• Viļāni Memorial
The town of Viļāni lies on the banks of the Malta river in eastern Latvia. Almost the entire Jewish population of the town was shot in 1941 by Latvian nationalists on orders of the SS. There are several monuments on the site of the mass shootings dedicated to the victims.
Image: Viļāni, 1944, The fenced in site of the shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 1944, The fenced in site of the shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

Image: Viļāni, 2004, The two monuments, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 2004, The two monuments, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
In 1935, the Jewish community of Viļāni had around 400 members. After the Soviet Union occupied Latvia in 1940, Jewish life was subjected to severe restrictions - also in Viļāni.
In July 1941, following the German invasion of Latvia, Latvian nationalists murdered a small group of Jews on the banks of the Malta river. On August 3, 1941, members of the SS chased the Jewish residents of Viļāni into a school building. On the following day the men, women and children were shot in a forest close to Viļāni. Their bodies were buried in previously prepared pits. The shooting was conducted by a unit of the Arājs Kommando, which had arrived from Riga. This unit consisted of anti-Semitic Latvian nationalists under the leadership of Victor Arājs. The Arājs Kommando closely cooperated with Einsatzgruppe A (mobile killing unit).
In January 1942, another shooting operation took place on this site during which members of the SS shot around 30 Roma from Viļāni.
Image: Viļāni, 1944, The fenced in site of the shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 1944, The fenced in site of the shootings, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

Image: Viļāni, 2004, The two monuments, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 2004, The two monuments, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Around 300 Jewish men, women and children and 30 Roma died in the mass shootings in the forest close to Viļāni.
Image: Viļāni, 1950s, Jewish survivors during a commemorative ceremony on August 4, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 1950s, Jewish survivors during a commemorative ceremony on August 4, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
In the 1950s, the Soviet administration of Viļāni set up a memorial at the site of the shootings. The very general inscription on the monument commemorates »those murdered by the fascists on August 4, 1941«. Jews are not specifically mentioned as victims.
A second monument was set up - also in the 1950s - on initiative of Jewish survivors living in Viļāni. It bears an inscription in Hebrew which reads: »Innocent victims, killed at the hands of the fascists without mercy and burned in Viļāni in 1941«. Despite the Hebrew inscription and an engraved menorah, here too Jews are not mentioned as victims.
The memorial is completed by a plaque which is dedicated to the murdered Roma. Each year on August 4, the day of the mass shooting, a commemorative ceremony takes place here.
Image: Viļāni, 2004, Monument to the murdered Roma, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 2004, Monument to the murdered Roma, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«

Image: Viļāni, 2004, Menorah on the Hebrew monument, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Viļāni, 2004, Menorah on the Hebrew monument, Muzejs »Ebreji Latvijā«
Name
Memoriāls Viļāni
Phone
+371 (0)46 280 35
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.