This paper interrogates the suppressed memory of the Holocaust exercised by Soviet rulers and seeks to address why the killing of Latvian Jews during World War II was never directly acknowledged by Soviet historians. Why was a camp such as Salaspils or the existence of the Riga ghetto never part of the post-war history of Soviet Latvia? The paper utilizes newly released archival documents published by the Euroeast series, established in 2005 in Moscow, to help answer these questions. In addition, it notes that in the late 1980s, national opposition movements in Latvia placed focus on their fight for independence attained in 1991. In this process new public histories in which Communism was termed as a ‘crime against humanity’ were constructed with emphasis placed on ‘freedom fighters’ for Latvia’s independence from the Communist rule. The term ‘genocide’ was used to indicate the 1940-41 deportations as well as the post-war purges by the Soviets who aimed to create a ‘uniform’ Soviet man, presumably devoid of any national identification. This focus on the fight for independence resulted in many ideological choices that thwarted representational memories of Holocaust victims. In some cases Latvian Jews became ‘sandwiched’ between Latvians and Soviets; both sides reject their own complicity in the lives of the Jews during the war and share a willingness to erase their record after the war.
Ilana Maymind holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies from the Ohio State University. Her work focuses on East/West comparative religious thought, religious pluralism and Abrahamic religions.
Robin Judd, associate professor, history, responds.
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