Latvia remembers victims of WWII holocaust in Riga

Latvia held a commemorative event for Holocaust victims on Tuesday, the 75th anniversary of the mass murder of Jews in the winter of 1941 in a forest outside Riga.

Top Latvian officials and members of Latvia's Jewish community gathered at a Holocaust memorial in Rumbula forest to participate in the commemorative event.

Rumbula witnessed one of the largest exterminations of Jews during World War II. In just two days, on Nov. 30 and Dec. 8, 1941, Nazis killed more than 25,000 prisoners of the Riga Ghetto, as well as around 1,000 Jews that had been brought to Riga from Germany.

A memorial stone in Rumbila was unveiled in 1964, and a more extensive memorial complex was created at the site in 2002.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the Jewish people, because our people, too, have experienced genocide, occupation and killings of innocent people," Parliament Speaker Inara Murniece said.

"Our most important task therefore is to take care of security, prevent war and violence and support one another. Let us do everything we can to make sure that nothing like that is ever repeated again," Murniece added. Endit