The Righteous among the Nations

The Righteous among the Nations.

The beginning of the German occupation was marked by a terrible tragedy for the Jewish population of Latvia. Mass executions of Jews in rural locations had already begun in the first days. In the cities ghettos were created. By the end of 1941 practically all Jews who had not managed to evacuate to the Soviet interior had been exterminated – around 70,000 people. Only a few managed to save themselves, thanks to people who, risking their lives had hidden them. The memorial to the victims of the Holocaust ‘Yad Vashem’ in Jerusalem confers the title ‘The Righteous among the Nations’ to those who save others. There are Latvian Russians amongst them.