Applying Geospatial Technologies to Verify the Location of Holocaust Mass Execution Trenches in Liepāja, Latvia

Abstract

At least 1000 Jewish people were executed within the Liepāja coastal dunes in southwestern Latvia. These atrocities were committed throughout the month of July in 1941 by Nazis and Latvian collaborators south of the port’s lighthouse along the Baltic Sea. The project aims were to locate Holocaust mass execution trenches near the Liepāja lighthouse. A 1945 Soviet report indicated the presence of three 70m long execution trenches at the site. In addition, an archival film, witness testimonies, previous research, and aerial photographs guided our research. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) provides a non-invasive method to record and interpret subsurface sediment layers. Using 500 MHz antennae GPR, data was collected over two grids: 12.5x18m and 1x16m. GPR lines were separated by 0.25m with traces acquired every 0.02m. Results depict a 3m wide erosional truncation with ~23° dipping reflections that is interpreted as the edge of an execution trench. The 1.3m deep execution trench cuts into local coastal aeolian sediments that are characterized by horizontal ~0.8°-1.7° seaward dipping reflections. The project demonstrates that geospatial data can scientifically verify survivor stories of the Holocaust in Liepāja and provides a location for the local Jewish Community to memorialize the final resting places of those executed.