Liepāja massacres
Series of mass executions in Latvia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Liepāja massacres?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Liepāja massacres were a series of mass executions, many public or semi-public, in and near the city of Liepāja (German: Libau), on the west coast of Latvia in 1941 after the German occupation of Latvia. The main perpetrators were detachments of the Einsatzgruppen, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the Ordnungspolizei (ORPO), and Latvian auxiliary police and militia forces. Wehrmacht soldiers and German naval personnel were present during shootings.[1] In addition to Jewish men, women and children (c.5,000), the Germans and their Latvian collaborators also killed Roma (c.100), communists, the mentally ill[1] (c.30) and so-called "hostages".[2] In contrast to most other Holocaust murders in Latvia, the killings at Liepāja were done in open places.[3] About 5,000 of the 5,700 Jews trapped in Liepāja were shot, most of them in 1941.[2] The killings occurred at a variety of places within and outside of the city, including Rainis Park in the city center, and areas near the harbor, the Olympic Stadium, and the lighthouse. The largest massacre, of 2,731 Jews and 23 communists, occurred in the dunes surrounding the town of Šķēde, north of the city center. This massacre, which was perpetrated on a disused Latvian Army training ground, was conducted by German and collaborator forces from December 15 to 17, 1941.[2] More is known about the killing of the Jews of Liepāja than in any other city in Latvia except for Riga.[4]
Liepāja massacres | |
---|---|
Also known as | Libau, Šķēde, Shkeede, Skeden |
Location | Liepāja and vicinity, including Priekule, Aizpute, and Grobiņa, Latvia 56°28′58″N 21°00′35″E |
Incident type | Imprisonment, mass shootings, forced labor |
Perpetrators | Viktors Arājs, Pēteris Galiņš, Fritz Dietrich, Erhard Grauel, Wolfgang Kügler, Hans Kawelmacher, Karl-Emil Strott |
Organizations | Einsatzgruppen, Ordnungspolizei, Arajs Kommando, Latvian Auxiliary Police, Wehrmacht, Kriegsmarine |
Victims | About 5,000 Jews. Lesser numbers of Roma, communists and the mentally ill were also killed. |
Memorials | At Šķēde, Liepāja Central Cemetery |