Minister remembers genocide victims

RIGA - Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriksunveiled a monument July 4 commemorating Jewish genocide victims ofWWII.

Amid the ruins of the Great ChoralSynagogue at 25 Gogola street, which was burnt down in 1941 duringone of the most shameful episodes in Latvian history, Pabriks drewattention to those Latvians who actively resisted participation inHitler's 'Final Solution', including Janis Lipke, who is creditedwith saving the lives of 55 Jews.

In his address, Pabriks noted: "Janis Lipke and others whosewords are carved in this monument did saintly work. Opposing themajority and the ruling authority, they were guided by the principlesof morality and common sense. Often we do not need wise books andknowledge to make a decision, all that remains is to rely on ourintuition and feelings."

To mark the occasion, the Foreign Ministry also provided financialsupport for an English language edition of a bookon Janis Lipke by New York-based Jewish writer David Zilberman, entitled 'Like a Star in the Darkness'.

The book will bepresented at the meeting of the Task Force for InternationalCo-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research in Praguein December of 2007, and will also be distributed among Holocaustresearch and remembrance institutions worldwide.