Article published on the websites of LRT and Daugavpils Television (translated to English by Ivar Brod)
Israeli Ambassador to Latvia Sandra Simovich visited Latgale on an important mission. A solemn ceremony of awarding the “Righteous among the Nations” medal was held in Preili. The award was presented to the heirs of five residents of Preili and the Preili region, who during the Second World War, risked their own lives and the lives of their children to hide Jewish families from the Nazis.
Posthumously, the title “Righteous Among the Nations” was awarded to Ivan Tsvetkov and Xenia (parents of 14 children), Ksenofon and Fevronia Egorov, and Ivan Egorov (8 children were raised in his family). This was the decision of the commission of the Israeli State Holocaust Memorial Complex.
The solemn ceremony was preceded by the painstaking work of teacher and local Preili historian Tatiana Kolosova. Three years of studying archival documents and searching for witnesses of those long-ago events have led to an incredible result. The well-deserved award has found its heroes.
On the same day, the Israeli Ambassador and her entourage, including Riga architect Sergey Ryzh, visited the Holocaust Memorial in Preili. Its construction began in 2004, but work is still underway to further preserve the memory of the innocent victims.
During the Second World War, more than 800 innocent civilians, representatives of the Jewish community of the city of Preili, were shot dead in Preili.
