In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Daugavpils was an important regional center of Jewish cultural and spiritual life.

Prior to World War I, Jews comprised approximately 50%, or 55, 000, of Dvinsk’s total population.

During the German occupation of Latvia in World War II, the overwhelming majority of Daugavpils Jews and those of neighboring regions were relocated to the Daugavpils Ghetto. Over 15,000 were murdered in the Holocaust.