The program of events dedicated to Holocaust remembrance in Latvia features concerts, exhibitions and a conference, as well as the launch of an important new book. All events are open to the public free-of-charge.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the Embassy of Hungary as the country holding the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and other foreign embassies in Riga, as well as the European Commission Representation in Latvia, the Latvian Ministry of Culture, Rēzekne City Council, Salaspils Municipal Council, the Lauku Avīze publishing house, and the Latvian Foundation invite everybody to attend the events, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
On 27 January at 14.00 a book launch will take place for a study by historians Kārlis Kangeris, Uldis Neiburgs and Rudīte Vīksne entitled “Beyond this Gate Moans the Earth. Salaspils Camp 1941–1944”.
The book has been published by the Lauku Avīze publishing house in association with the Salaspils Municipal Council and the Latvian Foundation. Objective academic research and publication of the book was initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to in order to make widely available clear information on aspects of Latvia’s history.
Since the end of World War II until the present day various opinions have been voiced about the Salaspils Camp, a Nazi-run facility just outside Riga. What is not in doubt is that thousands died there.
"The monograph by Kārlis Kangeris, Uldis Neiburgs and Rudīte Vīksne, historians of international renown, describes the establishment and management of the camp, as well as giving information on the inmates and liquidation camp. The array of broad and comprehensive historical sources – documents, memoires and photographs – enable each reader to explore the events of the time," advance information states.
In November 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating the 27th of January – the day of liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps – as an annual International Day of Commemoration to honour the victims of the Holocaust. This took place 60 years after the liberation of the Nazi German concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust. Since 2005, on this date, the victims of the Holocaust are remembered across the globe.
