Funded in part by Germans, local architects worked for 15 years to create an appropriate monument for the atrocities that occurred among the trees. In 1942, under the German occupation, Nazis herded thousands of victims of many backgrounds to this serene forest. Jews were brought from countries as far away as Austria and Germany, and alongside Latvians and Russians, they were executed and buried in mass graves. The memorial consists of a white altar, under which a stone block stands with English, Russian, German and Hebrew words from the book of Job, 16:18: 'O earth, do not cover my blood, and let there be no resting place for my cry.' Jagged rocks come out of the ground to look as though the forest floor has opened up, and each represents a lost life. Take trolleybus N°14 from Brīvības to Biķernieku mežs.