Searching for a Holocaust Mass Burial in Liepāja, Latvia Using a Multidisciplinary Approach

Keywords: ground penetrating radar, gpr, holocaust, subsurface imaging
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Antisemitism and fascist indoctrination contributed to the genocide of millions of Jewish and other outcast people in the Holocaust before and during World War II. Today, the remains of thousands are missing. Liepāja, on the western Baltic coast of Latvia, is the only known Holocaust site to have video footage of one of these massacres, which depicts people being shot and buried in a large trench. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), aerial photos, satellite imagery, and coastal erosion analysis were used to attempt to locate the mass burial seen in the historical footage.
GPR antennae directs electromagnetic radio waves into the ground and records their returning reflections. GPR is often used to determine possible features in non-invasive Archaeology by detecting subsurface contrasts. A Sensors & Software 500mhz antennae pulseEKKO high frequency GPR system and Topcon self-leveling laser/receiver topography system were used in Liepāja. Data was collected in parallel lines spaced every 0.25m, with a 0.02 step size in three grids sized 22mx27m , 9mx38m, and 11mx13m and adjusted for changes in elevation using topographic data. GPR profiles were interpreted using EKKO_Project 5 software.
Anomalies in GPR results combined with the additional data indicate the mass grave seen in the historic footage, as well as other possible burials. The mass grave will not be disturbed due to the Jewish religious custom of not exhuming the dead, however those killed can now be memorialized by the local community. Further study is recommended to explore the other features and find others.