The Latvian parliament today passed the resolution “Regarding good-will reparations to the Latvian Jewish community.” This commits the Latvian government to establish a fund of €40,000,000 to distribute over ten years, €4,000,000 a year from 2023 through 2032, to Jewish community organizations.
As reported in the news, funding would go toward, among other things, restoration and preservation of Latvian Jewry’s historical cultural heritage, support for Jewish community organizations, property and memorial monument maintenance, financing projects associated with religion, culture, education, healthcare, and history, as well as promoting wider societal goals.
Juris Pūce [Parliament member, chairperson of the Development/For! political alliance]: I am heartened that the Saeima [parliament] supported the law “Regarding good-will reparations to the Latvian Jewish community”. The horrific crime of the Holocaust annihilated part of Latvia’s — the majority of Jewish communities. It is impossible to erase the consequences of that crime, but Latvia can demonstrate good will and compensate the community.
Ourselves: Are we differentiating the descendants of then Latvia’s Jews from the influx of Soviet Russification? Will we ask Germany to support reparations? After all, it was not the country of Latvia — which took in pre-WWII refugees and banned anti-Semitic publications — which committed the crimes.
Perceptions of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Latvia are steeped in propaganda. Did the Germans find willing collaborators among the occupied? Yes, Arājs Kommando being the most notorious. Do collaborators confirm Latvia was anti-Semitic? No. Pre-WWII Latvia banned anti-Semitic publications, still took in Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany after other nations had closed their borders, and among anti-Semites, Latvia was denounced as a “Jewish country” for the positive relations between Latvians and Jews. Even after Ulmanis’s (bloodless) coup, his regime continued to value Latvia’s ethnic diversity; his policy committee included representatives of all Latvia’s minorities, including Jews, regardless of any “Latvia for Latvians” slogans at the time.
Latvian sociologist Didzis Bērziņš questions the attitude of Latvians toward Jews: do ethnic Latvians today consider the Latvian Jewish community “our” (inclusive Latvian citizenry) or “alien” (ethno-nationalist Latvian community, non-Latvians need not apply). Did the Holocaust afflict Jews (“their” tragedy) or did it afflict Latvia (“our” tragedy)? History teaches the answer is “our.” Latvia was the first country to legally recognize equal rights for all national and ethnic groups.
Kremlin-funded “anti-Nazi” activists now falsely translate “žīds” (Jew) as “kike” for non-Latvian speakers protesting at annual Latvian Legion commemorations. Pre-Soviet era, “žīds” appeared in schoolchildren’s ABC’s for the letter „Ž”. There is no slur, only a word used for centuries. While “ebreji” (Hebews) was also used for “Jews” prior to WWII, it was the USSR which leveraged it to effectively erase western/central European (Yiddish-speaking) Jewish identity and replace it with imported culturally Russian/Russophone Jewry.
Rather than ask what do Latvians think of Jews, perhaps ask which Jews Latvians think they will be compensating. Do we know how many of today’s Latvian Jewish community are true remnants of pre-WWII Latvia versus how many represent Soviet imports poised to appropriate a heritage and tragedy — and reparations — which are not theirs? Are there any concerns Latvia might ultimately fund uninvited usurpers?
We hope these questions, however inconvenient, have been asked. The commitment is for a rigorous and transparent process for applications, claims, and awards — an absolute necessity to ensure spending the equivalent of €11,000 a day for 10 years on preserving Latvia’s Jewish heritage tells the factual story of Latvian-Jewish relations and Jewish life in Latvia — not serve external agendas or simply line individuals’ pockets.
