Žanis Lipke Memorial

Žanis Lipke Memorial is located on the island of Ķīpsala in Riga, Latvia, at 9 Mazais Balasta dambis. It was built next to the home of Žanis Lipke, where he had arranged a shelter for rescued Jews from the ghetto during World War II.

At the beginning of World War II, Žanis Lipke hid the first Jewish refugees in temporary hiding places in different locations in Riga. During winter of 1941/1942 harboring people in hideouts in Riga and his own house became too dangerous, so he started building a shelter under the woodshed that stood next to his house. In January 1942 he dug out the first bunker all on his own, working at nights. At the very beginning this bunker housed four people. In 1942 it collapsed as soon as thaw set in. Right afterwards Žanis Lipke built a new one, much more thought-out. Bunker beneath the shed housed 8-12 Jews simultaneously from 1942 to summer of 1944.

After the war Žanis Lipke used the bunker as a car pit. Over time, the pit caved in and the shed burned down in 1980s. Before the construction of the museum, creators of the Memorial built a new shed for Lipke family in the very place where the old shed with the secret bunker once stood.

Founders of the society “Žanis Lipke Memorial” – entrepreneur Māris Gailis, the honorary director of International Film Forum “Arsenāls”, Augusts Sukuts and the daughter-in-law of Žanis Lipke, Ārija Lipke came to the idea of creating the memorial in 2000, after the revealing of a memorial plaque by Lipke’s house in Ķīpsala, 8 Mazais Balasta dambis. The aim that these people share with their collaborators is to bring to the attention of the local, as well as the international society the historical phenomenon of Žanis Lipke. In 2005 they founded a society to begin fundraising for building a memorial in Riga.

The author of project of Žanis Lipke Memorial is architect Zaiga Gaile. Her idea for the visual image of the building came from tarred sheds of Ķīpsala fishermen and seamen, who built them of heavy floated logs with their characteristic color and smell. Conceptually and visually, the shape of the museum evokes Noah's Ark or an overturned boat, which too could be considered as a shelter of life.

On the basement floor of the memorial there is a bunker that matches the size of the original cache – 3x3m. Along its walls there are nine bunks dropping down from the wall. The bunker had two entrances – one was covered by a kennel, the other led to a nearby ravine, should the bunker be discovered. During the construction of the bunker Žanis Lipke did not know how long people would have to hide in it, so he built it in such manner that kept its inhabitants connected to the outside world. They had newspapers brought to them as well as books. There was even electricity installed in the bunker and a radio was brought. Electricity was also used as a signal – if someone from Lipke family turned it off, it served as a signal that a stranger was approaching. Inhabitants of the bunker were supplied with weapons so they could defend themselves if necessary. Life in tight circumstances and uncertainty of the future was a great emotional and spiritual challenge that sometimes led to conflicts.

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