Latvian Anti-Nazi Resistance Movement 1941–1945
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Many
Latvians Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...
resisted the
occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany 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 in ...
. Independent Latvia had been occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, then by Nazi Germany in July 1941, forming
Generalbezirk Lettland ''Generalbezirk Lettland'' (German language, German for "General District Latvia"; ) was an Administrative division, administrative subdivision of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' of Nazi Germany that covered Latvia from 1941 to 1944. It se ...
. The Latvian resistance movement was divided between the pro-independence units under the
Latvian Central Council The Latvian Central Council (LCC, , LCP) was the pro-independence Latvian resistance movement during World War II from 1943 onwards. The LCC consisted of members from across the spectrum of former leading Latvian politicians and aimed to be the g ...
and the pro-
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
units under the Central Staff of the
Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
Movement in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
.
Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
was the scene of fierce
Jewish resistance during the Holocaust Jewish resistance under Nazi rule encompassed various forms of organized underground activities undertaken by Jews against German occupation regimes in Europe during World War II. According to historian Yehuda Bauer, Jewish resistance can be d ...
. Many local Latvians were actively involved in the resistance movement against the ethnic policies of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
occupation regime. 134 Latvians were later honored with the title
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
, among them is
Žanis Lipke Žanis is a Latvian masculine given name and may refer to: *Žanis Ansons (1911–1968), Latvian member of Waffen-SS during World War II * Žanis Bahs (1885–1941), Latvian military general * Žanis Blumbergs (1889–1938), Latvian-Soviet milita ...
, who risked his life to save more than 50
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
.


National resistance movements

Civic circles in Latvia were dissatisfied with the German occupation regime and secretly plotted to reinstate
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. There were many small underground groups of the national resistance movements focused on the restoration of the independence of Latvia like The Latvian Nationalist Union, Latvian National Council, the Officer Union, organizations “The Latvian Guards”, “New Regiments“, “The Free Latvia”, “The Latvian Hawk organization” and others. The radical nationalist organization “
Pērkonkrusts Pērkonkrusts (, "Thunder Cross") was a Latvian ultranationalist, Anti-German sentiment, anti-German, anti-Slavic, and antisemitic political party founded in 1933 by Gustavs Celmiņš, borrowing elements of German nationalism—but being unsym ...
” was allied with the Germans in the first months after the invasion, however, when repressed by the Germans it again started underground resistance. On August 13, 1943 members of the four biggest Latvian political parties founded the
Latvian Central Council The Latvian Central Council (LCC, , LCP) was the pro-independence Latvian resistance movement during World War II from 1943 onwards. The LCC consisted of members from across the spectrum of former leading Latvian politicians and aimed to be the g ...
. It published the outlawed publications ''Jaunā Latvija'' (New Latvia) and ''Neatkarīgā Latvija'' (Independent Latvia). The
periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
s propagated the idea of renewing
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
in Latvia after the war.


Kurelians

The Latvian Central Council managed to form their own military unit, disguised as a Home Guard unit, commanded by General
Jānis Kurelis Jānis is a Latvian masculine given name, the equivalent of the English John. The first written use of the name Jānis dates back to 1290. It may refer to: * Jānis Ādamsons (born 1956), Latvian politician * Jānis Akuraters (1876–1937), Lat ...
; the men were popularly known as Kurelians (). The unit was organized on July 28, 1944, by a directive from Veide, the administrator of Rīga township, for the officially avowed purpose of fighting Soviet partisans who had recently been dropped by parachutes in great numbers, and for the formation of German-supported Latvian partisan groups which would operate in Soviet-occupied Latvian regions. The size of the Kurelians is uncertain. Estimates range from 1,200 to 16,000, while the Germans were told that the group had only 500 men. Volunteers were attracted by word of mouth. The Kurelians expected ultimately to fight both Soviets and Nazis and to remain in Latvia as nationalist partisans if the Germans withdrew, or even to hold a part of Latvia until help arrived from the Western Allies. On September 23 the Kurelians retreated through Rīga to northern
Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...
, leaving behind a group of 150 men to operate in the Soviet rear. The Kurelians assisted the
Latvian Central Council The Latvian Central Council (LCC, , LCP) was the pro-independence Latvian resistance movement during World War II from 1943 onwards. The LCC consisted of members from across the spectrum of former leading Latvian politicians and aimed to be the g ...
“boat actions” to Sweden and established radio contacts with Sweden. On November 14 the Germans surrounded and disarmed the Kurelians. Seven of their officers (including Upelnieks, a member of the military committee of the underground Latvian Central Council) were sentenced to death by a Nazi military tribunal and shot in
Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
on November 19. A Kurelian battalion commanded by Lt. Rubenis fought the Germans for three days and was annihilated; Rubenis fell during a Latvian counter-attack trying to break through the German encirclement but some of the Kurelians escaped. General Kurelis was deported to Germany. 545 of his men were sent to the
Stutthof concentration camp Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-an ...
.


Soviet partisans

Armed
combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...
behind the German front lines was carried out by the soldiers of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
units: Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions and people guards. Activity picked up in 1942, one year after the first winter war, but real work by the partisans in Latvia started only in 1943 after the German
Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...
stalled at Stalingrad and
Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...
. The partisan regiment "To padomju Latviju" was organized and started training in June 1942 in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, and from
Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...
three small Latvian partisan units (about 200 men) headed for Latvia. On July 7 the regiment reached the Latvian
Kārsava Kārsava (; , , ''Korsovka'', , , ''Korsovke'') is a town in Ludza Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia, near the border of Russia. The ancient Baltic tribe Latgalians inhabited the territory of Kārsava since the 8th century. There ar ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, but there the Germans found and dispersed them with great losses and only several partisans escaped. The next partisan unit was formed in September 1942 by Moscow from volunteers from 201st Latvian Riflemen Division and the Latvian partisan regiment "Par Padomju Latviju". The commander was Vilis Samsons. This partisan regiment began fighting east of the Latvian border and only in the winter of 1943 did it start to fight in Latvia. In March this unit was renamed as the Latvian Partisan Brigade. Since the local population in Latvia would not support Soviet partisans, they could not gain a foothold. From January 1943 the Red Partisans in Latvia were directly subordinated to the central headquarters in Moscow under the leadership of
Arturs Sproģis Arturs Sproģis (6 March 1904 – 2 October 1980; ) was a Latvian colonel and commander of the Soviet partisans during the occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany in World War II. Early life and career Sproģis was born in Riga in 1904 in to a w ...
. Another prominent commander was Vilis Samsons, who later became a historian.The Partisan War
. Theeasternfront.co.uk. Retrieved on January 6, 2012. Altogether Latvia had 24 partisan units, together with 33 smaller groups. From March 1944 until July they formed 4 partisan brigades: 1st Brigade with about 3000 men (commander V. Samsons) fought in Northern and Northeastern Latvia. 2nd Brigade (about 1500 men, commander P. Ratins) fought in the centre of Latvia. 3rd Brigade (about 500 men, commander Otomars Oškalns) fought at
Zemgale 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 trib ...
, along with the 4th Brigade, also with about 500 men. The Leningrad partisan brigade, which consisted only of Russians (commander M. Klementyev) fought around Lake Lubāns. In 1944 and 1945 in
Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...
they formed many partisan units (2 to 12 men each) which, though small, were very active. Most noted was "Sarkana bulta". The Latvian Red partisans suffered great losses, and many from smaller groups were completely eliminated. The Red partisan movement in Latvia ended in October 1944.


See also

*
Anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
* Estonian anti-German resistance movement 1941–44 *
Latvian independence movement The modern Latvian independence movement was the resistance movement to foreign occupation of the Republic of Latvia during Soviet and Nazi German occupation (1940–1991). First year (1940–1941) of occupation The effects of the Molotov–Ribbe ...
*
Resistance during World War II During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...
*
Resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...
* Lithuanian resistance during World War II


References


External links


Leģenda, kas nāk no JelgavasSaviours and the SavedThe Savers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latvian anti-Nazi resistance movement 1941-1945 Latvia in World War II Eastern European World War II resistance movements National liberation movements Generalbezirk Lettland Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Opposition to antisemitism in Latvia it:Resistenza baltica