Authors

Object ID

2014.1.229

Object Name

Envelope

Date

10-30-1941

Files

Download

Download Full Text (1.3 MB)

Description

Front: A tan envelope with writing in blue ink. Includes a blue postage stamp, two black hand stamps, and markings in orange.Back: Includes a black hand stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: This cover, postmarked Madona, October 30, 1941, bears a Russian stamp that was not recognized by the Latvian postal authorities, since it was no longer valid for postage. Latvia had been an independent republic from the end of World War I until 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. However, following Operation Barbarosa in June 1941, it was occupied by Germany and included in the Reichkommissariat Ostland, along with Lithuania, Estonia, and Belorussia. Einsatzgruppen units were aggressively active within days of the invasion of Latvia. The murder of Jews commenced in late June 1941, and Jews were killed in a number of towns with the assistance of Latvian and Lithuanian auxiliaries, including the infamous Arajs Kommandos, who were mainly university students. Ghettos were established in the larger cities of Riga, Dvinsk and Liepaja. Mass shootings of Jews from the Riga Ghetto occurred in December, 1941 in the Rumbula Forest. Additionally, Jews from Austria and Germany were deported to the Riga Ghetto where most were murdered. In Liepaja, 700 Jews were killed in July alone. By the end of the war, only a few hundred Jews were left in all of Latvia.

Dimensions

4.5 x 6.5"

Keywords

Russian, Latvia, stamp

Envelope from Madona to Riga, Latvia with Unrecognized Russian stamp

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.