Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum — Attraction in Riga

A good thing to do in lovely Riga, but the experience is as you would expect.

When we visited it was quiet, cold and snow covered.

It seemed appropriate for the experience.

We entered the door to the office via a gate, uncertain if we were in the right place. Once in the office we enquired how much entry was, we were told whatever you feel you should pay. This seems a good idea, as an arbitrary amount to visit a place so steeped in human atrocities seems a bit crass.

We paid €10 each and were given good instructions about which order to proceed.

The site is made up of various ‘cabins’ with displays of old news reports of very harrowing events. Also there is a wall of names of those that perished at the hands of the nazis. At the end of the area there’s some old wood buildings that represent a typical home for jews around the 1940s. These give a good perspective of the harsh conditions endured by those poor people and the snow and freezing temperatures outside gave the experience extra gravitas.

Overall, a very sobering hour was spent quietly observing how utterly miserable humans can be to other humans.

Never again has to mean never again.

The holocaust remains the worst era in recent humanity and the ghetto is an appropriate reminder of such depravity.

I would recommend this trip, but there’s no gift shop, no refreshments and no photo opportunities…....

This site is a grim experience for obvious reasons but the information is well presented and movingly described often with the actual words of the victims who lived and died there. Artefacts include the identity badges and yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear and the tattered bedding they were given to sleep on. The railway carriage that transported victims to their death was particularly moving. Inside were photographs of the many victims and the other half of the carriage was filled with wooden columns of Silver Birch to represent the forest where many Jews lost their lives. In another part of the Museum was a room full of light bulbs with lampshades covered with pictures of victims, details of their lives and letters written to friends and loved ones describing the awful conditions and asking for simple things like boots as theirs were worn out. Another room was full of moulded headstones for each of the victims who lost...

The Latvian Holocaust Museum is a short 5 minute walk from Riga Central Market. The area is not as beautifully restored as Old Town Riga, so it’s an interesting alternative view of the city. The museum attempts to showcase life for Latvian Jews before and during the Holocaust.

The cobblestone entry into the Latvian Holocaust Museum is made from the same cobblestone of Ludzas Iela; the main street of the Riga Ghetto. It’s definitely a sobering way to begin your visit.

A train car and a large wall to the right will be the first thing you see. On one side of the wall, pay homage to the 70,000 people who died in Latvia during the Holocaust, each person is listed by name. On the other side, the story of the Holocaust in Latvia...