Monday, June 15, 2009
Liepaja (Part 2)
Further to my Part 1, Yad Vashem has footage of Liepaja shootings on this site. This was filmed by Reinhard Wiener, whose 1981 interview can be found on the same webpage. Wiener's role and the provenance of the film are discussed here and here. The film was entered into evidence at the Rosenstock trial, which is discussed here.
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notice, its not germans. the willing executioners are latvian auxiliaries. though, it could be some german "webel" in charge. i read once, that personal from kriegs marine also amused themselvs in liebau juden actions.
ReplyDeleteAdam, you read correctly. Infact it was the Kriegsmarine's overall command that instigated the Aktion that was filmed on July 24-25. Wiki:
ReplyDelete"On July 16, 1941, Fregattenkapitän Dr. Hans Kawelmacher was appointed the German naval commandant in Liepāja.[20] On July 22, Kawelmacher sent a telegram to the German Navy's Baltic Command in Kiel, which stated that he wanted 100 SS and fifty Schutzpolizei ("protective police") men sent to Liepāja for "quick implementation Jewish problem".[18] By "quick implementation" Kawelmacher meant "accelerated killing."[6] Mass arrests of Jewish men began immediately in Liepāja, and continued through July 25, 1941.[18] The Arājs commando was brought in from Riga to carry out the shootings, which occurred on July 24 and July 25.[21] About 910 Jewish men were executed, plus or minus 90.[18] Statements in other sources that 3,000 (Vesterman) and 3,500 (Soviet Extraordinary Commission) were killed are incorrect.[9][21]
This first Arājs action was later described by Georg Rosenstock, the commander of the second company of the 13th Police Reserve battalion. Rosenstock testified after the war that when he and his unit had arrived in Liepāja in July, 1941, they had heard from some passing marines that Jews were being continuously executed in the town, and these marines were going out to watch the executions.[22] A few days later, on Saturday, July 24, 1941, Rosenstock saw Jews (whom he identified by the yellow stars on their clothing) crouching down in the back of a truck, being guarded by armed Latvians. Rosenstock, who was himself in a vehicle, followed the truck to the north of the city to the beach near the naval base, where he saw Kügler, some SD men, and a number of Jews.[22]"
hey !
ReplyDeletei'm interested in jewish crimes. did herr fregattenkapitän submitted any evidence of jewish sabotage or exposed any tsche-ka-jude ?