The Mover

I watched the Latvian Movie “The Mover” (Latvian: Tēvs Nakts or “Father Night.”)

It is the True Story of Jānis Lipke who, with his Wife Johanna and their Children, hid 55 Jews during the German Occupation of Latvia from 1941-1944.

During the First Soviet Occupation of Latvia (1939-1941) he used his job working at the Port of Riga to smuggle contraband and anti-Communists from the Soviet Communist Occupation Authorities.

When the Germans Occupied Riga he got a job working in a Warehouse for the German Luftwaffe (he spoke Latvian, German and Russian so got the job easily.) He used his old skills of smuggling to help Latvian Jewish Workers (who arrived every day from the Riga Ghetto for Forced Labor) hide in the Warehouse.

When the Warehouse became too dangerous to hide People Lipke built a bunker in the courtyard of his home and hid Jews there. He continued to help Jews working with him in the Warehouse while his Wife, Johanna, took care of those hiding in their Bunker.

All 55 People he personally hid (Friends and Complete Strangers) survived the Holocaust.

Note: 70,000 Latvian Jews (out of a Pre-War Population of 93,000) and 19,000 Jews from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia were murdered by the Germans in Latvia.

After the War, during the Second Soviet Occupation of Latvia (1944-1991) he was placed under NKVD/KGB Investigation numerous times (for both working for the Germans and for hiding Jews.) Eventually the NKVD/KGB closed their Investigations into him.

Israel’s Yad Vashem made him a “Righteous of the Nations” in 1966. The Soviet Government only let him go to Israel on a short trip in 1977.

He died in Riga on May 14, 1987 at 87 years old. His funeral was arranged by the Jews of Riga. His Wife, Johanna died in 1990.

In 2007, he was included in a Memorial inside Riga's Great Choral Synagogue.

In 2011, Latvia created a Stamp to honor Jānis and Johanna Lipke.

In 2012, The Žanis Lipke Memorial - located on the island of Ķīpsala in Riga, at 9 Mazais Balasta dambis was opened by Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Latvian President Andris Bērziņš. The Memorial was built next to the Lipke’s home and where his Bunker sheltering the Jews was.