Alternate names: Dagda [Latv, Дагда-Rus], Dagde [Yid], Dagden [Ger], Dageten, Dedga, Dagdas. 56°06' N, 27°32' E , in SE Latvia, 41 miles ENE of Daugavpils (Dvinsk), 20 miles NE of Krāslava near Belarussian border. Jewish population: 1,026 (1897), 727 (1920).
Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 291: "Dagda".
Pinkas HaKehilot, Latvia and Estonia (1988), p. 80: "Dagda"
The Latgale region (Latgola) in the Latgale uplands and lowlands of eastern Latvia with many with forests and lakes and little population in the 1600s. Poles (landlords, officials, peasants and "Old Believers"persecuted in Russia) settled but when Russia annexed the area, merchants and peasants moved to Latgale. Before WWII, 5% of the population was Jews. In 1933, the businesses and homes of Jews were burnt. Before WWII. Dagda Jewish community,, dating from around 1800 had three synagogues (Skolas Street 6, Rigas Street 17, and Upes Street 3) and a Jewish school. Jewish population: 1847 - 77, 1897 - 1026 (70%), and 1935 - 585 (53%). The part of Dagda where the poor Jews lived was called "Little America." Beginning in 1900, Jews began to immigrate to the USA and South Africa. Many Jews fleeing Russia were helped by the Jewish community in Dagda; some stayed. Most Jews were peddlers, tradesmen, and craftsmen with a few pharmacists, doctors, and dentists. [March 2009]
Within the week of German entry into Kraslova, Jews of Kraslova, Griva, Preili, Vishki, Livani, Dagda, and smaller shtetls were collected in three synagogues in Kraslava for deportation on July 28, 1941. Allowed to hire carts to bring processions with them, they were guarded overnight at the crowded synagogues by the Latvian auxiliary police and the following day were escorted by the police in carts and on foot 40 km to the newly established Ghetto in Daugavpils. Source with much more information. [March 2009]
VIDEO: Dagda (214KB) - ... this pretty town in 250 km from Riga on the hills along large lake. You have this exclusive possibility to admire the local landscapes, church and synagogue, cemetery and old dwelling houses. [March 2009]
CEMETERY and mass grave: 6 Plavas St, Opposite Meza Street. The cemetery dates from the beginning of the 19th century. cemetery. [October 2000]
Part of the cemetery was destroyed but about seventy tombstones still remain. Mr. Feigmanis has pictures of all remaining stones. Aleksandrs Feigmanis, Kahovkas 2-12 LV-1021, Riga, Latvia This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [date?]
Photos of Holocaust memorial and burial list and cemetery and photos of 56 interments in cemetery. [March 2009]
Photos. [January 2011]
The Jewish cemetery of Dagda ( Latvia) [May 2013]