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© Vladimir Levin, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 4.2022

Memorial Name

Memorial to the Victims of Fascism - Fašisma upuru memoriāls. 

Who is Commemorated?

Victims of the Nazis murdered at Mežciems and buried at this site.  

Description:

The memorial is a large territory with mass graves. It is divided from the road by a stone fence, to which two metal plaques with inscriptions are affixed. The inscriptions in Latvian and Russian “In this forest, in 1941–1944, the fascist occupiers tortured and shot down more than 100,000 people.”

The main pathway leads from the entrance to the obelisk on a raised platform. The obelisk replaced in 2005 the original bronze monument stolen in the 1990s. On both sides of the pathway, mass graves are marked by stone frames.

A high obelisk painted white (erected in 2005) stands on the stone pedestal that remained from the original monument of 1960. A marble plaque affixed to it says in Russian “Eternal memory” and has a cross and a bunch of flowers depicted on it. Stone slabs on both sides of the obelisk are inscribed in large letters, in Russian and Latvian, “To the victims of Fascism, 1941–1944.”

The Council of Latvian Jewish Communities supplemented the memorial with a monument to the murdered Jews. In the corner of a mass grave on the righthand side of the pathway, there are two small black marble slabs designed by Ilana Lisagor. They bear Stars of David inscribed with the letters פ"נ and identical inscriptions in Latvian, Russian, English, and Yiddish.

Inscription:

At the entrance:

Latvian

Šajā mežā
1941. – 1944. g.
fašistiske okupanti nomocīja
un nošāva pāri
100 tūkstošu cilvēku.

Translation: In this forest, in 1941–1944, the fascist occupiers tortured and shot down more than 100,000 people.

Russian

В этом лесу
в 1941 – 1944 гг.
фашистские оккупанты замучили
и расстреляли свыше
100 тысяч человек

Translation: In this forest, in 1941–1944, the fascist occupiers tortured and shot down more than 100,000 people. 

On the plaque affixed to the obelisk:

Russian

Вечная память

Translation: Eternal memory

On the both sides of the obelisk:

Latvian

Fašisma upuriem
1941-1944

Translation: to the victims of fascism, 1941-1945

Russian

Жертвам фашизма
1941-1945

Translation: to the victims of fascism, 1941-1945

Black slabs:

Latvian

Šajā vietā ir apbedītas Daugavpils geto
ieslodzīto mīrstīgās atliekas

Latvijas Ebreju draudži un kopienu padome

Russian

Здесь захоронены останки узников
Даугавпилсского гетто

Совет еврейских общин Латвии

English:

The remains of prisoners of the Daugavpils
ghetto are buried here

The Council of Latvia Jewish Communities

Yiddish

אין דעם ארט 1941 זיינען באערדיקט יידן וועלכע זיינען כעהרגעט
געוורן אין דוינסק'ער גטו
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.

די ראט פון יידישע קהילות אין לטביה

Commissioned by

Authorities of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (1960)

The Council of Latvia Jewish Communities (2007)

 

Name/Title
Memorial to the Victims of Fascism at Mežciems in Daugavpils | Unknown
Object Detail
Settings
Date
1960, 2005, 2007
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Latvia | Latgale | Daugavpils
| Mežciems
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Category
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
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Weight
Axis
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Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Shape / Form
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
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Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
A473798