What do you think?
Rate this book
In Riga: A Memoir
Boris Lurie's memoirs were discovered after his death and have only now been transcribed. They were originally contained in several boxes filled with yellowed paper; various writings, some typewritten, others in longhand; notes in English, German and Russian; greeting cards, letters, newspaper clippings. This volume presents only the first third of these reflections, specifically on Riga and the events of the Holocaust.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
Read
May 8, 2026Interesting personal account of Holocaust by an artist who was a friend of a friend. I weazismnt to see an exhibit of his art.
Some write that the question of whether to join the Jewish Police under Nazism is complex. Not to the working it wasn't:
"Just about that time Herr Wandt, a German emigre Jew and First World War veteran, was appointed head of the Jewish Ghetto police. Through the Arbeitslager fence I see Herr Wandt, half-exhausted, late in the evening, with a voice turned totally hoarse, directing traffic. I ask myself, was it the traffic of "evacuees" from the First Aktion? For some stupid reason, seeing the man so totally dedicated to his job, and being myself very naive, I felt a profound respect for him, and could only assume he was trying to do something good, to mitigate a bad situation. He wore a blue kepi, short navy-coat, and an armband with either a Star-of-David or the inscription of Ghettopolizei (Ghetto police). He looked so confidence-inspiring. Towards the of the Arbeitslager's existence Herr Wandt, having been demoted from his job was sent to the Kaiserwald concentration camp outside Riga. The Jewish prisoners there drowned him in the latrine." [Boris Lurie was 16 in the period he's relating].
In the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the Jewish cops were the first people killed.
Some write that the question of whether to join the Jewish Police under Nazism is complex. Not to the working it wasn't:
"Just about that time Herr Wandt, a German emigre Jew and First World War veteran, was appointed head of the Jewish Ghetto police. Through the Arbeitslager fence I see Herr Wandt, half-exhausted, late in the evening, with a voice turned totally hoarse, directing traffic. I ask myself, was it the traffic of "evacuees" from the First Aktion? For some stupid reason, seeing the man so totally dedicated to his job, and being myself very naive, I felt a profound respect for him, and could only assume he was trying to do something good, to mitigate a bad situation. He wore a blue kepi, short navy-coat, and an armband with either a Star-of-David or the inscription of Ghettopolizei (Ghetto police). He looked so confidence-inspiring. Towards the of the Arbeitslager's existence Herr Wandt, having been demoted from his job was sent to the Kaiserwald concentration camp outside Riga. The Jewish prisoners there drowned him in the latrine." [Boris Lurie was 16 in the period he's relating].
In the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the Jewish cops were the first people killed.
Displaying 1 of 1 review