Obj. ID: 50777
Modern Jewish Art Memorial Synagogue Garden at the site of the Great Synagogue in Bauska, Latvia, 2017
To the main object: Great Synagogue in Bauska, Latvia
Memorial Name
Memorial Synagogue Garden / Memoriāls sinagogas dārzs
Who is Commemorated?
The Great Synagogue in Bauska and the Jews of Bauska, victims of the Holocaust.
Description:
According to the website of the Jewish Community of Latvia:
"The memorial includes conventional walls of a synagogue and five figures of people, as if coming out after a service. Menorah has been placed at the site where aron kodesh was located, while a symbolic bimah is standing in the centre of the memorial, containing an inscription: 'Dedicated to the Jews of Bauska, who for centuries lived here and built this city, and who in 1941 were murdered by the Nazis and their local accomplices. In memoriam – descendants of Bauska Jews and Bauska citizens.' The bimah also contains a brief history of Bauska Jews and the surnames of the families who perished in the Holocaust. Special structures – gabions filled with dolomite stones and original stones of synagogue dug out from the ground during the works for the erection of the monument were used for the construction of a memorial for the first time in Latvia." (Opening of the Memorial in Bauska)
Inscriptions
Bimah, upper facet:
Latvian:
Ebreji dzīvoja Bauskā no XVII
gadsimta. XIX gadsimtā ebreju
kopiena veidoja lielāko pilsētas
iedzīvotāju daļu veicināja pilsētas
ekonomisko attīstību. Bauska bija
arī ievērojams ebreju kultūras un
intelektuālās dzīves centrs. Pirmā
pasaules kara laikā visi Bauskas
ebreji tika izsūtīti, tikai daļa
no viņiem varēja atgriezties.
1935 gadā Bauskā dzīvoja 778
ebreji. Darbojās ebreju
pamatskola un vairākas kultūras
biedrības. Pēc padomju okupācijas
1940. gadā visas ebreju
organizācijas tika slēgtas, bet
1941. gada 14. jūnijā, uz Sibīriju
deportēto skaitā bija arī 9 Bauskas
ebreju ģimenes. 1941. gada jūlijā
pēc nacistu okupācijas daudzi
ebreji tika apcietināti, spīdzināti un
nogalināti. Atlikušos apmēram
600 cilvēkus augusta sākumā
noslepkavoja Likvertenu silā
English:
The Jews have lived in Bauska
from the 17th century. In the 19th
century the Jewish community made
up the majority of Bauska’s
population and contributed to the
city’s economic development. Bauska
was also a significant center of
Jewish cultural and intellectual life.
In 1915 during the First World
War all the Bauska Jews were
deported, with only some of them
able to return. By 1935 the city was
home to 778 Jews. There was a Jewish
elementary school and a number
of cultural associations. After the
Soviet occupation in 1940 all Jewish
organizations were closed, and
among those deported to Siberia on
14 June 1941 were 9 Bauska Jewish
families. In June 1941 after the Nazi
occupation many Jews were arrested,
tortured and killed. The remaining
600 people were murdered in early
August in Likvertenu Forest.
Bimah, western facet:
Latvian:
Memoriāls sinagogas dārzs
Šeit atradās 1844. gadā uzceltā lielā sinagoga.
Vietējā kokgriezēja veidotais sinagogas toras šķirsts
1931. gadā atzīts par valsts aizsargājamo kultūras pieminekli.
Sinagogā par rabīnu kalpoja izcils domātājs
Ābrams Īzaks Kuks – vēlāk pirmais Izraēlas zemes virsrabīns.
Dievnamu nodedzināja nacisti 1941. gada jūlijā.
Veltījums Bauskas ebrejiem,
kas gadsimtiem dzīvoja šeit un cēla šo pilsētu,
un kurus 1941. gadā nogalināja nacisti un viņu vietējie palīgi.
Godinot ebreju tautas piemiņu – Bauskas ebreju pēcteči un Baušķenieki
Hebrew:
אתר הנצחה גן בית הכנסת
English:
Memorial synagogue garden
This is the site of the grand synagogue, constructed in 1844.
The synagogue's Torah ark, built by a local woodcarver,
was recognized in 1931 as a state-protected cultural monument.
The renowned thinker Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, later
the first chief rabbi of the Land of Israel, served here.
The synagogue was burned by the Nazis in July 1941.
Dedicated to the Jews of Bauska,
who for centuries lived here and built this city,
and who in 1941 were murdered
by the Nazis and their local accomplices.
In memoriam – descendants of Bauska Jews and Bauska citizens
Bimah, eastern facet, in Latvian and English:
Memoriāla izveides atbalstītāji
Supporters of the memorial installation
Bauskas ebreju pēcnācēji / Descendants of Bauska Jews:
Jehuda Feitelson (Israel) in memory of the Feitelson Family
Yehudi Gaffen (USA) in memory of the Arensburg Family
Debra G. Delglyn (UK) in memory of the Moshevich Family
Miriyam Yankelovich (Israel) in memory of the Yankelovich Family
Marinov and Kaplan Families (Israel)
Bauskas Novada Dome / Bauska County Municipality
Latvijas ebreju draudžu un kopienu padome /
Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia
Latvijas un Igaunijas ebreju biedrība Izraēlā /
Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews in Israel
Bauskas Muzejs / Bauska Museum
Memoriāla autors / Author of the memorial:
Tēlnieks / Sculptor Ģirts Burvis
Projektēšana / Design: Arhitektu birojs Vecumnieks & Bērziņi
Būvdarbi / Construction works: SIA Brands
2017
Bimah, northern facet, in Hebrew, Latvian, and English:
יזכור
Bauskas ebreju ģimenes
Bauska Jewish Families
[List of 78 Jewish families, from A to K]
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
Lai viņu dvēseles tiktu iesietas dzīvības tīstoklī
May their souls be bound in the bond of life
Bimah, southern facet, in Hebrew, Latvian, and English:
יזכור
Bauskas ebreju ģimenes
Bauska Jewish Families
[List of 73 Jewish families, from L to Z]
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
Lai viņu dvēseles tiktu iesietas dzīvības tīstoklī
May their souls be bound in the bond of life
Commissioned by
The Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia
sub-set tree:
Menorah:
Base: height 97 cm, width 197 cm, length 56 cm
Height of the menorah: 227 cm
On the eastern facet of the bimah:
Memoriāla autors / Author of the memorial:
Tēlnieks / Sculptor Ģirts Burvis
Projektēšana / Design: Arhitektu birojs Vecumnieks & Bērziņi
Būvdarbi / Construction works: SIA Brands
2017
The German army entered Bauska on June 28, 1941. On July 9, 1941, the Jews of Bauska were driven out of the city center to the outskirts, where a provisional Jewish ghetto was formed. On August 9/10, 1941, the Latvian SD unit “Arājs’ Commando,” which had arrived from Rīga, within a couple of hours, murdered 500–600 Bauska Jews in the Likverteni Forest.
According to the website of the Jewish Community of Latvia:
"Ancestors of Bauska Jews in Israel, USA and other countries came up with an initiative to erect a monument at the site of the burnt synagogue. They turned to Bauska Municipality which adopted a decision to support this idea in 2001, but later placed various obstacles for the implementation of this project. It took six years to achieve signing of the agreement between Bauska Municipality and the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia regarding the rent of the land plot where the synagogue was located with a right to erect a monument there. Once the project documentation was drafted, the Construction Board refused to approve it. A new stage of negotiations was initiated, but failed to give a positive result.
In December 2016, the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia signed an agreement on designing of the memorial project in cooperation with the famous sculptor Ģirts Burvis. The proposed project “Synagogue Garden” was approved in the meeting of Bauska County Municipality." (Opening of the Memorial in Bauska)
The Memorial Synagogue Garden was unveiled on October 15, 2017. "The event was organized by Bauska County Municipality and the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia. Officials of Latvia, foreign diplomats, ancestors of Bauska Jews from Latvia, Israel, USA, and Great Britain, historians, members of non-governmental organizations, and the Jewish community, as well as residents of Bauska, participated in the ceremony." (Opening of the Memorial in Bauska)
The Memorial Synagogue Garden was awarded 2nd place in the Public Outdoor Space category in the prestigious competition “Annual Latvian Award in Construction” (Latvijas Būvniecības gada balva 2017).
"Latvia: Synagogue monument in Bauska wins award," Jewish Heritage Europe, March 19, 2018, https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2018/03/19/latvia-synagogue-monument-in-bauska-wins-award/ (accessed November 2, 2023)
"Memorial Synagogue Garden in Bauska received a prestigious award," Latvias Ebreju Kopiena, March 2018., https://jews.lv/en/memorial-synagogue-garden-in-bauska-received-a-prestigious-award/news-and-events/ (accessed November 2, 2023)
"Opening of the Memorial in Bauska," Latvias Ebreju Kopiena, October 16, 2017, https://jews.lv/en/opening-of-the-memorial-in-bauska/news-and-events/ (accessed November 2, 2023)