The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944

Download or read book The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944 written by Andrew Ezergailis and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 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.