00:47Latvia: Far-right activists celebrate Nazi occupation
Latvia: Far-right activists celebrate Nazi occupation
A group of far-right activists celebrated the anniversary of Riga's occupation by German forces in 1941 in the Latvian capital on Monday. Marching through Riga's city centre towards the city's iconic Freedom Monument waving Latvian flags and sporting swastika emblems, marchers laid flowers at the monument under the watchful eye of local police.
Riga was seized by Nazi forces on July 1, 1941, who wrested control of the city away from what was then the Soviet Union. The Soviet Red Army re-entered Riga in 1944, once again returning the city to Soviet control until Latvian independence in 1991.
During World War II, many Latvians supported the Nazis, joining military units such as the infamous Waffen-SS. The Freedom Monument was erected in 1935 to commemorate Latvian soldiers who lost their lives in the Latvian War for Independence, a military struggle which lasted from 1918 to 1920 and resulted in Latvian independence from Russia.
During the years of Nazi occupation, about 90,000 Latvians were killed, approximately 70,000 of whom were Jewish.
00:47NONE
Latvia: Far-right activists celebrate Nazi occupation
A group of far-right activists celebrated the anniversary of Riga's occupation by German forces in 1941 in the Latvian capital on Monday. Marching through Riga's city centre towards the city's iconic Freedom Monument waving Latvian flags and sporting swastika emblems, marchers laid flowers at the monument under the watchful eye of local police.
Riga was seized by Nazi forces on July 1, 1941, who wrested control of the city away from what was then the Soviet Union. The Soviet Red Army re-entered Riga in 1944, once again returning the city to Soviet control until Latvian independence in 1991.
During World War II, many Latvians supported the Nazis, joining military units such as the infamous Waffen-SS. The Freedom Monument was erected in 1935 to commemorate Latvian soldiers who lost their lives in the Latvian War for Independence, a military struggle which lasted from 1918 to 1920 and resulted in Latvian independence from Russia.
During the years of Nazi occupation, about 90,000 Latvians were killed, approximately 70,000 of whom were Jewish.