1 Killing site(s)
Nora S., born in 1932: "I used to live near the road between Sērene and Jaunjelgava, not far from both of the killing sites. I remember it clearly—it was a Thursday when I saw a group of about twenty men being taken into the forest to dig a pit. Later that same day, I heard gunshots coming from the woods, and I realized they had been killed. The next day, Friday, more people were brought to the same place—and again, I heard gunfire. Then on Saturday, a truck arrived in Sērene carrying children. They were taken to that same forest site. For three days in a row, I heard shots. After the war, the bodies from both killing sites were exhumed and reburied in the Jewish cemetery in Jaunjelgava." (Testimony N°YIU5LV, interviewed in Aizkraukle, on October 10, 2018)
"[…] A total of 565 civilians from the town of Jaunjelgava suffered under the German occupation authorities. Acting on the orders of the German military commandant stationed in the city of Jēkabpils, they were taken from Jaunjelgava in trucks and shot at the following locations:
1. 65 people were shot and buried within the borders of the Sērene Parish, near the "Totani" [Totanu] cemetery.
2. 430 people were shot and buried near the "Ozoli" estate.
3. 70 people were shot and buried ten kilometers from the town of Bauska, to the left of the Bauska highway, about 300 meters from the road. […]"
[Act drawn by State Extraordinary Soviet Commission (ChGK), on January 16, 1945; GARF 7021-93-2400/Copy USHMM RG.22-002M; p. 257]
"As a witness to the brutal and inhumane abuse by the German-Fascist executioners against the Jewish population of the town of Jaunjelgava, before they were shot, I state the following: From the first days of the occupation of the town of Jaunjelgava, the German-Fascist authorities, with the help of the gendarmerie, carried out the mass arrest of the entire Jewish population — around 600 people were herded into the synagogue. They were held in the synagogue for about a week, during which time the Germans committed a number of barbaric abuses against the Jews. For example, all the Jews — regardless of age — were taken to the town square and ordered to clean it with their bare hands. After that, all the Jews were forced to dance and sing Soviet songs around a bonfire made from portraits of Soviet leaders, books, and flags. Those who refused were beaten on the spot with rifle butts. All the Jews who had been rounded up were, after a week, transported by the German executioners in trucks about 6 km outside the town, where they were shot." [Statement of Skamberg Robert Karlovitch, born in 1919, resident of Jaunjelgava, given to the State Extraordinary Soviet Commission (ChGK) on January 17, 1945; GARF 7021-93-2400/Copy USHMM RG.22-002M; p. 261]
Jaunjelgava, formerly known as Friedrichstadt, is located approximately 80 km (50 miles) southeast of Riga. After the annexation of the Duchy of Courland by the Russian Empire in 1795, the town became an important district center.
The first Jewish residents began settling in Jaunjelgava in 1805. Initially, the community was established about 7.5 km upstream along the Western Dvina River, where they founded their own cemetery.
Thanks to its strategic location on the Western Dvina—a major commercial artery before the mid-19th century—the town became a hub of regional trade. Local Jews played a vital role in the economy, working as rafters, navigators, coachmen, and tradesmen. Many also ran inns and provided food and lodging for the rafters and haulers passing through the town.
By 1881, Jaunjelgava had a vibrant Jewish population of 4,128, comprising roughly 70% of the town’s total population. However, waves of emigration followed due to increasing economic hardship. Many Jews left for Riga, Palestine, and the United States. As a result, the community’s numbers declined sharply—falling to 619 by 1930, and to just 561 by 1935 (26% of the town’s population).
Jaunjelgava was home to a Jewish cemetery (established in 1847), three synagogues—including one used by the Hasidim—and two prayer houses. From 1919 onward, the community was led by Rabbi Aron Bezalel Paul. Other institutions included a Talmud Torah, a secular Jewish school, a library, and a Jewish mortgage and savings society. Local Jews owned 52 commercial establishments and took active part in civic life through traditional Jewish organizations and political parties.
The Soviet annexation of Latvia in 1940 marked a turning point. Private businesses were nationalized, Jewish communal institutions were closed, and four Jewish families were deported to labor camps.
After the launch of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, only a small number of Jews from Jaunjelgava managed to evacuate to the east. When German forces occupied the town on June 27, 1941, more than 500 Jews still remained. By that time, a local Self-Defense squad had already been formed.
In early July 1941, approximately 20 Jews were arrested in Jaunjelgava and shot near Lake Lauce, alongside 5 to 7 others brought in by Self-Defense squads from Sece and Sērene. Around the same time, the remaining Jews were registered and confined under guard in a makeshift ghetto, consisting of two synagogues, where men and women were separated.
During this period, the ghetto inmates were subjected to humiliation and abuse. They were forced to wear yellow patches and endure severe hunger. Jewish men were made to clean the town square with their bare hands and to dance and sing Soviet songs around a bonfire made from portraits of Soviet leaders, books, and flags. Those who resisted were beaten with rifle butts. Jewish men were assigned to forced labor, including reinforcement of the riverbank and road repairs, while women were sent to clean the apartments of German officers.
The mass murder of Jaunjelgava’s Jews took place in July and August 1941, during two Aktions carried out at different locations in the Beku Pine Forest, specifically near the Ozoli estate and close to the Totanu cemetery. These mass executions were conducted by the Latvian SD unit known as the Arājs Commando, assisted by the local Self-Defense squad and police. The first Aktion, on July 11, 1941, resulted in the execution of 65 to 80 Jews, along with 20 Soviet activists. The second Aktion, carried out on August 2 or 7, 1941, led to the killing of the remaining 430 members of the Jewish community.
Roughly 70 Jews from Jaunjelgava were subsequently taken to the Likvertene Forest near Bauska, where they were also murdered.
With the help of local witnesses, Yahad identified the two original killing sites in the Beku Pine Forest. During the postwar years, the victims’ remains were exhumed from both sites and reburied in the Jaunjelgava Jewish Cemetery, where a monument now stands, commemorating "More than 500 Jews of Jaunjelgava killed on August 7, 1941."
According to the Aizkraukle Historical and Artistic Museum, 542 Jews from Jaunjelgava perished during the Holocaust. Only two Jewish families from the town are known to have survived the war.
For more information about the killing of Jews in the Beku Pine Forest of Sērene please follow the corresponding profile.
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