Jews were murdered. Together, the texts provide a historical and legal perspective on The organized mechanism which led to the extermination of Latvian Jewry.

The Holocaust in Latvia was characterized by the rapid and systematic extermination of the Jewish community, with close cooperation between the German occupation forces and local auxiliary units (H70-1f, H70-5f, H70-6f). With the German invasion in June 1941, mass murders, pogroms, and the establishment of ghettos began, with the peak of horror occurring in the Rumbula Forest massacre (H70-1f, H70-4f).

The Arais Commando and the Annihilation of Latvian Jews

One of the main factors in the murder of Jews in Latvia was the "Commando Arais", an auxiliary unit of the Latvian Security Police under the command of Victor Arrais (H70-1f). A former law student, Arais recruited volunteers for the unit, including students and members of nationalist organizations such as the "Prakonkrustas" (Thunder Cross) (H70-1f). The unit actively participated in the burning of synagogues in Riga, in the murder of Jews in firing squads throughout Latvia, and in guarding and transporting them to their deaths (H70-1f, H70-7f). The members of the unit were the ones who created the human "corridor" that led the victims to the firing squads in Rumbula, where the Jews were forced to undress before being shot (H70-1f).

Riga Ghetto and the Rumbola Massacre (Jeckeln-Aktion)

The Riga Ghetto was established in October 1941 in a Moscow suburb, a slum where some 29,602 Jews were crammed (H70-1f, H70-6f). Living conditions were very difficult, and the Jews suffered from hunger and forced labor (H70-4f, H70-6f). In November 1941, it was decided to liquidate the "Great Ghetto" to make room for Jews who would be deported from Germany (H70-1f, H70-4f).

The massacre, known as "Operation Jaklen", was carried out over two days: November 30 and December 8, 1941 (H70-1f, H70-6f). Under the command of Friedrich Jaklen, approximately 25,000 to 28,000 Jews were murdered in the Rumbola Forest (H70-1f, H70-4f, H70-7f). The victims were led on death marches from the ghetto to the forest, where they were shot using the "sardine-packing" method in pre-prepared pits (H70-1f).

Jungfernhof Camp and Operation Dynaminda

Jungfrauhof There was a farm near Riga that was converted into a concentration camp for Jews deported from Germany and Austria (H70-2f, H70-7f). In March 1942, "Operation Dynaminda" was carried out there, in which about 3,500 Jews – mainly the elderly, the sick and children – were murdered under the pretext that they were being transferred to a camp with better conditions (H70-2f, H70-7f). The camp director, Rudolph Zack, was later convicted of murdering five elderly Jews by shooting them in the back of the head (H70-2f).

Key figures

Victims:

• Frida Michelson: A survivor of the Rumbula massacre who survived after pretending to be dead under a pile of shoes (H70-1f).
• Matisse Lautrec and his wife: A Jewish couple who were rescued by Arais commando drivers and hidden in a garage (H70-1f).
• These are medals: A doctor/medical staff member who survived the selection at Rumbola after claiming that she was not Jewish (H70-1f).
• Ilse Karp: A famous singer from Riga who was murdered in the Ulaanbaatar camp (H70-2f).
• The Morterblich and Kaufman brothers: Prisoners murdered in the Slok camp (H70-2f).
• Laura Kleiman: A woman who begged Rudolf Zack to allow her to join her father who was sent to be exterminated (H70-2f).

Nazis and collaborators:

• Victor Arrais: Commander of the Latvian "Sonderkommando", responsible for the murder of thousands of Jews. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1979 (H70-1f).
• Friedrich Jaklen: A senior SS and police commander who planned and carried out the Rumbola massacre (H70-1f).
• Rudolf Lange: Commander of the Security Police (Sipo) and the SD in Latvia, involved in planning the extermination of the Jews (H70-1f, H70-2f).
• Herbert Zukurs: An officer in the Commando Arrays who actively participated in the Rumbula massacre (H70-1f).
• Otto Tuchel: A German policeman who participated in the liquidation of the ghetto and the Rumbola massacre. Sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders (H70-3f, H70-7f).
• Rudolph Zak: The director of the Jungfernhof camp, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Jews (H70-2f, H70-7f).
• Kurt Miga: An SS man who participated in the murder of Jews in the Ulein and Słock camps. Sentenced to life imprisonment (H70-2f, H70-7f).
• Reinhard Heydrich: The head of the RSHA who gave the directive to encourage "self-purification operations" by the local population (H70-1f).
• Walter Stalker: Commander of Einsatzgruppe A who oversaw the beginning of the extermination in Latvia (H70-1f).

Expansion of important sources

The sources in this file consist largely ofGerman judgments From the 1970s (H70-1f, H70-2f, H70-3f, H70-7f). These documents are of great historical and legal value, as they are based on eyewitness accounts from survivors and the perpetrators themselves, and detail with chilling precision the chain of command, the methods of murder, and the personal circumstances of the defendants and victims (H70-1f, H70-2f). The verdict against Victor Arrais (H70-1f) is a fundamental source for understanding the process of recruiting Latvians into the Nazi extermination machine. Additional sources include historical reviews of Holocaust Museum in the United States (H70-4f) and newspaper articles about the struggle to prosecute Nazi criminals in the Baltic states even decades after the war (H70-5f).

List of sources

• H70-1f : A verdict of the Hamburg court (1979) against Victor Arrais, including a detailed biography and description of his role in the Rumbola massacre and other crimes.
• H70-2f : Verdict against Rudolf Zack and Kurt Miga, focusing on crimes committed in the Jungfernhof, Ulein and Słuk camps in Latvia.
• H70-3f : Excerpts from the verdict in the case of Nazi criminals such as Otto Tuchel, Neumann and Diedrich, and details of the sentences imposed on them.
• H70-4f : A brief historical overview from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on the Riga Ghetto, the Rumbula Massacre, and the Liberation of Latvia.
• H70-5f : An article from the newspaper "Haaretz" (2002) about the Wiesenthal Center's "Operation Last Chance" to extradite Nazi criminals in the Baltic states.
• H70-6f : Description of living conditions in the Riga ghetto, the registration process by the Latvian police, and the liquidation of the ghetto.
• H70-7f : List of summaries of legal proceedings (Verfahren) against Nazi criminals who operated in Latvia, including details of the victims and the offenses.

H70-1f

H70-2f

H70-3f

H70-4f

H70-5f

H70-6f

H70-7f

 

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