Ventspils in the context of Tsarskoye Selo Railways

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.

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 Tsarskoye Selo Railway (Russian: Царскосе́льская желе́зная доро́га) was the first public railway line in the Russian Empire. It ran for 27 km (17 mi) from Saint Petersburg to Pavlovsk through the nearby (4 km) Tsarskoye Selo. Construction began in May 1836, and the first test trips were carried out the same year between Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk, using horse-drawn trains. The line was officially opened on 30 October 1837, when an 8-carriage train was hauled by a steam locomotive between Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. Until the construction of the Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway in 1851, it was the only passenger train line in Russia. In 1899 it was merged into the Moscow-Windau-Rybinsk Railway and now forms part of the Oktyabrskaya Railway.