"Hell " testifies to early reports of surviving German Jews from Rig

The systematic deportation of German Jews to "the East " began in autumn 1941. One of the destinations was Riga; between 27 November 1941 and 6 February 1942, twenty transports with a total of about 20 000 people arrived at Riga-Skirotava goods station. Those on the first transport from Berlin were shot by SS and police directly after arrival, while the people in the following trains were taken to various places in and around Riga: the Jungfernhof Camp, the Riga Ghetto and the Salaspils Camp. Immediately after the war some survivors recorded how they had survived after the deportation in places which they sometimes referred to as "hell ". Some of these testimonies are presented here.