The town of Malta is located in the Latgalia region in eastern Latvia. The memorial in the forest near Malta commemorates the Jewish residents of the region who were shot there in 1941 upon orders of the SS.

Balda Forest, December 2004, Dedication of the memorial stone in the Balda Forest, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

In the region of Latgalia the percentage of Jewish residents was much higher than in other regions of Latvia. Alone in the district capital of Rēzekne more than half of the population at the beginning of the 20th century belonged to the Jewish community. There were also many Jewish families living in the town of Malta in the 1930s. Following the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, harsh restrictions were imposed on Jewish life, both in cities and in rural areas.
In July 1941, when the German Wehrmacht invaded Latvia, the SS transferred all police duties to the Latvian »Selbstschutz« (»Self-protection«) in the so-called »hinterland«. That same month, members of this organisation arrested several Jews, among them were also Jewish residents from the vicinity of Malta. They were forced to assemble in front of the post office in the town of Silmala, after which the Latvian nationalists brought them to the Balda forest, around eight kilometres away. There they shot the group of Jews and buried their bodies in three mass graves.
Until September 1941, further shootings took place on this site. Whether members of the SS-Einsatzgruppe A (mobile killing unit) were involved in the shootings remains uncertain.

Balda Forest, December 2004, Dedication of the memorial stone in the Balda Forest, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

Several hundreds of Jews from the Latvian towns of Malta, Silmala and Pīgožņi who were shot in the Balda Forest. The exact number of victims is not known.

Balda Forest, 2004, Vitālijs Skudra from Malta indicates the site of the shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

The site of mass shootings in the Balda Forest near Malta has been unchanged since the German occupation of Latvia. In October 2004, a memorial was set up on initiative of the city council of Malta. Its inscription in Latvian and English reads: »In memory of the Jews from Malta, Silmala and Pīgožņi, who were murdered at this site from July to September 1941 by the Nazi occupiers and their helpers.«

Balda Forest, 2004, The memorial stone at the site of shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

Name

Piemineklis Malta, Baldas mežs

Phone

+371 6 (0) 464 147 2

E-Mail

vitalijs.skudra@malta.lv

Open

The memorial is accessible at all times.