1 Killing site(s)
Helēna P., born in 1930: "I remember several Jewish families who lived in Eglaine before the war. The Haimovič (Haimovitch) family owned a grocery store. The Falkin family operated the local pharmacy, and the Gellerman family sold shoes and clothing. The Jews were polite, well-dressed people. My family was particularly close to the Falkins, as the pharmacy owner had employed my older sister, who was born in 1923, and taught her the profession. I also remember his daughter, Bella—a beautiful 15-year-old girl with black hair. My parents often helped Mr. Haimovičs with his cows. At night, they would take the cows to Daugavpils and bring back goods that he later sold in his store. In return, Mr. Haimovičs gave our family some of the products. He helped us a lot, knowing that we were far from wealthy." (Testimony N°YIU178LV, interviewed in Eglaine, on October 7, 2022)
"From the very beginning of the German occupation of the Losinskaya volost [of Ilūkste district], groups calling themselves "Latvian partisans" were formed by the Germans and supervised by a German commander. From July 2 to July 16, 1941, arrests and shootings of Soviet citizens were carried out with the help of traitors and collaborators. [...] More than forty men armed with rifles arrived in the Losinskaya volost. Immediately, 18 local residents were requisitioned at gunpoint to dig a pit. When the pit, measuring 3 meters by 2 meters and 1.5 meters deep, was ready, stripped Soviet citizens were brought to the pit and shot in groups of 5 to 6 people with machine guns using explosive bullets. After the shootings, the bodies of the victims were looted — all valuables, jewelry, and gold teeth were removed. Then, the bodies were thrown into the pit, and three Germans who had supervised the execution checked to ensure everyone was dead. Some victims were still breathing and were finished off directly in the pit. [...] In total, 12 people, including children, women, and elderly individuals, were killed in this pit [...] located 500 meters south of the Eglaine station. The second pit, measuring 2x2 meters, contains the bodies of 8 people and is located near the road connecting Eglaine and Ilūkste, approximately 4 km from Ilūkste." [Act drawn by State Extraordinary Soviet Commission (ChGK), on September 25, 1944, p. 278; GARF 7021-93-111/Copy USHMM RG.22-002M]
Eglaine is located approximately 33 km (20.5 mi) northwest of Daugavpils, the regional center. The town originally developed around a railway line connecting Daugavpils and Lithuania.
According to the 1935 census, Eglaine had 25 Jewish residents, comprising 4.89% of the total population. Local Jews were primarily engaged in commerce—operating two of the town’s eight stores—as well as in the service sector and agricultural work. Some Jewish families owned land, including Shmerel Gelerman, Meier Yakobson, Leiba Chaimovich (Haimovitch), and Yisrael Kagan.
The town was also home to a prayer house and a pharmacy operated by Abram Falkin, who, according to a local witness interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, had a 15-year-old daughter named Bella.
According to some sources, several Jews managed to escape from Eglaine on the eve of the German occupation.
Eglaine was occupied by German troops at the end of June 1941. Within days, a new local administration was established, which included the formation of a Self-Defense squad composed of local Latvian men who referred to themselves as "Latvian partisans."
According to a local witness interviewed by Yahad, anti-Jewish measures were introduced shortly thereafter. Jews were forbidden to leave their homes and were required to wear yellow Star of David badges on both their backs and chests. Members of the Self-Defense squad went from house to house, intimidating non-Jewish residents and warning them against offering any assistance to Jews.
In early July 1941, all of Eglaine’s Jewish residents were forcibly removed from their homes and escorted to execution sites. At least one individual was shot on the spot for resisting arrest. According to eyewitness testimony, the victims were divided into two groups and executed at two separate locations.
The first group, consisting mainly of elderly people, was taken to a meadow behind a hill approximately 200 meters from Skolas Street in Eglaine. There, the victims were stripped naked and shot into a pit that had been dug earlier by requisitioned local residents. Before the execution, their valuables and gold teeth were removed. The massacre was carried out by members of the local Self-Defense squad and overseen by the Latvian commandant of the Ilūkste district. According to some sources, German personnel were also present, possibly arriving from the Eglaine train station to observe and photograph the Aktion.
Abram Falkin, the town’s pharmacist, managed to hide during the roundup but reportedly took his own life after hearing the gunfire. His body was later brought to the same execution site and buried alongside the others. The total number of victims at this site is estimated to be between 12 and 15.
A second group of approximately eight Jews was executed three or four days later. They were killed and buried in a trench shelter—likely dating from the First World War—located near the road connecting Eglaine and Ilūkste, about 4 km from Ilūkste. According to some accounts, these individuals may have been Jews who attempted to hide on nearby farms. However, based on testimony collected by Yahad, it is possible that this group consisted of younger Jews who had been deliberately spared during the first execution and temporarily held at a farm before being killed.
Following the destruction of Eglaine’s Jewish community, their homes were looted, and their belongings were divided among the perpetrators and local residents.
The Yahad team successfully identified the meadow killing site behind the hill, which remains unmarked and un-commemorated to this day. However, in 1950, at the initiative of surviving relatives, the victims’ remains were exhumed and reburied at the New Jewish Cemetery (Šmerli) in Riga. A monument erected at the reburial site bears the following inscription:
"My beloved, unforgettable deceased. Dear parents, brothers and sisters Meyers, Ella–Deborah, Ichak, Yehuda, Zilya, Hannah, Berta, Sarah Jakobsohn and friends Abraham Gellermann with his family, Yehuda Leib–Haimowitsch with his family, Abram Falkin with his family. July 1941."
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