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Rūdolfs Gaitars
Rūdolfs Gaitars (29 May 1907 – 22 March 1945) was a Waffen-Obersturmführer in the Waffen SS during World War II. He was the first Latvian to be awarded the German Cross in Gold. Pre-War Life Gaitars was born on 29 May 1907 in Penkule Parish, Semigallia. Before the war he worked as school administrator in a local Penkule primary school. In the Second World War He was dismissed from his school post in September 1940, following the Soviet occupation of Latvia. He then served in the Latvian army and reached the rank of warrant officer. During the Soviet mass deportations on 14 June 1941 Gaitars was on the deportee list, but hid in a forest. His family was sent to Siberia. After Operation Barbarossa started in June 1941, Gaitars organised armed units in Penkule. Together with ex-members of the Aizsargi (home guard) he set up checkpoints on roads and arrested Soviet activists and politicians. Gaitars became Commandant of the Penkule parish. In May 1942 he enlisted i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penkule Parish
Penkule Parish () is an administrative unit of Dobele Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t .... Towns, villages and settlements of Penkule Parish * Penkule * Baldonas * Ezeriņi * Skujaine References Parishes in Dobele Municipality Semigallia {{Zemgale-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semigallia
Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tribe. They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) against the German crusaders and Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades. Semigallians had close linguistic and cultural ties with Samogitians. Name The name of Semigallia appears in sources such as ''Seimgala'', ''Zimgola'' and ''Sem'' 'e'''gallen''. The -gal element means 'border' or 'end', while the first syllable corresponds to ''ziem'' ('north'). Thus, the Semigallians were the "people of the northern borderlands" (i.e. the lower parts of the Mūša and Lielupe river valleys). Territory 1st–4th centuries Between the 1st and the 4th century the cultural area of Semigallian reached its maximum size. In the north, the territory spread the Gulf of Riga and included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (military Unit)
A company is a Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a Major (rank), major or a Captain (armed forces), captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Untersturmführer
(, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of '' Sturmführer'', which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921. The rank of ''Untersturmführer'' was senior to '' Hauptscharführer'' (or '' Sturmscharführer'' in the Waffen-SS) and junior to the rank of ''Obersturmführer''. Overview ''Untersturmführer'' was the first commissioned SS officer rank, equivalent to a second lieutenant in other military organizations. The insignia consisted of a three silver pip collar patch with the shoulder boards of an army lieutenant. Because of the emphasis the SS placed on the leadership of their organization, obtaining the rank of ''Untersturmführer'' required a screening and training process different from the standard promotion system in the enlisted ranks. In the early days of the SS, promotion to ''Untersturmführer'' was simply a matter of course as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Latvian SS Infantry Brigade
The 2nd SS Infantry Brigade (mot.) () was formed on the 15 May 1941, under the command of Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld with the 4th and 5th SS Infantry (formerly ''Totenkopf'') Regiments and began its operational service in September in the Army Group North Rear Area, under which command it would spend its entire existence. It gradually began to incorporate foreign legions of the SS under its operational control. After the western legions departed for refit, it began operating with Latvian volunteer formations and eventually was redesignated the 2nd Latvian SS Infantry Brigade () and on the 18 May 1943, and used as the cadre in the formation of the Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian) in January 1944. Operational history The 2 SS Infantry Brigade was raised on 15 May 1941 and was placed under the command of Army Group North Rear Area for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Prior to this, the role that the unit would undertake during the assault was discussed in a me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulkovo Observatory
The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (), officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences at Pulkovo, is the principal astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is located 19 km south of Saint Petersburg on Pulkovo Heights above sea level. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. It was formerly known as the Imperial Observatory at Pulkowo. Early years The observatory was opened in 1839. Originally, it was a brainchild of the German/Russian astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, who would become its first director (in 1861, his son Otto Wilhelm von Struve succeeded him). The architect was Alexander Bryullov. The observatory was equipped with state-of-the-art devices, one of them being the a aperture refractor, one of the largest refractors in the world at that time (see Great Refractor). In 1885, the observatory was equipped wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front () was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. History The Leningrad Front was immediately given the task of containing the German drive towards Leningrad and defending the city from the approaching Army Group North. By September 1941, German forces to the south were effectively stopped on the outskirts of Leningrad, initiating the two-and-a-half-year-long siege of Leningrad. Although Finnish forces to the north stopped at the old Finnish–Soviet border, the Leningrad front suffered severe losses on the Finnish Front. From September 8, soldiers of the front were forced to conduct operations under the conditions of a blockade, with very little supply. Some supplies did reach the city however via the lake Road of Life. During the blockade, the front executed various offensive and defensive operations, until finally with the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvian Police Battalions
Latvian Auxiliary Police was a paramilitary force created from Latvian volunteers and conscripts by the Nazi German authorities who occupied the country in June/July 1941. It was part of the '' Schutzmannschaft'' (Shuma), native police forces organized by the Germans in occupied territories and subordinated to the Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei''; Orpo). Some units of the Latvian auxiliary police were involved in the Holocaust. In addition to regular stationary police (patrolmen in cities and towns), 30 police battalions were formed. These mobile groups carried out guard duties of strategic objects or building fortifications, participated in anti-partisan operations and fought on the Eastern Front. Formation of units The auxiliary police force consisted primarily of those who had served in Latvian police, army, and militia organization which had been disbanded upon the prior Soviet occupation in 1940. Within the first week of the German occupation, Franz Walter Stahleck ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aizsargi
Aizsargi (; officially – , or LAO) was a volunteer paramilitary organization, militia with some characteristics of a military reserve force in Latvia during the interbellum period (1918–1939). The Aizsargi was created on March 30, 1919, by the Latvian Provisional Government as a self-defense force - a kind of National Guard - during the Latvian War of Independence. In 1921, it was reorganized to follow the example of the Finnish ''Suojeluskunta'' (known as the "White Guard"). The Aizsargi published a newspaper, entitled ("Defender"/"Guard"), and the movement had subsidiary sections for women ("", established in 1926) and youth ("").The organization, along with the Latvian Army, provided military support to the 1934 coup d'état of Kārlis Ulmanis. By 1 January 1940, the organization had a membership of 60,684: 31,874 guards (aizsargi), 14,810 women members (aizsardzes), and 14,000 youth members (jaunsargi). The organization consisted of 19 infantry regiments and the se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a front, with the main goal of capturing territory up to a line between Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, known as the A-A line. The attack became the largest and costliest military offensive in history, with around 10 million combatants taking part in the opening phase and over 8 million casualties by the end of the operation on 5 December 1941. It marked a major escalation of World War II, opened the Eastern Front—the largest and deadliest land war in history—and brought the Soviet Union into the Allied powers. The operation, code-named after the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goals of eradicating communism and conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states since the lengthy conquest of Siberia, which began with the fall of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582 and concluded with the annexation of Chukotka in 1778. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over , but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population. Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Omsk are the largest cities in the area. Because Siberia is a geographic and historic concept and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia spans the entire expanse of land from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, with the Ural River usually forming the southernmost portion of its western boundary, and includes most of the drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
June Deportation
The June deportation of 1941 (, , ) was a mass deportation of tens of thousands of people during World War II from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, present-day western Belarus and western Ukraine, and present-day Moldova – territories which had been occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939–1940 – into the interior of the Soviet Union. The June deportation was ordered by the Soviet dictator Stalin, and organized following formal guidelines set by the NKVD with the Soviet Interior People's Commissar Lavrentiy Beria as the senior executor. The official title of the top secret document was “Resolution On the Eviction of the Socially Foreign Elements from the Baltic Republics, Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and Moldova”. The NKVD and Red Army units carried out the arrests, often in collaboration with the Soviet police and local Communist Party members. Background The June deportations were part of a much larger history of depopulation. The "Stalin deportations" from 1928-1953 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
