Alternate names: Krāslava [Latv], Kreslavka and Краслава (Креславка) [Rus], Kraslau [Ger], Kraslave [Yid], Krasław [Pol], Kraslava [Lith], Kreslawa, Kreslawka, Kraaslava. 55°54' N, 27°10' E , In SE Latvia, 42 miles S of Rēzekne (Rezhitsa), 25 miles E of Daugavpils (Dvinsk).
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 671: "Kraslava".
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Latvia and Estonia (1988), p. 226: "Kraslava"
- Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), IV, pp. 616-619: "Krasław".
- JewishGen Latvia SIG
- ShtetLink [March 2011]
Krāslava District (Latvian: Krāslavas rajons) was an administrative division of eastern Latvia in Latgale region containing 2 cities and 23 parishes, each with local governance. The main city in the district was Krāslava. Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009. [January 2011]
Kraslava information. Alternate name: Kreslavka. Kraslava, a small town in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia onthe border had an ethnically diverse population of Jews, Russians, Poles, Belorussians, and a minority of Latvians. After settling in Kraslava in the mid-18th century, the Jewish population grew quickly and were over half of the residents throughout the 19th century. Now, only a tiny remnant remains.Excellent photos, history, and yizkor website [March 2009]
VIDEO: Kraslava (141KB) - Golden autumn in Kraslava... quiet little shtetl as from Marc Chagal painting: one floor wooden houses, synagogue, cemetery on the bank of quick river. See the home where world famous sculpture Naum Aronson was born. Discover daily life of local Jews in interview with Arkady Raichlin. Holocaust memorial. [March 2009]
Within the week of German entry into Kraslova, Jews of Kraslova, Griva, Preili, Vishki, Livani, Dagda and smaller shtetls were ordered to collect 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]
CEMETERY: at end of Spidolu and Liela Sts, 18th century
CEMETERY: Krustpils along Rigas St. early 19th century
The Jewish cemetery of Kraslava ([May 2013]
Kapseta Cemetery: Mass Grave and Memorial.
In November 1992, I visited Kraslava where one to three Jewish families remain. The number depends on whom you ask. Arkady Raichlin drove me around and got the key to the cemetery from the Latvian woman who tends to it. It is in nearly pristine condition. Raichlin says there is almost no vandalism. Stones date from the 1600s. There are several hundred markers that I could see. In the "new" or postwar part of the cemetery are three markers with 52 names of Jewish soldiers from Kraslava who died in the Red Army. I have around a dozen slides of the cemetery from my brief visit there. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [date?]
See burial list All Latvia Cemetery List [March 2009] See burial list. [January 2011] Photos. [January 2011]
MASS GRAVE: Terpentina Rupnica Mass Grave. July and August 1941. [January 2011]
MASS GRAVE: Kraslava Augustovka Mass Grave and Memorial. August 3,1941 [January 2011]