Jānis Lipke (also Žanis and Jan Lipke; 1 February 1900,

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united ...

– 14 May 1987, Riga) was a Latvian rescuer of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Riga in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

from

the Holocaust in Latvia The Holocaust in Latvia refers to the crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany and collaborators victimizing Jews during the occupation of Latvia. From 1941 to 1944, around 70,000 Jews were murdered, approximately three-quarters of the ...

. Lipke, a dock worker in the port of Riga, was determined to help save

Latvian Jews The history of the Jews in Latvia dates back to the first Jewish colony established in Piltene in 1571. Jews contributed to Latvia's development until the Northern War (1700–1721), which decimated Latvia's population.R. O. G. Urch. Latvi ...

from capture by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

after witnessing actions against them in the streets. He retrained in order to become a contractor for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, and then used his position to smuggle Jewish workers out of the Riga ghetto and camps in and around Riga, whom he concealed with the aid of his wife Johanna until the arrival of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

in October 1944. The Lipkes and their various helpers saved forty people in this way, one-fifth of the approximately 200 Jews who survived the war in Latvia. When Lipke died in 1987, the Jews of Riga arranged his funeral.

Honors

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

honored Lipke and his wife as

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

on 28 June 1966. On 4 July 2007, the day of remembrance of the victims of genocide against the Jewish nation, a monument commemorating those who saved Latvian Jews, in particular Lipke, was unveiled at Riga's Great Choral Synagogue. The Žanis Lipke Memorial is located on the island of Ķīpsala in Riga, at 9 Mazais Balasta dambis. It was built next to Lipke's home, where he had arranged a shelter for rescued Jews. The 2018 Latvian film ''

The Mover ''The Mover'' ( lv, Tēvs Nakts – 'Father Night') is a 2018 Latvian drama film directed by Dāvis Sīmanis Jr. The film is based on the Latvian novel ''A Boy and a Dog'' written by Inese Zandere and illustrated by Reinis Pētersons. It was sel ...

'' portrays the efforts of Lipke and his wife to rescue Jews.

References

External links

Jan and Johana Lipke
at the

website *
Rescued by Righteous Among the Nations: Izak Drizin's testimony
Yad Vashem.
Rescued by Righteous Among the Nations: Grigoriy Arensburg's testimony
Yad Vashem.
1980 photograph of Lipke
in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 1900 births 1987 deaths Latvian people of World War II Latvian Righteous Among the Nations People from Jelgava {{World-War-II-bio-stub