Oskars Dankers (March 26, 1883 – April 11, 1965) was a Latvian general. He participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and in the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

. He was a recipient of the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during ...

, 2nd and 3rd class. During the

occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on July 10, 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 in ...

, Dankers was appointed head of the German-controlled Latvian Self-Government.

Biography

He was born in

Irlava parish thumb Irlava Parish ( lv, Irlavas pagasts) is an administrative unit of Tukums Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia. Est. Population 1700 People. Towns, villages and settlements of Irlava parish *The biggest city in Irlava parish ...

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The first education he received was in

Jelgava 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 Duch ...

, where he studied at the Alexander School. He continued his education in Jelgavas

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

and graduated in 1902. Dankers joined the 180th infantry regiment of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

, which was deployed in Jelgava. He graduated from the

Vilnius Military Academy Vilnius Military School (russian: Виленское военное училище) also known as the Vilnius Junker Infantry School (russian: Виленское пехотное юнкерское училище) was a military school for the non ...

in 1906 and continued service in the 197th infantry regiment of the Russian Army, deployed near

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. In 1913 Dankers received the rank of

Stabskapitän ''Stabskapitän'' (en: Staff captain), in the cavalry also ''Stabsrittmeister'' (en: "Staff riding master" or "Staff cavalry master"), or ''Kapitänleutnant'' (en: Captain lieutenant), was a historic military rank in the Prussian Army. In refer ...

. Dankers participated in World War I with the 197th infantry regiment. He initially commanded a company, and later a battalion. On February 4, 1916, he was promoted to the rank of

podpolkovnik ''Podpolkovnik'' (russian: подполко́вник, lit=sub –, junior – , or lower regimentary) is a military rank in Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. ...

(

Lt. colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the army, armies, most Marine (armed services), marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use t ...

). During his service, Dankers was

shell-shocked Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

and was wounded several times. Dankers was repeatedly awarded decorations. He was captured by the enemy in July 1916 and was released in 1918. He returned to Helsinki and remained there until May 1919. On May 31, 1919, he joined the Latvian Army in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

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 ...

. He started as an officer of special tasks at the headquarters of

Jorģis Zemitāns Jorģis Zemitāns (23 February 1873, Skrīveri parish – 16 January 1928, Riga) was an army officer and commander of the Latvian Northern Brigade during the Latvian War of Independence. Biography Jorģis Zemitāns was born on 23 February 1873 ...

and participated in the formation of new Latvian troops. In June, he became a commander of the 3rd Jelgava Infantry Regiment (soon afterwards, the regiment was recalled to the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment). He and his troops were transported via the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, where in August, he was appointed commander to the highest Latvian troop in Liepāja.Biography in Order of Lāčplēsis home page
In battles of November 1919, he defended Liepāja against the Bermontian Army. Later that month, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. At the end of 1919 Dankers became commander of the 4th Zemgale Infantry Division. Serving as a commander in the Zemgale Division, he participated in several battles at the

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

front. On June 22, 1926, he was promoted to general. After the

, he continued his military education. He was commander of the Zemgale Division until 1933. Afterwards, he commanded the 1st Kurzeme Infantry Division. Oskars Dankers at the Nuremberg Trials

In January 1940, he left the post as commander of Kurzeme Division and in June (two days after the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

), he went to Germany with his family. When Germany initiated war with the USSR in 1941, he returned to (

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...

), Latvia, where he held several high posts in the German-made Latvian Self-Administration.Biography of Dankers
In September 1944 he and his family left Latvia for Germany, where he was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

in 1945 by the United States forces. He was the subject of suspicions because of his posts in German occupation institutions, however, there was no evidence of war crimes.OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL FOR WAR CRIMES APO 696 A, memo dated July 26, 1948, from Arthur I. Peterson, War Crimes Attorney, reproduced in Dankers, O. ''Lai Vēsture Spriež''. Apgāds Latvis, 1965. Subsequent to his release he lived in an

UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...

in Germany. In the 1950s, Dankers lost his eyesight. In 1957, he moved – this time to United States – where he published two books about his life. He died in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

on April 11, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dankers, Oskars 1883 births 1965 deaths People from Tukums Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian generals Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Latvian people of World War II Latvian World War II refugees Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Latvian emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class

Biography

See also

References