The operating hours of the museum in September

September 3, 2021

Dear visitors! In light of the Jewish religious holidays, the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum will be closed on 07/09, 08/09, 16/09, 21/09, 22/09, 28/09, 29/09. Our hours of operation will be shortened on 06/09, 15/09, 20/09. (open until 14:00). We offer our most sincere apologies for the inconvenience. We will be happy to see you on another day.

Exhibition on Polish diplomats who saved Jews at the Riga Ghetto and Holocaust in Latvia Museum

September 2, 2021

The exhibition Passports For Life commemorates the righteous diplomats who rescued Jews and the anti-Holocaust actions of the Polish underground state and Polish government-in-exile. 80 years ago, the Polish Legation in Switzerland launched its rescue operations. To commemorate this, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland has declared 2021 the year of the Ładoś Group.
The exhibition is dedicated to an important episode in Polish history, almost unknown to the general public: the Ładoś Group, set up by Aleksander Ładoś, Polish Envoy in Switzerland. to save Jews from extermination. Besides himself, it also included his deputy Stefan Ryniewicz, Vice-Consul Konstanty Rokicki, Juliusz Kühl, attaché to the Embassy, and two representatives of Jewish organizations, Abraham Zilberschein (the World Jewish Congress and its Committee for the Support of Jewish War Victims in Israel, RELICO), and Chaim Eiss (Agudath Israel). Between 1941 and 1943, the group was involved in forging and smuggling Latin American passports for Jews into Poland and other European countries from Switzerland. From 9,000 to 12,000 people are estimated to have received them. The number of survivors is still unknown.
For these diplomats, Latvia was not a terra incognita. Aleksander Ładoś was one of the members of the Polish delegation at the 1920 peace talks with Bolshevik Russia in Riga, and Polish ambassador to Latvia in 1923-1926.  Rokicki and Ryniewicz were also well acquainted with Latvia: they worked at the embassy in Riga (1934-1936) and were probably friends from that time.
On the exhibition stands you can see reproductions of the most valuable documents from Chaim Eiss’s archive: passports, accounts, Eiss’s correspondence with Polish diplomats, letters from ghetto inmates to Silberschein who was one of the intermediaries between Polish Jews and the Legation.
The motto of the exhibition is the verse ‘Passports’ by Władysław Szlengel, a Polish Jew, poet and author of the daily chronicle of the Warsaw Ghetto, murdered in 1943: “How I wish I had a Uruguayan passport, / so I could have one in Costa Rica and Paraguay, / but that I could live in peace in Warsaw / because this land is still the most beautiful.
The exhibition Passports For Life was prepared by the Pilecki Institute in cooperation with the Polish Embassies in Bern and Riga and the Riga Ghetto and Holocaust in Latvia Museum.

Presentation of “Cultural bridges” project in Bremen

On 24 August, “Culturas Bridges” project was presented in the Old Town Hall of Bremen. It became a part of the exhibition Zachor: Erinnere Dich! (Zachor is Hebrew for ‘remembrance’). The Zachor exhibition is a joint project of the Museum of Riga Ghetto and Holocaust in Latvia, the Shamir Society, the curator Chris Steinbrecher, and the artist Dagmar Kale. The exhibition had several main parts. The Bridges of Culture project, a travelling exhibition dedicated to the history of Latvian Jews, formed its core part. The second part was a series of Dagmar Calais’s paintings illustrating Old Testament stories that bring together two religions, Jewish and Christian. The next part is a series of ink drawings by Dagmar Calais depicting scenes from Riga Ghetto and her Two Days in Winter installation, dedicated to mass extermination actions in Rumbula. As conceived by the authors, the joint commemoration project Zachor is dedicated to the memory of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, with the Latvian Jewish community serving as an example that reflects the fate of Jewish minorities in various countries, partially or fully exterminated during World War II. The opening was attended by members of the Bremen Senate, scholars, diplomats and musicians. The number of visitors was limited due to COVID-19. The exhibition was widely covered in the local press and television. We express our warmest gratitude to Chris and Dagmar for their invaluable contribution to this joint project. We also thank the Bremen City Senate and all the sponsors who made this project possible: on the Latvian side these include the VKKF, Uniting History, and LNK Charity Fund who supported the very creation of the exhibition in 2019. Since then, the exhibition has visited seven cities. Thanks to the support of the Goethe Institute, it has been possible to prepare German translations of the stands to adapt the project in Germany. The Zachor exhibition will be available to the public until 15 September at the Bremen Town Hall. Admission is free.  

The museum is open!

June 4, 2021

  Due to the improvement of the epidemiological situation in the country, the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum is available for individual visits from June 4, 2021. To visit the museum, please make an appointment by calling 29816668, or via e-mail: rgm@rgm.lv.    

A virtual tour of the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum

May 10, 2021

Dear friends! Despite the fact that the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum is temporarily closed due to the pandemic, you have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with all its exhibitions. We have prepared a virtual tour of the museum, which is available via the link http://rgmvirtualtours.lv/. The tour is available in Latvian, English and Russian. The virtual version of the museum’s exhibitions were prepared with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.

The Riga Ghetto and Holocaust in Latvia Museum is temporarily closed for visitors

March 13, 2020

Obeying orders and instructions of higher authorities, the Riga Ghetto and Holocaust in Latvia Museum (similarly to many public organizations in Latvia, such as schools, universities, museums, theatres, libraries, archives, and state institutions) will interrupt its activities and temporarily close for visitors between 13 March and 14 April 2020. We greatly hope that this difficult time will soon pass and, like the rest of the world, we will be able to return to the old way of life. We will wait for you to come again!

Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum has launched new exhibitions

August 9, 2019

On 17 July 2019, Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum has launched several new exhibitions.

Besides the previously announced exhibition “The Jews of North Africa during the Holocaust”, the Museum also has launched the exhibition “Riga Ghetto in Alexandra Beltsova’s drawings” provided by the Žanis Lipke Memorial Museum, the project “Shtetl, lost but not forgotten world”, with the archive photos and drawings by Vera Bondar and Margarita Zaitseva. In addition, the Museum will exhibit once more the drawings by Feliks Mostovicz and Josef Kuzkovski.

The infrastructure of the Museum is also developing: the exhibitions have been assigned new numbers, the information leaflets have been updated. A kosher café Beker Meister has opened its doors in the territory of the Museum. It offers a tempting opportunity to taste delicious pita breads with falafel and eggplant, spicy sweet lekach and other Jewish and non-Jewish foods.

We invite you to see the new exhibits of the museum! We remind you that the Riga Ghetto and Holocaust Museum is situated at Turgeņeva iela 2, with two entrances from Krasta iela and Maskavas iela. The opening hours are 10 to 18 on weekdays and Sundays. There is no entry fee but the donations are encouraged. As the museum exhibits are being updated, we also made new information leaflets in eight languages. They are available via the following links:

English, Latvian, Russian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish. МостовичКузьковский-1Кузьковский2БондарьЛипке  

Invitation to the exhibition “Jews in North Africa during World War II”

June 20, 2019

Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum kindly invites you to take part in the ceremony of the official opening of the exhibition “Jews in North Africa during World War II”. The event will be held at Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum: Turgeneva street 2, hall 9 (entrance from Krasta street) on June 27, 2019 at 15:00 This topic will be represented for the first time in Europe. The exhibition was prepared by the Israeli Ben-Zvi Institute. The exhibition is available in French, English, Latvian, Russian and Hebrew. The exhibition tells about the unknown historical aspects of the Holocaust in the Maghreb countries: Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Algeria. admin-ajax (1)

The outcomes of the 6th International Conference “The Holocaust Museums in XXI Century: Challenges and Opportunities”

May 25, 2019

The 6th International Conference “The Holocaust Museums in XXI Century: Challenges and Opportunities” is over.  It took place on May 21-22, 2019 in Riga, at the Conference hall of Park Inn by Radisson Riga Valdemara hotel. We are pleased to inform you that experts from 13 countries (Australia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the United States) shared their knowledge, experience and developments in the field of preserving the memory of the Holocaust. Simultaneous translation in Russian, Latvian and English was provided.  On the second day, there was organized an online translation of the Conference which had 200 views. The Conference was attended by ambassadors and representatives of Canada, Germany, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and the Slovak Republic. The Conference brought together the professionals who work to preserve the historical memory and they discussed the challenges they have to face in their work and possible answers. The participants were engaged in the discussions during the Conference and shared their contacts during breaks. The conference was interesting and useful for historians, sociologists, culture experts, museum employees, teachers, artists, students of humanities and other visitors. The conference was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Latvian Republic, the Department of Education, Culture and Sport of Riga City Council, the Goethe Institute, and the Baltic American Freedom Foundation (BAFF). admin-ajax (2)

Special offer for the school groups!

March 5, 2019

 The “Perspectivart” Studio at the Riga Ghetto Museum proposes you to study the works of Jewish Modernist artists of the 20th century.
Every topic includes one lecture and one practical master class.
 
Participation fee:
6 euros per person (materials included)
Minimum 5 people, maximum 24 people.
Age: 12+
Duration of the lesson: approximately 2 hours.
 
Topics:
1. Marc Chagall
Memories from childhood, from the past. Creation of memory-based compositions. Choice of the colour corresponding to the emotional impressions.
 
2. Mark Rothko
The emotion expressed by the colour. Large format work. Colours are chosen intuitively, those that attract you at the given moment. It would be necessary to invent a composition: it can be an abstract one, consisting of geometric shapes. Technique: acryl / watercolour / pencils
 
3. Amedeo Modigliani
Portraits using stylistic exaggerations. Emotion and the inner world through the portrait.
 
4. Henry Dreyfuss
Industrial design. The invention of necessary things and their design for everyday life. Use of various materials at hand for the design development, and deep thinking about their functions. Everyone may invent a thing that, in his opinion, could be necessary for people.
 
5. Ornamental design. It is well-known that in traditional Jewish culture depiction of humans is not encouraged. Over the centuries, this led to the development of the genre of vegetable and geometric ornament with its specific aesthetics and symbolism. During our lesson, we will learn to put together various elements to create our own ornamental compositions.
 
6. The architectural design of an Art Nouveau building. Making of a prototype. This is a group work: in our team, we will develop the design of the building, discuss its functionality and significance and try to make it with the help of materials at hand.
 
7. Wassily Kandinsky. Creation of abstract compositions. Study of the reflection of the sound and music in the visual form.
 
Other topics are currently in development!
If you are interested, please contact the lecturer, Aleksey Malyshev.
 
Telephone: (+371) 29645039
Email: aleksej7714@gmail.com
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The “Shamir” Association Annual Activity Report 2018

February 10, 2019

Dear friends, year 2018 has come to its end. Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum spent it actively. We organized exhibitions, published books, renovated museum infrastructure and exhibition halls. We kindly invite you to see the description of our events in the attachment. We will be grateful for your support. Association “Shamir” is a charity organization. Each donation makes difference. Annual activity report 2018

The highest state award presented to rabbi dr. Menachem Barkahan

November 29, 2017

On the 28th of November, President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis at the Castle of Riga presented the highest national award – Cross of Recognition – to head of Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Musem Rabbi Dr.Menachem Barkahan The state’s highest award was given for a significant contribution to the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of Latvia and transfer it to the next generations. hfig7SrvQv2OGqGLaaKmeNcMOlQl6tAp 24129495_1680199228667113_5964360506551863295_n[1]RU6yib_WMqZeYvLD7S5HQvJrrhNVxhhEJ2wzMYIBzjMs_8KGc-rQjd9-zkLuXgG-

The “Shamir” Association Annual Activity Report 2017

November 6, 2017

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Riga Forum 2017 – Holocaust and Modern Radicalism

September 18, 2017

September 4-6 in Riga happened Riga Forum – Holocaust and Modern Radicalism. More than 100 participants from 17 countries participated in Forum. It was discovered topics about questions of history and modern issues. Participants shared their experience and presented current projects. Forum include 2 events – 5th International Conference “Holocaust Museums and memorial places in postcommunist countries” and 2nd Round table about modern issues of Tolerance. Participants of forum are scientists, teachers, politics, and journalists. As always, the Forum became a place for new contacts and new cooperation.

The program of @Riga Forum 2017 – The Holocaust and Modern Radicalism”

August 27, 2017

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Круглый стол «Форум за европейскую толерантность. Исторический аспект и современность»

May 23, 2016

16-17 мая 2016 года в Академии наук Латвийской Республики в рамках 4-ой Международной конференции «Музеи и мемориальные места Холокоста в пост-коммунистических странах: вызовы и возможности» состоялся Круглый стол «Форум за европейскую толерантность. Исторический аспект и современность». В нем приняли участие более 70 экспертов и исследователей из 10 стран мира, представляющие известные университеты и независимые научные центры, специализирующиеся на изучении проблем толерантности. Организаторами круглого стола стали латвийские неправительственные организации Общество «Шамир» и Европейский центр развития демократии.   Мероприятие открыла проф. Бар-Иланского университета Зехавит Гросс, глава департамента ЮНЕСКО. С докладами выступили проф. Университета Тюбингена Р. Бошки, др. Аарон Шнейер из израильского Института Яд Вашем, член Группы Исследования Радикализма ист. фак. Института Нортгемптона (Великобритания) др. А. Кастриота, ассоциированный профессор социологии Университет Лоранда Этвёша (ELTE) (Венгрия) И. Барна и многие другие. Общеевропейский доклад «Ксенофобия, дискриминация и агрессивный национализм в Европе», подготовленный Европейским центром развития демократии, представил его президент Валерий Энгель.   Круглый стол – это отдельное мероприятие, впервые организованное в Европе. Его проведение в рамках конференции, посвященной Катастрофе европейского еврейства, чрезвычайно важно как с научной, так и с практической точки зрения, поскольку наглядно показывает – мы изучаем прошлое, чтобы не повторить его ошибок в будущем. Ведь Холокост не начинался с газовых камер, он даже не начинался с прихода к власти А. Гитлера. Он начинался с демонстраций молодчиков со свастикой на рукаве, с нападений на евреев, он начинался с виду безобидной книжки под названием «Майн Кампф».   Выступавшие подчеркнули, что эта связь истории с современностью важна, поскольку новое поколение, спокойно взирающее на рост ксенофобии и популярности праворадикальных партий, должно знать, чем могут закончиться такие общественные процессы.   По завершении работы круглого стола было объявлено о преобразовании Балтийского центра толерантности в Европейский центр толерантности, который станет не только экспертным центром, но и дискуссионной площадкой, цель которой – предотвращение конфликтов.

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The Fourth International Conference “Holocaust Museums and Memorial Places in Post-communist Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

May 13, 2016

The Fourth International Conference “Holocaust Museums and Memorial Places in Post-communist Countries: Challenges and Opportunities” will take place on May 16-17, 2016 in Riga, Latvian Academy of Sciences. The conference will emphasize importance of the Holocaust remembrance in small European countries with overlapping memories. It will also focus on hidden resources for Holocaust remembrance and research in these countries, on the peculiarities of the Holocaust education and unknown pages of Resistance movement and heroism in ghettos and concentration camps. The sessions of the conference are as follows: – Holocaust teaching – Collaborators of Nazis in the Holocaust – Forced labor during WWII – Armenian genocide as a ancestor of the Holocaust Information and applications are welcomed by e-mail project@shamir.lv
Program   16.05.2016  
9:00 – 10:00 Registration  
10:00 – 10:15 Opening of the conference: Rabbi.dr. Menahem Barkahan Professor. Dr. Karlis Shadurskis – Minister of Education and Science  
10:15 – 11:50 Introduction session: Moderator dr. Yoel Rappel 1.   keynote speaker: Prof. Zehavit Gross, Head, UNESCO chair, Values Education, Tolerance and Peace and Head, The Sal Van Gelder Center for Holocaust Instruction and Research, School of education, Bar- Ilan University, Israel  – As the Witnesses Fall Silent: The Future of Holocaust Education International Perspective 2.    prof. dr. Reinhold Boschki, Universität Tübingen – “Towards a New Theory and Practice of Holocaust Remembrance in Germany.” 3.    . prof .dr. Hayk Demoyan  Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute – Armenian genocide: historical parallels and modern dimensions 4.    dr. Yoel Rappel, Elie Wiesel Archive –  Elie Wiesel:The Holocaust and The Jews of Silence-Two Fights One War. 5.    dr.Aron Shneyer, Jerusalem – On the way to the Shoa in Latvia: from the traditional antisemitism to rasism. 6.    Leonid Terushkin, Russian Holocaust Center – Letters from neighbors and friends unknown evidences of death and  salvation during the Holocaust. Research in the family archieves as an aproach in museology and education.  
11:50 – 12:10 Coffee break    
12:10 – 14:20 Session Holocaust teaching: Moderator dr. Mordechai Shalem  
  1. dr. Mordechai Shalem – “The universal meaning of teaching the Holocaust”
  1. dr. Ildikó, Barna, Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Social Sciences – Holocaust Teaching
  Petra Seidlova, European Shoah Legacy Institute – Restorative Justice for victims of Holocaust in the Baltic States: Restitution of Immovable Property and Social Welfare.
  1. dr. Akiva Sela, director of the  center “Jerusalem of Lithuania” Operations center “Jerusalem of Lithuania” as a tool for teaching the Holocaust in Eastern Europe
 
  1. Mark Bernshtein, Wikipedia – Wikipedia and mass education
 
  1. Iryna Radchenko and Vlad Basilevskyi, “Tkuma” Ukrainian institute for Holocaust Studies  – Features of studying and teaching of Holocaust in Ukraine («Tkuma” Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies, as an example)
   
  1. Ekaterina Gertsman, St.Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Institute of International Educational Programs– Teaching Holocaust history for foreign students in Russia.
 
  1. Maria Gulakova, St.Petersburg Institute of Jewish Studies – The peculiarities of teaching the history of Holocaust
  1. Vadim Stetsuk, Kamianets-Podilsky Ivan Ohienko National UniversityHolocaust in Ukranian School and in local history courses.
 
  1. dr. Joseph Mendelevich, Judaism research  center “Mahor Meir”Loyalty to the laws of Torah during the Holocaust  
 
14:20 – 15:20 Lunch break  
15:20 – 16:30 Session Colaborators: Moderator dr. Didzis Berzins  
  1. prof. dr. Boris Kovalev, Saint Petersburg Institute of History of the RAS – Holocaust and collaboration: Why neighbors became murderers?
  1. dr. Didzis Berzins Latvian University– Holocaust in the social memory and the problem of collaborators.
  1. Josifs Rochko, Muzejs “Ebreji Daugavpilī un Latgalē” – A portrait of a collaborator in Latgale
  1. dr. Mikhail Kizilov, Centre for Ethnocultural Studies – The Role of the Local Collaborators in the Mass Murder of the Soviet Citizens in Simferopol in 1941-1944
 
  1. Dmitriy Astashkin,  “Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University” – Forced labor on occupied territory of USSR as a war crime (On the material of opened trials over war criminals 1943-1947)
 
16:30 – 18:00 Session The modern aspects of Discrimination and Aggressive Nationalism in Europe (part 1): Moderator Dr. Valery Engel   1.      Dr. Valery Engel, President of the European Center for Democracy Development, Director (Latvia) – “Xenophobia, Discrimination and Aggressive Nationalism: Pan-European Report”. 2.      Dr. Jean-Yves Camus, political analyst and a Research Fellow, The George Washington University, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), The Elliott School of International Affairs, Washington, D.C.– “Antisemitism and Holocaust-denial on the French Extreme-Right” 3.      Dr. Anna Castriota, Member or the Radicalism Group, Dept. of History, Northampton University (UK) – ” Back to the Future: Italy and the coming back of radical nationalism”.
  1. Mr. Bulcsu Hunyadi, Analyst, Political Capital Institute in Budapest (Hungary) – “Xenophobia and aggressive nationalism in Hungary on the example of the refugee crisis”.
  2. Ms. Tatjana Vukelic (PhD. student), University of Freiburg (Germany) – “The situation of Romani people in South-Eastern Europe”.
6.      Dr. Vanja Ljujic,   International Association of Intercultural Education (Netherlands)  – “Tolerating Intolerance: autochtone and allochtone radicalization in the Netherlands” 7.      Dr. Semen Charny (Семен Чарный, к.и.н.), Chairman of the Board of the Institute for national policies and interethnic relations Studies, Moscow (Russia) – “Violence motivated by hate in Russian Federation in years 2005-2015, dynamics and analyze”
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 20:00 Guided tour “Riga Ghetto Museum”
    17.05.2016    
10:00 – 11:30 Session The modern aspects of Discrimination and Aggressive Nationalism in Europe (part 2): Moderator Dr. Valery Engel     1.      Dr. Giovanni Savino, Visiting fellow Sholokhov Moscow State University for Humanities (Italy) – “Without Europe? Italian and French Far Right, a comparative approach”. 2.      Dr. Ildiko Barna, associate professor of sociology at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)  in Budapest (Hungary) – “”The Topography of anti-Semitism in Hungary”. 3.      Dr. Ilya Tarasov (Илья Тарасов, д.и.н.), Professor of the I. Kant University of Kaliningrad (Russia) – “Right-wing radicalism and xenophobic  factors of social practices in Hungary and Slovakia: a comparative analysis”. 4.      Mrs. Pranvera Tika, PhD student of the Panteon University, Athens, Departement of Political Sciences and History (Greece) –  ” Forms of discrimination and aggressive nationalism in Greece during the times of the economic recession”.
  1. Mrs. Katarzyna du Vall, PhD student of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow (Poland) – „Polish law and totalitarian ideologies: the need for change”.
6.      Mr. Alex Carter, PhD student of the Teesside University, Center for Faccism, Anti-fascist and Post-fascist Studies (UK) – “The Counter-Jihad: A Trojan Horse for the Far-Right in UK?” 7.      Dr. Tatjana Ljujic, Unuiversity of Cambridge (UK) – “Germany: Willkommen policy in context: extreme right, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia”.  
11:30 – 11:50 Coffee break
11:50 – 13:25 Session Armenian genocide as a ancestor of the Holocaust  + memorialization of Holocaust (part 1): Moderator Mikhail Kemerau  
  1. dr. Stefan Cristian Ionescu, Research Fellow at Duke University, Center for European Studies – The “Armenian Question” during the Holocaust in Romania, 1940-1944
  1. Amaliya Prtavyan,  Jewish museum and Tolerance center – Specifics of memoralization of the Shoa and armenian genocide in Osman Empire.
  1. dr. Shelale Hasanova Baku Slavic University – the Armenian Genocide as a forerunner of the Holocaust: the Western experts’ view on the issue
  1. Dusko Veskovski, Holocaust fund of the Jews from Macedonia – Holocaust in Macedonia, deportation of Macedonian Jews
  1. Maria Vyathcina, Kazan Federal University and Anna Yudkina, State Museum-Preserve “The Kulikovo Field” Between “loyal administration” and “concerned citizens”: actors of memoralization of Holocaust in  Smolensk region
 
  1. Oleksiy Salivon, PhD Student, University of StuttgartPrimo Levy in the context of the Holocaust commemoration
 
  1. dr. Semen Charny, Institute for the Study of national policies and international relations – Substitution, dissolution, reconstruction – especially denial of the Holocaust in post-Soviet space
 
13:25 – 14:25 Lunch break
14:25 – 15:30   Session memorialization of Holocaust (part 2): Moderator dr.Leonid Terushkin  
  1. Olga Kartashova, Central European University – The Soap Myth of the Holocaust. Old story and new speculations.
   
  1. Aleksandr Dusman, Jewish Community of the Ida-Virumaa County of Estonia – Historical Memory and Modernity
   
  1. Dmitriy Alekseev, Russian Holocaust Center (Moscow, Russia) – Love on the war time on the material of letters and diaries of Jews during WWII
   
  1. dr. Mikhail Sigalov, fellow of SPC “Holocaust” (Moscow, Russia)  – Family archive as the base for museum exhibition about the history of fates of the Jew during the WWII and Holocaust. Collection of family Sigalov-Kolpachki
   
  1. Daniil Tunin, journalist (Moscow, Russia) –  Rememberence of the Holocaust and WW II in ex-soviet countries in context of 2014-2016 years events.
 
15:30-17:00   mr. Boris Maftsir – The negative effects of denying the Holocaust in Soviet Union.
 

Exhibition “Jews in Latvia” in Oslo

January 5, 2016

13 октября в Осло, в музее Blank Space состоялась лекция и презентация выставки “Евреи в Латвии”. Экспозиция будет открыта с 19 до 31 декабря 2015 года в рамках проекта “450 лет вместе. Еврейская культура в латышской среде – искусство, музыка, образование” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 в галерее Blank Space Oslo. Выставка показывает положительную интеграцию евреев в межвоенный период и их участия в активной общественной жизни, рассказывает о культурной жизни евреев, их образовании, религии, известных личностях, политиках, архитекторах, художниках и т.д. Выставка также рассказывает о нацистской оккупации, Холокосте, гетто, концлагерях и массовых убийствах, а также о спасителей евреев и движения Сопротивления.

Проект “450 лет вместе. Еврейская культура в латышской среде – искусство, музыка, образование” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 реализуется в Латвии и Норвегии 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. Проект финансируется 65 677 EUR Исландией, Лихтенштейном и Норвегией при посредничестве финансового инструмента EEZ. Стоимость проекта 89 117 EUR, государственное со-финансирование 11 590 EUR, со-финансирование общества “Шамир” 11 850 EUR. Основные активности проекта – четыре выставки в Латвии и Норвегии, концерт клезмерской музыки и конкурс и выставка детского рисунка. 

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Exhibition by Feliks Mostowizs “Shtetl. A world – lost, but not forgotten”

November 23, 2015


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The exhibition “Shtetl. A world – lost, but not forgotten” presents an overview of Feliks Mostowicz’s art. The exhibition is to opened in Riga Ghetto museum on November 19, 2015. Feliks Mostowicz, born in 1947 in Kazakhstan, is a famous Polish artists, whose works are presented in the Polish Museum of Independence, the Museum of Gdansk, and many more. He had exhibitions in Poland, Germany, Russia, and Kazakhstan. His works are in numerous private collections. In 2002 he was honored with the Polonia Mater Nostra Est prize for special merits for Polish arts and culture.

The “Memories from the past” exhibition focuses on the history of Mostowicz’s family, which was deported from Zhitomir (Ukraine), according to Stalin’s ethnic policy, to North Kazakhstan in 1936. Feliks Mostowicz preserved the unique documentation of this hard period in his works – Stalinism, as well as an unusual image of the Central Asian landscape. His paintings depict not only life stories of various ethnic minorities (who were forced to live in Kazakhstan), but also many symbols, which alternate with steppesand landscapes. Social activities and landscapes are the most common topics for Mostowicz. His paintings present the severe climate of Kazakhstan, social relations and symbols of history and the political regimes. Mostowicz’s art is a unique documentation of Stalinism’s period.

Presentation of art-works of F. Mostovicz and discussion “National and subnational in visual arts in New Europe” with presence of the author will attract attention of the young professionals and students to the problems, will raise important questions of the social and eternal in the arts, will add academic component to the activity, improve inter-cultural dialogue and widen horizons of young artists in Latvia.

Project “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 is implemented in Latvia and Norway on 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. The project is granted by 65 677 EUR by Island, Lichtenstein and Norway, mediating by EEA financial instrument. The project’s total cost is 89 117 EUR, state co-funding 11 590 EUR, co-funding by Association “Shamir” 11 850 EUR. Major activities of the project are four exhibitions in Norway and Latvia, klezmer (Jewish folk music) concert in Riga and International contest and exhibition of children’s paintings.

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The exhibition “Jews in Norway and Latvia. Unexpected crossings”

September 17, 2015

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The exhibition “Jews in Norway and Latvia. Unexpected crossings” is to be opened in Riga Ghetto museum in the project’s “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 boundaries on October 13, 2015. 4 PM.

It  explores a fascinating chapter in the history of the Jews in Europe, telling the story of the Jewish immigrants who came to Norway from 1851 to the Second World War through text and photographs from private albums and archives. The exhibition was displayed at the Oslo Jewish museum in 2001, and then toured as a travelling exhibition being displayed in  90 Norwegian public libraries from 2001 to 2004. In January 2003 an English a bigger version of the exhibit opened at Scandinavia House in New York, later touring the States and Canada being displayed in nine Jewish and Norwegian-American Museums and cultural centers. In 2009 a similar version was exhibited at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv.

The Themes of the Exhibition:

01. Introduction
02. Henrik Wergeland and Article 2/The first wave of immigration 1852-1880
03. The second wave immigration 1881-1920
04. The Century family – an immigrant story 05. Earning a living
06. Religious life
07. Culture and organizations
08. Jewish life throughout Norway
09. Anti-Semitism and the Norwegian public sphere, 1851-1945
10. Moritz Rabinowitz – humanist in a dark time
11. The Persecution and murder of Norwegian Jews 1940-45
12. Epilogue

The opening of the exhibition is to be accompanied by a lecture on Jewish history of Norway and Latvia by the principal of the Oslo Jewish museum Dr. Sidsel Levin.


Project “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 is implemented in Latvia and Norway on 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. The project is granted by 65 677 EUR by Island, Lichtenstein and Norway, mediating by EEA financial instrument. The project’s total cost is 89 117 EUR, state co-funding 11 590 EUR, co-funding by Association “Shamir” 11 850 EUR. Major activities of the project are four exhibitions in Norway and Latvia, klezmer (Jewish folk music) concert in Riga and International contest and exhibition of children’s paintings.
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Exhibition “Jews in Latvia” in Oslo Jewish museum

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The exhibition “Jews in Latvia” is presented in Oslo Jewish museum on October 20, 2015 at 18:00 in the project’s “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 boundaries. It will be shown in gallery Blank Space Oslo www.blankspaceoslo.com on December 20-28, 2015.
It shows positive integration of Jews in inter-war period and their involvement in active social life, tells about cultural life of Jews, their education, religion, famous representatives, politicians, architects, artists etc. The exhibition also tells about Nazi occupation, Holocaust, Riga ghetto, concentration camps and mass murders, as well as about saviors of Jews and Resistance movement. It consists of two blocks: “Jewish life in Latvia before the WWII” and “Jewish life in Latvia during the WWII”.

The topics are as follows:

· Foundation of the Latvian state and role of Jews in the process. Jewish politicians, Jews in Parliament, Jewish community and its role in the existence of the state etc.
· Jews in Latvian Army
· Jewish communities in Latvian towns
· Jewish immigration from Latvia
· Holocaust
· Riga ghetto, maps, photos
· Savior of the Jews: Zhanis Lipke and others.

Lecture on Jewish Latvian history and culture will take place in Oslo Jewish museum on October 20, 2015 at 18:00.
Project “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 is implemented in Latvia and Norway on 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. The project is granted by 65 677 EUR by Island, Lichtenstein and Norway, mediating by EEZ finance instrument. The project’s total cost is 117 EUR, state co-funding 11 590 EUR, co-funding by Association “Shamir” 11 850 EUR. Major activities of the project are four exhibitions in Norway and Latvia, klezmer (Jewish folk music) concert in Riga and International contest and exhibition of children’s paintings.

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Concert of klezmer band „Urban Tunélls” (Norway)

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  On November 26, at “Music Factory A Nice Place” club in Riga, Citadeles iela 2, in the project’s “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 boundaries took place a concert of norwegian klezmer-band “Urban Tunnels”. Urban Tunélls is one of a very small number of Norwegian klezmer ensembles. Concert and record reviewers mention their virtuosity, creativity, spontaneity, and their consistency as a great live act. Throughout their career, their focus has been on presenting East-European, Jewish folk music in innovative and untraditional ways. With a profound respect for the traditions of klezmer, they modernizing the genre through improvisation, creative arrangements, impulses from other styles of music, and – not least – through their virtuosity and their vibrant performances. The band has toured in America, Russia, Serbia, the Netherlands, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. They have so far released two records featuring traditional klezmer material, as well as a remix-album where DJ and electronica artist DJ Kohib has been allowed to play with the band’s original recordings. The concert will attract attention of young people of Latvia to Jewish culture, will improve connections between Latvia and Norway, provide mobility of cultural personalities, attract attention of young educated people of Latvia to the project, and the last but not the least will become a bright cultural event in Latvia. IMG_9326 IMG_9329 IMG_9334 IMG_9339 IMG_9344 IMG_9345 IMG_9346 IMG_9350 IMG_9351 IMG_9352  
Project “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 is implemented in Latvia and Norway on 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. The project is granted by 65 677 EUR by Island, Lichtenstein and Norway, mediating by EEZ finance instrument. The project’s total cost is 117 EUR, state co-funding 11 590 EUR, co-funding by Association “Shamir” 11 850 EUR. Major activities of the project are four exhibitions in Norway and Latvia, klezmer (Jewish folk music) concert in Riga and International contest and exhibition of children’s paintings.
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Exhibition “Missing Identity”

September 7, 2015

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Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum invites you to visit the exhibition “Missing Identity” of the artist Silvia Levenson. The exhibition will open on September 9 and will last until September 27. The exhibition is devoted to the problem of militarization. Silvia Levenson wrote:

“I was part of a generation that fought to change an unjust society in which military dictatorships and short civil governments alternated. In March 1976 the military made their last and bloody military coup. I was 19 years old and in August that year my daughter Natalia was born. She is the same age that other young people whose identity the military stole. With unprecedented cruelty pregnant prisoners were killed after giving birth to their children and newborns were illegally given up for adoption.
In Missing Identity I investigate the space these children, today adults, have left in their original families and the society.
What happened during those years changed my life and the life of the majority of Argentineans of my generation and it has influenced my artistic work. A huge part of my work has to do with “revealing” or making visible that what is normally hidden or cannot be seen. I use glass to represent this metaphor.
In Missing Identity I present 116 glass pieces of cloth that represent those “cases” resolved by the grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo (May Square).
The baby clothes made of glass talk about a recovered identity; the metal chairs show empty spaces that wait to be filled, just like the swing with its glass shoes reveals an absence frozen in time and space.
Although the children of those disappeared are now adults, in my work I talk about the children, the infants, because in that period they were appropriated and that is what I try to heal.
The Western society proposes us a univocal model for happiness, allergic to old age and pain where the elderly little by little become invisible. In this same society the grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo introduce an innovative factor in establishing the identity of the grandchildren and through their work they try to restore the truth.
To recover the identity that was denied from each of the grandchildren is a way to heal and rebuild our society and as an artist I feel part of this process of memory, truth and justice.

This installation has been presented in the American University Museum in Washington, the Argentine Consulate in Barcelona, the Galerie Argentine in Paris and in 2016 it will be exhibited at the Murano Glass Museum in Italia and in Bullseye Projects, Portland (OR), in the US.”
The exhibition opening will take place on September 9 at 14 PM, at Maskavas 14a (Riga Ghetto Museum).

March for Life 2015

June 18, 2015

Annual March for Life in memory of the Holocaust victims takes place on July 03, 2015 at 10:00 at Old Jewish cemetery (Riga, Liksnas 2/4, crossing of Lomonosova and Liksnas street)

Let’s save memory together! Come and commemorate!

Exhibition “East of Aushwitz. Holocaust in East Central Europe”

June 9, 2015

Unique exhibition "East of Aushwitz. Holocaust in East Central Europe" by Harrie Teunissen (The Netherlands) in Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum until September 2015. Rare maps made by SS and Wermacht in appropriate historical context. It’s worth seeing.

Exhibition of Latvian artist Joseph Kuzkovski

May 24, 2015

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In the project’s “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 boundaries an exhibition by Latvian artist Joseph Kuzkovski was open to public in Riga Ghetto museum (Maskavas 14a, Riga) on May 26 – June 29, 2015. Joseph Kuzkovski was an outstanding Latvian artist as well as dissenter and member of Jewish underground movement during Soviet period of Latvian history. His paintings reflect tragic fate of Jewish people in 20th century. Joseph Kuzkovsky (Born Belarus, Mogilev, 1902; died Tel-Aviv, 04.01. 1970.), a painter, film designer and graphic artist.

In childhood attended cheder. For a short time, he was working as a painter in the studio of shop signs. Participated in the First World War. Volunteered for the Red Army in 1918.  After the demobilization, he lived in Kiev. In 1927, he took classes in the painting workshop of famous painter Ash, in 1927 graduated Kiev State Art Institute, from 1929 to 1939 he worked at the Dovzhenko Film Studio in Kiev.  In 1938, he created the first well-known paintings such as “Meeting with the Jewish agronomist of the Jewish collective farm”, “Competition on the farm.” This picture, as well as the others, were exhibited at the Kiev House of Arts at the personal exhibition in 1941. All the pictures from the exhibition burned out during the shelling of Kiev in 1941.

He evacuated to Uzbekistan in 1941. Personal exhibition at the Art Museum of Fergana in 1943, presented such works as “A good news”, “The teahouse” (“Chaikhana keeper”), “Singing with a plates,” “Shahimardan”, “A beggars,” “Partisans”, “Farhadstroy”, also portraits and drawings. He held personal art exhibition on military issues in Tashkent in 1945: there was the work “Listening to the radio” among the paintings. This painting was dedicated to the decisive battles of Moscow and Stalingrad. In addition, he was painting a picture related to the tragedy of the Jewish nation: “Action” – “If I forget it” – “Babi Yar” – “The last path” – “In Memory of the Victims of Fascism.” (These are the names of the same picture), “The execution by shooting”. Moved to Riga in 1945, where he finished his painting “Babi Yar”. He created colorful mural “With the victory” in Riga.
In 1950 he draws a “Spring winds”, 1951 – “A Hero of our Time”, 1953 – “An old fortification”, 1954 – “Sevastopol Stories”, 1956 – “Labor tribe”, 1958 – “The Road to Calvary”, 1959 – “Taman campaign,” 1960. – “The Story of a real Man” 1962-1963 – “Born by storm”, 1967-1968 – “The heartland”, 1968-1969 – “A Blue Notebook,” 1969 – “A son of the regiment.” In a period of 60s, he joined to the struggle with the Soviet authorities for the right to perpetuate the memory of those who were killed at the Rumbula forest. In 1964, Latvian State Museum of Art held the first major solo exhibition of paintings by J. Kuzkovski in Latvia with paintings “The last path”, “An old house”. 

“We will live” was painted in 1965, after visiting Fort IX Kaunas . In 1965 – exhibition in Jekabpils, but in Daugavpils – in 1966, presenting portraits of Jeanne and Johanna Lipke, “Shulamith”. In 1967 an exhibition took place in Culture Palace “WEF”. Kuzkovski created the painting  “Transistor” (linocut), “David and Goliath” (pastel), “Stepmom” in 1967.  He dedicated linocuts “We will live”, “Hava Nagila” to the Jewish theme (the last mentioned one is kept in the museum “Jews in Daugavpils and Latgale.” The artist has presented these work to  Z. Yakub). Another exhibition took place at the Riga Officers House in 1969. 
At the end of 1969, he immigrated to Israel, where he created the pastel “Simchat Torah in Kfar Chabad,” popular poster “Let my people go,” and painting “The last path”, which is located in Knesset. He also painted portraits and posters.

Project “450 years together. Jewish culture in Latvian environment – arts, music, education” Nr.EEZLV04/GSKA/2013/02 is implemented in Latvia and Norway on 01.01.2015.-31.12.2015. The project is granted by 65 677 EUR by Island, Lichtenstein and Norway, mediating by EEZ finance instrument. The project’s total cost is 117 EUR, state co-funding 11 590 EUR, co-funding by Association “Shamir” 11 850 EUR. Major activities of the project are four exhibitions in Norway and Latvia, klezmer (Jewish folk music) concert in Riga and International contest and exhibition of children’s paintings.
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Exhibition of Dagmar Calais in Riga Ghetto museum

May 13, 2015

You are kindly welcome to attend the opening of the exhibition of German artist Dagmar Calais in Riga Ghetto museum on may 14, 2015 at 14:00. With the work, produced for the exhibition in Riga, Dagmar Calais abstains from a facile presentation of the paintings on a wall. Instead, numerous portraits, painted on small canvases, are laying on a bed of dried leaves, arranged asymmetrically on the floor.

The German artist Dagmar Calais addresses this unfathomable crime in an exhibition, which she conceptualized for the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum, entitled “Two Days in Winter“.
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RGM.LV NOMINATED FOR A WEBBY AWARD

April 20, 2015

The International Academy of Digital Art and Science has nominated the Rabbi Barakhan’s Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum’s website for a Webby Award and the Webby People’s Choice Award. This puts the Riga Ghetto Museum in the running for the two most coveted awards in the Internet.

Help us bring message of tolerance to a truly global audience and vote the Riga Ghetto Museum in the Webby People’s Voice Award here:

http://pv.webbyawards.com/2015/web/general-website/cultural-institutions

Voting is easy and takes just a minute. If you have a chance, please forward this message onto friends and family.

Presentation about the RGM Website

February 26, 2015

Cory McLeod will be giving a presentation about the creation process of the RGM website at the Latvian National Library. The presentation will take place March 11 at 12 o’clock on the 11th floor of the Latvian National Library. http://www.lnb.lv/lv/notikums/lekcija-par-geto-muzeja-virtualo-vietni

SMS-DONATION FOR THE MUSEUM!

September 5, 2014

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We have hooked up an SMS donation service for our Museum! Everyone who has an account with Mobility.lv (in other words, everyone who pays for parking by SMS) can now help the museum by just sending the following code to the number 1859:
PAY X RGM, where X – is the amount of the donation.
For example, to donate 10 euros, send the message: PAY 10 RGM
The maximum amount of sms-donation is 150 euro.
THANK YOU!

Winds Destroy Museum Roof

August 18, 2014

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Yesterday, strong winds destroyed a section of the museum’s roof (several tons). Thankfully, no lives were lost! As a result, rain flooded the children’s art studio and our book storage area!

Firefighters arrived and removed the part of the roof that was hanging off the building. Workers worked through the night to cover the roof with a tarp. However, this is only a temporary solution for a maximum of one or two days.

We appeal to organization and people who have the means to help the museum. The museum has the status of a “sabiedriska labuma” organization. The means the money donated for roof restoration will receive a matching deduction from your taxes (this applies only to companies registered in Latvia).

Our contact details:
Biedriba „Samir” (Association “Shamir”)
Riga, Stabu 63, LV-1011, Latvija
Reg. N 40008083814
Bank: SEB banka
LV64UNLA0050020638195 – EUR
LV90UNLA0050020638212 – USD
S.W.I.F.T.:UNLALV2X
PayPal: rgm@rgm.lv

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

30,000th MUSEUM VISITOR!

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There is always harmony in life, and when something bad happens, something good happens, too. As we’ve been dealing with the aftermath of a devastating storm over the past few days, we’ve also had cause to celebrate: our 30,000th visitor. Not just one, but two visitors—Daniel Conway and his 10-year-old daughter, Celia Conway, from Manchester, England! They planned their visit to Riga and to our museum as Daniel’s grandmother was born in Riga. She left Riga in 1890 and moved to England.

Our visitors received a book published by our museum as a gift and a certificate in their names for a tree in the Hills of Jerusalem.

‘Happy New Year 5775!’ Grand Concert at the Opera

July 17, 2014

5775_jpg_LV The programme features Jewish liturgical melodies, opera arias and folk music accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. Tickets available online at www.bilesuserviss.lv Information project@shamir.lv or http://www.shamir.lv

March for Life – 2014

June 16, 2014

Dear friends and colleagues, The memorial event “March for Life – 2014” will take place in Riga on July 4, 2014. The march will start at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Līksnas Str. 2/4 at 9:45 am. For more information, please visit: March for Life – 2014. We look forward to seeing you! Please share this information with friends. Let’s pay tribute to these memories together!

The Fate 3000 Lives. The Deportation of Jews from the Teresienstadt Ghetto to Riga. 1942

April 30, 2014

The opening ceremony of the Memorial Wall for Western European Jews, who were deported to Latvia during the Holocaust and exhibition “The Fate of 3000 Lives. The Deportation of Jews from Teresienstadt ghetto to Riga, 1942”. The ceremony will take place on May 8, 2014 at 16:00 at the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum (Maskavas str. 14a, Riga). 25 000 Jews from Germany, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were deported and exterminated in Latvia during World War II. This includes 3,000 people from the Teresienstadt ghetto. The project is aimed to present the names. The Riga Ghetto museum has maintained a unique memorial for the 100 000 Jews of Latvia and Europe who perished during the Holocaust in Latvia. Opening hours: 08.05.2014-01.10.2014 Su – Fr, 10.00-18.00

Square of Jewish Symbols

February 14, 2014

Riga Ghetto museum has started a new project: “Square of Jewish Symbols” — Hebrew letters and other symbols. Its creator is the renowned Latvian sculptor Edgars Kvjatkovskis. The solid oak sculptures are approximately 1.2 m high. The scheduled completion of the project is the summer of 2014. We welcome your donations. Biedrība Šamir Stabu 63, Rīga Reg.Nr.40008083814 SEB banka   IBAN LV14UNLA0050020628231-EUR; LV90UNLA0050020638212-USDletter

East of Auschwitz: Mapping of the Holocaust in East and Central Europe

Auschwitz is the main symbol of the Holocaust. It wasn’t just a concentration camp. Auschwitz was also a death factory. After WWII, memoirs of survivors, mainly assimilated “Western Jews”, gradually entered into public consciousness. However, Auschwitz, as a symbol, doesn’t include the largest group of Holocaust victims – the mainly Yiddish speaking “Eastern Jews” of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Witnesses and chroniclers in Eastern Bloc countries used to be forbidden from describing these victims as Jews. Therefore the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum has undertaken an exhibition that explores the fate of the Jews “East of Auschwitz” through maps of that era.   We welcome your donations. Biedrība Šamir Stabu 63, Rīga Reg.Nr.40008083814 SEB banka IBAN LV14UNLA0050020628231-EUR; LV90UNLA0050020638212-USD  

A Map and Guide of Memorial Sites of Latvia’s War of Independence (1918-1920)

2014 is an important year in our nation’s military and political history. It marks the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Latvian Army. We give thanks to the soldiers of the Latvian Army, who liberated our nation from our enemies during Latvia’s War of Independence (1918-1920) and during the period of the emergence of our statehood.   In cooperation its partners, the association “Shamir” has created a map and guide of Latvia’s War of Independence (1918-1920). The map and guide has been published in four languages – Latvian, English, German and Russian. The map shows the 91 memorial sites and the five stages of the development of Latvia’s War of Independence. The guide contains detailed descriptions of the memorial sites, photos of the monuments and fragments of large-scale maps.   The complete set is available at the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum (Maskavas street 14a, Riga). Price is 15 EUR.     While creating this project, we realized that it was important to actively involve young people from Latvian schools in this project. In doing so, we wanted to deepen their knowledge of the significance of the War of Independence in Latvian history. For that reason, 1,000 additional maps of Latvia’ s War of Independence were made and will be distributed to every Latvian school. In addition, a contest will be held: “For the freedom and independence of Fatherland: pupils’ creative work about memorial sites of the Latvia War of Independence (1918-1920)”. Detailed information will follow. LBCkarte_foto2

Making an exhibition “Forgotten soldiers – Jews in the Latvian Army 1918 – 1940”

In cooperation with the association “Shamir” and the Baltic International Tolerance Centre, Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum is working on an exhibition, which will be dedicated to Jewish soldiers who served the Latvian army. We sincerely invite all those whose Jewish relatives served in the Latvian army and participated in the Latvian War of Independence, to send in photos and a brief description of these people. The photos will be included in the exhibition “Forgotten soldiers – Jews in the Latvian army 1918 – 1940”. Please, submit the photos to the Riga Ghetto museum in person (Maskavas str. 14a) or send them by e-mail: project@shamir.lv. Or, call us for further information: + 371-67791783. Let us all together do everything for the sake of saving historical facts and preserve the memory of the soldiers who served in the Latvian army.     See photos of soldiers of the Latvian Army from 1930s, submitted to the Riga Ghetto museum by Maris Goldmanis. In the first picture from the left – Leizers Binders, great-grandfather of M. Goldmanis. In the second picture, standing at the right side – Leizers Binders dressed in the Latvian army uniform, in front sits his father. Leizers Binders was related to Jazeps Binders – a nominee of the Order of the Three Stars.2 photo

Save the date: The Third International Conference “Holocaust Museums and Memorial Places in Post-Communist Countries. Challenges and Opportunities”

The Third International Conference of “Holocaust Museums and Memorial Places in Post-Communist Countries. Challenges and Opportunities” will take place in May 2015, in Riga.

Key topics:

• Memorialization of the Holocaust in post-communist countries.
• The history of Holocaust Education as a part of the activities of museums.
• Jewish Forced Labor under the Nazis.
• Jews of the Reich and Protectorate deported to Eastern Europe for extermination.
• The fate of the Roma (Gypsies) during the Holocaust.

The deadline for applications is February 10, 2015. Please send a title of your paper, an abstract (no more than 500 words), your first and last names, academic degree, academic affiliation, address and e-mail to: project@ shamir.lv.
Working languages of the conference are English and Russian. Applications and presentations can be done in either of the two languages. Conference papers will be published in a special issue.

For more information and registration contact: project@shamir.lv, +371-67791784.

We look forward to seeing you in Riga!Conference

Rīgas geto muzejā tika pabeigta piemiņas siena ar 25 000 Rietumu ebreju vārdiem, kas tika ievesti Latvijā Holokausta laikā.

January 17, 2014

Rīgas geto muzejā tika pabeigta piemiņas siena ar 25 000 Rietumu ebreju vārdiem, kas tika ievesti Latvijā Holokausta laikā. Rīgas geto muzejā ir piemiņas siena ar vairāk nekā 100 000 ebreju vārdiem.
 
В музее Рижского гетто закончена стена памяти 25 000 западноевропейских евреев, привезенных в Ригу на уничтожение во время Холокоста.  На данный момент в музее перечислены имена более 100 000 погибших евреев.
 
Construction of the memorial wall to 25 000 Western European Jews, who were deported to Riga to death was completed in Riga Ghetto museum. Now names of more than 100 000 perished Jews are commemorated in the museum.
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Июнь – июль, 1941-го: Для тех, кто ушли и не вернулись

January 6, 2014

Установлены памятные таблички: „1941. gada jūnijs – jūlijs: TIEM, KAS AIZGĀJA UN NEATGRIEZĀS” (на русском: «Июнь – июль, 1941-го: Для тех, кто ушли и не вернулись») памятные табличкиЦель деятельности общества «Шамир» и музея Рижского гетто – сохранение и развитие этнической идентичности евреев в Латвии, изучение, популяризация и презентация культурного и исторического наследия, содействие интеграции и толерантности, пресечение всякой дискриминации, а также развитие межкультурного диалога и этнического согласия. Все наши действия и проекты направлены на развитие среды толерантного и демократического государства в европейском маштабе. Этот проект о памятных табличках является лишь одним из многих.   В рамках этого пилотпроекта в 2013 г. в двух городах Латвии – в Даугавписле и Бауске –  были помянуты жертвы сталинизма и нацизма. Были составлены списки имён людей, депортированных и пострадавших от Холокоста в июне – июле 1941-го г., а также списки тех домов, откуда эти люди были вывезены. Далее последовала установка памятных табличек. На стенах тех домов, которые сохранились или на месте которых построены новые здания, были прикреплены памятные таблички с надписью на латышском и английском языках: „1941. gada jūnijs – jūlijs: TIEM, KAS AIZGĀJA UN NEATGRIEZĀS. June – July, 1941: TO THOSE WHO NEVER CAME BACK” (на русском: «Июнь – июль, 1941-го: Для тех, кто ушли и не вернулись»). Вся информация, собранная в рамках данного проекта, размещена на странице музея Рижского гетто и Холокоста в Латвии (подробнее см. www.rgm.lv).   Выражаем искреннюю благодарность Даугавпилсской  и Бауской городским думам за соучастие в проекте. Проект реализован при поддержки агенства EACEA (Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency).   Общими усилиями не позволим историческим фактам исчезнуть из памяти. Посвящается светлой памяти жителям Даугавпилса и Бауски.   раввин, Dr. Менахем Баркахан председатель правления еврейской религиозной общины и общества Риги и Латвии «Шамир» и музея Рижского гетто и Холокоста в Латвии     BAUSKA list of the Holocaust victims BAUSKA list of Stalinism victims Daugavpils list of the Holocaust victims 2 Daugavpils list of the addresses of Daugavpils ghetto former prisoners Daugavpils list of Stalinism victims     Info: http://www.bauska.lv/i.php?id=&news=2474   _Bauska_Lielā Baznīcas iela 5_     _Bauska_Pludona iela 32_       _Bauska_Pludona iela 44_       _Bauska_Pludona iela 54_       _Bauska_Uzvaras iela 14_

KATRAM BĒRNAM IR VĀRDS

October 22, 2013

Aicinām piedalīties piemiņas pasākumā „Katram bērnam ir vārds”, kas tiek rīkots jau ceturto gadu pēc kārtas un ir veltīts Holokaustā bojāgājušajiem bērniem no Latvijas un Eiropas, kas kopā ar vecākiem tika iznīcināti Latvijas teritorijā. Gaidīsim Jūs š.g. 22.oktobrī laika periodā no plkst. 12:00-16:00 Rīgas geto muzejā (Maskavas iela 14a). Pasākuma dalībniekiem būs iespēja publiski nolasīt 16 000 ebreju bērnu vārdus, kas gāja bojā Holokaustā Latvijā. Visi mazie pasākuma dalībnieki varēs iesaistīties radošās studijas “Perspektivart” aktivitātēs un konkursos. Savukārt bērni no Rīgas speciālās internātskolas nodemonstrēs bērnu ludziņu angļu valodā. Papildus tam pasākuma dalībnieki varēs dodies ekskursijā pa Rīgas geto un Latvijas Holokausta muzeju un noskatīties dokumentālu filmu “Geto stāsti. Rīga” (2013.g.). Katrs bērns ir pelnījis uzmanību! Un katrs bērns ir pelnījis, lai viņa vārds netiktu aizmirsts! Sīkāka informācija: www.shamir.lv (http://www.shamir.lv/lv/item/205-_katram_bernam_ir_vards.html), project@shamir.lv, +371-67791784 Būsiet laipni gaidīti! plakat_deti_2013 (1) - Copy

March for Life 2013

June 27, 2013

posterA2_2013 (3) Memorial event “March for Life” will take place in Riga on June 30, 2013 in memory of killed Jews – citizens of Latvia and Europe. Start on Old Jewish cemetery, Liksnas Str. 2/4 at 10:45. After that we will walk through the Riga Ghetto area to the Great Choral synagogue memorial. Let’s save these memories together!

March for Life 2013

June 26, 2013

logo (3)Memorial event “March for Life” will take place in Riga on June 30, 2013 in memory of killed Jews – citizens of Latvia and Europe. Start on Old Jewish cemetery, Liksnas Str. 2/4 at 10:45. After that we will walk through the Riga Ghetto area to the Great Choral synagogue memorial. Let’s save these memories together!

The Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum Visitors

February 13, 2013

Here you can see statistics of the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum visitors in 2011 and 2012 (regular accounting of the visitors was started in February, 2011). In tables below all visitors of the Museum are divided in months and countries they came from. Statistics

Presentation of the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum

November 20, 2012

Dear visitors! Part of the Museum exhibition is temporarily closed due to reconstruction, however rest of the Museum is waiting for you. Welcome! We offer you to watch the Museum presentation.

House registers of Riga Ghetto

October 6, 2011

House registers of Riga Ghetto serve as a significant source of information. These documents contain references to head and members of the family registered at the house, including age, place of birth, occupations and previous and sometimes further place of residence. The study and research of records of house registers is considered a very complicated task to perform. Even so, the biology teacher of Northern States Gymnasium (Ziemeļvalstu ģimnāzija) Tamara Zitcere has decided to maintain the research to become the unique Holocaust study in terms of its scope and content. Houses of former Riga Ghetto were separated from the rest of the city with barbed wire; these houses became a shelter for 29 602 Jews forced to leave their initial residences during 1941—1943. In total, T. Zitcere has overlooked and studied 346 books of House registers at Latvian State Historical Archive, including 68 house registers of Riga ghetto preserved by nowadays. Total number of houses in Riga Ghetto was 81. Upon the research of information and the generalization of data, the list of 5764 Jewish victims of the ghetto was prepared. This list includes the following data: name and last name, patronymic if was specified, year and place of birth, date of accommodation and departure and the place of next residence if specified. The list of ghetto prisoners may be updated in the future upon the study of house registers of other streets of Riga: sometimes there was an address of further residence in Riga ghetto specified. This approach was used to study the records of house registers of 1941 to identify Jewish residents of Matisa and Merkela streets and Stabu street. Lists of Riga ghetto inhabitants

Each child has a name

September 14, 2011

On September 2, 2011 from 12:00 till 16:00 we read names of 16 000 Jewish children of Latvia and Western Europe who were killed in this country in the Holocaust. Each participant was able to come to the scene of the Vermanes park in Riga and read names of children. We will remember each and every one. The recitation takes place in September, as these children could also go to school.

President of Latvia visited Riga Ghetto museum on September 08, 2011

September 9, 2011

Andris Berzinsh was the first President of Latvia who visited Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum. He spent there more than an hour, looking around the exposition and wall with names of 76 000 Latvian Jews who faced the Holocaust.

Steps for Life on July 04, 2011

June 28, 2011

More than 70 000 Latvian Jews were killed in Latvia in the Holocaust. The flourishing Jewish community was exterminated. More than 20 000 Jews from Western Europe were deported to Latvia and killed here. The tragedy shouldn’t be forgotten. On July 04, 2011, at 10:45 in the Holocaust Memorial day Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum organize memorial march “Steps for Life” through former Riga ghetto territory. The march starts at the Old jewish cemetery (Liksnas street 2/4) In 2010 more than 700 people participated in the memorial march “Steps for Life”. Members of Jewish communities of Latvia, diplomats, delegations from Germany, Israel and USA, “Maccabi” members and Riga inhabitants will participate in the event. They will walk from Old Jewish cemetery through Riga ghetto area to the Great Choral Synagogue memorial and burn candles there in memory of killed Jews.

Reconstruction of the Riga ghetto house

May 19, 2011

The reconstruction of the house of Riga ghetto (Maza Kalna street 21) is going on in the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum. The frame is already built, materials for the roof are bought, and old windows have been found in substitution of broken ones. Expeditions in the former ghetto area are looking for artifacts and interior finish materials. The reconstruction is to be completed in the August 2011. At the first floor there will be an exposition place, on the second one the apartment of the ghetto house is to be reconstructed. About 50% of the whole amount of jobs and materials are funded by the already raised donations. We will be grateful for your generous support of the project. We will be grateful for your generous support of the project.

Premises development plan for the Riga Ghetto Museum

April 15, 2011

Jewish education in Latvia before WWII

March 31, 2011

Ebreju izglītības pārvaldes personāls. 1923. g.;Персонал управленияеврейского образования 1923 г .;Jewish education board personnel. 1923.

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Idishe bilder №. 1

March 9, 2011

Idishe bilder (Jewish pictures) 1937-1939, Riga. Illustrated magazine in Yiddish, with signatures in German, Polish, sometimes English. 124 issues. Publisher J. Brams. Editors J. Brams, Z. Kalmanovich (since Feb. 1938). The publishing was stopped on September 26, 2939 because of the beginning of WWII.

Hajnt №. 1

Newspaper “Hajnt” in Yiddish. 1934-1940. Everyday newspaper in Yiddish. Publishing house “Haint”. Circulation of morning and evening issues – 8125-9925. Editors S. Vittenberg, G. Meyerovich (since June 1934), Sh. Kazliner (since Nov. 1937). Newspaper was close to clerical-conservative political party “Agudat Israel”. Had illustrated supplement “Haver”

Characters of Latvian Jews

February 21, 2011

Morduchai Dubin;Мордехай Дубин;Morduchai Dubin

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Life without war

February 16, 2011

Dvinsk ;Двинск;Dvinsk

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Underground Resistance in the Riga Ghetto

January 21, 2011

Lūdzas 58, māja, kur atradas ieroču sleptuve;Лудзас 58,дом,где находился тайник с оружием;Ludzas 58, house with weapons stash

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Jews in the Latvian armed forces

January 19, 2011

Svinīgās Latvijas Ebreju atbrīvotāju biedrības karoga iesvētīšanas ceremonijas dalīnieki pie Rīgas pils1939. gada 17. maijā;Участники торжественного освящения знамени Общества освободителей Латвии еврейской национальности у Рижского замка 17мая 1939 года;Participants of the blessing of the flag of Society of Jewish Liberators of Latvia at the Riga castle, May 17, 1939

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Paul Mandelstam, outstanding architect and engineer

January 17, 2011

Pauls Mandelstams, Пауль Мандельштам ,Paul Mandelstam

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Воспоминания Давида Глазера

January 13, 2011

Воспоминания Давида Глезера

Holocaust

Rīgas geto iemītnieks;Обитатель Рижского гетто;Inhabitant of the Riga Ghetto;

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Rabbis

December 30, 2010

Taics Ābrams

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Jews in cultural life

December 29, 2010

Zahodniks Leonids

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Year of Horror

December 28, 2010

Yid sportsmen;Žīdu sportisti ;Еврейские спортсмены

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Righteous Among the Nations.

December 27, 2010

Lipke and Johanna

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Maps of the Riga Ghetto

December 23, 2010

Rīgas geto shēma ;Схема Рижского гетто ;Layout of ghetto

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Memoirs of Tevel Glezer

December 8, 2010

Download article as pdf file

Bank details

April 15, 2009

Biedrība „Rīgas geto un Latvijas Holokausta muzejs” Reģ. Nr. 40008160704 Rīga, Stabu 63, LV-1011 Baltic International Bank LV54BLIB1001012648001 SWIFT: BLIBLV22

Fated to Survive

Three lives for three bottles of vodka

A song of strength

A child from the city where wind is born

The woman who never forgot

A boyhood stolen by Nazis