Location of the monument:

Latitude: 56.990557

Longitude: 27.196450

In Rugāji arrests of Jews began in July 1041, with the arrival of Nazi troops. At the beginning of august all arrested Jews from Rugāji and its vicinity (Bērzpils, Baltinava, etc.) were taken to Smilšukalns (approximately 5 km from Rugāji), where they were shot by a German SD unit (“Arājs’ Commando), together with local self–defenders.

During the Soviet period a monument in black granite was erected at Smilšukalns on the site of murder, it bears an inscription in Latvian and Russia: “Eternal Remembrance to Victims of Fascist Terror 1941– 1945”.

Further reading:

• Meler M. Jewish Latvia: Sites to Remember. Tel-Aviv: Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews in Israel, 2013.
• Ezergailis A. The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944: The Missing Center. Riga: The Historical Institute of Latvia; Washington, DC: US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1996.

Search for the related names of Jews at http://names.lu.lv.