Letters from Ghetto Riga / Photos's file / תיק – מכתבים מגטו ריגה / תמונות

These sources document the The tragedy and the persecution of Latvian Jews during the 20th century under German rule Totalitarian regimesThe documents include detailed lists of Names of victims and deportees indicating their years of birth and addresses, alongside historical evidence of The mass deportations which took place in June 1941. A Latvian-language memorial book focuses on the difficult experiences of Medical staff who were imprisoned in the Soviet Gulag camps, describing the inhumane conditions and abuse they endured. In addition, Russian-language press clippings reflect the The humanitarian crisis and the economic damage to the Jewish community in earlier periods of war. Together, the sources provide Panoramic view About the loss of human life, the displacement of the population and the destruction of the Jewish communities in this area. The information serves as a reminder to those who suffered Political and ethnic persecution Over decades of regime change.

The mass deportation from Latvia on June 14, 1941, was a traumatic event carried out by the Soviet authorities, in which over 15,000 Latvian citizens were sent to remote areas of the Soviet Union (H87-7-1f, H87-8f). The Jewish community was disproportionately affected; although Jews made up less than 5% of the population, they accounted for approximately 11.7% of the deportees (H87-7-1f). According to various estimates, between 1,770 and 5,000 Jews were deported that night (H87-7-1f, H87-7-2f, H87-7-3f).

The consequences of deportation and conditions in the camps

The deportations targeted those considered "socially dangerous elements", including politicians, industrialists, wealthy merchants, and religious and Zionist leaders (H87-7-1f, H87-9f). The deportees were gathered from their homes in the dead of night and loaded onto freight cars at railway stations such as Šķirotava, where the heads of families (men) were often separated from the women and children (H87-7-1f, H87-7-2f, H87-9f).

The main destinations for deportation were the Siberian regions (Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk) and labor camps in the Vyatka and Solikamsk regions (H87-2-2f, H87-5f, H87-7-1f). Conditions in the camps were unbearable and included severe hunger, grueling forced labor in the forests, extreme cold, and diseases such as pellagra and pneumonia (H87-7-1f, H87-7-2f, H87-10f). Mortality rates were very high; in some camps, over 60% of the deportees perished within the first year (H87-7-1f).

Medical professionals under oppression

Medical sources describe how many Jewish doctors in Latvia were persecuted both by the Soviet regime (in the 1941 deportations) and later by the Nazi regime (H87-10f, H87-3-1f). Doctors deported to Siberia were often forced to work in subhuman conditions while attempting to provide meager medical assistance to their fellow prisoners (H87-10f). With the Nazi occupation in July 1941, another wave of terror began, directed directly against the remaining Jewish doctors in Latvia, with the intention of racially destroying the Jewish community (H87-10f).

Key figures

Victims (deportees and persecuted medical personnel):

• Prof. Paul Mintz: A Jewish leader and criminal law expert who perished in deportation in 1941 (H87-7-1f).
• Rabbi Mordechai Nurok: Leader of the "Mizrahi" movement and member of the Seimas (Latvian Parliament), who was expelled by the Soviets (H87-7-1f).
• Mordechai Dubin: Leader of "Agudat Israel", who was also expelled (H87-7-1f).
• Baruch Minkowicz: A survivor of the 1941 deportation who provided detailed testimony about the detention process and conditions in the camps (H87-7-2f).
• Dr. O. Alks: A doctor who was deported to labor camps and provided testimony about daily life and medical care in the camps (H87-10f).
• Zalman Slivkin: A businessman from Daugavpils who was deported and survived against all odds (H87-7-1f).
• Gesia Kamaiski: A girl who was deported to Siberia as an orphan survived and later became an activist for the rights of deportees (H87-7-1f).
• Dr. S. Abramovics: A doctor who was persecuted under the dictatorial regimes (H87-9f).

The perpetrators of the repression (representatives of the Soviet government responsible for the deportation):

• Semjons Šustins: Commissar of Internal Security of Soviet Latvia, signed numerous deportation orders (H87-8f).
• Jānis Cinis: Soviet Deputy Commissar of the Interior in Latvia (H87-8f).
• Zinovijs Krivickis: A senior official in the Soviet security apparatus who was involved in organizing the deportations (H87-8f).
• Aleksandrs Brezgins: A senior official in the Soviet repression apparatus (H87-8f).

Expansion of important sources

• H87-7-1f: A comprehensive academic article by historian Dov Levin, focusing specifically on the deportation of Latvian Jews. The source analyzes the political and social reasons for the deportation, provides precise statistical data, and describes the fate of the Jewish leadership under Soviet rule.
• H87-8f: The document summarizes abstracts from an international conference held in 2001 on the subject of deportation as a crime against humanity. It is particularly important for understanding modern research on the organizational structure of deportation and the legal aspects of these events.
• H87-10f: A unique source focusing on medical professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists) who were victims of political repression in Latvia between 1940 and 1953. It provides a human and personal perspective on the professional and moral struggles of doctors within the camps and ghettos.

List of sources

• H87-1-1f : Press clippings from the magazine "Evreiskaya Nedelya" from 1915 dealing with the deportation of the Jews of Courland during World War I.
• H87-2-2f : A 2008 journalistic article about a memorial gathering in Israel for survivors of the Gulag and deportations from Latvia and Estonia.
• H87-3-1f : Information bulletin of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2001 dealing with the study of deportations, documentation of the Righteous Among the Nations, and activities to commemorate the Holocaust.
• H87-3-2f : Program of the international conference "The Deportation of June 14, 1941: A Crime Against Humanity" held in Riga.
• H87-4f : Extensive Semitic lists of Jews who were deported from various cities in Latvia in June 1941, arranged by place of residence.
• H87-5f : A topographic map detailing the layout of the main Gulag camps throughout the Soviet Union.
• H87-6f : Invitation to a memorial meeting of the Association of Latvian and Estonian Immigrants in Israel for the victims of Stalinist repression.
• H87-7-1f : A detailed research article by Dov Levin on the mass deportation of Latvian Jews to remote areas of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
• H87-7-2f : The personal testimony of Baruch Minkowitz describing the process of arrest, deportation, and the harsh conditions in the Soviet labor camps.
• H87-7-3f : Correspondence including a bibliography and information on Semitic lists of deportees from Latvia in 1940-1941.
• H87-8f : A collection of abstracts of lectures and documents from an international conference discussing the organizational structure of repression and crimes against humanity in Latvia.
• H87-9f : Excerpts from a book in Hebrew describing the deportation to Siberia and the life of the Jewish community under the Soviet occupation.
• H87-10f : A research book by Dzintaris Alex dealing with the fate of Latvian medical professionals under political repression between the years 1940-1953.

 

H87-1-1f

H87-2-2f

H87-3-1f

H87-3-2f

H87-4f

H87-5f

H87-6f

H87-7-1f

H87-7-2f

H87-7-3f

H87-8f

H87-9f

H87-10f

 

** end of Letters from Ghetto Riga / Photos files **

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