Using Shallow Subsurface Geophysics to Aid Latvian Communities that were Impacted by the Holocaust

Abstract

The country of Latvia, located along the Baltic Sea, was invaded by the Nazis in late June of 1941. During the occupation, Nazi soldiers and their Latvian collaborators were sent out to exterminate all Jewish people and other “undesirable” populations. In the coastal city of Liepāja in southwestern Latvia, at least 300 Jewish people were killed near the lighthouse in the Liepāja Civil Harbor from July 8 to July 10. Reinhard Wiener, a German soldier, filmed one round of executions showing a single execution trench. To aid in documenting the Nazi atrocities, a survey was done in 1945 by the Soviets, who noted that multiple execution sites existed in the harbor area. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), which sends electromagnetic waves into the subsurface and maps their reflections, was utilized to aid in locating these execution sites. The data was then processed using EKKO_Project V5 software. Analysis of the data shows a rectangular feature at 0.8m depth over 7m long, 3m wide, and 0.4m thick. The feature is interpreted to be an execution trench, as similar features have been identified by previous teams’ research. The findings help the local Jewish community in memorializing the Holocaust’s victims and scientifically prove Nazi atrocities.