Historiography of the History of Jews in Latvia The first book covering the history of the Jews of Latvia from the 16th to the 20th centuries was the study by the Israeli author M. Bobe, Jews in Latvia, published in 1972 in Yiddish. His works on this subject were also published in Hebrew, English, and Russian (Bobe M. Evrei v Latvii. Riga, 2006. 440 p.).

The first part of the book examines the development of the Jewish community from the 16th century to 1918. Separate chapters are devoted to the Jews of Riga, Livonia, Courland, and Latgale. Particularly valuable is the analysis of the German-language book by R. Wunderbar on the history of the Jews of Livonia and Courland (Wunderbar R.J. Geschichte der Juden in den Provinzen Liv- und Kurland. Mitau, 1853).

The second part explores the situation of Jews in the Latvian parliamentary republic (1918–34). The third part describes changes in Jewish life in Latvia after the coup d’état of May 15, 1934, and during the Second World War, when more than 70,000 Latvian Jews were exterminated. M. Bobe also examines the situation of Jews in Soviet Latvia in the postwar years (from the mid-1940s to the early 1970s).

The final section of Bobe’s book is of special value because it contains biographical data on Jewish politicians, journalists, artists, rabbis, and philanthropists (including many first-time published biographies and portraits). The richness of factual material and the author’s evaluations are among the strengths of the work.

For example, it is noted that under Duke Karl, Jews were expelled from the Duchy of Courland, while Duke Ernst Biron treated them favorably. The 1835 law allowed Jews already recorded in the last census (over 23,000 people) to reside in Courland Governorate (outside the Pale of Settlement). It is noted that at the end of the 18th century, Jews were taxed at double the Christian rate, and that these double payments were abolished in the early 19th century.

The book mentions the October 1905 pogrom in Rēzekne, where the pogromists were armed by the police and six members of the Jewish self-defense were killed (other authors only mention the Riga pogrom in the Old Suburb that same month). Bobe also provides detailed data on changes in the ethnic composition of Latvia’s population from 1920–35, and describes the Jewish press in Latvia, its closures, and new publications.

The struggle in the Saeima to repeal the law adopted by the Latvian National Council (1918–19), which granted citizenship only to those who lived in Latvia before August 1, 1914, lasted eight years. The new law of 1927 recognized the right to citizenship for those residing in Latvia since 1925, thereby legalizing the status of all Jewish residents.

M. Bobe lists the names of Zionists and Bundists who, following the coup d’état, became prisoners in the concentration camp in Liepāja, including politically active Jews from Aizpute, Tukums, Krustpils, Rēzekne and Daugavpils. The book also presents evidence of resistance by former inmates of the Riga Ghetto, who went into hiding in the forests of Latgale and were later taken into a unit of Russian partisans.

When examining the situation of Jews in Riga after the Second World War, the author notes that the Jewish choir led by conductor I.Abramis faced various restrictions in its repertoire, while the Jewish dramatic circle and orchestra were banned altogether.

By presenting the biographies of Jewish intellectuals, M. Bobe systematises the diverse fields of their activity in the 19th and 20th centuries. The work describes the activities of Riga’s public figures, historians, deputies of the Russian State Duma, Jewish members of the Latvian Parliament, leaders of Jewish political parties and journalists, as well as Jewish political activists, scholars, artists, cultural figures, social workers, rabbis of Latvia, and philanthropists.

The bibliography includes books in Yiddish and Hebrew, as well as in Russian, German, English and Latvian.

In 1999, a book in Latvian (144 pages) by the Israeli professor D. Levin, The History of the Jews of Latvia (Ebreju vēsture Latvijā), was published in Riga. It examines the situation of Jews in the three regions of Latvia during the periods when they were part of Poland and Russia. Separate chapters are devoted to the period of Latvian independence, the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940–41, the German occupation in 1941–44, as well as the post-war years.

Particularly valuable are the chapters that shed light on the situation of Jewish refugees in the USSR and the fate of Jews deported to Siberia on 14 June 1941. The book describes the incorporation of Latgale into Poland in 1582 and into Russia in 1772 (from 1802 it was part of the Vitebsk Governorate). D. Levin refers to a number of features also noted by other authors. For example, during the period of Swedish rule in Vidzeme (1623–1721), Jewish settlement there was not encouraged; nevertheless, their numbers increased due to their role in trade. Some Jews at that time converted to Lutheranism, with local aristocrats and senior officials taking part in their baptism ceremonies.

At the beginning of the First World War, around 40,000 Jews were expelled from Kurzeme, as they were suspected of supporting the advancing German troops in western Latvia. It is noted that before the war, both Germans and Latvians of Kurzeme in some cases supported the election of Jews to the Russian State Duma. As a result, Nisan Katsnelson of Liepāja, Yakov Shapiro of Ventspils, Lazar Nisselovich of Bauska and Ezekiel Gurvich of Jēkabpils became deputies.

Levin’s book provides statistical data on the number of Jews in various regions of Latvia in the years 1920–35, as well as their numbers in 16 cities during the same period. Among the most successful Jewish entrepreneurs were the Hoff brothers, Tankelovich, Feldhun and others, who owned major enterprises not only in the textile and woodworking industries but also in the food industry and other sectors.

The book notes the growing popularity among Latvian Jews of the Zionist organisation Trumpeldor (supporters of V.Jabotinsky), which, by the end of the Second World War, had about 4,000 members (its activities were not suspended after the coup of 15 May 1934). In 1940–41, Soviet officials persecuted Hebrew, and on 14 June 1941 the Soviet repressive organs deported to Siberia “socially dangerous” Jews (former entrepreneurs and former activists of Jewish political organisations).

Levin explains why, during the German advance, the majority of Jews were unable to evacuate (only about 15,000 Jews managed to leave Latvia). He describes the dire situation of Jewish refugees from Latvia in Russian collective farms, but also notes that the leader of Mizrachi, M.Nurok, urged the Jews of Kazakhstan to donate money to purchase a warplane for the Red Army. For Jews of any political orientation, the Soviet Union was regarded as the lesser evil compared to Nazi Germany.

Levin’s book also includes facts not found in published research by other authors. For instance, it is stated that the Latgale Partisan Regiment, which fought against the Red Army in 1919, included 69 Jewish volunteers—26 from Balvi, 25 from Viļāni, 7 from Ruga, 5 from Baltinava, and 6 from other localities. This is explained by the fact that in 1919 Soviet authorities in Latgale persecuted private entrepreneurs and religious leaders, and that during the Bolshevik rule the population suffered from famine. The support given by many Jews to the Latvian National Army testified to their solidarity with the fighters for Latvia’s independence.

Among Riga’s historians who began studying the history of the Jews of Latvia, the first was L.Dribins (Dribin), who had access to only a very limited range of sources and publications. By the late 20th century, the historian had at his disposal only two books covering this historical process from the 16th to the 20th centuries—M. Bobe’s book in English and I.Shteiman’s book in Latvian. Other literature cited by L. Dribins (mainly journal and newspaper articles) dealt only with individual aspects of the subject.

Dribins’s book, published in Latvian by the Centre for Ethnic Studies of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, was titled The Jews of Latvia (Dribins L. Ebreji Latvijā. Rīga, 1996. 72 pp.). The appendix includes statistical data on the Jewish population of Latvia across different years, as well as an article by M.Westerman on prominent Jews of Latvia. The book concludes with summaries in English and Russian (pp. 83–117).

The author points out that Jewish settlement in Kurzeme in the 16th century was encouraged by its dukes, who were interested in the skills of Jewish craftsmen, merchants and financiers. In Latgale, Jews settled in the 17th century, arriving from Poland to escape Cossack terror. Discussing Latvia in 1918–40, the author notes that after the establishment of the independent Latvian state, most Jews regarded it with scepticism and caution; nevertheless, 11 Jews were members of the Provisional Parliament (the Latvian People’s Council), and about a thousand served in the Latvian national army, 15 of whom were awarded orders.

Data is provided on the occupations of different groups of Jews in 1925 and 1935. The activities of Jewish political parties are examined, with particular mention of the personal friendship between K. Ulmanis and M. Dubin, the leader of the Jewish religious party Agudat Yisrael. The author observes that about two-thirds of the republic’s Jews were fluent in Latvian and that most Latvians valued the Jewish contribution to the development of the Latvian state.

Discussing the period 1940–45, the author notes that many Jews had illusions about life in the USSR, just as some Latvians also supported the incorporation of Latvia into the Soviet Union. The book recounts Stalinist repressions, which also affected prominent Jewish political figures, and the consequences of the Holocaust, including the murder of more than 27,000 Jews in Rumbula at the end of 1941.

The section of the book devoted to Jewish life in Latvia from 1945 to 1988 is entitled Life Without a Community. It highlights hostility towards Jews and the arrests of Jewish public figures. Nearly half the book (pp. 34–68) is dedicated to the period 1988–95, describing the political activity of Jews who actively supported the revival of Latvia’s independence, as well as the cultural and educational activities of Riga’s Jews following the lifting of restrictions. Separate sections of the book cover the Jewish communities of Riga, Daugavpils and Liepāja, as well as newly established Jewish organisations, the Jewish school and religious community, and the museum Jews in Latvia.

L. Dribins has also published several further works on the history of the Jews of Latvia. Among them is the 2007 essay The Jews of Latvia, a 25-page summary in Latvian of the most significant changes in the life of this ethnic group (Ebreji Latvijā Mazākumtautības Latvijā. Vēsture un tagadne. Rīga, 2007. pp. 209–233). The most innovative contribution of this author compared to earlier publications is his work The History of the Jewish Community of Latvia, published in 2001 in Latvian (Latvijas ebreju kopienas vēsture Latvijas ebreju kopiena. Rīga, 2001. pp. 9–81). One section of this work is entitled “The Good Years of Alexander II.” It discusses the abolition of the cantonist system and the removal of a number of restrictions, which allowed Jews to settle outside the Pale of Settlement and made admission to educational institutions more accessible to them. In the section “The Attitude of the Latvians” are quoted the words of K. Valdemars, who stated that one should learn from the Jews how to become prosperous, admire their industriousness and their ability to discover new and useful things.

The section “The Jews in the Revolution of 1905” describes the cooperation between Latvian Social Democrats and the Bund, as well as the inclusion of representatives of both sides in the Riga Federal Committee following an agreement between the engineer Jānis Ozols and the railway worker S.Klevansky.

Highlighting the role of Jews in the development of Latvia’s economy, the author provides data showing that in 1924, 60% of the capital of Latvian banks was owned by Jews. They also used their connections with capitalists in the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries to secure the inflow of foreign investment into Latvia.

The author also notes the wide participation of Jews in the activities of local self-government bodies. In 1922, out of 726 members of municipal councils, 67 were Jews. Mention is also made of a statement by Jānis Rainis, published in the newspaper Today in 1929, in which the poet and politician gave high praise to the efforts of Jewish youth to master the Latvian language and to take part in the public life of Latvia.

L. Dribins writes about 200 Jewish religious communities in Latvia and about Riga’s synagogues. Speaking of the period 1934–39, the author cites a statement by K. Ulmanis that there would be no anti-Jewish laws in Latvia, and recalls the fact that in 1937 this Latvian president welcomed at Riga railway station with flowers the son of M. Dubin and his bride—the daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Vienna—on the occasion of their wedding. It is also noted that until the autumn of 1938 Latvia admitted many Jews from Germany.

Anti-Semitism in Latvia is addressed by L. Dribins in his 2001 book, published in Latvian in the 4th volume of the Proceedings of the Commission of Latvian Historians. The first part of the book analyses the essence of anti-Semitism and its manifestations at various stages of history in Russia, Germany and other countries. Clarifying the nature and forms of anti-Semitism contributes to an understanding of its expressions in Latvia, and more than one hundred pages are devoted to this subject (Dribins L. Antisemītisms un tā izpausmes Latvijā. Rīga, 2001. pp. 63–173).

The book distinguishes between religious, racist, political anti-Semitism and other varieties. In 1686, King Charles XI of Sweden sanctioned a law that provided for the prosecution of those who obstructed the baptism of Jews and Muslims. It is noted that in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century more than 80% of Jews were engaged in trade, whereas by the end of that century the majority were artisans.

The author describes in detail political and administrative anti-Semitism in Tsarist Russia and state anti-Semitism in the USSR, both of which significantly affected the situation in Latvia, since the country’s party bureaucracy invariably followed the directives of Moscow’s leadership.

At different stages of Latvian history, anti-Jewish policy manifested itself in specific ways. During the period of Polish rule in Latvia in the 16th century, King Sigismund II Augustus declared that Poland’s laws favourable to Jews would not apply there, and that Jews would not be allowed to engage in trade or tax collection. In 1742, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna issued a decree expelling Jews from Russia. In 1764, Catherine II partially lifted previous restrictions and ordered that in official state documents the word zhid be replaced with yevrei (“Jew”). However, after the incorporation of eastern Latvia into the Vitebsk Governorate, Jews were prohibited from living in rural areas.

When considering Latvian attitudes towards Jews, the author notes that xenophobia is absent from Latvian folk songs, but that following Latvia’s incorporation into Russia, anti-Semitism in the region intensified. In 1882, the Latvian journal Pagalms (The Courtyard) wrote that hostility towards Jews was the result of their alleged deceit, lawlessness and perjury. The Latvian theologian J. Sanders (1858–51) demanded that the Old Testament be removed from Christian teaching. However, in the early 20th century Latvian writers A. Deglavs and R. Blaumanis wrote about Jews with sympathy.

In the Latvian periodical press, attitudes towards Jews were mixed. In 1911, the Jelgava newspaper Latviešu Avīze (Latvian Gazette) supported the false accusations against M. Beilis, who was charged with ritual murder. In independent Latvia, a generally loyal attitude towards Jews prevailed. On 18 November 1918, Prime Minister K. Ulmanis declared that all citizens of Latvia, regardless of nationality, would be able to participate in the development of the state. Yet in certain periodicals, such as the newspaper Zemgalietis (The Zemgalian), it was claimed that Latvians had become slaves of the Jews, with calls to free themselves from this bondage.

L. Dribins also writes about the activities of fascist organisations. Ugunskrusts (The Fire Cross) and others engaged actively in anti-Semitic agitation. At the University of Latvia, anti-Semitic students physically assaulted Jews. A special chapter is devoted to anti-Semitism during the second Soviet occupation of Latvia, including the so-called “Doctors’ Plot.” It is noted that in early 1953 in Riga, the physician S. Mogilnitsky, the historian I. Pisetsky, the actor A. Eines, Professor M.Shats-Anin and other Jewish cultural figures were arrested.

In 1997 a Riga hisiorian A. Stranga wrote a book on the situation of Latvian Jews in 1934–40. His book, published in Latvian, is one of the best studies on the Jews of Latvia and other Baltic countries. The changes in the situation of Latvian Jews after the coup d’état of 15 May 1934 are analysed in the second and third chapters of the book (Stranga A. Ebreji un diktatūras Baltijā (1926–1940 gads). Rīga, 1997. pp. 36–161). Although this work examines only a six-year period in the history of Latvian Jews, it is a highly valuable study.

The author brought into scholarly circulation documents and materials from the Latvian State Archive (including the 240th collection—the Latvian section of the Comintern) and the Latvian State Historical Archive (including the 3235th collection—the Political Department of the Ministry of the Interior). These materials are thoroughly analysed, and the author’s assessments and conclusions are convincingly argued.

Books and Latvian periodicals are compared with many publications by British and American authors. It is noted that after the coup of 15 May 1934, no anti-Jewish laws were adopted, but seven of the largest textile enterprises, owned by Jewish capitalists, were nationalised.

Historians sometimes contrast Ulmanis’s slogan “to Latvianise Latvia” with the 1933 slogan of the fascist organisation Pērkonkrusts (Thunder Cross)—“Latvia for Latvians,” which called not only for Latvians to secure decisive positions in the economy and culture, but also for Jews to be deprived of citizenship. A. Stranga, however, points out that the slogan “Latvia for Latvians” had in fact been advanced by K. Ulmanis eight years earlier than by Pērkonkrusts—in 1925, during his campaign for the presidency. This means that the main leader of the Latvian Farmers’ Union had already abandoned liberal principles at that time. However, J. Čakste was elected president, and in 1927, G. Zemgals, who was favourably disposed towards the Jews, became president—unlike the Democratic Centre party, whose nationalism developed into chauvinism. The author emphasises that after the May coup d’état Ulmanis rejected the earlier principle of the 1922 Constitution, which stated that Latvia was a state of its people, i.e. also of its national minorities. At the same time, the dictator’s associate A. Bērziņš nevertheless maintained extensive connections with Jewish entrepreneurs, while the head of the political police, J. Friedrichson, advised against granting Jews permits for trade.

In 1938, the Credit Bank was authorised to nationalise any private enterprise, which led to the nationalisation of Jewish businesses. A. Stranga points out that Ulmanis’s authoritarian regime restricted the opportunities of national minorities but was not specifically anti-Jewish. Ulmanis would not tolerate Social Democrats and sought to curb their influence in Jewish schools. For this reason, he sympathised with Jews of right-wing political orientation—both the religious orthodox M. Dubin and the non-orthodox members of the Zionist organisation Trumpeldor. Ulmanis banned the publication of anti-Semitic literature, though it continued to circulate illegally.

On the 20th anniversary of Latvia’s independence, Jews were among those awarded the Order of the Three Stars. However, the Bund, driven underground, radicalised. Its platform included the extravagant demand for a dictatorship of the proletariat, an alliance with the Communists, and uncompromising struggle against Dubin’s “Black Hundreds,” collaborators with the regime of 15 May.

In the section on the role of Jews in the Latvian Communist Party, it is noted that for many years there were no Jewish leaders in the CPL, and at the 9th Congress of the party in December 1940, only 9 of the 152 delegates were Jews.

A. Stranga is also the author of a number of articles and book chapters addressing the history of Jews in Latvia. In the 2005 volume History of Latvia: The 20th Century, he contributed the section on national minorities, in which he stated that M. Dubin was a patriot of Latvia.

On 8 April 2008, the newspaper Latvijas Avīze published Stranga’s article “Not by National Affiliation.” In it, he notes that the Jewish Chekist S. Shustin, sent from Moscow, became deputy to the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs, A. Noviks. But the majority of employees in the security apparatus were Latvians, Russians and Poles. At that time, fewer than 15 Jews served in the political police, and among 25 prison wardens there were only 2 Jews.

The majority of books and articles on the history of Latvian Jewry have been written by scholars from Riga. However, two historians from Daugavpils have also devoted considerable attention to this subject: B. Volkovich and I. Shteiman, both lecturers at Daugavpils University. During the years of Soviet occupation, publications on this topic were prohibited owing to the policy of state-sponsored anti-Semitism.

After the restoration of Latvia’s independence in 1990–91, I. Shteiman was the first historian in Latvia to publish a book on the history of Latvian Jewry, covering the period from the 16th century to the end of the 20th century. It was published in Daugavpils in both Latvian and Russian (Shteiman, I. Istoriya evreev Latvii. Daugavpils, 1995. 211 pp.). The work differs from M. Bobe’s book, published in Israel in Yiddish in 1972, in several respects. The Israeli author includes a list of literature used, but does not provide specific page numbers or newspaper issues, whereas Shteiman’s scholarly apparatus is detailed in this regard.

In his book, Shteiman was the first to examine the views of a number of Latvian historians—including A. Švābe, Ē. Dunsdorfs, A. Šilde, A. Balodis, A. Ezergailis, among others—on the role of Jews in Latvia. These historians highlighted the proportion of Jews within Latvia’s population across different periods, discussed Latvian attitudes towards Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries, and evaluated Jewish contributions to Latvia’s economic development. Ē. Dunsdorfs, analysing the composition of Latvia’s social estates in 1897, noted that among Jews there were personal nobles and honorary citizens, but the majority belonged to the urban commoner estate (meshchane). A. Šilde observed that in 1924 approximately 40% of private entrepreneurs in Latvian towns were Jews. However, they were mostly owners of craft workshops and small shops, and their proportion steadily declined thereafter.

Another distinctive feature of Shteiman’s book is that he traces changes in Jewish life in Latvia in close connection not only with developments in that country, but also with events in Poland, Lithuania and elsewhere (Latvian history as a whole receives significant attention). A third feature is his detailed treatment of the period 1920–93 (the last two decades of which had not been covered previously). Finally, Shteiman’s assessments, conclusions and arguments differ substantially from those of other authors.

In 2002, Shteiman’s book was published in New York in English by Columbia University Press, as part of a series of monographs by scholars from European countries. This edition differed markedly from that of 1995, not only in structure but also in content. The History of Latvian Jews (229 pp.) contains sections absent from the earlier book, including chapters on the 1905 Revolution, on Daugavpils, on the Communist Party, on the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, on Jewish mentality, and more. The final, 13th chapter includes notes by the Latvian-American historian A. Ezergailis, who analyses the views of M. Lazerson on the problems of Latvian Jewry.

Following the publication of the English edition, the author received reviews from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Sweden, Denmark and other countries, indicating that the issues addressed in the book aroused interest among a wide range of readers. Another historian from Daugavpils, B. Volkovich, devoted two valuable books to the history of Latvian Jewry. One of them, From the History of Jewish Culture in Latvia (1918–1940), was published in Daugavpils in 2002 in two volumes. The first part covers the historical and ethnographic aspects of the subject, Jewish education in Latvia, their press, music, theatre, visual arts and cinema, as well as physical culture and sport. The first volume concludes with a summary in English. This was the first study to present a comprehensive account of the major issues in the development of Jewish culture in pre-war Latvia.

The value of the book lies not only in its wealth of reliable facts and figures but also in the author’s well-founded assessments and conclusions. For example, he explains the reasons for the rapid growth of the Jewish population (which increased in 17 years from 142,000 to 190,000), clarifies the distinction between Mitnagdim and Hasidim in Latvia, and analyses the influence of Latvian, Russian and German cultures on Jewish culture and its consequences.

Noting the excesses of pogromists and the anti-Semitic orientation of such periodicals as Latvijas Sargs (“Guardians of Latvia”), Zilais Ērglis (“The Blue Eagle”) and others, the author points out that in 1922 the Latvian Prime Minister Zigfrīds Meierovics criticised these publications, which cultivated fascist views and incited the beating of Jews. The Cabinet of Ministers fined the publisher of Latvijas Sargs.

The author arrives at the following conclusions. Firstly, anti-Semitic propaganda was spread not only in newspapers but also in pamphlets and books. Secondly, fascist organisations openly called for pogroms. Thirdly, anti-Semitism was also present among communists. Fourthly, Jews were excluded from public service.

Yet despite these unfavourable circumstances, Jewish cultural life developed with increasing intensity. The Jewish Department of the Ministry of Education, headed by J. Landau, successfully used national-cultural autonomy to expand the network of Jewish educational institutions and to strengthen their material base through allocations from the state and local self-government bodies. In Riga, Daugavpils and other cities there operated not only six-year primary schools and gymnasia, but also Jewish vocational schools. Volkovich notes that in most of them the language of instruction was Yiddish, but in many institutions Hebrew was used as the teaching language, and great attention was paid to the study of religious texts.

The author compares the arguments of those who favoured education in Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian, and explains the reasons for the growing attention to religious education in the 1936–37 academic year. At the same time, the number of Jewish students fell significantly – from 19.57% of the total student body in 1919–20 to 6.83% – a reflection of the negative consequences of the abolition of parliamentary democracy in Latvia.

B. Volkovich analyses the content of the Jewish press, distinguishing between general newspapers, provincial publications, literary and artistic journals, as well as humorous and sporting periodicals. He also examines the ideological orientation of various organs of the press – Zionist, religious, left-radical and others.

In the section of the book devoted to music, the important role of cantors is noted, including their performances in leading parts of Verdi’s La Traviata, Gounod’s Faust and other operas. The book describes the significance of soloists in symphony orchestras, as well as the role of choral singing and choreography. The chapter on Jewish theatre discusses its repertoire and the popularity of leading actors. The final chapters examine the role of physical culture, sport and other areas of cultural life.

In his second book on Jewish culture in Latvia, Volkovich provides figures on the number of pupils in Jewish schools at different times, analyses the subjects of lectures at Jewish people’s universities, surveys the repertoire of Jewish theatre, and considers the works of O. Strok, the achievements of I. Westerman and other outstanding Latvian footballers.

Of great scholarly value is B. Volkovich’s monumental monograph on Zionism in Latvia (Volkovich, B. The Zionist Movement in Latvia (1918–1940), Daugavpils, 2008, Vol. I, 506 pp.). In the first chapter the author provides a detailed analysis of the literature and sources he used. The second chapter is devoted to the history and ideology of Zionism in Latvia. The third chapter discusses the activities of Zionist organisations in the Latvian Republic.

The appendices, which amount to more than 100 pages, are of particular interest. They include information about the Zionist press, a list of article topics, data on respondents interviewed by Volkovich, statistical material on the Jewish population of Latvian towns, the number of Jews who emigrated to Palestine in 1935–37, the number of Jewish voters in parliamentary elections supporting various Jewish organisational lists, and much more.

The comprehensive factual material presented in all sections of the book serves as the basis for the author’s general conclusions and evaluations. Rejecting sweeping condemnations of the Jewish national liberation movement and its struggle to re-establish a Jewish state, the author provides an objective assessment of the ideology and activities of the Zionists. At the same time, he does not shy away from critical evaluations, noting the contradictions within this most influential socio-political movement, and he also offers a critical analysis of the works of other historians of Jewish history.

While highly valuing the contributions of L. Dribins, A. Stranga and other historians, the author nevertheless criticises certain erroneous assertions found in the works of M. Bobe, D. Levin and others. He points out, for example, that the Poale Zion party cannot be regarded as unambiguously pro-Communist, as it contained various factions. He further notes that M. Lazerson fought not only for Jewish rights but also defended the interests of all national minorities.

The author agrees with L. Dribins’ view that K. Ulmanis sought to prevent the spread of antisemitism because he aimed to draw Jews into the effort of uniting all Latvian citizens and strengthening national cohesion. He also concurs with A. Stranga’s conclusion that K. Ulmanis displaced Jews from leading positions in the economy, with his supporters even encouraging the emigration of Latvian Jews to Palestine.

B. Volkovich rejects any simplistic interpretation of the political stance of V. Latsky-Bertoldi, emphasising that this politician did not always support the Zionists (from the mid-1920s onwards he was, in fact, one of their opponents). Volkovich stresses that the Zionists’ dream of reviving a Jewish state did not exclude their loyalty to the Latvian state. He convincingly classifies the General Zionists as a right-leaning party, which made it impossible for them to unite with the left-wing Zionists.

A number of the author’s conclusions and assessments are particularly noteworthy. He writes, for instance, that Rothschild was mistaken in believing Herzl’s plans to be unrealistic; that the religious party Mizrachi was an integral part of political Zionism; and that it is incorrect to claim that Zionism consisted of two separate currents – political and religious.

B. Volkovich’s polemics with the views of other authors occupy an important place in his book. One should agree with his assessment of the attitude of Latvian Jews towards the occupation of Latvia in the summer of 1940. He points out that among those who welcomed the arrival of Soviet troops were not only a considerable number of Jews but also a large number of representatives of other national minorities, whose rights had been curtailed under the authoritarian regime of 1934–40. He also stresses that among the deputies of the so-called People’s Saeima in 1940 there were only two Jews; that Jewish positions were largely influenced by the threat of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Latvia; but that it would be wrong to claim that Jews unanimously welcomed the establishment of Soviet rule in Latvia. These evaluations and conclusions by Volkovich demonstrate that he examines the Zionist movement in Latvia not in isolation, but in the broader context of major shifts in the situation of Latvian Jews resulting from transitions from one political regime to another.

Alongside books on the history of Latvian Jews from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, there were also works devoted to specific aspects of this history. Among these is J. Shteiman’s book on Jewish intellectuals (Šteimans J. Ebreju intelektuāli Latvijā, Rēzekne, 2006, 279 pp.). This book differs from earlier works on Jewish intellectuals in several respects. It discusses the activities of many historians, educators, doctors, journalists and politicians who were not mentioned in the books of M. Westerman and G. Smirin. Moreover, Shteiman’s book contains not only the biographies of Jewish intellectuals but also an analysis of their works. Thirdly, this book, written in Latvian (mainly in the appendix), publishes a number of documents, including the text of Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga’s speech at the unveiling of the Holocaust memorial in Liepāja, lists of scholarly works by astrochemist E. Anders and historian I. Weinberg. In the author’s commentary, considerable attention is given to evaluating the views of various politicians, writers, journalists and educators.

Publications on the period of 1941–45 occupy a very important place in historiography. During the Second World War, the German occupiers and their collaborators annihilated 70,000 Latvian Jews. A fundamental monograph on the Holocaust was written by the Latvian-American historian A. Ezergailis (Ezergailis A. Holokausts vācu okupētajā Latvijā, Riga, 1999, 591 pp.).

The first chapter examines the anti-Jewish policy of the Nazis and the role of Latvians in the murder of Jews. The second chapter discusses the situation of Latvian Jews in 1905–40. The third chapter analyses the nature and consequences of anti-Semitism. The fourth chapter is devoted to Nazi policy. The fifth chapter explores the role of the fascist security police. The sixth chapter considers the part played by V. Arajs’ commando unit in the extermination of Jews. The seventh, eighth and ninth chapters describe the mass killings of Jews. The tenth chapter looks at the actions of police units and other auxiliary forces. The eleventh and twelfth chapters describe the ghettos and concentration camps, the fate of their inmates, and the annihilation of the Jews of Ilūkste district.

The author used an enormous number of archival documents, analysed numerous historians’ studies, and compared their evaluations and conclusions with his own, substantiating his position with convincing arguments. He emphasises that the German Nazis, in enlisting Latvians to participate in the Holocaust, tried to persuade them that the Stalinist regime of 1940–41 in Latvia had been a “Jewish” power. Ezergailis demonstrates that this claim bears no relation to reality, and that without the German occupation, the Holocaust would not have taken place in Latvia. He gives a high appraisal of M. Westerman’s research and refers to it on 27 pages of his book.

M. Westerman (Vestermanis) was an inmate of the Mežaparks concentration camp, from which he managed to escape and join the Kurzeme partisans. After the restoration of Latvia’s independence, he became director of the Riga museum Jews in Latvia and assembled an extensive collection of materials on the life of Latvian Jews in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The museum’s holdings include unique documents and photographs, as well as unpublished memoirs of eyewitnesses to the tragic events.

The historian M. Westerman was the first to write an informative essay on outstanding Latvian Jews, published in the book by L. Dribins (Dribins L. Ebreji Latvijā. Rīga, 2002, pp. 241–245). Westerman also wrote a book on the Jews of Riga, published in German and English (Vestermanis M. Juden in Riga. Bremen, 1995, 80 pp.; Vestermanis M. The Jews in Riga: Fragments of the Jewish History of Riga. Riga, 1991). Yet his most valuable publications are those dealing with the Holocaust in Latvia. Two of his works in Latvian are particularly characteristic in this regard.

One is devoted to Latvians, Poles, Russians and representatives of other nationalities who, at the risk of their own lives, saved Jews from extermination. In this study, the author investigated the actions of more than 400 rescuers (Vestermanis M. Pretdarbība Holokaustam Latvijā Latvijas ebreju kopiena. Rīga, 2001, pp. 82–88). Also of great importance is Westerman’s study of the Riga-Kaiserwald concentration camp (Vestermanis M. Koncentrācijas nometne “Rīga-Kaiservald” Latvijas vēsturnieku komisijas Raksti. Vol. 12. Rīga, 2007, pp. 32–39). He refers to 28 documents and memoirs, written mainly in German.

He noted that he had no opportunity to make use of the trial materials of the camp commandant A. Sauer, who had been killed at the front. However, SS-Hauptscharführer G. Sorge – a ruthless overseer responsible for the killing of 67 inmates – was convicted and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment in Russia, and later to life imprisonment in Germany. Because of the camp’s brutal regime, 300 of its 500 prisoners perished. When labour was required in 1943, Jews were transported to the camp, bringing the prisoner population to 15,000, of whom 13,000 perished.

The president of the International Society for the History of the Ghetto and the Genocide of the Jews, the writer L. Koval, published three volumes in 1993 describing the Holocaust and the heroism of those who rescued Jews (The Book of Rescue, Parts 1 and 2; The Book of Rescuers, Part 3). Across more than 1,300 pages, these volumes explore the history of the Holocaust in various regions, with particular attention given to the Holocaust in Latvia and to those who saved Jews – including Jānis (Žanis) Lipke, who rescued more than 50 Jews, Anna Pole, who hid seven Jews, and many other Righteous Among the Nations of different nationalities. The compiler and commentator of this invaluable trilogy carried out immense work in gathering and processing materials on the fates of rescuers and the rescued. His commentary, conclusions and assessments are marked by depth of thought and the persuasiveness of his evidence.

Crimes committed by the fascists in Riga and Kurzeme are also recounted in M. Zvonov’s book Open Fire on the Jews! (Po evreiam – ogon’!), published in 1993. It makes use of material from the works of several Latvian authors as well as from newspapers and journals of the 1920s–30s.

The most valuable scholarly study of the fate of the inmates of the Riga Ghetto is by the historian G. Smirin. At the end of the twentieth century, he researched the left-wing press of Latvia before the Second World War and authored the book Outstanding Jews of Latvia, published in Riga in 2003 in Russian, Latvian and English. Yet his most important contribution is undoubtedly the essay The Holocaust in Riga in the volume The Extermination of the Jews of Latvia, 1941–45 (Riga, 2007, pp. 71–100). Riga was home to more than 43,000 Jews, and the author provides precise data on deported, evacuated and murdered Jewish residents of the city. He describes in detail the Jews killed in Biķernieki Forest and Rumbula, the role of the Arajs Kommando, and the fate of the ghetto’s inmates. He examines the changes in German policy towards the Jews, recounts the history of the Kaiserwald concentration camp, and relates the destinies of many prominent Riga Jews. The scholarly apparatus of this study includes the works of historians and the memoirs of ghetto survivors in Latvian, Russian, German and English. The author’s evaluations and conclusions are distinguished by objectivity and authority.

Memoirs of the few Jews who managed to escape death are of great importance for Holocaust researchers. These include, for example, the recollections of the Riga sculptor E. Rivoš, who was saved by a Latvian family (Rivošs E. Piezīmes. Riga, 2006); A. Bergman’s book Notes of a Subhuman (Riga, 2005, 320 pp.); and F. Michelson’s memoir I Survived Rumbula (Riga, 2005, 150 pp.), which tells of the selflessness of those Germans and Latvian Adventists who embodied Christian humanism. E. Medalje’s book The Right to Life (Riga, 2006, 177 pp.) shows that the rescue of Jews was possible only in rare and extraordinary circumstances. The book by the teacher G. Friedman (1916–85), published posthumously, describes life in the Riga Ghetto and the actions of its rescuers (Friedman G. What Happened to Us. Riga, 2006).

These and other memoirs in the series founded by L. Koval in 2004, which were highly praised by A. Ezergailis, contain very significant commentary by G. Smirin.

The resistance of Latvian Jews to the Holocaust was expressed primarily through their participation in armed struggle against the army of fascist Germany. This was described in an essay by the Riga historian H. Bregmanis, who managed to present concisely, yet very informatively, the main trends in the development of the Jewish community of Latvia from the sixteenth to the twentieth century (Bregmanis H. Jews in Latvian History Latvijas likteņgadi. IV. Riga, 1990, pp. 120–147). He recounted the actions of 5,000 Latvian Jews who fought in Latvian units of the Red Army and in partisan detachments, describing the feats of Jewish soldiers decorated with orders and naming those who fell in battle. The Latvian Association of Jewish Veterans of the Second World War published a Book of Remembrance (Scars Heal – Pain Remains. Riga, 1995, 186 pp.), which included memoirs of Jewish participants in the struggle against fascist Germany, as well as lists of Jews from Riga, Liepāja, Rēzekne and other Latvian cities who perished. Of great significance, too, are studies by participants in this struggle – in particular, by the physician E. Vater, who in 2000 published in Israel the book Jewish Women and Girls of Latvia on the Fronts of the Struggle against Fascism, which records the names of women fighters, including those who fell in battle. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, E. Vater’s second book, The Jews of Latvia in the Struggle against Nazism, was published in Israel. In its 300 pages, it describes the fate of several thousand Latvian Jews who fought against the German Nazi forces on the fronts of the Second World War. E. Vater emphasises that these were Jews of various political orientations – communists and Zionists, believers and atheists. What united them was their determination to take up arms and fight against humanity’s fiercest enemies – the German fascists, who, had they prevailed, intended to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe. The aforementioned books and other publications make it possible to gain an understanding of various aspects of the life of Latvian Jews over the course of four centuries.