James Georg Lau papers

James Georg Lau (1927-2011) was born in Riga, Latvia to a German-Latvian, Harry Lau, and a Jewish mother, Betty (née Firkser) Lau. After their marriage the family identified as Christian and James was baptized into the Protestant church in December, 1927. The family lived in Libau (Liepaja), Latvia where his father was the director of a cork factory that manufactured corks for bottles and linoleum tile. In June 1940 the Soviet Union seized control of Latvia. The following summer, they began deporting capitalists to Siberia. The Lau family was slated for deportation, but hid in a bunker. Soon afterwards, the Germans launched a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union and occupied Latvia. James was expelled from his school since he was officially half-Jewish, and his mother Betty was forced into the Liepaja ghetto. James saw his mother for the last time on 14 December 1941. The following day, the Jews of Liepaja, including Betty Lau, were taken out and shot by Einsatzgruppen units. In the summer of 1944, Soviet forces began the reconquest of Latvia. Harry decided to leave Latvia rather than remain under the Soviets and took James by boat to Danzig and later to Posen where other people from the Baltics were gathering. James’ aunt and uncle were already there, and the family reunited. However, James’ paperwork identified him as a half-Jew, and the Germans conscripted him to work in a weapons factory. After six weeks, they wanted to deport him somewhere else, but his father smuggled him out before that could happen. In December 1944, James went to Berlin and his father joined him at the end of January. From there they went to Weimar and Bayreuth. James remained in Bayreuth until 1953 and worked as a journalist. During his lifetime, James was a member of the Protestant church. In 2009, during a severe disease, he seceded from the church, and in 2010 became a member of the Jewish reform community Beth Shalom in Munich. He died in 2011 and was buried in accordance with Jewish principles.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Barbara Lau

Funding Note: The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign.

Dr. Barbara Lau donated the James Georg Lau papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 and 2019. The accessions previously numbered 2013.290.1 and 2019.275.1 have been incorporated into this collection.