Transport from Hannover, Hannover (Hannover), Hanover, Germany to Riga, Ghetto, Latvia on 15/12/1941

The first transport that left Hanover for Riga on December 15, 1941 was originally planned for mid November. It consisted of 1001 men, women and children who mostly originated from the city itself. Within several days following their arrest, they were transferred to the Horticultural School Ahlem, which had been turned into an assembly camp by the Gestapo. Approximately one month before the transport, the deportees received notification of their impending deportation with the usual instructions for transports from the Reich including a limited amount of luggage weighing up to 50 kg. They also received an 8-page form to declare their remaining property in detail. The form also had to be filled out for the children. The transfer to the assembly site began on December 10 with those Jews who had not been moved into one of the “Jew Houses” during Operation Lauterbacher which took place on September 3-4, 1941. These deportees were brought to Ahlem as well within a short while. Upon arrival, the Jews and their luggage were subject to a thorough and humiliating search. Lore Oppenheimer, nee Pels described the procedure in her post war diary: “Finally we were picked up by green police cars. Like dangerous criminals we are brought to the Gartenbauschule Ahlem, which served as the so-called assembly site. There, we were led into a gym and everyone was labeled with a number. Afterwards, our suitcases and backpacks were searched and the entire large luggage was handed over. Then we just stood there well into the night, holding hand luggage such as purses and blankets awaiting further inspection. When it was our turn after long hours of waiting, they initially took all the Jewelry, even a measly wooden brooch. Afterwards, our hand luggage was searched and items like knitting needles, knives (cutlery), butter, sausages, and sometimes even bread, were taken away. After we returned with our half-emptied purses, a strip-search followed. Once that was done, we walked like the poorest beggars to our designated beds.” The Gestapo had failed to fully prepare the Horticultural School as the assembly site for the transport which led to chaos. The gym, initially used for housing, became overcrowded in a very short while and all available spaces – including the greenhouses - were used as makeshift shelters. The situation was worsened by cold and rainy weather conditions. However, the pedantic search of the Jews and their luggage continued. The Gestapo even seized wedding rings, normally the only valuables that people were allowed to keep. The situation in the camp led to the replacement of Kriminalkommissar Ernst Avemarg, who had been in charge of organization. He was transferred to occupied France. Subsequent transports were organized by his successor Christian Heinrichsmeier. On December 15, the Jews had to board trucks and were transferred to the train station “Fischerhof”, which was located in an industrial area of the Linden district. A passenger train, supplied by the Reichsbahn, awaited them. Their destination was not disclosed and after three days, the train arrived in Riga. In severe frost the deportees arrived at the cargo station of Skirotava, located in the outskirts of the city. After disembarking the train, they were informed that their luggage would be transferred to their future homes in the Ghetto. The truth was that not all of them would arrive at the Ghetto at all and neither would their luggage. Some of the deportees were selected and suffocated in gas trucks or brought to the forest of Rumbula and shot. At the beginning of February and the beginning of April 1942, 4,400 of those who made it to the Ghetto were also selected and killed during Operation Duenamuende (Aktion Dunamunde). The remaining inmates had to work under impossible conditions as forced labourers. In fall of 1943, the order was given to liquidate the Ghetto. Between 2,000 and 2,500 of the inmates, most of them either children, elderly, or sick were taken by train to Auschwitz where most were murdered immediately after arrival. From August of 1944, any Jews remaining were transferred to Stutthof concentration camp from where the majority were sent to forced labour camps in the Reich. The Riga-transport on December 15, 1941, was only the first of eight deportations from Hanover, but it hit the Jewish community the hardest. With one blow, the community lost two thirds of its members, including more than 100 children. Only 68 of the deportees survived until liberation.