Ventspils (Latvian: [ˈvæntspils] ) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country.
At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port. The city's name literally means "castle on the Venta", referring to the Livonian Order's castle built alongside the Venta River.
Rēzekne (Latvian: [ˈrɛːzekne] , Latgalian: Rēzne pronounced [rʲæːzʲnʲæ] or Rēzekne pronounced [ˈrʲæːzʲækʲnʲæ], Russian: Резекне) is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called The Heart of Latgale (Latvian: Latgales sirds, Latgalian: Latgolys sirds). Built on seven hills, Rēzekne is situated 242 kilometres (150 miles) east of Riga, and 63 kilometres (39 miles) west of the Latvian-Russian border, at the intersection of the Moscow – Ventspils railway and Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railways. It is the 7th largest city in Latvia.
The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on 10 July 1941, by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was incorporated as Generalbezirk Lettland, subordinated to Reichskommissariat Ostland, an administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany. Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, was killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost.