Zemach Weinreich (1906 – 1942)
Zemach Weinreich was born in Tukums, Latvia, to Israel and Haja née Weinberg. He was one of seven siblings in a Zionist family. His eldest brother, Yehezkel, was one of the leaders of the Beitar movement in Tukums. Zemach married Beile née Kandler, and they had a child. Zemach made a living as a cattle dealer and butcher.
In July 1941, approximately one month after the occupation of Latvia by the German Army, Zemach's parents were murdered in Tukums. Zemach and Beile were incarcerated in the Riga ghetto. Zemach was moved to the Small Ghetto, and while Beile's fate is unknown, she is presumed to have been murdered in one of the Aktionen in the ghetto. Zemach was conscripted for forced labor in the HKP unit, maintaining German Army vehicles designated for the front. His work included loading German trucks onto freight cars; he would secretly sabotage the trucks, but he was eventually caught and sentenced to death.
He succeeded in smuggling a letter out of solitary confinement to his friends, in which he wrote:
"They interrogated me and brutally tortured me, but that's all over now […] I am content to be sitting here alone and waiting for the end to come […] Dear Friends! I bid you farewell and beg you not to forget that for all of us, putting up a fight is of the utmost importance […] I would rather that they didn't hang me, I would prefer to be executed by a firing squad. Yours, Zemach."
Ritov relates that as they led Zemach to the gallows, he was singing the Hatikva.
Arthur (Alter) Ritov (1909 – 1987)
After graduating from the Art Academy of Riga, Ritov worked as a school art teacher. Following the German occupation in July 1941, he was incarcerated in the Riga ghetto. Several months later, he was transferred to the Small Ghetto and conscripted for forced labor in the HKP Unit, maintaining German Army vehicles headed for the front. His job was to draw the license plates; clandestinely he drew portraits of his fellow laborers. In July 1944, just three months before the Red Army entered Riga, he escaped from the ghetto with his relative, Jacob Ritov, and five other prisoners, but three of the five were shot during the escape. Arthur and Jacob went into hiding in the home of a Latvian, Mottmiller, along with six other Jews, where they remained until liberation on 13 October 1944. Ritov immigrated to Israel in 1970, settling in Tel Aviv.
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