Jewish cemetery Tautas iela (Krāslava)

Somewhat outside the city, directly on the Daugava River, lies the Jewish cemetery of Kraslava. The entrance gate is locked, the walled enclosure is largely preserved. You can get the key from the city administration and thus visit the cemetery. The area is large, the front part is neat and well-kept, in the back part there are many older graves in the thicket. The association LOT e.V. has worked here in the years 2018/2019 for 10 days each with volunteers and still not in the approach the entire cemetery to process and document (see "Related links").

Kraslava has a turbulent Jewish history. In 1764 the Jewish community was founded in the city and at that time it was the community administration of all Jewish communities in Eastern Latvia. On July 26, 1941, more than 1000 Jews detained in the synagogue were escorted towards the Daugavpils ghetto, many having already been murdered on the way there, most of them were probably shot on the spot. Only a few Jewish families remained in Kraslava, they too continued to be persecuted. Today (2020) there are still a few Jews in the town, belonging to the Daugavpils community. In the cemetery today one can find two memorials commemorating the Jewish victims of the Second World War and the Nazis in the city.  (Meler, 2010, 171-182)