#907: - Re: Re: they are not Nazis, they fought against Stalin's bloody regime 

#908: Guy from Latvia - Re: Re: Re: they are not Nazis, they fought against Stalin's bloody regime

150,000 Latvians many of whom had been members of the Arajs commandos and auxillary police, killers who successfully managed to murder 80,000 Jews on Latvian soil between 1941-1942 joined willingly the 15th and 19th SS divisions, the 15th the most decorated out of all SS divisions.  130,000 Latvians chose to not join the Latvian SS but rather the red army and fight with the allies against the Nazis, these men have been derided by various Latvian politicians as being traitors.

IN TERMS OF HISTORY March 16 has a far more complicated history than you maintain.

The Latvian legion formed in the winter of 1943 was ,under Hitler’s orders ,formally established on March 16

th 1944 There is consensus amongst all Latvian historians that the day marks the only time, the two Divisions of the Legion (15th and 19th) fought together against the Red Army. Therefore, by making the 16th March a day to remember war dead, Latvians, (despite Latvian official protestations to the contrary), are making the day when Latvian volunteers fought in the 15th and 19th divisions of the SS an act of commemoration. As Israeli/Jewish critics have commented even if one takes the stance that the Latvian legionnaires were not criminals and that they were forced to fight for the Nazis, to commemorate the Legion is far from being a positive act and a far cry from a policy to GLORIFY them. Glorification of pro-Nazi armed forces during World War II has no place in a European Union / NATO / OSCE country.

March 16th as a memorial day had already been established in 1949 by the organisation "Daugavas Vanagi" (Daugava Hawks) that united SS POWs, former soldiers and officers of the above-mentioned legion, stationed at the time in the filtration camps in Belgium, where they were detained as Nazi collaborators. It is noteworthy, that the conception of the Memorial Day coincided exactly with the day of remembrance for fallen comrades. In Latvia, the meaning of this date, disguised from the start as a general day of remembrance of the fallen soldiers, was gradually transformed into a day of glorification of the Waffen SS Legion. For the first time, the procession to honor the Legion in Riga, took place in 1988, but in Soviet Latvia, nobody dared to declare aloud the true meaning of the procession. However, as Latvia became independent, these processions transformed into festive celebratory marches praising the SS soldiers. The march’s route: from the main Latvian Lutheran Church towards the symbol of Latvian independence – Freedom Monument in Riga’s central square and along the way the SS are given flowers.

Question:

Do any of these men who march on 16 March and are honoured with the title 'hero' light a candle for the twenty five thousand Jews who were marched down Riga's streets from the Riga ghetto to Rumbula, shot and thrown in to pits using the 'sardine method'? Do you?