Baltinava, a rural settlement in the Balvi district (Latvian Republic).
Since 1772, Baltinava was part of the Russian Empire. In the 19th – early 20th century, it was known as Boltinovo, located in Ludza Uyezd, Vitebsk Governorate. From 1918 to 1940, it was part of the Republic of Latvia, and from 1940 to 1991, it was within the Latvian SSR.
Jewish Community
In 1920, 212 Jews (56%) lived in Baltinava; in 1930, 207 Jews (43%); and in 1935, 164 Jews (34%). The Jewish community had existed since the late 19th century, with trade being the main occupation of its members.
During World War I, nearly half of the Jewish homes in Baltinava suffered damage due to military actions. In 1918, some local Jews were conscripted into the Latvian Liberation Army. In the early 1920s, a six-member community council was elected. With the support of Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), houses were repaired, and a mutual aid fund was established. Jews owned two-thirds of the shops, and nearly every family had a house, small farm, and vegetable garden.
During the 1920s, there was a six-grade Jewish school for some time, along with a Jewish cultural centre with a library. Local branches of Betar and Hashomer Hatzair, as well as socialist-revisionist organisations, were active. The town had a synagogue and a shochet (ritual slaughterer).
The Holocaust
After Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, only four Jewish families from Baltinava managed to escape.
In early July 1941, German forces occupied Baltinava. 20 Jews, accused of collaborating with Soviet authorities, were executed by members of the Latvian paramilitary organisation “Aizsargi” in a forest near Tilža. Later, another 40 Jews were killed near the cemetery. The remaining Jews of Baltinava, along with those from nearby villages, were murdered on 11 August 1941 in a forest 24 km from Baltinava.