Generalbezirk Lettland (General District Latvia) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of '' Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the civilian occupation regime established by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

for the administration of the Baltic States (

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, Latvia and Lithuania) and the western part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Organization and Structure

''Generalbezirk Lettland'' was originally organized on 25 July 1941 on the territory of the then German-occupied Latvia, which had until then been under the military administration of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

's''

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

. By 1 September 1941, in the wake of further German gains, it expanded to its full extent, reaching the former Estonian and Soviet borders. The capital of ''Generalbezirk Lettland'' was Riga.Generalbezirk Lettland
i

Retrieved 26 May 2022.

Administrative divisions

Reichskommissariat Ostland Administrative

''Generalbezirk Lettland'' had the following six subdivisions called ''Kreisgebiete'' (County Areas). The seat of administration is in parentheses. *

Dünaburg Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

(Daugavpils) * Libau (Liepāja) *

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united ...

(Jelgava) * Riga-Land (Riga-Rural) * Riga-Stadt (Riga-Urban) *

Wolmar Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state cit ...

(Valmiera)

Civil and Police Leadership

Civil administration was led by a ''Generalkommissar'' (General Commissioner) directly appointed by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, and who reported to Ostland ''

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

Hinrich Lohse Hinrich Lohse (2 September 1896 – 25 February 1964) was a Nazi German politician and a convicted war criminal, best known for his rule of the Reichskommissariat Ostland, during World War II. Reichskommissariat Ostland now comprises Lithuania, La ...

, headquartered in Riga. In addition, police and security matters were overseen by an SS and Police Leader (SSPF) directly appointed by ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, and who reported to the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) ''Ostland und Russland-Nord'' in Riga, SS-'' Gruppenführer''

Hans-Adolf Prützmann Hans-Adolf Prützmann (31 August 1901 – 16 May 1945) was among the highest-ranking German SS officials during the Nazi era. From June 1941 to September 1944, he served as a Higher SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union, and from No ...

until 1 November 1941, and SS-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

'' Friedrich Jeckeln after that date. *''Generalkommissar'': Otto-Heinrich Drechsler (25 July 1941 – 14 September 1944). * SS and Police Leader: ''SS-

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

Walther Schröder Walther Schröder (26 November 1902 – 31 October 1973) was a German Nazi Party politician, SS-''Brigadeführer'' and Police President of Lübeck, who served as an SS and Police Leader in Latvia and Estonia during the Second World War. Earl ...

(4 August 1941 – 19 October 1944.

Holocaust

Following the German invasion in June 1941, the death squads of ''

Einsatzgruppe (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imple ...

'' A and their Latvian collaborators, including the '' Arajs Kommando'', immediately began the systematic murder of Latvian

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. It is estimated that approximately 70,000, or about three-quarters of the pre-war population, were killed. In addition, thousands of

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

and ethnic Latvians perished in the slaughter. ''Generalbezirk Lettland'' was the site of the

Rumbula massacre The Rumbula massacre is a collective term for incidents on November 30 and December 8, 1941, in which about 25,000 Jews were murdered in or on the way to Rumbula forest near Riga, Latvia, during the Holocaust. Except for the Babi Yar massacre in ...

, one of the most notorious mass executions in the eastern occupied territories.

Dissolution

On 14 September 1944, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

launched its Riga offensive and ''Generalkommissar'' Drechsler departed for

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

in Germany. Riga fell on 13 October and ''Generalbezirk Lettland'' effectively ceased to exist. Administration of those parts of Latvia still under German occupation reverted to military administration under Army Group North. Some German forces were trapped in the

Courland pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

and continued armed resistance until finally surrendering on 10 May 1945.

References