Historian Marģers Vestermanis marks his remarkable centenary

Vestermanis is best known as the founder and former director of the Museum "Jews in Latvia", and the writer of numerous books of history, and is himself a survivor of the Holocaust.

In a recent interview with Latvian Radio he recounted how during the German occupation of Latvia he survived the concentration camps by chance.

"I escaped in 1944. I was with the Kurzeme partisans for nine months and I survived there too... It's not just something I experienced and survived, it's part of my biography that I carry within me - this pain for the Jewish world that died a terrible death," Vestermanis recalled.

He studied history during the Soviet era and soon began writing, eventually publishing several books about the history of Jews and the Holocaust in Latvia. For the past 20 years, he has been collecting materials for a major study honouring the rescuers of Jews in Nazi-occupied Latvia.

"People who swam against the tide. They went, risking their lives, their family's freedom, knowing that they would get nothing for it, no benefit. Simply in the name of humanity. And that's why the title of this book is "Humanity Wasn't Dead After All," the historian explained of his latest work.

"This is not a Jewish reaction. This is not a Latvian reaction. This is simply a human reaction that shows what a person is capable of if their heart is in the right place. In the time of horror that Latvia experienced during World War II, and the uncertainty that still awaits us, it is important to remind ourselves that the most important thing is always and everywhere the heart," emphasized Vestermanis.

Happy birthday, Marģers Vestermanis.