A Return to Biķernieku Forest (Riga, Latvia)

Ah, yes, the posts are coming fewer and farther (further?) between. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. It actually means I am quite busy here at my site in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. As I begin my second, and final year as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, I plan to spend as much time working at the university and preparing a long-term plan that will continue after my departure. What that is, I know not. But in the meantime, I have a backlog of adventures to report upon.

Last February I made a trip to Riga, Latvia (http://rlopcukraineblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/memorial-run-bikernieku-forest-outside.html). It was cold, windy, and wonderful. I had a great time and I made sure to schedule another stop when I visited the Baltic countries during the summer. I especially wanted to spend more time visiting the Biķernieku Forest which lies just three kilometers from Riga city center (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikernieki_Memorial) When I went in February it was hovering below zero and I decided to run out and back. Since the site is not well marked I had trouble finding the official memorial; rather I found one of the many marked burial sites. It certainly was moving but there was no coherence. Now that I had the time and the temperature on my side, I decided to do some more exploring. With my camera in hand and my backpack filled with snacks and water, I headed out to the forest. This is what I found....

I discovered that the official memorial is somewhat well-marked, that is if you know where to look in the first place. There is a map that explains the layout of the site and a pathway which leads from the road to the forest. In the center of the memorial there is an altar under a gazebo-type sculpture. Surrounding this centerpiece are slabs of granite which are sticking out of the ground much like gravestones, perhaps reminiscent of a Jewish cemetery, perhaps. In a curious note, the stone comes from the Zhytomyr region where I am currently living. As you walk amongst the rows of slabs you see the names of cities where (I'm guessing) many of the victims came from. Or perhaps there are there to names cities where Jews were persecuted and exterminated. I was unsure and there was no information to help. Although it was summer, I was once again the only person there. So there was an eerie quite as I walked around the memorial. I think I was moved the most by the various stones that sat on different parts of the memorial, many of which were marked by names and dates. But that was not the end of my exploration.

I decided to move further into the forest, away from the memorial. Although there are many marked trails, there are other paths that are smaller and more overgrown. As I wondered further in, I began to think about the people who were brought here: all of them innocent, most not expecting their ultimate fate. There were more posts emblazoned with the Star of David. To the side, a bit off the path, were filled-in pits with grave-like stones marking something or someone. Then what looked to be a flower caught my attention, buried beneath the underbrush in the trees. That is when I found the unofficial memorials. Off in the thicket or beside a tree under some weeds I began to find makeshift graves. Stones or flowers were laid out in rectangular fashion to mimic a gravesite. Were those that were murdered buried under these stones and flowers? Or were these sites randomly placed by someone who wanted another way, another method to remember those who perished? And who made these markers? Was it someone who knew much but did not want to tell? There were so many questions that I wish someone could have answered. But no one was around. And to me that was what made me sad. Here is a place more people should visit. (Depending on your count) thirty or forty-six thousand people should be remembered on a daily basis. But here was another former Soviet Republic Holocaust site that was not advertised in travel guides and not marked on any road sign. To find a place like Biķernieku Forest you had to know what you were looking for. And even if you did speak the language, chances are the locals might not even want to admit to knowing about the site. 

Anyway these were the thoughts passing through my mind as I stumbled my way through the overgrowth. The forest was peaceful, almost too much so. As heartbroken as I felt, I was glad I returned and hoped to return again in the future with friends and family. But I had to be going. It was only noon and I had to get back to town so I could catch a train to return to Salispils, the next step of my journey.

Biķernieku Forest 

The Path In

Introduction to Memorial

The Main Site

Altar with Memory Stones

Gescher, Germany with Marked Memory Stones

Massacre Site?

Marker with Dates

 Unofficial Grave

 More Unofficial Graves Off the Beaten Path

 Order Amongst Disorder

 Barely Visible 

 Not Forgotten - Deeper in the Forest

 More Memories

 Not Forgetting

Candles and Stones

What is Salaspils?

Follow the link for more pics and an interesting story.

https://rlopeacecorpsukraine.wordpress.com/

Memorial Run - Biķernieku Forest, outside of Riga, Latvia

Over the past few years I have made a conscious decision to expand my travel activities. Although not quite going to the extreme of cliff jumping or sky-diving, I have tried to move beyond simple tourist activities. A few years ago, I spent a week learning Spanish up in the mountains in Nicaragua. This summer I took a train from London to Whitstable and then proceeded to sail around the mouth of the River Thames. Apparently, these were only to whet my appetite. I spent the last four days in Riga, Latvia and decided to visit some of the lesser known sites in the city. On the third day I visited the Jewish Ghetto Museum (http://www.rgm.lv/?lang=en) and was quite moved by what I saw. After an hour plus viewing and reading the exhibits, I decided to spend my last day visiting two sites: Bikernieki Memorial (http://www.jews.lv/en/content/memorial-bikernieki-forest) and the Salaspils Internment Camp. While both required effort to find (or not find as you shall see), I am grateful I took the time to find these places. They were unforgettable. For today, I will discuss the memorial in the Bikernieki Forest. (http://us.wow.com/wiki/Bikernieki_Memorial)

The Bikernieki Forest is a mere three plus miles outside of the city. It is hard to imagine that the citizens did not notice thousands of people being forced marched out there between the years 1941-1944. This theme of not knowing, or pretending not to know, was evident even today. There are no signs and even the Internet sites proved inconclusive. I decided to run the whole distance and took my phone as a precaution. I found the appointed turn off and headed towards the forest. But when I got closer, things got confusing. Again, no signs, no indications, no nothing to help me along. I even began running into the forest, when I realized how massive it was. If I got lost, who knows where I would end up on this cold morning. So I stopped at a local store to ask for directions. In my shaky Russian I asked an older woman where to find the monument. In somewhat shaky Russian she gave me directions but seem a bit confused that I was asking. Was this willful ignorance or do the locals truly not know what happened here seventy-five years ago. With these directions in hand I ran back in the forest but was once again unsure where I was going. As I looked around I realized how easy this must have been for the Nazis to march these unsuspecting people out into the middle of a cold, quiet, empty forest. There was no one to see and no one to hear. Fortunately, I found another jogger who, in mixed English and Russian, pointed me in the right direction. And there, at the crest of a hill, I found something.


I'd like to say that I found the memorial found in the links above, but that was not the case. That official memorial was a bit down the road on the other side of the forest. What I did find was probably more moving. I stood atop of a hill above a small ravine. On all sides of the ravine there were wooden posts with the Star of David and the dates 1941-1944. A set of stairs descended into the ravine and then continued to the other side. In the ravine there were raised patches of earth, boxed in by wooden planks (kind of like a bit sandbox filled in and grassed over). In each of these raised patches stood solitary, tablet-like stones. Someone had laid plastic flowers on top of one. Other than that, there was nothing. The area was overgrown and somewhat strewn with trash (although much of the forest was like this). And that was it. Nothing else but the quiet. Once and a while someone would come by usually walking a dog. But nothing was said. No one else stopped to pay their respects. No one else looked solemnly at the ground. As the cold began to set in I decided it was time to go. I almost went looking for the official memorial but there was more to see that day.

A final note, the granite stones used in the official memorial come from...Zhytomyr, Ukraine where I am serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Full circle, it seems.

 The Road In

 Tall Trees, Silence

 Marker Atop Ravine

 Star of David, Ominous Dates

Raised Dirt with Stone Marker

Steps Down, Ravine, Steps Up

Stone Marker

Stone Marker

Final Reminder