Jungfernhof: discovering a Holocaust burial pit using ground penetrating radar in Riga, Latvia

Keywords: Holocaust, ground penetrating radar, subsurface, mass burial pit, concentration camp, Jungfernhof
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Eleven kilometers south of Riga, Latvia, lies the remains of a former Holocaust concentration camp known as Jungfernhof. In December of 1941, ~4,000 Jewish people were transported to Jungfernhof to be killed and put into mass graves. Halakhah, a set of Jewish laws, forbid the disturbance of burial sites. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a nondestructive method of data collection, therefore, allowing research to be conducted while respecting Judaism.
While conducting research at Jungfernhof using GPR, topography, 3D imagery, and survivor testimony, evidence of a potential mass burial pit was found. GPR emits electromagnetic pulses into the subsurface and when features such as pits are detected, the electromagnetic pulses reflect an anomaly in the data. A GPR grid 15m x 40m was laid down using tape measures. Using a Sensors and Software pulseEKKO PRO GPR system, 162 lines were collected every 0.25m. The data was collected with an antennae frequency of 500 MHz which triggered every 0.02m by an odometer wheel. The data was then processed using EKKO_Project 5 software. The results show a pit anomaly 1.5m in depth. The 90° “corners'' of the anomaly indicate that the soil has been disturbed by humans.
With the dramatic rise of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, it is vital that we use noninvasive methods to respect and commemorate those who brutally lost their lives during the Holocaust. The project will bring awareness to undiscovered evidence of the Holocaust and provide a sense of closure to those who never obtained it.