Elmar Rivosh, Memoirs. Getto Riga's file / תיק – אלמר ריבוש, זיכרונות. גטו ריגה

This document contains excerpts from personal memoirs of Elmer Ribusch, documenting the early days of The War in Riga and the forced transition toghettoThe author describes with emotion the collapse of family routine, the feelings of patriotism mixed with anxiety for the fate of his children, and the rising anti-Semitism on the part of his Latvian neighbors. The description focuses on Ribusch's Sisyphean efforts. To prepare a "mansion" for residence A shaky figure in the ghetto, desperately trying to maintain a human image and a sense of home for his family. Through the lines emerges a painful picture of Daily life under the Nazi occupation, characterized by hunger, forced labor, and chilling reports of mass murders in the forests. This is living testimony to Jewish survivability Faced with the brutal reality of the extermination of the Latvian Jewish community.

The documents before us present a detailed and chilling picture of life and death in the Riga ghetto, as experienced by Elmar Ribusch between June 1941 and February 1942. The memoirs describe the rapid transition from a free and ordinary life to a reality of persecution, hunger, forced labor, and mass murder.

Key figures

Victims:

• Elmar Ribusch: The author of the memoirs, who survived the ghetto thanks to his resourcefulness and work as a stove builder ("pechnik"), until his escape in February 1942 (H75-1s).
• To Elia: Elmar's wife, who demonstrated great mental strength in caring for their children and elderly parents in the harsh conditions of the ghetto (H75-1s).
• Dima: Elmar's little son, who experienced the horrors of war and the ghetto from a very young age (H75-1s).
• Lydia: Elmar's baby daughter, born into the reality of the ghetto (H75-1s).
• watery: A relative or nanny who initially remained outside the ghetto and supported the family by providing food (H75-1s).
• Panya Falk: A friend of the family who lost her husband and brother in the riots (H75-1s).
• Sofia Yv. Gurevich: A relative who waited in vain for the return of her husband, Boris Lvovich, who had been taken by the Nazis (H75-1s).
• G. Minsker, Eng. Blumenau, Kauffert and M. Mintz: Members of the "Judenrat" (Jewish Council) established in Riga to manage the community's affairs in the face of the Nazi regime (H75-1s).
• Professor Dubnov: A famous Jewish historian who lived in the ghetto and continued to write his book on the history of the Jews there (H75-1s).

Nazis and collaborators:

• Stanke: A German officer (lieutenant) who was a central figure in managing the work in the ghetto and carrying out "hunts" for workers in the streets (H75-1s).
• Tuchel: A German field marshal who took an active part in abusing Jews and recruiting them for forced labor (H75-1s).
• Drallé: A local German (Volksdeutsche) who acted as a cruel manhunter who captured Jews for forced labor (H75-1s).
• Danckop: A Latvian officer described as an extreme sadist who enjoyed personally abusing Jews and participated in supervising the murders (H75-1s).
• Eisman: A Jew who served as a cart driver and worked for the Germans, who was described as having adopted Nazi ways and even beating other Jews (H75-1s).

Historical review based on the sources

The beginning of the war in Riga on June 22, 1941, was accompanied by panic and failed escape attempts by the Ribusch family towards Baldorki (H75-1s). With the Germans entering the city on July 1, decrees against the Jews immediately began: mandatory wearing of a yellow badge on the chest and back, a ban on walking on sidewalks, and a ban on shopping in regular stores (H75-1s).

The establishment of the ghetto and the "Aktions": At the end of 1941, the ghetto was established in the "Preshtat" area of ​​Moscow, and all Jews were forced to crowd into a small area surrounded by a barbed wire fence (H75-1s). The most traumatic event described is the "Aktions" (mass murder operations) in late November and early December 1941. During these days, thousands of Jews, mainly the elderly, women and children, were taken to the Biķernieki forests and shot (H75-1s). Rivosh describes the blood-soaked streets and the rows of shoes and abandoned objects left after the massacre (H75-1s).

Life in the "Little Ghetto": After the mass murder, a “small ghetto” was established for the able-bodied men, who were separated from their families (H75-1s). Rivosh describes his work as a stove-maker in the ghetto, a position that gave him relative freedom of movement and the opportunity to trade objects for food (H75-1s). He describes how the Jews became experts at “organizing” (stealing or illegally trading) basic necessities to survive the cold Latvian winter (H75-1s).

The escape: After months of living under constant threat, Elmar Ribusch managed to escape the ghetto on February 4, 1942, taking advantage of his time out to work in the city and removing the yellow patch from his body (H75-1s).

Expansion of important sources

The main source available to us is Memoirs of Elmar Ribouche (H75-1s). The importance of this source stems from its being a direct and detailed eyewitness account written close to the events. Ribusch does not content himself with a dry description of the facts, but rather provides a glimpse into the inner world of the prisoners, their moral dilemmas, and the mental and physical survival mechanisms they developed (H75-1s). He describes the Nazi cynicism, the cruelty of the Latvian collaborators, and also the alienation that sometimes arose between the local Jews and the Jews brought from Germany and Central Europe (H75-1s).

---

List of sources

• H75-1s : Personal memoirs of Elmar Rivosh about life in the Riga ghetto, Latvia, between the years 1941-1942, including descriptions of the deportation, the "Aktions" and his escape from the ghetto.

 

H75-1s

 

** end of Elmar Rivosh, Memoirs. Ghetto Riga files **

**Press to go back to holocaust Table**