4 Killing site(s)
Salemons K., born in 1935: "Locals recalled that Jews were executed on Ančupānu Hill, near Rēzekne, shortly after the arrival of German forces. Toward the end of the war, the victims’ bodies were exhumed and burned. A tarpaulin was erected around the site to block the view, but the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. I visited the killing site after the war. Today, a monument stands near the forest in honor of the victims." (Testimony N°YIU141LV, interviewed in Ludza, on August 19, 2022)
" […] The shootings and torture of civilians in Rēzekne began in the first days of the German occupation.
On July 15, 1941, mass shootings were carried out in Leščinskis’ Garden, located in the center of Rēzekne. The mass grave lies in the northwestern part of the garden, on the right bank of the Rēzekne River, and measures 21 by 2.5 meters. Executions began early in the morning. Approximately 120 Jewish civilians were murdered at this site.
In early August 1941, further mass executions took place at the Jewish cemetery in Rēzekne. Most of the victims were Jewish civilians. According to eyewitness Pushnyakova, a resident of the village of Plekshne: “In August 1941, for two weeks, gunshots could be heard every morning at the Jewish cemetery. They were executing Jews.” Similar testimony was given by Matzan, a resident of Rēzekne. Investigations later identified three mass graves at the Jewish cemetery, measuring: (1) 14 × 2.5 meters; (2) 16 × 2.5 meters; and (3) 20 × 2.5 meters. One grave is located in the southeastern part of the cemetery, and two in the southwestern part. Approximately 2,500 civilians were killed and tortured at this location.
On August 23, 1941, mass killings began at the Ančupāni Hills, located six kilometers northwest of Rēzekne along the Drešču Highway. Executions took place at the former Aizsargi shooting range. Over the course of three years, victims—Soviet citizens of various ethnicities—were systematically brought to the hills by truck or on foot. They were forced to stand at the edge of pre-dug pits along the base of the hillside, where they were shot and their bodies thrown into the graves.
Testimonies describe the brutality of these executions. T.P. Mashnikov, a resident of Rēzekne, recalled: “I saw how young men were dragged out of the detention house, had their arms twisted behind their backs, and were thrown into a truck.”
A.T. Fedotova, from the village of Lyady in the Makasheni district, stated: “They shot the adults, but threw the children alive into the pit.”
The cruelty was extreme. P.O. Vasanova, from the village of Makarovka, testified: “I saw a Jewish woman, who was being led with others to be executed in the Ančupāni Hills, tear her hair out in despair and scream in terror, while a policeman shoved a rubber baton into her mouth.”
Z.S. Greivuls, from the village of Greivuli, recalled: “When those condemned to death were taken off the truck, each one was beaten with rubber batons. I saw this myself through the fence.”
Victims were stripped of their clothing before being shot. Antoy Andreevich Mosan, from the village of Makarovka, testified: “When they were brought to the Ančupāni Hills, they were herded into a small house near the hillside, stripped completely naked, then driven out and lined up at the edge of the pit.”
It is estimated that approximately 8,000 civilians of various nationalities—including Jews from Rēzekne and surrounding areas—were murdered in the Ančupāni Hills between 1941 and 1944. […]" [Act drawn by State Extraordinary Soviet Commission (ChGK), on October 30, 1944, pp. 2-6; GARF 7021-93-28/Copy USHMM RG.22-002M]
Rēzekne (known as Rezhitsa until 1917) is one of the oldest towns in eastern Latvia, situated in the historical region of Latgale, approximately 242 km (150 mi) east-southeast of Riga. Its strategic location along key trade routes made it a site of settlement and cultural exchange over the centuries.
The Jewish presence in Rēzekne dates back to the late 18th century, following the First Partition of Poland (1772), when Latgale became part of the Russian Empire. The town fell within the Pale of Settlement, the territory where Jews were legally permitted to reside. During this period, the Jewish cemetery and the White Synagogue were established. Encouraged by opportunities in trade and artisan work, Jewish families began settling in Rēzekne in growing numbers in the early 19th century. By 1802, the town had 542 Jewish residents; by 1815, the number had grown to 1,072. By the late 19th century, Jews constituted the majority of the population. According to the 1897 Russian Empire Census, Rēzekne was home to 6,478 Jews, making up 60% of the town’s total population.
The major upheavals of the early 20th century—including the First World War, the Russian revolutions, and the Latvian War of Independence—had a profound impact on Rēzekne’s Jewish community. Following the Civil War in 1920, the number of Jews in the town had declined to 4,148, representing 41.5% of the population. By 1935, the Jewish population had further decreased to 3,342, or just over 25% of Rēzekne’s residents.
Jews played a central role in the town’s economic life, working in trade, crafts, small industry, transportation, and finance. They owned 75% of all commercial establishments, running shops and businesses—particularly in textiles, grain, and timber—while others worked as artisans, operated inns, or provided banking and credit services. The community was deeply religious and well-organized, with several synagogues, including the 19th-century Green Synagogue—the only surviving pre-war synagogue in the Baltics. Institutions such as the Chevra Kadisha, Jewish schools (both religious and secular), and charitable organizations supported community life. By the early 20th century, Rēzekne had become a vibrant center of Jewish cultural and political activity. Zionist and Bundist movements were active, and Yiddish-language newspapers, literature, and theater flourished.
In the late 1930s, antisemitism in Latvia intensified, particularly under the authoritarian regime of Kārlis Ulmanis, which came to power in 1934. Jewish cultural autonomy was restricted, and several organizations were dissolved. Despite growing uncertainty, Rēzekne’s Jewish community remained active on the eve of the Second World War. The Soviet occupation in June 1940 brought repression and nationalization, leading to the closure of many Jewish institutions—though some saw Soviet rule as a safeguard against Nazi persecution. On the night of June 14–15, 1941, some Jews from Rēzekne were arrested and deported to remote areas of the Soviet Union.
The exact number of Jews who remained in Rēzekne before the outbreak of war on June 22, 1941, is unknown. Many fled eastward, while hundreds of refugees from elsewhere in Latvia and Lithuania passed through the town. Some were unable to escape and ultimately shared the fate of Rēzekne’s Jewish community.
German troops occupied Rēzekne on July 3, 1941, and quickly established a new administrative structure. In early July, units of the German Security Police (Einsatzkommando 1b) arrived in the town. A Latvian Self-Defense unit (auxiliary police detachment) of about 120 men was organized, reinforced by 30 policemen sent from Riga. On August 1, the Ortskommandantur II 339 was stationed in Rēzekne. Later that month, the town came under German civil administration and was incorporated into the Gebiet Dünaburg, headed by Gebietskommissar Friedrich Schwung.
Anti-Jewish measures began the day after the German occupation. Jewish men were ordered to assemble in the market square, where approximately 1,400 gathered. Around ten young men were killed on the spot, while the rest were arrested and taken to prison.
On July 15, 1941, members of Einsatzkommando 1b of Einsatzgruppe A, under the command of Erich Ehrlinger and assisted by local policemen, forced several dozen Jewish prisoners to exhume the bodies of 10 to 30 individuals who had been killed by the NKVD. The Jewish community was falsely accused of responsibility for these killings. In retaliation, approximately 120 Jewish men were executed at Leščinskis’ Garden. According to testimony collected by Yahad from Rachel Kuklya—a Jewish survivor born in 1935 and later head of the Jewish community of Rēzekne—some victims were murdered inside the synagogue while praying, while others were shot as they attempted to flee across the river. The bodies were buried in Leščinskis’ Garden, where a memorial now stands.
In July 1941, German forces, assisted by local police, also began executing groups of Jewish men in the Jewish cemetery. On August 3, 1941, the remaining Jewish population in the town—primarily women, children, and the elderly—was detained. To address overcrowding in the local jail, the Germans began using an additional facility, the so-called “arrest house” on Zamkova Street, which some later referred to as a ghetto.
From August 4, 1941, Jews were taken in groups from the prison to the Jewish cemetery over the course of about ten days. Escorted by local police, the victims were marched or transported by truck. Upon arrival, they were ordered to undress before being shot. Around 2,000 Jews—most of them local residents—were killed at this site and buried in three mass graves. Some accounts suggest the number of victims may have reached as many as 2,500. Memorials were later erected in the newer section of the cemetery, the first in the 1940s and a second in the 1980s.
Beginning in August 1941, mass killings were also carried out in the Ančupānu Hills, about six kilometers from Rēzekne. Victims included Jews from Rēzekne and surrounding areas, as well as Roma, Latvians, and Soviet prisoners of war. One of the largest executions took place on August 23, 1941, when German forces and Latvian collaborators transported a large group of Jews—many of them women and children—either on foot or by truck to the site. Upon arrival, the victims were forced to undress, then shot and buried in mass graves. Another large execution occurred on November 15, 1941, when another group was brought to the same location and murdered. Soviet archives estimate that around 8,000 people of various ethnicities were killed in the Ančupānu Hills over three years. A memorial was erected at the site in 1973.
After the mass murder of Rēzekne’s Jewish population, only a small number of skilled professionals were temporarily spared. In spring 1943, these remaining Jews—together with others who had been captured while in hiding, as well as residents of Stoļerova, Kaunata, and Riebiņi who had resisted the Nazi occupation—were executed in the Vipinga Forest. Rachel Kuklya estimated that 34 individuals were killed there. A memorial plaque was installed at the site in 1974.
In April 1944, as part of Operation 1005, German forces exhumed and burned the bodies buried at Leščinskis’ Garden, the Jewish cemetery, and the Ančupānu Hills in an effort to destroy evidence of their crimes.
The exact number of Jews murdered in Rēzekne remains uncertain. It is generally believed to have exceeded 3,000. According to a report issued by the Rēzekne District Police on June 20, 1942, a total of 3,219 Jews were killed in Rēzekne. A postwar Soviet investigation estimated that around 11,000 individuals—both Jews and Communists—were murdered, including approximately 1,000 children, though these numbers are likely significantly inflated.
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