(5) Liepaja file / תיק קהילה

🗺️ Map of the Libau Ghetto: Diagram of the buildings and streets

These sources document the History of the Jewish Community in Liaoning in Latvia during and after the Holocaust, focusing on preserving the memory of the victims and prosecuting war criminals. The collection includes Official correspondence of Jewish associations working to locate witnesses and collect evidence against Nazis and local collaborators, alongside Detailed name lists of survivors and their fate. In addition, the sources present Historical research and personal testimonies About ghetto life, the massacres and the daring attempts to survive in hiding under the German occupation. These documents reveal the The logistical and economic difficulties that organizations in Germany and Britain faced in their efforts to achieve justice for the survivors. The photos and articles complete the painful picture of a community that was destroyed, but continues To fight for its perpetuation and for bringing those responsible to justice. This is a vital record that combines the factual description of the atrocities with the active effort for reconstruction and remembrance in the years following the war.

History of the Jewish Community inLibau (Liepaja), Latvia, are documented in sources from the late 18th century, when the city was under the rule of Duchy of Courland and enjoyed autonomy under the auspices of the Polish Kingdom (C131-1f, C131-2f). During this period, German citizens (Burgers) prohibited Jewish settlement in their territory, but with the partition of Poland in 1793 and the annexation of Courland toRussian Empire, the ban was lifted and gradual Jewish settlement began (C131-1f, C131-102). The Jewish population grew from 1,700 in 1863 to 10,000 in 1911, when Jews constituted about 12.3% of the city's total population (C131-1f, C131-2f).

Economic, social and political development

During the 19th century, Lipaia became an important economic hub thanks to its deep-water port, which was used to export grain from Ukraine to the West, an industry in which Jews played a central role (C131-1f, C131-102). Jews owned central banks, such as Bank of Liepajaand controlled a significant share of the city's trade and industry (C131-53). The community structure was branched and included religious associations (such as Gemara Company), welfare institutions (such as Visiting the sick andJustice's Night) and a diverse education system that included schools in German, Russian, and Hebrew (C131-1f, C131-51). Politically, the city was home to Zionist movements (starting in 1885), an active branch of theBond and youth movements such as Hashomer Hatzair-Netzah, Beitar andMaccabi (C131-52, C131-56).

The period of independent Latvia and the rule of Ulmanis (1918-1940)

After World War I and the establishment of independent Latvia, Liepaja was cut off from the Russian economic hinterland and lost its importance as an international port (C131-52). Despite the decline in the number of Jews (7,399 in 1935), they maintained important economic positions and owned about 40% of the city's businesses (C131-52). In 1934, Karl Olmanis took power in a coup, and his nationalist regime led to a trend of "Latinization"which restricted the economic and cultural freedom of action of Jews (C131-56, C131-57). Certain Jewish institutions were restricted, and left-wing political activists were banned (C131-56).

Soviet rule (June 1940 – June 1941)

In June 1940, Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union, a move that led to widespread nationalization of private businesses and the dissolution of Jewish communal institutions (C131-58, C131-59). A handwritten note on the original indicates that during this period some of the Jewish administrators were replaced by Soviet activists (C131-61). In June 1941, a week before the German invasion, the Soviets deported dozens of Jews, mostly of "bourgeois" background or Zionist activists, to camps in Siberia (C131-62).

The Nazi occupation and the destruction of the community

The German army invaded Liepaja on June 29, 1941 (C131-66). Immediately after the occupation began, units of theEinsatzgruppe A andSecurity Police, with the active assistance of Latvian "self-defense" forces (Guards), in mass massacres (C131-12f, C131-71). Jewish men were the first victims, and many of them were murdered inRaines Park and in the lighthouse area (C131-73, C131-77). On July 5, restrictive orders were issued requiring the wearing of Yellow Badge, a night curfew and a ban on the use of public transportation (C131-75).

The peak of the extermination occurred in December 1941 in the massacre inShkada Beach (Shed), where approximately 2,731 Jews were murdered, most of them women and children (C131-12f, C131-84). In the testimony of Reinhard Wiener, who filmed some of the events, he notes that he "probably" (vermute ich) understood that the people being led away in the snow were victims of murder (C131-15f). The information in the sources regarding the involvement of specific Latvian forces beyondCommando Arrays It is partly ambiguous (C131-79, C131-16f).

The Ghetto and its Liquidation (1942-1943)

On July 1, 1942, it was established Liepaja Ghetto, where the last 800 survivors were concentrated (C131-12f, C131-85). The ghetto operated under the command of Karcher (Kerscher), who is described in some testimonies as having treated the Jews with "relative humanity" (C131-12f, C131-86). A "Council of Elders" was established within the ghetto (Kehila) headed by Andreev andKagansky (C131-86, C131-120). The ghetto was finally liquidated on October 8, 1943, Yom Kippur, and the survivors were sent to the concentration camp. Kaiserwald (C131-12f, C131-93). Only about 20 Jews survived in hiding in the city until its liberation on May 9, 1944 (C131-95).

Terms and explanations

• Burgers (Burgers): Urban residents with privileged rights and a defined legal status under German-Baltic rule (C131-1f).
• Pale of Settlement (Moshav area): The area in the Russian Empire where permanent Jewish settlement was permitted (C131-1f).
• Numerus Clausus (Numeros Clausus): A limited quota of Jewish students permitted to study at institutions of higher education (C131-51).
• Guards (Izasergi): A paramilitary Latvian national guard that operated during the Olmanis era and assisted the Nazis during the occupation (C131-58, C131-71).
• Action (Aktion): Nazi term for the operation of concentration, deportation, or mass murder of Jews (C131-74, C131-12f).
• Commando Arrays (Araj's Commando): A Latvian murder unit that was subordinate to the SD and actively participated in the extermination of Latvian Jews (C131-79).

List of sources

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• C131-1f – Introduction to research on the Liepaja community under the German occupation and the methodology for collecting materials
• C131-2f – Historical research on the development of the Jewish community in Liepaja from the 18th century to World War I
• C131-3f – An encyclopedic entry on Liepaja, including a chronological overview of the destruction of the community and photographs
• C131-4f – Photographs of the massacre of women and children on Shkada Beach, accompanied by an explanation of the units carrying out the killings.
• C131-5f – A page from a Russian newspaper showing photographs of the exhumation of mass graves and bodies of Holocaust victims
• C131-6f – Documentation of the community survivors who hid in bunkers and basements in Liepaja until the end of the war
• C131-7f – Salomon Feigersson’s review of the first months of occupation and the first murderous acts in Latvia
• C131-8f – Description of the establishment of the Liepaja ghetto in 1942, the life of the community within it, and the process of its final liquidation.
• C131-9f – An article about the mass massacre in Shkada in December 1941, including testimonies about the murder of women and children.
• C131-10-02f – An article about the massacres of Latvian Jews and the involvement of Latvian police units in their execution.
• C131-10f – The story of the rescue of dozens of Jewish children from a summer camp in Latvia in June 1941
• C131-11f – Personal testimony about the executions in Liepaja and the murder of the Feigerson family in February 1942
• C131-12f – A review by Giorgi Mordel on the destruction of the Liepaja community and the details of the massacre of women in Shkodër
• C131-13f – A photograph of Jewish women before their execution on Shkada Beach in December 1941
• C131-15f – Protocol of Reinhard Wiener's testimony about filming a documentary about the murder of a Jew in Liepaja
• C131-16f – Documents of the Association of Freed Jews on the subject of lists of war criminals and collection of investigative materials
• C131-17f – Correspondence regarding the investigation of Latvian war criminals and survivor testimonies in Germany and Britain
• C131-18f – Map of the Liepaja Ghetto, including a detailed description of the residential buildings, workshops, and gates
• C131-19f – Distribution list and survivors for a memorial book for the Liepaja community with their names and places of residence

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