By COLlive reporter
An innovative website telling the heroic stories of Latvians who survived and saved life during the Nazi Holocaust was nominated for the 19th Annual Webby Awards, an international recognition of excellence on the internet.
The website of the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum is one of the 5 that are running in the People’s Voice contest under the category “Websites: Cultural Institutions.”
The museum was founded by Chabad Rabbi Menachem Barkahan, author of “Extermination of the Jews in Latvia 1941-1945” and son of the late Chief Rabbi of Latvia Nathan Barkahan.
The museum itself, located outdoors in the historic area bordering the former ghetto in Riga, memorializes the 70,000 victims of the Holocaust. Built by Rabbi Barkahan’s Shamir organization in cooperation with Riga City Council, it aims to become an education and culture center, according to LiveRiga.com.
It’s website, however, is more focused on personal journeys of only 6 individuals during the Second World War, each portraying another aspect of the horrific trials of the time.
Each story is told on its own page accompanied by text, photos, illustrations and clever moving images. “Three Lives for Three Bottles of Vodka” tells how a shady dockworker named Zanis Lipke ventured to rescue Jews from the ghetto and a death verdict.
The Riga Ghetto website is currently pitted against the websites of the Guggenheim Museum Collection Online and the High Line. Voting ends in a day.
Vote for the Riga Ghetto on webbyawards.com
It ends tomorrow.
Can you please post a link to this website? It sounds very interesting!