Small Riga Ghetto

55
Among other things, the Jews now had to work as janitors, and people who
had formerly played a grand role in society could now be met on the streets
holding brooms in their hands. Because of the food distribution system, a great
many people had to work in the shops newly opened by the Economic Authority.
Of course those who worked in the work crews outside the ghetto tried to
scavenge food for themselves somehow, but it was extremely difficult to
smuggle food into the ghetto as they returned.
My son worked in the Kassel construction crew, but only for a very short
time. They were renovating a huge building (which was no longer part of the
ghetto) on the left side of the ghetto gate. It had been assigned to the guards.
This work made it very clear that the liquidation of the ghetto came very suddenly
and that nobody had expected it. The Labor Authority had issued a limited
number of special yellow working papers to specialists. Some craftsmen
who were judged excellent received a special certificate marked "WJ" for
wertvoller Jude (valuable Jew).
VI.
All too soon, a sad piece of news reached us. About thirty young girls and two
young men had been sent to work in Olaine near Riga. After they had done
their work, the Latvians took them to a nearby woods, shot them and plundered
all their possessions. This incident caused extreme consternation in the
ghetto and practically caused a panic. Moreover, on 14 November 1941 three
women who had worked in Knights' Hall had been simply taken away and shot
on the beach. Their boss, General Jeckeln, had by pure chance walked past the
kitchen where they were working and seen that they were smoking. This was
enough for him to order their immediate execution. One of these women was
the wife of A. Tukazier, who had owned a wine business.
The next day the entire work crew at Knights' Hall was arrested, together
with the Oberjude (head Jew) Folia Sacharow. For about twenty-four hours
their fate was completely uncertain, but then they were released.
Every day news came from the work stations about people being arrested or
taken away. For example Gorew-Kalmanowitsch, the former technical director
of the Frühmorgen (Early Morning) and Segodnia (Today) newspapers, was
arrested at his place of work in the furniture Kommando on Gogol Street. It
was said that this arrest had been ordered by a former errand boy at "Segodnia",
Danilow-Milkowski, who was then working for the Gestapo. All of us
Jews knew him only too well. He ordered Gorew to explain to him exactly