Small Riga Ghetto

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who put up resistance, for example Dr. Magalif's wife, who was very strong,
were beaten ruthlessly. Later, at their place of execution, they had to strip naked
and were then shot and thrown half-dead into the graves. The murderers
kept the clothes and valuables of both the women and the men for themselves.
I later found out that the Latvian Manfreds Liepiņš played an active role in this
"women's action". Latvian women also worked in the prison (Ozoliņa,
Markēviča, Vītola).
During the first few days a Jewish child was born in the Terminal Prison,
and it was later named Terminka. The mother was allowed to stay in prison
for only a short time; then she too was sent to be liquidated. The Latvian
women kept the child in the prison. I heard of all this through Mrs. Markēviča,
and so I sent food and children's clothing to the prison the whole time for
the little one. I also tried to help many prominent women, but only a fraction
of the things I brought reached them. As soon as a Jewish Committee was created
I told its chairman, the lawyer Michail Eljaschow, about little Terminka.
He went to a great deal of trouble to find a place for her in the ghetto. Unfortunately,
not only her years but also her months were numbered, for she was
killed in the first large-scale action.
The records show clearly that nobody was registered in the prisons until 11
July 1941; for this reason the number of people who were killed could not be
reconstructed. Until 11 July 1941 the only prison warders were the Latvians.
They alone were responsible for all the murders of the thousands of men and
women that were committed until that time, for they acted entirely on their
own initiative.
None of the female inmates of the Terminal Prison could save themselves,
but in the Central Prison some men in addition to the aforementioned doctors
survived beyond 11 July 1941. Some of them were assigned as specialists to do
various kinds of work. After the Germans had taken over control of the prisons,
all the prisoners were registered. Unfortunately, the number of Jews had
already diminished drastically by that time, but with the help of the Latvians it
was once again increased. The actual warders of the prisons were now the SD
(the Gestapo's Security Service). Many Latvians worked together with them.
The Research Department for the Jews was in the hands of the Gestapo officer
Alexei Danilow-Milkowski and Lieutenant Colonel Zariņš. The notorious,
cruel Gestapo methods were used. When the Germans took control of the prisons,
no actions were carried out initially; the people simply died of starvation.
The daily ration consisted of 120 grams of bread and a bowl of hot watery
soup. The doctors, about forty in number, now were forced to load coal at the