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

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

– 14 May 1987,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

) was a Latvian rescuer of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in Riga in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from the Holocaust in Latvia. Lipke, a dock worker in the port of Riga, was determined to help save Latvian Jews from capture by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

, and then used his position to smuggle Jewish workers out of the

Riga ghetto Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia, where Nazis forced Latvian Jewish, Jews from Latvia, and later from the German "Reich" (Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia), to live during World War II. On ...

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, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

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 (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

honored Lipke and his wife as

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

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 The Žanis Lipke Memorial () is a memorial museum located on the island of Ķīpsala in Riga, Latvia, at Mazais Balasta dambis, 9. It was opened in 2012 next to the former home of rescuer of Jews Žanis Lipke, where he had arranged a shelter fo ...

is located on the island of

Ķīpsala Ķīpsala is an island on the left bank of the Daugava river, connected to Riga city center and Pārdaugava by the Shroud Bridge. Ķīpsala is divided from the rest of Riga by the Daugava in the east, '' Roņu dīķis'' in the north, '' Zun ...

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'' ( – 'Father Night') is a 2018 Latvian historial war 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 sele ...

'' 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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipke, Janis 1900 births 1987 deaths Latvian people of World War II Latvian Righteous Among the Nations People from Jelgava