Gamza (Hamza) Herts (Hertz) Hertsevich (9 May 1923, Daugavpils) – furrier.

Herts Gamza completed 7 years at a Jewish primary school and, in 1940, graduated from a vocational school in Daugavpils. In 1941, he began working at the “Provodnik” factory and relocated to Omsk with the factory’s evacuation.

In 1942, he was conscripted into the Soviet Army and served in the 201st Latvian Division until 1943. After being wounded, he was demobilised and worked as a carpenter at a construction materials plant in Barnaul from 1943 to 1945. In 1945, Gamza moved to Riga, where he worked as a master craftsman at the Riga Vocational School.

From 1947 to 1948, Herts Gamza was a carpenter at the “Veka” artel, and from 1948 to 1959, he worked as a carpenter at Riga’s 2nd bread factory. Between 1959 and 1964, he worked at the 2nd custom tailoring factory as a furrier. From 1971 to 1991, he was employed as a furrier at the production association “Rīgas Modes” (Riga Fashions).

During the war, Gamza lost two brothers: Max Gamza (1914–1940) and Boris Gamza (1921–1943). His sisters, Miriam Segal (née Gamza) (b. 1919) and Esther Bachat (née Gamza) (b. 1917), had lived in Israel since 1960. His daughter, Rakhil Serkina (née Gamza) (b. 1951), emigrated from Latvia to Israel in 1978. His son, Boris Gamza (b. 1959), left Latvia in 1988 and later lived in the United States.

Family:

Riva (b. 1928) Gamza (née Nidel) – wife
Rakhil (b. 1951) Serkina (née Gamza) – daughter
Boris Gamza (b. 1959) – son
Hertsel Gamza(1899–1922) – father
Leia Gamza (1893–1948) – mother
Rakhil Perelman (née Gamza) (b. 1912) – sister
Miriam Segal (née Gamza) (b. 1919) – sister
Esther Bachat (née Gamza) (b. 1917) – sister
Max Gamza (1914–1940) – brother
Boris Gamza (1921–1943) – brother