Jānis Lipke
Jānis Lipke (also Žanis and Jan Lipke; 1 February 1900, Mitau – 14 May 1987, Riga) was a Latvian rescuer of Jews in Riga in World War II from the Holocaust in Latvia.
Jānis Lipke | |
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A 2011 Latvian stamp dedicated to Žanis and Johanna Lipke | |
| Born | 1 February 1900 |
| Died | 14 May 1987 (aged 87) Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR (now Latvia) |
| Resting place | Forest Cemetery, Riga |
| Other names | Žanis Lipke |
| Occupation | Dock worker |
| Known for | Saving Jews during the Holocaust |
| Spouse | Johana Lipke |
| Children | Zigfrīds Lipke Alfrēds Lipke Aina Lipke |
| Awards | Righteous Among the Nations |
| Righteous Among the Nations |
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| By country |
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Lipke, a dock worker in the port of Riga, was determined to help save Latvian Jews from capture by the Nazis after witnessing actions against them in the streets. He retrained in order to become a contractor for the Luftwaffe, and then used his position to smuggle Jewish workers out of the Riga ghetto and camps in and around Riga, whom he concealed with the aid of his wife Johanna until the arrival of the Red Army in October 1944. The Lipkes and their various helpers saved forty people in this way, one-fifth of the approximately 200 Jews who survived the war in Latvia.
When Lipke died in 1987, the Jews of Riga arranged his funeral.