The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944: The Missing CenterA history of the Holocaust in Latvia, focusing on the question of the involvement of Latvians in its implementation. Contends that extant historiography on the Holocaust in Latvia has been greatly influenced by Soviet publications, which tend to vilify the Baltic and Ukrainian peoples. Examination of documents and witnesses' accounts shows that there were no "spontaneous killing actions" on the part of Latvians during the occupation - the killing was initiated and basically perpetrated by the Nazis, mainly by Einsatzgruppe A. Before the war, traditional antisemitism was prevalent in Latvia, but not modern racist theories. The regime of Ulmanis (1934-40) was not antisemitic. The main antisemitic organization in prewar Latvia, Perkonkrusts, supplied mainly writers, not killers. Dwells on the Arajs commando, created by the Nazis in 1941, which killed tens of thousands of Jews in Latvia, Russia, and Belarus. The contribution of the Latvian auxiliary police to the Holocaust was smaller. Describes the extermination of Jews in Riga, Liepaja, Daugavpils, Rezekne, Ventspils, and other places (in some of which ghettos were established) and Nazi camps in Latvia - Kaiserwald, Salaspils, and others. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
TABLES | 25 |
THE HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT | 35 |
Copyright | |
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administrative Aizpute Aizsargi anti-Semitism Arājs commando Arājs Trial Records arrested arrived atrocities August auxiliary police Baltic Germans began Biezais Biķernieki camp civilian communists Daugava Daugavas Vanagi Daugavpils December deposition district documents Einsatzgruppen forces German occupation ghetto Grauel Heydrich Himmler Holocaust iela Jānis Jeckeln Jelgava Jewish Jews Jews of Latvia Jews were killed July June Kārlis Kaufmann kill the Jews Kurzeme labor Landgericht Hamburg Landgericht Hannover Lange Latgale Latvian army Latvian Jews Latvian police Latvian SD Latviešu Liepāja Lohse Lohse's LVVA military murder Nacionālā Zemgale Nazi November October officers Ordnungspolizei organization Ostland pagasts participated partisans Pērkonkrusts Pēteris pits Plensners pogroms Police Battalion policemen precinct prison propaganda Reich Jews Rēzekne Rumbula Rumbula action Russian Salaspils Schutzmannschaften Security Police self-defense Soviet Stahlecker Stahlecker's Štiglics synagogue Tēvija took Ulmanis units Vagulāns Veiss Ventspils Vestermanis vēsture victims Vidzeme Viesīte Wehrmacht Yad Vashem Yad Vashem Archive Zemgale