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Peculiarities of the Holocaust commemoration process in Latvia. Victoria Shaldova Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum. Peculiarities of the Holocaust in Latvia. Flourishing pre-war Jewish community, which influenced upon entire region
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Peculiarities of the Holocaust commemoration process in Latvia Victoria Shaldova Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum
Peculiarities of the Holocaust in Latvia • Flourishing pre-war Jewish community, which influenced upon entire region • Anti-Semitic propaganda and collaboration of the locals • Anti-Semitism of the locals which was raised by Soviet occupation in 1940. • Impossible evacuation for the majority of the Jewish population and almost complete extermination of it. • Significant number (about 25 000) of deported and exterminated Western European Jews. • Almost complete change of the members of Latvian Jewish community after WWII and immigration of Soviet Jews who were not in touch with Jewish tradition and heritage.
Holocaust as trauma • For survivors • For third and fourth generation • For collaborators and their descendants • For those who saved Jews • For those, who were “standing by the roadside”
Events for non-Jewish part of population – history and teachers Three years of activities: • More than 200 history teachers from smaller towns attended seminars on the Holocaust and Jewish history of Latvia • In 2010 the first group of 30 history teachers and museum principals was sent to Yad Vashem for 2-week course in co-operation with the Ministry of Education of LR, in 2011 the second one participated in the training
Events for non-Jewish part of population – educational programs for pupils • Since 2008 more than 2 000 of Latvian and Russian pupils participated in training course on the Holocaust and Jewish history of Latvia
Annual Jewish Culture Festival • High level of musicians • Active PR campaign • Concerts outside Jewish community buildings • Free concerts in the streets • Commemoration events in the program of the festival
March for Life on July 04 • In 2010 more than 600 participants • Capability to express the feelings • Possibility to say “We are here” • Participation of European Jewish communities
Public recitation of names of Jewish children on the first Friday of September • Possibility to express personal feelings • Possibility to find “own” children in the lists • Participation of non-Jews • Co-operation with Ministry of Education
Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum • The second Holocaust museum in Eastern Europe • Unique ghetto area without architectonic changes since WWII • Existing Jewish community • Support of Riga City Council and Parliament of Latvia
Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum • 112 posters with exhibitions on Jewish history of Latvia: Jews in Latvian culture, army, sports etc., Jewish education, Synagogues and rabbis, Jewish images and others • Wall of the memory with names of 76 000 Latvian Jews who faced the Holocaust • Exhibitions “Anti-Semitic propaganda”, :Holocaust in Latvia”, “Resistance in Riga ghetto”, “Righteous Among Nations”
House of Riga ghetto in the museum The house from Riga ghetto (M. Kalna street 21) was taken into pieces and brought to the museum. Now it is being rebuilt. The first floor will become an exhibition space and on the second one flat of the ghetto will be reconstructed according to memoirs of the prisoners.
