Academic CentreProject Highlights
Over the past years, the Center has completed a wide range of projects. Some of the major research projects that our Center has been a part of are highlighted below.
Project "Jews of Latvia 1941–1945: Names and Fates"
The project was elaborated in 2011 to recover all the names and identities of the members of the Latvian Jewish Community who perished as a result of the Holocaust during the period from 1941–1945. The project was launched in 2002 after successful presentation of its concept to the President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and several international organizations. Project team consisted of experts from Latvia and abroad, including prof. Ruvins Ferbers, prof. Aivars Stranga, archivist Irina Veinberga, Constance Whippman (the All Latvia Database JewishGen founder and coordinator) and others.
The project is academic in its approach and based primarily on the archival resources, mainly on the resources of the Latvian State Historical Archives, however the resources from the archives in Israel, USA, Germany and other countries that have materials relevant to the fate of the Latvian Jews were also included in the research.
As a result of the project, an online database was created, that is an important source for the Latvian Jewish history research. It comprises all 93 479 names and approx. 50 000 recovered so far fates of Jews, who lived in Latvia on the eve of the Holocaust.
The research is not finished yet and we are continuously updating the database records.
Project "Documenting the Holocaust: A Portrait of the Destroyed Jewish Community"
The goal of the project is to enhance the online database "Jews of Latvia: Names and Fates, 1941–1945" by technically updating it and enabling access to new primary source materials – digitized portrait photos of Jews and transcribed personal details from their prewar passports. Adding these materials to the existing records would essentially enrich database content, making the database a crucial aggregate on the vanished pre-war Jewish community of Latvia and ensuring that personal identities of the once vibrant Jewish community, wiped out during the Holocaust, is documented and memory of perished victims is preserved.
This project is financially supported by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the Uniting History Foundation.
Project "A Systematic Study of the Riga House Registers as a Source for Jewish Genealogy in Pre War Latvia"
The project was the first detailed examination of a major urban capital using genealogical techniques to establish not only information of specific interest to family historians, but also to provide the data necessary to look at larger demographic and social trends in respect of the Jewish experience in the interwar years. The primary objective of this research was a systematic analysis of the Riga House Registers as a source of genealogical data with a view to identifying family links and kinship groups.
The project was launched in October 2009 with the support of the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy.
Internship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Since 2018, in cooperation with the International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization at the Hebrew Univeristy of Jerusalem, there is an opportunity for young scholars in Jewish Studies in Latvia to take part in the research internship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Project "Holocaust Commemoration in Latvia: Mapping Sites and Sharing Experience"
Project was launched in 2013–2014 with the partial financial support of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. It was aimed at improving knowledge and awareness about Holocaust remembrance in Latvia. As a result of the project, an online database "Holocaust Memorial Places in Latvia" was created. The database makes information about Holocaust memorial sites in Latvia available to a wider public for the first time. It contains map of the Jewish killing sites and a structured information on the each site – a brief history, location and characteristics.
Project "A View from Both Banks: A Jewish Life in Jēkabpils and Krustpils"
The project consists of ethnographic field work in Jēkabpils and Krustpils (Eastern Latvia) and a translation into English of the collection of articles "The Lost Neighborhood: Jews in the Cultural Memory of the inhabitants of Latgale". The project is led by the Museum "Jews in Latvia", with the financial support of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center (Moscow). See more.