Rumbula massacre

Rumbula massacre

The Rumbula massacre was the two-day (November 30, 1941 and December 8, 1941) killing of 27,800 Jews in and on the way to Rumbula forest during the Holocaust. Of these, about 26,800 were Latvian Jews from the Riga Ghetto and approximately 1,000 were German Jews transported to the forest by freight train. The systematic mass murder was carried out by the Nazi Einsatzgruppe A with the help of local collaborators of the Arajs Kommando, with support from other such Latvian auxiliaries. In charge of the operation was Higher SS and Police Leader Friedrich Jeckeln, who had previously overseen similar massacres in the Ukraine. Rudolf Lange, who later participated in the Wannsee Conference, also took part in organising the massacre. Some of the accusations against Latvian Herberts Cukurs regarding crimes perpetrated against Jews are related to the clearing of the Riga Ghetto by the Arajs Kommando.

These tens of thousands of Jews were ordered to disrobe in freezing weather to be shot in the back of the head at close range in pits that were mass graves. Two women survived. One of them, Frida Michelson, took advantage of a distraction and fell into the pit, feigning death among the dead bodies. She survived the war to write the book "I Survived Rumbuli" (Rumbuli is Rumbula in German), later translated into English and published by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

During the Holocaust, 90% of Latvia's Jews were murdered. When the war turned against Germany, the bodies at the Rumbula Forest site were ordered dug up and burned. The site has been marked by a series of makeshift memorials over the years. A permanent Rumbula memorial was dedicated in November 2002, 61 years after the killings.

ee also

*History of the Jews in Latvia
*Šķēde

External links

* [http://www.am.gov.lv/en/latvia/History-of-Occupation/briefing-paper3/ The Holocaust in German-Occupied Latvia]
* [http://www.balticsww.com/Jews_Riga.htm Jewish Riga]
* [http://www.rumbula.org The Holocaust in Latvia and Latvia's Jews Yesterday and Today]
** [http://www.rumbula.org/remembering_rumbula.htm Remembering Rumbula]
** [http://www.rumbula.org/liepaja_holocaust_jewish.htm Liepaja Holocaust]
** [http://www.rumbula.org/riga_ghetto.htm Riga Ghetto]
** [http://usdin.dumes.net/esthershord.html Killed in Rumbala forest]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rumbula — is a pine forest enclave in Riga, Latvia, in which Jews were massacred during the Holocaust. For the air base at Rumbula, see Rumbula (air base) .ee also*Rumbula massacre …   Wikipedia

  • 1941 Odessa massacre — Coordinates: 46°27′58″N 30°43′59″E / 46.466°N 30.733°E / 46.466; 30.733 …   Wikipedia

  • The Holocaust — Holocaust and Shoah redirect here. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). Selection on …   Wikipedia

  • Viktors Arājs — (13 janvier 1910 – 13 janvier 1988) était un collaborateur nazi d origine lettone, commandant de la SS (Sturmbannführer) et dirigeant du Sonderkommando Arājs, responsable de la mort d entre 50 000 et 100 000 personnes sur le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Daugavpils Ghetto — Jews in the Daugavpils ghetto, probably in August, 1941 Also known as Dvinsk ghetto, the Citadel, Ghetto Dünaburg Lo …   Wikipedia

  • Rudolf Lange — Born November 18, 1910 Weißwasser, Prussian Silesia Died February 23 …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Jews in Latvia — The History of the Jews in Latvia dates back to 1571. Although the vast majority of the Jewish community was killed in the HolocaustFact|date=July 2007, there is a small Jewish community in Latvia today.General historyThe nucleus of Latvian Jewry …   Wikipedia

  • German war crimes — The government of Germany ordered, organized and condoned several war crimes in both World War I and World War II. The most notable of these is the Holocaust in which millions of people were murdered or died from abuse and neglect, 60% of them… …   Wikipedia

  • Dünamünde Action — Also known as Operation Dünamünde, Aktion Dünamünde Location Biķernieki forest, near Daugavgrīva (Dünamünde), Latvia Date March 1942 Incident type …   Wikipedia

  • Sonderkommando Arājs — Le Sonderkommando Arājs (en français : « commando spécial Arājs ») était une unité paramilitaire lettonne, dirigée par le Sturmbannführer SS (commandant ou major) letton Viktors Arājs, responsable de l extermination de la moitié… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”