Jews in Latvia (museum)

The museum was established by a group of Latvian Jewish survivors in the Holocaust , led by renowned historian Margher Westerman in 1989. At first, the museum worked as a documentation center; The first small permanent exhibition, which caused great public interest, was opened in 1996 ^[1] . At the moment, the museum is located in three rooms and presents the history of the Jews of Latvia from the 16th century to 1945. The museum hosts lectures, educational programs, concerts and other cultural events.

The museum exposition consists of three parts - Jews from the moment of their appearance on the territory of Latvia in the 16th century until 1918, Jews in Latvia from 1918-1941. and Jews in Nazi-occupied Latvia. The exposition tells about social, economic, political, intellectual and religious life, the legal status, as well as about the participation of Jews in various historical events in Latvia. The third room is dedicated to the tragic events of the Holocaust in Latvia . A special section is devoted to the “Righteous Among the World” - people who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination.

The collection of the Museum “Jews in Latvia” is the foundation on which the museum relies on the organization of expositions and research work. At present, about 14 thousand items are stored in the museum funds, of which more than five thousand are the main fund, which is included in the Latvian National Museum Collection. The museum collection contains documents, photographs, books and objects. Of particular note is the collection of memoirs of the 19th — 20th centuries, a rich collection of family photographs and materials from various Jewish organizations of the interwar period.

The museum is located in the building of the Riga Jewish Community, in the historical building of the Jewish Club and Theater, on Skolas Street , 6. The building was built in 1913-1914 on the initiative of George Armitsted and the project of the famous architects Edmund Trompovsky and Paul Mandelstam ^[2] . Here in 1926 a troupe of the Jewish theater began performing, for the needs of which the building was rebuilt. Also in this building were various Jewish public organizations and the Jewish library. Jewish holidays — weddings, lectures, concerts, and gatherings — were often organized here. In 1941-1944, during the Nazi occupation of Latvia, the building was a club of German officers. In Soviet times, the building acted as the House of Political Education, where various ideological events took place, including congresses of the Communist Party. The historic building of the Jewish Theater was returned to the Jewish community in the early 1990s. This building is a state-protected monument of architecture.

• Jews in Latvia

• Museum "Jews in Latvia"
• Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia