Ģenerālkomisārs Rīgā
- Generalkommissar in Riga
- Commissar General in Riga
Extent and Medium
686 files
Creator(s)
Biographical History
During the Nazi occupation, the Commissar General in Riga was the highest institution of the German civil administration of the Latvia district. He was subordinate to the Reichskommissar for Ostland. According to Hitler’s order dated July 17, 1941, Heinrich Drechsler was assigned as Commissar General in Riga.
Archival History
The records were received, as separate files and documents, at the archives in 1953 from the KGB as captured materials. They were described and the inventories were made in 1946-1954. The documents contain fragmentary information about the activities of three main departments of the Commissar General in Riga.
Scope and Content
Definition of “Jude” and “Halbjude” in occupied Ostland and related regulations, including about, treatment of Jews. Declaration of Jewish property and movables; special forms for handing over of property;, lists of former Jewish property which now had to be considered as Ostlandseigentum in Riga, Mitau, Libau, Marienburg, Rujien, Lemsal, Walk, Wenden, Wolmar, Abrene, Daugavpils, Ludza, Rezekne; allocation of Jewish property and incomes from it. Information about mixed marriages, including applications from Jewish spouses in mixed marriages to ease conditions for children, for exemption from wearing Star of David, to allow wife or husband to remain with the family; regulation for mixed marriages, divorcing of mixed marriages. Establishing of ghettos in Riga and Libau; rules for living in ghettos; resident sent to work outside ghetto; guarding of ghettos; lists of craftsmen; use of Jews for forced labours at the harbour and in construction; introduction of “kasernierung” for more effective use of Jewish forced labour; providing of additional food for Jewish workers performing hard labours; Jews in metalwork and peat industry.
Shootings of Jews; remaining Jews in Wolmar district to be placed in the nearby ghettos; surviving 21 Jews from Mitau sent to Dinaburg ghetto; transfer to concentration camps.
Restrictions for Roma.
Appraisal
Permanent records.
Accruals
No other documents expected.
System of Arrangement
Files are arranged according to the inventories.
Conditions Governing Access
Free access.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The physical condition of documents is satisfactory. Some documents are difficult to read because of text fading.
Finding Aids
7 printed finding aids are available at the reading room.
Existence and Location of Copies
USHMM RG-18.002M (Latvian Central State Historical Archive (Riga) records)
Publication Note
A. Ezergailis. The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944: the Missing Center. Riga The Historical institute of Latvia [in association with The United State Holocaust Memorial Museum], 1996, 465 p.
Anita Kugler. Scherwitz: Der jüdische SS-Offizier Cologne, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2004, 758 p.
A. Angrik, P. Klein. The Final Solution in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941-1944. New-York, Berghahn Books, 2009, 515 p.
Katrin Reichelt. Lettland unter deutscher Besatzung 1941–1944. Der lettische Anteil am Holocaust. Metropol-Verlag Verlag, Berlin, 2011, 428 p.
Archivist Note
Entry added on March 27, 2014 by Rita Bogdanova based on finding aids available at the repository.
Rules and Conventions
EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0
Dates of Descriptions
February-June of 2014