Hope and Despair

What appeared to be a beautiful birch forest in Riga, Latvia was actually the site of Salaspils Camp, a labor camp where almost 2,000 Jews perished under harsh rule and the intentional killing of children. I was moved by the sadness of those who perished and yearned to feel hopeful that some had escaped death. The tallitot symbolize for me the souls that perished and those that perhaps escaped.