The Jews In Latvia

A challenging account of the systematic and brutal slaughter of Jews in Latvia during the Second World War.

A booklet containing three essays on the history of the Jews in Latvia from the 16th century to the present and on the Holocaust. The last 32 pp. contain photographs of Jewish life in Latvia since 1989. Contents:

A collection of essays.

Edward Anders, son of Adolf Alperovitch (1897-1941) and Erika Sheftelovitch-Meiran (1895-1992), was born in 1926 in Libau, Latvia. He immigrated to the United States in 1949. He married Joan Fleming in 1955. They had two children.

Mentions anti-Jewish policies of some rulers in the Latvian provinces - Courland, Lievland, and Latgalia - between the 16th century and 1914. Some Jews were killed in Riga in pogroms during the revolution of 1905-06. The 1930s were marked by attempts to oust Jews from the economy of independent Latvia. Antisemitism of the radical right was also conspicuous. Ch. 10 (pp. 125-144) deals with the Holocaust in Latvia, describing mass shootings of Jews by the Arājs Commando, the Riga ghetto, and Latvian rescuers of Jews. Ch. 11 (pp. 145-157), on the Soviet occupation 1944-1991, also discusses state antisemitism. Ch. 14 (pp. 179-212), "The Jews of Latvia 1919-1940", presents an anonymous text compiled by Latvian Jews in the USA in 1941-42; pp. 206-209 deal with antisemitism. Ch. 13 (pp. 169-178), "Comments on 'The Jews of Latvia 1919-1940'" is a response by Andrew Ezergailis, who contends that the Latvian dictator Kārlis Ulmanis (1934-40) was not antisemitic.

What do we know about Latvia and the Latvians? A Baltic (not Balkan) nation that emerged from fifty years under the Soviet Union - interrupted by a brief but brutal Nazi-German occupation and a devastating war - now a member of the European Union and NATO. Yes, but what else? Relentless accusations keep appearing, especially in Russian media, often repeated in the West: "Latvian soldiers single-handedly saved Lenin's revolution in 1917", "Latvians killed Tsar Nikolai II and the Royal family", "Latvia was a thoroughly anti-Semitic country and Latvians started killing Jews even before the Germans arrived in 1941", "Nazi revival is rampant in today's Latvia", "The Russian minority is persecuted in Latvia. . ." True, false or in-between? The Finnish journalist and author Jukka Rislakki examines charges like these and provides an outline of Latvia's recent history while attempting to separate documented historical fact from misinformation and deliberate disinformation. His analysis helps to explain why the Baltic States (population 7 million) consistently top the enemy lists in public opinion polls of Russia (143 million). His knowledge of the Baltic languages allows him to make use of local sources and up-to-date historical research. He is a former Baltic States correspondent for Finland's largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and the author of several books on Finnish and Latvian history. As a neutral, experienced and often critical observer, Rislakki is uniquely qualified for the task of separating truth from fiction.