Šķēde Dunes Holocaust Memorial

The beauty obscures the horror. Some 10km north of Liepāja, off a long dirt coastal road, is a memorial at a place of death. Amidst a flawless white sand beach and dunes protected by pine forests, there is a large memorial to the more than 3000 local Jews shot here by the Nazis from September 1941 to February 1942. Signs show blurry photos of terrified men, women and children moments before they were killed. The open area is dominated by a 2005 sculpture that stretches across gravel and forms a Star of David. It's a contemplative spot, the silence only broken by the sound of the sea.