The 1935 Latvian census identified 93,479 Jews living in Latvia. It is estimated that more than 70,000 of them perished in the Holocaust, the great majority by December 1941. The totality and speed with which this mass murder was achieved meant that many families were completely destroyed with no one left to mourn or even inquire about the dead. As a result, disturbingly few of those killed have been identified. Such oblivion would have pleased Hitler.

The purpose of the Latvia Holocaust Jewish Names Project is to recover the names and identities of these members of the Latvian Jewish Community who perished and to ensure that their memory is preserved. Until now approximately 70 per cent of the Holocaust victims of Latvia remain unidentified.

The project is being undertaken by the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Latvia, Riga, led by Prof. Ruvin Ferber and supported by an international Steering Committee. Source analysis and data entry are to be carried out by specially trained professionals with previous archive experience. Project methodology and quality control are the responsibility of Ms Irina Veinberga, Chief Archivist and Department Head of the State Historical Archives.

The project methodology involves the creation of a basic database record of the pre-1941 Jewish community of Latvia compiled from a variety of records including house lists, sugar ration cards, census documents, police lists, etc. The technique is based on tracing individuals from documentary sources, working from known information in order to draw the appropriate inferences where direct evidence is not available. We have set ourselves the challenging target of identifying 85% of all victims of the Holocaust and Holocaust-related events and we believe that it may be possible to achieve a higher figure as the project progresses.

The estimated time scale for the project is 3.5 years. We are currently seeking funding from the Claims Conference Organization, New York, and expect a decision before March 2002. However, the organization provides, at most, only half of the cost of any particular project. This means that substantial funding will have to come from the Jewish community or other sources. You can make a lasting contribution to saving the names of the Latvian Jews who perished by sponsoring the list for a particular town in Latvia, making a financial contribution to the Project generally, or by suggesting potential funding avenues. We hope, above all, that the project will have your wholehearted support and goodwill. Please contact us with comments, suggestions, and indications of support.