Vācijas bruņoto spēku pavēlnieks Austrumzemē

  • Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber im Ostland
  • Wehrmacht Commander in Ostland
Identifier
P-80
Language of Description
English
Dates
1941 - 1944
Level of Description
Fonds
Languages
  • German
Scripts
  • Latin
Source
EHRI

Extent and Medium

91 files

Creator(s)

Biographical History

The Wehrmacht Commander in Ostland, based in Riga, was representative of the highest military authority in Ostland and was subordinate to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. He supervised the military forces which maintained the occupation and suppressed any resistance of the local population. Under his authority were commandant’s offices of the Sicherungsgebiet for Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Estonia as well as Feldkommandantur and Local commandant’s offices (Ortskommandantur). Per Hitler’s order dated July 25, 1941, Walter Braemer was assigned as Wehrmacht Commander in Ostland; he served in the position from 1941-1944.

Archival History

The records were received at the archives as captured materials. The inventory was compiled at the archives according to subjects and chronology in 1946 and 1953. The documents have only partially survived and offer only fragmentary insight into activities of the institution.

Scope and Content

Jewish property, including information about confiscations; printed forms to inventory Jewish property; lists of names and addresses of Jewish houses taken by the Wehrmacht, which contain information about furniture and house goods; copies of order of the Wehrmacht-Ortskommandantur Riga for the confiscation of property; eviction of Jews from their apartments. Use of Jews in forced labour, including information about work conditions, whether to consider them as war prisoners, guarding and separating them from general population, payment for work; regulations of transfer of Jews from and into ghetto.

Appraisal

Records of permanent keeping.

Accruals

No other records expected.

System of Arrangement

Files are arranged according to the inventories.

Conditions Governing Access

Free access.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

The physical condition of documents is satisfactory. Some documents are difficult to read because of text fading.

Finding Aids

  • Three printed finding aids are available at the reading room.

Existence and Location of Originals

  • Original documents are in the custody of The National Archives of Latvia State Historical Archives of Latvia

Existence and Location of Copies

  • USHMM RG-18.002M (Latvian Central State Historical Archive (Riga) records)

Publication Note

A.Ezergailis. The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944: the Missing Center. Riga The Historical institute of Latvia [in association with The United State Holocaust Memorial Museum], 1996, 465 p.

Anita Kugler. Scherwitz: Der jüdische SS-Offizier Cologne, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2004, 758 p.

A. Angrik, P. Klein. The Final Solution in Riga: Exploitation and Annihilation, 1941-1944. New-York, Berghahn Books, 2009, 515 p.

Katrin Reichelt. Lettland unter deutscher Besatzung 1941–1944. Der lettische Anteil am Holocaust. Metropol-Verlag Verlag, Berlin, 2011, 428 p.

Archivist Note

Entry added on May 12, 2014 by Rita Bogdanova based on finding aids available at the repository.

Rules and Conventions

EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0

Dates of Descriptions

February-June of 2014