Vilnius

Since the sixteenth century, Latvia was the setting for Jewish life rich in spiritual splendour and steeped in tradition. In the spring of 1940, tragedy struck. The Soviet army invaded, and the newly established communist regime issued a ban on Jewish culture, religion and Hebrew language. One year later, the Nazi invasion further shattered 400 years of relative harmony; tens of thousands of Jews lay slaughtered and the Jewish community crumpled. Then came the cruelly anti-religious Soviet regime. However, since the collapse of the communist regime at the end of the 1980's, Jewish life has once again begun.

Abigail Sarah Bagraim, Email info@abigailsarah.co.za

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