The synagogue is a place of memory of the victims
by Rita Kuzņecova



The potential reconstruction of the synagogue has brought up an important issue – how should the reconstructions of such buildings be carried out? This issue was discussed in Kuldiga during the international symposium on the destinies of Jews in Kuldiga organized by Buero Schwimmer (Berlin) in cooperation with the Kuldiga City Council, the union of Latvian Jewish Congregations, as well as Conrad Adenauer foundation. The goal of this event was to find ways to reconstruct Jewish buildings as the municipality of Kuldiga plans to set up a library in the synagogue. The participants of the symposium have understood their potential directions of action, yet there are still more questions to be answered.

Descendants of Jews who have lived in Kuldiga were presenting at the symposium, holocaust survivors shared their experiences, and specialists spoke on the synagogue and its traditions.

About Goldingen – with love

The ancestors of Brammy Lenhof (Philadelphia, USA) are from Kurzeme; his parents were born in Kuldiga. He was born in South Africa, and he remembers his mother speaking about Goldingen (the old name of Kuldiga – translator’s note) with love. Lenhof spoke about the Jewish professions after the population census in 1881 – they were mostly shop-owners and traders, representatives of different professions, especially shoe masters and tailors. The women worked as messengers. Only 200 were said to be doing intellectual work.

According to the population census of 1897, out of 9720 Kuldiga’s residents 2543 were Jews. Many emigrated later, especially after the 1905 revolution, and World War I turned out to be a tragedy for many, as the Russian Army issued a document providing for deportation of 40 000 Jews to different areas of Russia. Lenhof speaks of the synagogue as a “speechless symbol of a once flourishing community,” and the restoration of the synagogue is an opportunity to show respect to those who once called Kuldiga their home.

Memories matter

Eric Benjaminson (Windhoek, Namibia) noted that his family lived in Kuldiga since the 18th century and that his grandfather described the life as ‘idyllic’. Jews were working as traders and musicians, and Eric’s great-grandfather, a professional musician, played concerts in South Africa to raise money for the Jews of Kurzeme who suffered in World War I. “Home is home,” he said. Part of the family went to Liepaja and Riga and became the victims of holocaust during World War II. Ten years after the war, relatives were trying to find out whether anyone survived – nobody had, so the loss turned into a memory.

The predecessors of Mr. Benjamin served as watchmen in the synagogue. Therefore, he is interested in everything – “For Jews, memories were always important, and the synagogue project in Kuldiga is a faction of our efforts. In my opinion, what matters most about its renovation is that it should become a place where the pre-war Jewish nation would be commemorated.”

Stories of eyewitnesses

Heinrihs Freimanis, a resident of Kuldiga, once lived opposite the synagogue. As a boy, he had friends among his peers, including both Jews and Germans.

When the German army came to Kuldiga, there was concern among the Jewish community. Posters appeared in the city; he remembers a case when a Latvian woman pushed an elderly Jewish man out of a line. Heinrihs remembers helping the Jewish boys – they would give him money, but Heinrihs and his sister would buy them bread.

In several weeks, the Jews received an order to leave Kuldiga. All were deported to rural areas, their apartments were locked. They returned within a couple of weeks, were placed in the synagogue, and Latvian guards were standing at all doors.

In several days, the Jewish murders started. The eyewitness remembers that initially, the Jews were transported to the executions only at late night, later – constantly. Approximately 20-30 people were loaded in each car. The last ones to be executed were the residents of the facility for the disabled – they were killed by local high school students whose relatives or parents had suffered from the red terror. When this horror ended, the next one started – the auction of Jewish belongings collected from their apartments, which took place in the yard of the synagogue.

“I survived”

Ruta Maiga Fridlendere was born in a Latvian-Jewish family in Ventspils. She remembers her childhood as happy, but only until the German army came closer to Ventspils. On the day before the army arrived, the father hid his wife and daughter at his parents’ house. Later, he moved them both to his Latvian friends. He dug a hole where they spent almost four years – living in a hole without any heating, in candle light, with insufficient food. The time passed by slowly, and not knowing how long this would last was the worst. Ruta’s mother taught her Yiddish, Russian and German. One winter, when the weather was very cold, they lived in the attic of their friends’ house. German soldiers appeared to look for deserters – luckily, they had no dogs with them. Her father organized an escape by a ship – yet, it left earlier than agreed. The family lost the money it had paid for transportation and the mother and daughter only came back out in daylight on May 9, 1945.

Turn it in a library

Kuldiga City council deputy spoke on the municipal plans to turn the synagogue into a regional library with an exhibition hall and a room for different events. The location of the synagogue is very convenient, yet the building is too small for a modern library, so it would need to be extended. The vice president of the Riga Jewish association said she agreed with the plan.

First task – to keep the memories

After a week’s work, the group concluded that the first task is tidying up the Jewish mass graves and memorial places. As there are no indicators in the current maps, informative signs have to be installed. Mass murders of Jews that unfortunately also involved the residents of Kuldiga have to be researched and documented as well. There is no information on the events of 1941, and the information on the synagogue is incomplete.

The members of the symposium noted that they want to find a way to keep the memories on the Jewish community. Participants regretted that there very few representatives of the Kuldiga City Council and none of the residents of Kuldiga were present. The reconstruction of the building should be considered at the international level, and information on this would be published in international mass media. A public organization in the United States was said to have interest in publishing the materials of the meeting. The participants would like to make a plaque at the synagogue or at least rename one of the streets or a part of it in honor of a distinguished Jewish citizen.

After the conference

One of the organizers concluded – in order to start working on the synagogue, the municipality has to agree on what it wants to say by its work. She admits that the members of the symposium were disappointed by the City Council’s indifference towards the former community.

A document on the symposium will be submitted to the Kuldiga City Council.


The article was printed in: "Kurzemnieks" on September 12, 2007.
It was translated by the American Embassy in Latvia.