• Daugavpils Ghetto and Holocaust Memorial
A monument in Daugavpils commemorates the Jews murdered in the city in 1941/42. 16 further memorial stones honour the Jewish victims of National Socialism all over Europe.
Image: Daugavpils, 1930s, Aerial view of the city with a bridge over the Daugava river and the citadel in the foreground, Latvijas Valsts Kinofotofonodokumentu Arhīvs
Daugavpils, 1930s, Aerial view of the city with a bridge over the Daugava river and the citadel in the foreground, Latvijas Valsts Kinofotofonodokumentu Arhīvs

Image: Daugavpils, undated, Central memorial stone at the memorial complex, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Daugavpils, undated, Central memorial stone at the memorial complex, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Daugavpils (Russian: Dvinsk), located in south-east Latvia, is the country's second-largest city. Until 1918, Latvia was part of the Russian Empire. From 1918 until its occupation and annexation by Stalin's Soviet Union, Latvia was independent. Between 1941 and 1944, Latvia was under German occupation, and after the war, 1944 to 1991, it was one of the republics constituting the Soviet Union.
Before World War II, a quarter of the 45,000 large population of Daugavpils was Jewish. After the invasion of the German Wehrmacht in the summer of 1941, the German military administration established a ghetto for about 16,000 Jews from Daugavpils and surrounding areas in the citadel on the banks of the Daugava river. At the same time, an SS commando and Latvian auxiliary police began shooting about 9,000 Jews from the area of Daugavpils in forests on the city's outskirts. By the end of August, only about 7,000 Jews remained alive in the ghetto. At the beginning of November, members of the SS and Latvian helpers shot a further 5,000 Jews, mostly elderly and sick people as well as children. On May 1, 1942, the ghetto was dissolved and the remaining Jews were murdered. Only very few Jews were left alive, they were deported to concentration camps in 1943/44. When the Red Army retook Daugavpils on July 27, 1944, there were only about 20 Jews alive in the city who had survived in hiding.
Image: Daugavpils, 1930s, Aerial view of the city with a bridge over the Daugava river and the citadel in the foreground, Latvijas Valsts Kinofotofonodokumentu Arhīvs
Daugavpils, 1930s, Aerial view of the city with a bridge over the Daugava river and the citadel in the foreground, Latvijas Valsts Kinofotofonodokumentu Arhīvs

Image: Daugavpils, undated, Central memorial stone at the memorial complex, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Daugavpils, undated, Central memorial stone at the memorial complex, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Approximately 16,000 Jews from Daugavpils and surrounding areas were murdered by German and Latvian units in 1941/42 or deported later.
Image: Daugavpils, autumn 1941, Jews in the ghetto, Ghetto Fighters’ House
Daugavpils, autumn 1941, Jews in the ghetto, Ghetto Fighters’ House

Image: Daugavpils, 1990s, General view of the memorial complex, Daugavpils Muzejs
Daugavpils, 1990s, General view of the memorial complex, Daugavpils Muzejs
The first monument to the murdered Jews of Daugavpils was set up on June 27, 1960 in the Poguļankā (Mežciems) forest. The socialist realist sculpture was restored by Indulis Folkmanis between 1976 and 1979. The Latvian and Russian inscription read: »In eternal memory of the victims of fascism 1941-1944«. When Latvia regained its independence in 1990/91, the authorities took down the sculpture leaving only the foundations and dedicated a new memorial complex on site by artist Oleg Marinoha already on November 10, 1991. At the centre of the memorial is a modified Star of David which reads: »In memory of the sons of Israel«.
Moreover, there is a gravestone to the murdered Daugavpils Jews, which overestimates the number of victims citing 30,000. Located in direct vicinity are a further 16 memorial stones bearing the numbers of victims from the different European states which suffered German occupation. Already since the mid-1960s - since 1992 on July 4, Latvia's official Holocaust Remembrance Day - commemorative ceremonies have been held here annually.
Image: Daugavpils, before 1990, Soviet monument, which had meanwhile been taken down, public domain
Daugavpils, before 1990, Soviet monument, which had meanwhile been taken down, public domain

Image: Daugavpils, undated, Memorial stone, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Daugavpils, undated, Memorial stone, Daugavpils novada Tūrisma informācijas
Name
Mežciema Ebreju genocīda un Daugavpils geto upuru piemiņas memoriāls
Phone
+371 29548760 (Jewish Museum Daugavpils)
Web
http://memorialplaces.lu.lv/memorialas-vietas/latgale/daugavpils-genocida-memorials-mezciema-mezs/
E-Mail
rochko@inbox.lv (Jewish Museum Daugavpils)
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.
Possibilities
Commemoration ceremonies are held annually on July 4, Holocaust Remembrance Day in Latvia