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The Jews of Latvia: a Bibliography was originally compiled by Marion Werle and published in the Spring 1997 issue of Latvia SIG (Volume 2, Number 1).. The complete bibliography includes just under fifty books, covering history, specific towns and cities, Holocaust survivor stories, and yizkor books. The scope was limited to include only books, not articles or periodicals. Researchers visiting Washington, DC or New York City may want to check the the Library of Congress and New York Public Library,respectively, since both have holdings of Latvian Jewish periodicals on microfilm. Special thanks are due to Aleksandrs Feigmanis, who wrote the summaries for the Russian titles on the original list, and who added a couple of additional references of his own. Felix Rabinowich of Los Angeles provided information on onetitle, and provided English translations of the Russian titles.

Most of these titles are fairly specialized, and may not be available in the average public library system (New York being the exception). Many are out of print.
These entries were obtained from a number of different sources, and most have been verified in various online library catalogs. The published version includes call  number information for an arbitrary list of libraries (Brandeis University, the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, the University of California libraries, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Library, and Yale University). The information on library holdings is not intended to be complete, but will hopefully be useful to some researchers. The published version, in Volume 2, Number1 of Latvia SIG, is available for purchase. Updates will be made to the online version as new resources become available.

If you live in an area that does not have a large university or Judaica library, you should be able to request materials through your public library on Interlibrary Loan. The entries in the bibliography follow standard library cataloging format, in case the interlibrary loan librarian has any questions. There may be a nominal fee for ILL service.
 

Avtsinsky, Levi

Toldot yeshivot ha-Yehudim be-Kurland mi-shenat 321 [1561] `ad 668 [1908].

Vilna : [s.n.], 672, 1912 (series: Hebrew books from the Harvard College
Library ; HI 0041-0042)

Beare, Arlene

Jewish Ancestors: A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Latvia and Estonia [2006]

Read the book review

Beare, Arlene

A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Latvia and Estonia. [2001]

No 3 in series-a Guide to Jewish Genealogy published by the Jewish Genealogical society of Great Britain. Series Editor Rosemary Wenzerul.
An introduction to research in Latvia for Beginners and more advanced Researchers.

Berman, Shevach

Lo halakh ba-telem. Tel-Aviv : Y. Golan, [1995].

Survivor's story of a Riga Jew

Bobe, Mendel

Perakim be-toldot Yahadut Latviyah (1651-1918),

'arikhah, Y. Har-Even. Tel Aviv : Reshafim, c1965.

Bobe, Mendel

Yidin in Letland.

Tel Aviv : Reshafim, 1972.

A comprehensive history of Latvian Jewry, covering the regions of Latvia (Kurland, Livonia and Latgale), history from the time of Catherine II through the Holocaust and the postwar Soviet period, and cultural and political life. Includes a large section on famous people and a bibliography. This book is a continuation ofworks on the history of Latvian Jewry that began in 1953 under the auspices of the Association of Latvian and Esthonian Jews in Israel.

Buchholtz, Anton

Geschichte der Juden in Riga bis zur begrundung der rigischen Hebraergemeinde im j. 1842.

Riga: N. Kymmel, 1899.

Dribins, Leo

Ebreji Latvija.

Riga, 1996

Good book in Latvian (117 pages), about historical and contemporary Latvian Jewry, written by a professional historian. Includes biographies of the 24 most
well-known Latvian Jews, with a summary in English. [A.F.]* Available for purchase from Aleksandrs Feigmanis.

Dvinsker bundisher brentsh 75, Arbeter Ring: 35-yoriker yubiley zshurnal: 1904-1939

New York, Arbeter Ring, 1939?.
(subject: Workmen's Circle Dvinsker brentsh 75--Anniversaries, etc.)

Eliav, B. [et al.]

Yahadut Latvia, sefer zikaron. Tel-Aviv: Igud yoz'e Latvia ve-Estonia be-Yisrael, 1953.

A Yizkor book about Latvia, including chapters on the cities of Riga, Dvinsk, Libau, Bauske, Shimberg (Schönberg) , Lutsin and Windau. Includes biographies of rabbis and a list of names.

Evrei v Daugavpilse istoricheskie ocherki

[redkollegiia L.M. Tsilevich (redaktor), B.Z. Volkovich, A.TS. Fishil']. Daugavpils : Daugavpilsskaia evreiskaia obshchina, 1993.
(Translation: Jews in Daugavpils: Historical Essays.)

The best book about Jews in Daugavpils (Dunaburg/Dvinsk). Included are articles by Zalman Jacub on the history of the Jewish community in this city from the end of the eighteenth century throught World War II, and on Jewish merchants, craftsmen, workers and capitalists, including the worker's movement. B. Volkovich wrote an article about the Zionist movement from 1900 to 1940; A. I. Stiman wrote about Jewish communal life between 1920 and 1940. Another article of Zalman Jacub is dedicated to the history of the Daugavpils ghetto during the Nazi occupation. The book includes a long list of factory owners and manufacturers, as well as many illustrations. [A.F.]

Ezergailis, Andrew

The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944 : the missing center

Washington, DC: Historical Institute of Latvia, 1996. Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC.

This is the first comprehensive work in English about the Holocaust in Latvia. It draws on a vast range of both documentary sources and survivors’ depositions and testimonials. The author also benefitted from archival materials available only since the demise of the Soviet Union. The first part of the book describes the complexities of Latvian politics, especially during the post-World War I era, and attitudes toward the Jews in Latvian society. It then provides a detailed chronicle of the course of the Holocaust in Latvia, analyzing the Latvian and German bureaucracies responsible for the implementation of the extermination of the Latvian Jews, and describing the events that took place in both the cities and the provincial towns. The final chapter describes the Riga ghetto and the Latvian labor camps. Appendix material includes demographic statistics on Latvian Jewry. There is an extensive bibliography.

Feldmann, Hans

Verzeichnis lettlandischer Ortsnamen

Unter besonderer Mitwirkung von H. Meyer und G.V. Pantzer Hrsg. von Hans Feldmann. Hamburg, Hofmann, 1963.

A dictionary of Latvian place names and their German equivalents. It has both German-Latvian and Latvian-German sections. The German names are in Fraktur
(old Gothic script), probably because this is a reprint of a 1938 edition.

Foner, Sarah Feige (Meinkin)

Mi-zikhronot yeme yalduti : o, Mar'eh ha-`ir Dvinsk

Warsaw : Bi-defus ha-Tsefirah, 663, 1903.

The author's recollections of Dvinsk (Daugavpils) between 1862 and 1871, written in very old-fashioned Hebrew. Mentions prominent families in Dvinsk.

Flior, Yudel

Dvinsk; the rise and decline of a town

Translated from the Yiddish by Bernard Sachs. Johannesburg, Dial Press [1965].

This book, written by a 43-year resident of Dvinsk who immigrated to South Africa in 1928, is a memoir rather than a scholarly work. It does an excellent job of conveying the flavor of Jewish life in Dvinsk from the turn of the century through World War I. It gives a portrait of the daily life of the Jews, against the background of the larger social changes occurring in Russia.

Gordon, Frank, 1928-

Latvians and Jews between Germany and Russia

[translated by Vaiva Pukite and Janis Straubergs]. Stockholm: Memento, c1990.

Guide to Latvia

ed. by Inara Astrida Punga and William J H Hough. Old Saybrook, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, c1995. Also published in the UK (Chalfont
St. Peter, Bucks, England: Bradt Publications, 1995). Series title: Bradt Guides.

One of the few tourbooks devoted entirely to Latvia.

Huttenbach, Henry R

Introduction and guide to the Riga Ghetto Archive catalogue

New York : Society of Survivors from the Riga Ghetto, Inc. and The Isaac Ziering Foundation,
Inc., 1984.

(Not readily available--OCLC lists this book in two libraries: COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS (MA) and
SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE (NY), the latter is listed as ILL supplier.)

Professional catalog of documents and testimonies collected by an organization of survivors of the Riga ghetto, mostly German Jews transported to Latvia during
World War II. The catalog includes a list of interviewees, which includes Latvian Jews as well. [A.F.]

Iwens, Sidney

How dark the heavens : 1400 days in the grip of Nazi terror

New York : Shengold Publishers, c1990.

This book is an account of the author's Holocaust experiences, about half of which took place in the Dvinsk Ghetto. Following the German invasion of Russia, the
author left his home in Lithuania, intent on enlisting in the Russian Army, but ended up fleeing to Daugavpils (Dvinsk). The book describes his arrival in Dvinsk, the
rounding up and imprisonment of the Jews, the realization that the Jews were being shot in mass graves that had been dug by forced labor, the reality of ghetto life
and labor battalions. After plans were made for the final liquidation of the Jews remaining in Daugavpils, and the author and a friend stayed in hiding until they were
able to escape to the Siauliai ghetto in Lithuania. The remainder of the book does not take place in Latvia.

The Jews in Latvia,

[Editorial board: M. Bobe and others. Tel Aviv] Association of Latvian and Esthonian Jews in Israel [1971].

A good introductory book on the Jews of Latvia. Discusses the history and characteristics of the three regions of Latvia--Livonia, Kurland and Latgale--and the
differences in the Jewish experiences in each region. Describes the political and social situation of the Jews throughout Latvian history, as well as Latvian Jewish
cultural institutions. Profiles the major Jewish communities of Latvia, especially in the larger cities. There is also a chapter on famous Latvian Jews, which gives
mini-biographies of men famous for their accomplishments and leadership. Book includes photographs and an index (including names).

Jussmann, Max

Les bottes du Tzar

[Paris] : Editions municipales, [1993]
A genealogy of the Jussmann family of Riga.

Kacel, Boris

From Hell to Redemption

Boulder : University Press of Colorado, 1998.
Survivor's tale of a Riga resident and his Holocaust experiences in seven different concentration/labor camps in Latvia and elsewhere.

Katz, Josef

One who came back : the diary of a Jewish survivor

translated from the German by Hilda Reach. New York : Herzl Press ; Bergen-Belsen Memorial Press,c1973.

The story of a Jew from Lübeck who was sent to Salsapils in 1941, and spent time on labor details in Latvia (based, at various times, in Salsapils, Riga ghetto, Kaiserwald, and Liepaja), ultimately being sent to Stutthof in 1944 along with others from Latvian camps, ending up on a death march before being liberated in 1945.

Kaufmann, Max

Die Vernichtung der Juden Lettlands : Churbn Lettland

Muenchen : The Author, 1947.

In a very personal memoir dedicated to the memory of Latvian Jewry, written just after the war, the author has attempted to document the events of the Holocaust throughout Latvia. Includes a forward and afterword in English and a list of names (which are not indexed).

Levin, Dov

Baltic Jews under the Soviets, 1940-1946

Jerusalem : Centre for Research and Documentation of East European Jewry, Avraham Harman Institute of
Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994.

A collection of twenty essays previously published by the author in various journals. They discuss the situation of the Baltic Jews from the time of the Soviet occupation in 1940, through the aftermath of World War II. Two of the essays are specifically about Latvia, one about the 1940-41 period, and the other about the arrests and deportations of the Jews that occurred just prior to the German invasion. Other articles, while not specifically about Latvia, discuss issues that pertain to Latvia, including a discussion of the conflicting versions of the reponsibility for the Holocaust in the Baltics.

Levin, Dov

'Im ha-gav el ha-kir : lehimat Yehude Latviyah be-Natsim, 1941-1945

Yerushalayim, Ha-Makhon le-Yahadut zemanenu, ha-Universitah ha-Ivrit,
Yerushalayim 1978.
Series title: Sidrat mehkarim be-toldot ha-hitnagdut ha-mezuyenet shel ha-Yehudim be-'et ha-sho'ah.

A study of Latvian Jewry and its participation in armed resistance against the Nazis. This includes the role of Latvian Jews in Latvian divisions of the Red Army, resistance activities in Latvia while under Nazi occupation (including ghetto resistance groups in the Riga and Dvinsk ghettoes), as well as partisan activity in Latvia. Includes a bibliography and lists of both names and places

Levinson, Isaac

The Untold story

Johannesburg : Kayor Publishing House, 1958.
Le-zekher kehilat Dvinsk, [hukhanah 'a. y. kitot 8/1-8/2 be-hadrakhat ha-morah Tamar Amarant]. Hefah : Hativat Benayim "Kiah", [1974].

A short (63 page) yizkor book for Dvinsk (Daugavpils). A collection of essays, recollections and poems about Dvinsk, past and present (1970’s), covering the history and cultural institutions and Dvinsk during the Holocaust, including the Dvinsk ghetto. Contains a few photos, but no index.

Levinstein, Meir

'Al kav ha-kets

[Tel Aviv] : Moreshet Bet 'edut 'al shem Mordekhai Anilevits' : Sifriyat po'alim, 735, 1975.

Raised in Kuldiga as a young child, and living in Riga in 1941, Meir Levenstein describes his experiences in the Riga ghetto, Riga work camp, Kaiserwald, deportation to Stutthoff and other camps, and his ultimate return to Riga after the war. There is also a chapter describing events in Kuldiga, and a final chapter written by Avraham Ati, about the history of the Jews in Latvia prior to the Shoah.

Mark, Mendel

Di Yidish-veltlekhe shul in Letland

Nyu-York : Tsiko, [1973]

A history of Yiddish secular schools in Latvia between the two World Wars. Covers the establishment of Yiddish schools, the Latvian educational laws of 1919
establishing instruction in ethnic languages, school administration and organizations, Yiddish book publication and libraries, curriculum and teacher training, and
types of schools in the Yiddish secular school system. Includes a section on statistics.

Mikhel'son, Frida

I survived Rumbuli

translated from the Russian and edited by Wolf Goodman. New York : Holocaust Publications : Distributed by Schocken Books, c1979.

Muted voices : Jewish survivors of Latvia remember

collected and edited by Gertrude Schneider. New York : Philosophical Library, 1987.

The second volume of Gertrude Schneider’s trilogy of survivor stories of both Latvian Jews and Jews from other parts of Europe sent to Latvian labor camps after
the German invasion of Latvia. Includes photos and and index of names.

Ovcinskis, L.
[Toldot ha-Yehudim be-Kurland. Yiddish.]

Di geshikhte fun di Idn in Letland

[1928].

Pinkas ha-kehilot

(edited by Professor Dov Levin)

Latviyah ve-Estonyah : entsiklopedyah shel ha-yishuvim ha-Yehudiyim le-min hivasdam ve-'ad le-ahar Sho'at Milhemet ha-'olam ha-sheniyah

'orekh, Dov Levin, be-hishtatfut Mordekhai Naishtat,.Yerushalayim: Yad va-shem, rashut ha-zikaron la-Sho'ah vela-gevurah, 1988.

A comprehensive overview of the Jewish communities of Latvia and Estonia. Provides an overview of the history of Jews in both countries, as well as detailed descriptions of each community. Includes name and place indexes for Latvia and Estonia, respectively. The alphabetical section on comunities is arranged by modern names, but includes all alternative names in other languages (e.g., Yiddish, Russian and/or German). Provides population statistics, history and communal
descriptions for all locations.

Press, Bernhard

Judenmord in Lettland : 1941-1945

2., verand. Aufl. 1995. Berlin: Metropol-Verlag, 1995, c1992.
Series title: Reihe Dokumente, Texte, Materialien ; Bd. 4.

This appears to be a reissue of the author's Judenmord in Riga, but without the survivors' stories.

Press, Bernhard

Judenmord in Riga, 1941-1945

Berlin: B. Press, 1988.

Narrative of the Jews of Riga following the German invasion. Includes a section on survivors' stories.

Regesten und Urkunden zur Geschichte der Juden in Riga und Kurland

[microform], herausgegeben von der Rigaer Abteilung des Vereins zur Verbreitung
von Bildung unter den Juden in Russland ...fg. 1-3. Riga: Die Abteilung, 1911-1912.

Rigasches Adreßbuch

Salt Lake City : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1963.

This is a microfilm of the 1914 city directory for Riga. Written in German Fraktur script, it is divided both by street name, and by surname. (LDS Microfilm
0477271)

Schneider, Gertrude

Journey into terror : story of the Riga ghetto

New York: Ark House, c1979.

Schneider, Gertrude

The Riga ghetto, 1941-1943

New York, 1973.

The author's doctoral dissertation from the City University of New York. Available through interlibrary loan, or directly from University Microfilms. Contact
University Microfilms at UMI, 300 North Zeeb Road, PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346; telephone (800) 521-0600 or (313) 761-4700. May also be
ordered through their web site at http://www.umi.com. Order number is 7322744; cost is approximately $25.00.

Sherman-Zander, Hilde

Zwischen Tag und Dunkel : Madchenjahre im Ghetto

Frankfurt am Main: Ullstein, 1984.
Series: Ullstein Buch ; Nr. 20386.

Story of a German girl deported from the Rhineland in 1941. She lived in the Riga ghetto until October 1944, spent part of 1944-45 in Libau, and ended up in
Sweden in April 1945, at the age of 22.

These names accuse: Nominal list of Latvians deported to Soviet Russia in 1940-41

Stockholm: 1951.

another edition, with an additional list of names:

These names accuse : nominal list of Latvians deported to Soviet Russia in 1940-41 : with supplementary list

2nd ed. Stockholm: Latvian National
Foundation in cooperation with the World Federation och [sic] Free Latvians, 1982.

On June 13-14, 1941, the Soviets deported about 14,000 Latvians, mostly to Siberian labor camps, to purge the country of 'counterrevolutionary elements'. Most of these people were never heard from again. Approximately 5,000 of those deported were Jews. The first list in this book was compiled in 1942 from an inquiry conducted from relatives and friends of those deported [although it is questionable how many Jews were left in Latvia at that point to report their relatives missing]. This list, published by a Latvian emigre organization, contains 30,000 names of those who were deported, murdered or reported missing due to Soviet activity during the entire period of the Soviet occupation during World War II (1940-41). A supplemental list collected by the World Federation of Free Latvians is included in the second edition. The second list includes postwar deportations as well as earlier ones not reported in the first list. Many of the surnames are Jewish--note that the Latvian spellings are used, e.g., Feldmanis, Bergmanis.

Israel, 1985?.
(no publisher name, total of 36 pages, 25 in English, 2 in German, 9 in Hebrew, with a name index).

A yizkor book for Libau (Liepaja), a copy of which is available in the library of the JGS of Greater Washington, located in Rockville, MD. An online translation is available.

Tseitlin, Shmuel

Dokumental'naia istoriia evreev Rigi

Izrail': [s.n.], 1989.
(Translation: Documentary History of Riga Jews)

A richly illustrated book on the history of the Riga Jewish community from the sixteenth century to the present, written by Zionist activist Bubi Tseitlin. The book includes a list of Jewish families comprising the Riga Jewish community in 1840. [A.F.]

The Unfinished road : Jewish survivors of Latvia look back

Collected and edited by Gertrude Schneider. New York : Praeger, 1991.

The final volume of Gertrude Schneider's trilogy. Survivor's stories of Latvian Jews (mostly from Riga), and Jews from other parts of Europe who spent time in Latvian ghettos and labor camps, including Kaiserwald, Dundaga and Salaspils. Includes photos and an index of names.

Vesterman, Marger

Evrei v Rige : fragmenty evreiskoi istorii na karte Rigi : kratkii putevoditel

Riga: Izd. Muzeia i dokumentatsionnogo tsentra Latviiskogo ob-va evreiskoi
kultury, 1992.

Russian edition of The Jews in Riga: Fragments of the Jewish History of Riga.

Vesterman, Marger

The Jews in Riga: Fragments of the Jewish history of Riga: a brief guide-book with a map for a walking tour

Riga: Museum and Documentation Centre of the Latvian Society of Jewish Culture, 1991.

Mr Vesterman is one of the most knowledgeable historians on the subject of Jewish history, and is also a very active member of LOEK (Latvian Jewish Cultural Society). He has collected much information on the history of Holocaust in Latvia. [F.R.]

Volkovich, B

Ravviny v Daugavpilse (1920-1940)

Daugavpils, 1996.

A 16-page book devoted to the subject of rabbis and synagogues in Dvinsk since World War I. Written by a professional historian, with many references, thebook contains history, a complete list of synagogues and minyanim, and detailed information on rabbis. The list of synagogues includes the name of the head of thesynagogue, the address, year it was built, and number of members. The rabbinical information includes name, year and place of birth, number of children,
educational background, time of service in Dvinsk, and address of the rabbi's synagogue.[A.F.]* Available for purchase from Aleksandrs Feigmanis.

Zil'berman, David

I ty eto videl

New York: Slovo-Word, 1989.
(Translation: And you saw it)

Collection of stories of Riga ghetto survivors. Dedicated to the memory of Zanis Lipke, a Latvian worker who saved 53 Jews during World War II. [A.F.]

Zvonov, M.

"Po evreiam - ogon'!"

[Riga : s.n.], 1993.
UCLA URL D 802 L3 Z86 1993
(Translation: "To the Jews - Aim - Shoot!")

A book on the Nazi terror in Latvia and the Latvian holocaust. The author singles out the activities of Latvian Nazi collaborators in the killing of the Jews of Riga and the provincial cities, particularly Liepaja and Aizpute. [A.F.]

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