The killing fields of Skede.
The destruction of a community Prior to the onset of World War 11, there was a vibrant Jewish community in Libau numbering some 10,000 people out of a total population of 116,000. There were many Jewish schools, cultural institutions and synagogues, the most famous of which being the great choral synagogue. The Soviet Occupation of 1940-41 Although there were growing levels of anti-semitism (in common with other countries in central Europe at that time), life was tolerably good until June 1940. However, on 17th June 1940, the USSR occupied Latvia in violation of the perpetual non-aggression treaty of 1920. Latvia had effectively been ceded by Hitler to Stalin under the Molotov/von Ribbentrop pact. The annexation by the USSR split the Jewish community. Many working class Jews (and Latvians generally)initially welcomed the Red Army, trusting communist claims of social justice and worker power. Other Jews feared perecution as Bourgeoisie and class enemies. It soon turned out that per