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Kalnynsh also told me that my uncle Hershe Shmakovich returned from the [Riga] ghetto [22] and lived in his apartment. We went to see my uncle. He was there alone. His family had died in the ghetto. He was also in the ghetto with his family, including his daughter Taube and her two-year-old son, who had come from Palestine to visit the family. Sara, Hershe’s second daughter, was killed by Latvians before the Germans came to Riga.
Uncle Hershe was in the ghetto. Able-bodied men were separated from women, children and old people. Prisoners of the ghetto were killed in the Rumbula forest [23]. They were to walk there, and if somebody fell exhausted they were killed on the way. The Germans needed specialists. They needed food, clothes and needed people to fix those. They were in need of shoemakers, tailors and barbers. My uncle was one of them. My uncle worked as a butcher. He didn’t only cut meat, but also made sausages and smoked meat. He was also the best at making salt meat. I’ve never had such delicious salt meat as he had made. He made salt beef for holidays. He took brisket meat and tongue, rubbed them with salt and garlic and added some saltpeter to make it pinkish.
These workers were kept in separate quarters that were guarded. They were taken to work on trucks. Later they were kept in the Salaspils [24] camp for some time, and from there they were taken to a ‘Dulag’ in Liepaja from where prisoners were sent to concentration camps in Germany. [Editor’s note: ‘Dulag’ is an abbreviation of the German word ‘Durchgangslager’ meaning ‘transit camp.
Uncle Hershe was in the ghetto. Able-bodied men were separated from women, children and old people. Prisoners of the ghetto were killed in the Rumbula forest [23]. They were to walk there, and if somebody fell exhausted they were killed on the way. The Germans needed specialists. They needed food, clothes and needed people to fix those. They were in need of shoemakers, tailors and barbers. My uncle was one of them. My uncle worked as a butcher. He didn’t only cut meat, but also made sausages and smoked meat. He was also the best at making salt meat. I’ve never had such delicious salt meat as he had made. He made salt beef for holidays. He took brisket meat and tongue, rubbed them with salt and garlic and added some saltpeter to make it pinkish.
These workers were kept in separate quarters that were guarded. They were taken to work on trucks. Later they were kept in the Salaspils [24] camp for some time, and from there they were taken to a ‘Dulag’ in Liepaja from where prisoners were sent to concentration camps in Germany. [Editor’s note: ‘Dulag’ is an abbreviation of the German word ‘Durchgangslager’ meaning ‘transit camp.
Period
Location
Latvia
Interview
Ella Perlman