Salaspils concentration camp memorial complex is in the Riga region, about 15 km southeast of Riga and is a memorial for the people who died there during the Nazi regime in Latvia.
The memorial consists of a museum and huge statues signifying the psychological, physical and emotional turmoil of the inhabitants.
The life on the camp is shown by the statues: The Mother, The Humiliated, The Unbroken, and Solidarity. The barracks for children have a memorial adorned with toys and flowers. The barracks were all destroyed by the Germans. The solitude of the statues, the deserted camp and the toys, gives it a dreary feeling, and makes one feel very humble of one's own existence.
Salispils concentration camp (German: Kurtenhof) was built by the Jewish labourers captured by the Nazis during 1941. Thousands of people including 12,000 children, Jews, Russian prisoners of war, and political prisoners from the Baltic states were held here. Most of the children were sent to the concentration camp without their parents and were used as involuntary blood donors for the German military hospitals.
The statues and the museum are the two main attractions at this memorial. The barracks are all destroyed.
This place is neglected by the tourists and the officials, and needs to be revived for the sake of the history. Because anyone who forgets the history is bound to live it again.