page no. 24
The blurring of the massacres - Latvia
In light of the defeat on the Eastern Front, the Germans began to cover up the traces of the murder of the Latvian Jews. At the end of March 1944, Sonderkommando 1005 sub-units came to Riga, due to the enormous size of the unit's tasks, it was strengthened by the commanders of the SDA and the security police in Riga. At that time, the staff of the Kaiserwald camp informed the prisoners that they were looking for workers to work in the "new commando" with the promise of food and better work. The Germans managed to recruit in this way 40-50 Jews who were not aware of the nature of the work they were recruited for. They were in a makeshift forest den and had to dig graves and burn rotting corpses on wood piles. The smell of the burnt bodies was carried far away. The work continued until the first days of June 1944, after which all the Jewish workers were murdered and their bodies burned in Rombula.
in the top picture
Members of Latvian self-defence unit assemble a group of Jewish women. for execution on a beach near Liepāja, 15 December 1941.
In the bottom picture
Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg in occupied Latvia, 1942
..."this was the beginning of "the greatest criminal act in the history of Latvia". From July 1941 the Jews of Latvia were also humiliated in different ways and deprived of the rights that were enjoyed by the other citizens of Latvia. Jews were strictly forbidden to leave their homes in the evening, at night and in the morning. They were allotted lower food rations, they could only shop in some special stores, and they had to wear the mark of recognition – the yellow Star of David on their clothes. It was forbidden for them to attend places where public events took place, including cinemas, athletic fields and parks. All articles above the norm were subject to confiscation for the needs of the Reich. All jewelry, securities, gold and silver coins had to be surrendered on demand. Anti-Semitism thus became the source of enrichment of Nazi officials and their local collaborators who confiscated Jewish property. The extermination of Jews suited them since nobody would remain alive to demand the return of stolen items.