Holocaust Victims's file / תיק – קורבנות השואה

The documents presented constitute Comprehensive historical documentation of the fate of Latvian Jews during The Holocaust, and include detailed lists of those murdered, survivors, and refugees. The sources present Personal testimonies Shocking, like the story of Selma Sheszlów's escape to Sweden, alongside Official reports about mass executions in cities such as Gostiny and Rybniy. In addition, these materials include Research correspondence who are engaged in translating and editing diaries and testimonies for the preservation of collective memory. Some of the data focuses on the recording methods of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which enable the identification of information on Jews who fled to Central Asia. Overall, the collection serves as a refuge for the destroyed communities and provides Genealogical data are critical for researching the history of Jewish families in the region. These are documents that combine Individual pain and the bureaucratic record of persecution and rescue.

The documents before us provide a chilling and detailed account of the extermination of Latvian Jews during the Holocaust, focusing on the cities of Riga, Gostini, and Ribenishki. The sources include Semitic lists of those murdered, real-time reports sent to Sweden, and personal testimonies of survivors detailing the atrocities committed by the Nazis and local collaborators.

Key events in the extermination of Latvian Jews

The occupation of Latvia by the Germans in the summer of 1941 was accompanied by immediate riots committed by local Latvians against Jews (H81-1f, H81-5f).Riga, the capital of Latvia, synagogues were burned down, and Jews were abducted from their homes for forced labor or murder in prisons (H81-5f). In October 1941, the Riga ghetto was established, where some 33,000 Jews were crammed into subhuman conditions (H81-5f). The most serious mass murders in Riga occurred in late November and December 1941 in the Rumbula Forest (known in sources as Skirotava), where some 26,000 Jews were murdered (H81-5f).

Elsewhere in Latvia, such as GostinyThe Jews were rounded up in July 1941, their property looted, and in August they were taken to a swampy area where they were shot to death by Viktor Arajs's murder squad and Latvian volunteers (H81-7f). In the town Rybnisky, entire Jewish families were murdered in late August 1941 in a nearby forest by a punitive group that arrived in trucks, with the assistance of local Latvians (H81-6f).

Key figures

Victims and survivors

• Selma Sheschelevich (Andersen): A survivor who wrote a detailed report about her experiences in Riga, including her work in the SS kitchen and her survival in hiding (H81-5f).
• Prof. Shimon Dubnov: The famous historian who was murdered in the Riga ghetto in December 1941 (H81-2f, H81-3f).
• Rabbi Kilow: A life was burned in the "Saulen" synagogue (H81-2f).
• Rabbi Zack: A life was burned in the "Gogl" synagogue (H81-2f).
• Boris Zeswan: Tortured severely by passing an electric current through his body in the prefectural courtyard (H81-5f).
• Hela Holtzman: An 8-year-old girl who was shot and killed in front of her mother (H81-5f).
• Kalman Misroch: Murdered along with his wife (H81-4f).

Nazis and collaborators

• Victor Arajs: Commander of the "Sicherheitskommando", the infamous Latvian murder unit responsible for the mass murder of Jews (H81-5f, H81-7f).
• Krause: The German commander of the Riga ghetto, described as a sadist who used to execute Jews himself (H81-5f).
• Felikas Ditietis: A Latvian who single-handedly murdered approximately 3,000 Jews (H81-5f).
• Cukurs: A Latvian pilot nicknamed "the killer of the Jews" (H81-5f).
• Kruminš: The police chief in Krostpils who ordered the transport of the Jews of Gostiny to be murdered (H81-7f).
• Peteris Reinfelds: Member of the Latvian "self-defense" group who actively participated in shooting Jews (H81-7f).

Expansion of important sources

Selma Sheshlevich's report (H81-5f): This source is one of the most important and detailed available. It provides first-person testimony about the process of the occupation of Riga, from the looting and initial disturbances to the establishment of the ghetto and the large-scale Aktions. Selma describes in detail the names of the torturers and murderers, the methods of torture, and daily life under the reign of terror. Her testimony includes the names of dozens of families who were murdered and information about the fate of well-known figures.

Reports from Sweden (H81-1f, H81-2f, H81-3f): These documents, written in Stockholm between 1941 and 1943, show how information about the extermination of Jews outside occupied Latvia trickled out in real time. These lists include many names of Jews whose fates became known to people in Sweden, including reports of deportations to Russia, suicides, and mass murders in firing pits.

Summary of the KGB interrogation of Patrice Reinfelds (H81-7f): This document provides an inside look at how the Gostiny massacre was carried out. It describes the cooperation between the SS and local Latvian units, the way the Jews were deceived into thinking they were being taken to work, and the gruesome technique of shooting in the pits.

List of sources

• H81-1f : Letter from Stockholm (October 1941) reporting on the murder and deportation of Jews and Latvians in Latvia at the beginning of the occupation.
• H81-2f : Summary of information from Stockholm (May 1943) including lists of Jews who were murdered, burned in synagogues, or deported to Russia.
• H81-3f : Continued report from Stockholm (May 1943) with additional details about the fate of many Jews from Riga and other cities in Latvia.
• H81-4f : Semitic lists of Jews murdered by the Germans and Latvians, alongside a short list of Jews who remained alive at the time of the report.
• H81-5f : A detailed and important report by survivor Selma Sheszlówitz describing the occupation of Riga, the ghetto, the massacre at Rumbola, and the names of the murderers.
• H81-6f : List of Jewish families murdered in the town of Rybniški in August 1941 and a description of the Latvian-German murder group.
• H81-7f : Summary of a KGB interrogation of a Latvian collaborator describing in detail the process of the murder of the Jews of Gostiny.

H81-1f

H81-2f

H81-3f

H81-4f

H81-5f

H81-6f

H81-7f

H81-8f

H81-9f

H81-10f

 

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