Riga

Latvia

Port city and capital of Latvia, Riga was home to about 43,000 Jews in 1935, which represented nearly half the Jews in Latvia and more than 11% of the city’s population. The German army entered the city on July 1, 1941, driving out the Red Army, which had occupied the city the previous summer. The killing of Jews began immediately and more than 5,000 were murdered before the end of summer. In August a ghetto was established with more than 30,000 Jews. In December an additional 16,000 Jews arrived from Greater Germany, many of whom were shot shortly after arrival in forest sites like Biķernieki and Rumbula. Shootings and deportations continued until the liquidation of the ghetto in November and December 1943. A few surviving Jews were put to work in Aktion 1005, the exhumation and burning of corpses at massacre sites.