Liepaja, Latvia

 

General

    Liepaja (Libau) is a Baltic port city on the northern end of Lake Liepaja.  Jews were not permitted to settle in the town until the 18th century.  The Jewish population peaked at almost 10,000 in 1920 (about 19% of the total population).  By 1935, the Jewish population had declined to about 7,400.  In August, 1940, the city was annexed to the Soviet Union.  The Germans occupied the town on June 29, 1941.  During the first month of occupation, at least 1,000 Jewish men were taken to the Baltic seashore and shot to death.  Almost 3,000 Jews (including women and children) were killed between December 15-17, 1941.  In June, 1942, a ghetto was established.  This ghetto was liquidated in October, 1943, with the remaining Jews sent to the Kaiserwald camp, near Riga. When the Red Army entered Liepaja on May 9, 1945, there were no more than 30 Jews remaining.  

    The postcard below depicts the synagogue in Liepaja.

References

Encyclopedia Judaica, CD Rom Edition, Keter Publishing

Gutman, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, P. 874-76

Copyright © 1998-2000 Edward Victor