FOR FATHERLAND AND FREEDOM

Transcription

1 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF NATURE AND HUMANITY, NOBODY CAN DENY US THE RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES, IF OUR NATION AND ITS EXISTENCE IS ENDANGERED. Latvia s Central Council (LCC), March 16-17, L A T V I J A FOR FATHERLAND AND FREEDOM THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LATVIAN RELIEF SOCIETY DAUGAVAS VANAGI

2 WE ARE AWAITING THE RESURRECTION OF JUSTICE Andrejs Eglītis Engraved on the grave granite cover plate of the unknown soldier. 2 THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LATVIAN RELIEF SOCIETY DAUGAVAS VANAGI

3 WHY THE 16 TH OF MARCH? HISTORICAL EVENTS (Information Facts Truth) March 16-17, 1944: By this date, Latvia and the Latvian nation already had lived through the brutal occupation by the Soviet Union- Russia and were under the ruthless occupation of Germany. Nonetheless, even under the harsh German occupation conditions, patriots emerged in Latvia, openly demanding the independence of Latvia; and, on August 13, 1943, they established the Latvia s Central Council (LCC) under the leadership of Professor Konstantīns Čakste (the son of the former President of Latvia, Jānis Čakste). The LCC membership included former members of the Saeima (Parliament) from all political parties that were represented in the last (4 th ) Saeima, including other prominent Latvians. Ignoring the World War II conditions and risking with their lives, already on March 16, 1944, 188 members of the LCC, in the name of Latvia, had signed a declaration, among which was included the following: The enemy from the East is again threateningly approaching Latvia s land. Latvia s tyrannical incorporation into the Soviet Union was done by brutally ignoring the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and by breaking the mutual Latvia-Soviet Union treaties, the League of Nations Pact and a whole row of international treaties. In accordance with our understanding, regarding the current World War II events, the moment has arrived when the life of our nation, the very existence of our nation, is threatened - the moment has arrived: to be or not to be. In accordance with the laws of nature and humanity, nobody can deny us the right to defend ourselves, if our nation and its existence are endangered. Based on these conclusions, we, hereby declare the will and readiness of Latvia s people to defend the borders of Latvia, with all available forces and resources, against the attacking enemy. In the Capital of Latvia, Riga, March 17, This LCC declaration, prepared in four originals and signed already on March 16, 1944, was addressed to the General inspector of the Latvian Legion, Mr. R. Bangerskis. Only one original, found only recently, has survived, now kept at the War museum of Latvia. 1 1 Ieva Kvāle, Ar parakstu par Latviju. Rīgā: Latvijas Kara muzejs (War Museum of Latvia), 2014.g. 3

4 LCC MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE LATVIAN NATION! Altogether, 188 FREEDOM FIGHTERS: With signature for Latvia 2 They were asking the soldiers of Latvia, the Latvian legionnaires and others to defend the borders of Latvia, with all available forces and resources, against the attacking enemy. Here are some of them: Died in Austria Died in Latvia Died in USA 1. PAULS KALNIŅŠ 2. KĀRLIS V. PAUĻUKS 3. JĀZEPS RANCĀNS Speaker of Saeima (Parliament) Minister of Justice ( ); Bishop of the Catholic Church; (I-IV terms); member of the Cons- Member of Saeima (I-IV terms);. Member of Saeima (I-IV terms); titutional Assembly; nominated founding member of the LZS Vice-Speaker of Saeima; profesfor president (1930 and 1933). (farmers) party. sor / Dean, University of Latvia Died in Latvia Died in Sweden Died in Latvija 4. PĒTERIS JURAŠEVSKIS 5. FĒLIKSS CIELĒNS 6. DĀVIDS APINIS Lawyer; Member of Saeima (II-IV Minister of Foreign Affairs ( ); Teacher; Member of Parliament terms); former Minister of the Chairman of the LSDSP (Social de- (III-IV terms); editor; National of Interior (1924.g.). mocrats/workers) party. Guard Company Commander. 2 Ieva Kvāle, Ar parakstu par Latviju (With signature for Latvia), Rīgā: Latvijas Kara muzejs (War Musum of Latvia), 2014.g.; pg

5 Died in Germany Died in Germany Died in Sweden 7. Voldemārs Zāmuēls 8. Teodors Grīnbergs 9. Jānis Vārsbergs Latvian rifle battalion organiza- Member of 1 st Saeima; Director of Agronomist; co-founder of LZS tion member during WWI; lawyer; the Theology Institute; professor; (farmers) party,1917; Member of Minister of Agriculture ( ); Archbishop of the Lutheran Church; the Constitutional Assembly; Prime Minister and Minister of co-founder of the World Federation professor / dean of the Dept. of Agriculture ( ); of Lutherans and one of its leaders. Agriculture, University of Latvia. Minsiter of Justice (1924) Died in Sweden Died in Sweden Died in Latvia 10. Kārlis Skalbe 11. Teodors Zvejnieks 13. Mārtiņš Peniķis Teacher; writer; journalist; editor Graduate of Tartu University; Russian Army, 1896; in 1902, of Rīta Vēstnesis (1910); lawyer; lawyer; inducted in the Russian graduated from the Chugujeva active supporter of Latvia s Army; returned to Latvia in 1919; War School; participated in the independence; Member of the judge; member of Chamber of Russian-Japanese War; gradu- Constitutional Assembly (1920- Judges ( ) and Chairman ate of Nicholas General Staff 1922); Member of Saeima, I and ( ); evacuated to Ger- Academy; fought in the War IV terms; author of the Freedom many (1944); after WWII, lived of Independence for Latvia; Monument s motto: For Father- in Sweden. Army Commander ( ). Land and Freedom. 5

6 Died in Latvia Died in Sweden Died in Poland 14. Pāvils Kvelde 27. Mintauts Čakste 55. Konstantīns Čakste Graduate of St. Petersburg s First Lawyer; University of Moscow; Fought in the War for Latvia s Cadet Corps; agronomist; editor ( ); inducted in Russian independence; University of of Baltijas Lauksaimnieks ; tea- Army, WWI; , Kolchak s Latvia (UL) - Economics and Law cher; Principal of the Priekule Army, fighting communists; ( ); UL assistantship School of Agriculture; fought in returned to Latvia; court martial (1928); Latvian Army ( ); WWI, company commander prosecutor (1921); member of UL assistant professor; (1918); LU dean; professor; Riga Region Court; arrested in co-author of LCC Memorandum; Chancellor of Jelgava Acade- 1944, but released; thereafter, arrested in April, 1944; died my of Agriculture ( fled to Sweden. while being transported from the and ). Stuthoff concentration camp Died in Germany Died in USA Died in Soviet slave camp 173. Augustīns Pētersons 177. Jānis Goldmanis 180. Marija Ozola Riga s Theology Seminar Teacher; Baldone County UL School of Medicine ( ; minister at an army administration and judge (1900); 1925); beginning in 1937, the hospital and Latvian reserve Member of Russia s 4 th Duma; Dunava-Dviete Region doctor; regiment ( ); served in initiated the formation of Latvian Director of Riga Childrens Hospi- Omska at the Latvian settlement rifle regiments (1915); together tal ( ); doctor inside of Achaira, Russia; returned to with Janis Zālīitis, urged Latvians Fortress Kurland ( ); Latvia and served as priest to Gather Under Latvian Flags ; in 1946, accused of anti-soviet thereafter; Head of the Latvia s Minister of Agriculture (1919); agitation and in providing sup- Orthodox Church ( ). Minister of War ( ); Mem- port for the partisans; died in a ber of Saeima, I and II terms. Soviet slave labor camp. 6

7 Why did LCC request the Latvian Legion to defend Latvia? The Soviet Union (USSR), the Cheka (NKVD-Soviet Secret Police) and the Red Army had occupied Latvia ( ); they had murdered-deported more than 34,250 citizens of Latvia, with a mass deportation on June 14,1941. By March 16, 1944, Latvia had been under German occupation for nearly three years; they had illegaly mobilized most of Latvia s youth for their armed forces. Latvia s intelligensia and LCC also knew, from captured top secret NKVD documents in 1941, that the Soviets had planned to killdeport 800,000 citizens of Latvia; NKVD aborted these plans after their rapid and disorderly exodus from Latvia, when Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, On July 1, 1941, the Germans entered Riga. Latvia s ambassador to Great Britain, Kārlis Zariņš, informed the British Government in 1949 about these 1941 USSR-NKVD plans and provided them with a memorandum prepared by Colonel Vilis Janums. 3 Latvia did not have any alternative choices; the 188 LCC members knew this and asked the Latvian Legion for help, declaring: The Latvian nation s will and readiness to defend, with all available forces and resources available to us, the borders of Latvia against the attacking enemy (against USSR). In March 1944, the Red Army was near the eastern border of Latvia. The Latvian Legion was the only force, however small, that could possibly defend Latvia s borders and Latvia against renewed NKVD and Red Army attrocities. Remember, Latvia had declared strict neutrality, after USSR-Germany jointly occupied Poland in September 1939 and initiated World War II. This is a Russian-German crime against peace (see the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939). Thereafter, in 1940, USSR occupied the Baltic States. In Poland, USSR murdered 14,000 Polish officers; in November 1939, USSR attacked Finland. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were the next Soviet-Russian victims - occupation, unlawful incorporation into USSR, murders and deportations. Remember, prior to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, USSR and Germany were allies, both fascist-terrorist countries. USSR even helped the Nazi party and Hitler assume power; for example, under top secret agreements in the 1920s-1930s, the USSR provided military training bases in Russia for the Germans: Kazan for tank crews; Lipetsk for combat pilots; other bases for chemical warfare experiments. 4 3 Mirdza Kate Baltais, The Latvian Legion Selected Documents. Toronto, Canada: Amber Printers and Publishers, 1999; pg Colin d. Heaton un Anne-Marie Lewis, The German Aces Speak (Vācu Dūži Runā). Minepole, ASV: Zenith Press, 2011.g.: pg

8 Finland s regions Nov Mar 1940 Beļģ. France * Berlin Germany Estonia Aug 6, 1940 Latvia Aug 5, 1940 Lithuania Aug 3, 1940 Poland s eastern regions Sep 17-29, 1939 Moldova Jun 27, 1940 * Moscow Italy Rumania Black Sea : German and Soviet-Russian illegally (by force) acquired regions. Remember, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocols on August 23, 1939, already on October 11, 1939, the USSR issued (signed by Ivan Serov), a top secret deportation plan (Order No ) for the deportation of people from the Baltic States. This secret deportation plan was in fact initiated shortly after USSR-Russia occupied the Baltic States. From June 17, 1940 to July 3, 1941, the USSR sponsored terrorist organization known as NKVD or Cheka, together with the Red Army, had killed or deported to Siberia 34,250 peaceful citizens of Latvia, including the President of Latvia, Karlis Ulmanis, many of Latvia s government officials and ministers, former members of Saeima (Parliament), 50+% of Latvian Army officers, writers, teachers, ministers and priests, farmers and others. Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, 1941 and by July 3, 1941 they had already occupied all of Latvia. As noted earlier, the Soviets-NKVD had planned to deport 800,000 of Latvia s inhabitants to the distant Siberian slave labor camps, as per their top secret plan that they left behind in an 8

9 NKVD archive when the NKVD fled Latvia following the swift advance by the German Army in Latvia. 5 After the Soviet occupation, right after the arrival of the German Army, terrible scenes unfolded before the eyes of the inhabitants of Latvia acts of terror and murders that the USSR dictatorial power had carried out from June 1940 to the beginning of July Soviet NKVD (KGB) Chief in Riga, Latvia: Simon Shustin. The document on the left simply states (an order) to kill all of the Latvians on the attached list. 6 NKVD (KGB) Chief s (Simon Shustin s) order in Latvia carried out. [Ref: Bērziņš, A., The Unpunished Crime. 1963; pg ] 5 Mirdza Kate Baltais, The Latvian Legion Selected Documents. Toronto, Canada: Amber Printers and Publishers, 1999.g.; pg Bērziņš, A., The Unpunished Crime (Nesodītais noziegums) g.; pg

10 Remember, this was a war crime and still remains as such; it was also a crime against peace and humanity, that the Soviets and Germans carried within the Baltic States, not even respecting the lives of the elderly, women and children. Breaking all international norms, conventions and the laws of war that pertain to occupied neutral countries, Germany issued mobilization orders to draft Latvian youth for their armed forces, similar to that the Soviets had already done in and later during their occupation. The Western Allies never recognized the USSR s occupation of the Baltic States. After the German Army experienced shortage of manpower on the Eastern Front, they issued orders to form the Latvian and Estonian legions. Hitler s order of February 10, 1943 directs the formation of a Latvian volunteer legion under the German SS control. Translation: The Fuhrer s Headquarters, "I order the formation of a Latvian SS volunteer legion. The size and type depends on the number of available Latvian men. Hitler s signature and Himmler s initials. It is important to note, Hitler s order does not indicate that the size and type of the legion will be based on the number of available volunteers, but rather on the number of available Latvian men. Response to this order was miniscule and the German could not even form a small volunteer unit. Therefore, already by the end of February, 1943, disregarding all international norms, conventions and laws of war, the Germans decided to form the Latvian Legion by taking two specific steps, which from March 1943 until May 1945, cost 80,000 Latvian lives. The first step was 10

11 mandatory registration for work ; the second step, utilizing the registration for work list, was mobilization (forceful induction) for war service, which is a serious war crime. Both, the USSR and Germany, are guilty of this serious war crime, from which stem crimes against peace and humanity. FIRST STEP: REGISTRATION. Please note, as the registration form depicts, the registration is done by the German "Registration Commission No. 1, all under the watchful German oversight - "SS and Police Chief in Latvia" (Der SS - und Polizeisfϋhrer Lettland). 11

12 SECOND STEP: MOBILIZATION ORDER (Einberufungsbefehl) "with this you are inducted in the Latvian SS-volunteer legion." The mobilization order notes, that the inductee is under the jurisdiction of the German Armed Forces and their standing orders. The order itself reveals that the Latvian Legion was not a volunteer formation, but forcefully formed legion, which eventually included two Latvian divisions, the 15 th and the 19 th. If an inductee did not report, he could face the death penalty. WHY THE 16 TH OF MARCH? In March, 1944, the Latvian nation found itself in a tragic situation, being under the German occupation, while not far from the borders of Latvia, another evil power was approaching the Red Army, together with the well-known Cheka (NKVD); only three years earlier they had slaughtered and deported thousands of Latvians to the distant Siberian regions of Russia. The declaration and request of Latvia s Central Council (LCC) was well known throughout Latvia s intelligentsia and among the Latvian Army officers, those that survived the USSR-NKVD atrocities; among the signatories were eight Latvian Army generals and other well-known people 12

13 of the formerly free Latvia. The LCC declaration was taken seriously and seen as binding by most of the soldiers and officers of the Latvian Legion: In accordance with our understanding, regarding the current World War II events, the moment has arrived when the life of our nation, the very existence of our nation, is threatened - the moment has arrived: to be or not to be. In accordance with the laws of nature and humanity, nobody can deny us the right to defend ourselves, if our nation and its existence are endangered. Based on these conclusions, we, hereby declare the will and readiness of Latvia s people to defend the borders of Latvia, with all available forces and resources, against the attacking enemy. The internationally recognized government of Latvia had been liquidated by the Soviet Union and the President of Latvia had already been deported from Latvia to the Soviet Union in 1940; his fate was unknown. The illegal Soviet occupation of the Baltic States had been condemned by most of the free-world governments, among them the USA; a memorandum by the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State of July 15, 1940 states: (1) a 500,000 Soviet-Russian army has occupied the Baltic States; (2) the governments of the Baltic States have been replaced with..simple USSR puppets. Many of Latvia s citizens and freedom fighters had an unbreakable thought - that Latvia s history of will repeat itself, that the Western Allies will not abandon the Baltic States and that Latvia will once again regain freedom. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Latvia, the position of the President is filled by the Speaker of the Saeima (Parliament), if the President is outside the country s borders or if he is unable to discharge his duties. The citizens of Latvia were well educated, including Latvia s youth and the Latvian Legion soldiers. They considered the last Speaker of the Saeima, Pauls Kalniņš, as a father figure and as the de facto President of Latvia, who had been the first to sign the LCC declaration. Latvia did not have any other choices and had to face the approaching enemy with weapons in their hands. The Latvian Legion s ally was not the correct one; however, the approaching enemy, the Red Army and the NKVD, were well known, and, the NKVD plans included the liquidation of more than a third (800,000) of the Latvian nation. As noted earlier, this fact was confirmed by Colonel Vilis Janums in his 1949.g. memorandum, which was submitted to the British Foreign Office by Latvia s ambassador Karlis Zarins in London. 13

14 Why do we remember March 16 th? On this date, we remember and commemorate Latvia s freedom fighters LCC and our fallen youth, those who died defending our country Latvia. Both of the Latvian divisions, the 15 th and the 19 th were together on March 16, 1944 on the banks of the Velikaya River, in the Ostrova and Opochka combat areas, close to Latvia s border; there, the Latvian Legion took positions against the Red Army to prevent a Soviet-Russian invasion of Latvia. During the vicious battles that followed, both divisions suffered very heavy losses; afterwards, remnants of the 15 th division were incorporated into the 19 th division, while a small command staff from the 15 th division was sent back to the interior of Latvia to reconstitute the 15 th division; under a new German decree, any available Latvian young men, many of high school age, were mobilized and incorporated into this new 15 th division, which afterwards was sent to Germany for training. After WWII, the Latvian soldiers themselves, joined by most of the Latvian nation, decided to remember and commemorate on the 16 th of March their fallen comrades-in-arms who had died in battle defending their country, their homes and their families against a ruthless enemy. Altogether, 80,000 had died in WWII; these were their schoolmates, brothers, sons, loved ones, friends, neighbors. They had died while defending the borders and territory of Latvia against an attacking and merciless enemy the USSR s Red Army and the NKVD. It is worth noting that the soldiers of the Latvian Legion refused to fight against the Western Allies USA, France and Great Britain. They have always been at the war front, and only the war front, never dishonoring themselves in front of their nation or humanity. These Latvian young men made heavy sacrifices and fought against injustice and ruthless oppression, while remaining just and humane themselves. Attachment: Saeima s (Parliament s) declaration About World War II Latvian legionnaires 14

15 In 1988, the world mass media presented false information to foreign governments, as well as to international organizations, that the Latvian legionnaires, who were in the German Armed Forces and fought against USSR, were Hitler s regime supporters. With the aim of defending true history and the preservation of honorable memory of Latvian soldiers, we declare the following: During the 1930s of the 20 th century, two large totalitarian nations emerged. The realization of the aggressive aims of these nations started with the conclusion of the socalled Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, resulting in the liquidation of the independence of the Republic of Latvia, followed by its occupation by USSR and Germany. The occupation regimes repeatedly engaged in the violation of international laws of jiustice and humanity, even committing war crimes against the Latvian nation. Both occupation powers violated the 4 th Hague Convention of 1907, pertaining to Laws of Land Warfare and Traditions (Conventions 52 nd paragraph), that forbids the mobilization of inhabitants and inducting them into the occupying country s army or their utilization for paramilitary work (Conventions paragraph 52). Both occupation powers inducted Latvia s citizens into their armed forces and utilized them for paramilitary work. For evading the draft, punishments were either the incarceration in a concentration camp or execution. This resulted in Latvian citizens fighting against each other. A known fraction of Latvia s citizens joined the Latvian Legion voluntarily, but that was because the USSR in committed genocide in Latvia. Also Germany committed war crimes and genocide in Latvia, but that touched Latvia s citizens in much smaller numbers. Therefore, a certain portion of Latvia s citizens considered, that being in the Legion, they are defending themselves and their families against renewed USSR mass repressions, that later did in fact happen. The goal of the mobilized Legion soldiers and volunteers was to prevent the reestablishment of the Stalinist regime in Latvia. They have never taken part in any Hitler s punishment expeditions against peaceful inhabitants. The Latvian Legion, similar to the Finnish Army, did not fight against anti-hitler coalition, but rather against only one of its partner nations the USSR, that in regards to Finland and Latvia was the aggressor. When the German Army High Command tried to send the legionnaires in combat against the USA, Great Britain and France, all of the Legion s officers and soldiers categorically refused to do that. Therefore, the Western Allied nations - USA, Great Britain and France - already in 1946, had solved the Latvian and Estonian Legion question and granted the legionnaires political refugee status. The USA in 1950 repeatedly declared: The Baltic Waffen SS units (the Baltic Legions), according to their goals, ideology, operation and soldier qualifications are to be looked upon as special and separate from those of the German SS units. The Hague Convention gurantees certain rights for Latvia against occupier-nations that have violated international norms in its territory while they occupied it, among which is stated: Combatant sides, those that have violated these norms, must pay compensation. Therefore, the duty of Latvia s government is: 1) ask compensation from occupier-nations and their successors, so that they, in accordance with international norms, would pay to the citizens of Latvia, their family members and their heirs compensation for their losses in connection with the losses suffered as a result of their illegal mobilization and induction in occupier-nation armies; 2) look after the honor and respect of Latvian soldiers in Latvia and in foreign countries. A. Čepānis, Speaker of Saeima Declaration about Latvian legionnaires in World War II, at the 6 th Saeima s session of October 29, that was adopted without debate, without public objections. 15

16 REMEMBERING - COMMEMORATING LATVIA S FREEDOM FIGHTERS Latvian Legionnaires Brothers Cemetery at Lestene Great Britain s former Prime Minister Winston Churchill reminds us: Perception about a nation depends on how it honors its fallen soldiers. Hundreds of such Latvian legionnaire cemeteries were found in combat areas.7 Let s remember and commemorate our fallen soldiers! During the USSR-Russia s occupation and Stalin-era period, and , the number of deported and killed peace-loving citizens in Latvia had already reached a monumental level of 320, Latviešu Karavīrs Otrā pasaules kara laikā. Vasteras, Zviedrijā: Apgāds Ziemeļblāzma, 1974.g.; 3. sējums; pg (1) (Helmuth Weiss. Die Baltischen Staaten Die Sowjetisierung Ost-Mitteleuropas. A. Metzener Verlag, (2) Andrievs Nansons. Die Nationale Zuzammensetzung der Einwohner der Baltischen Staaten. Acta Baltica I. Kӧnigstein, (3) Ādolfs Šilde. The Profits of Slavery. Stockholm, lpp. (4) David J. Dallin. Forced Labor in Soviet Russia. New Haven,

17 THE ORDER OF THE BEARSLAYER RECIPIENTS LEGIONNAIRES. A PORTION OF THE KILLED LATVIAN LEGION SOLDIERS. (WORLD WAR II) THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LATVIAN RELIEF SOCIETY DAUGAVAS VANAGI 17

18 LATVIAN LEGIONNAIRES BROTHERS CEMETERY AT LESTENE. FOR ME, THE SUN WAS SETTING, WHILE GUARDING THE FATHERLAND! Andrejs Eglitis REMEMBER AND COMMEMORATE THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF LATVIA, our fallen Latvian soldiers of World War II the legionnaires, who, being between two ruthless and inhumane dictatorial powers, totalitarian Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, nonetheless fought and sacrificed their most precious, their lives, for freedom and for their native homeland Latvia. This year, on 16 th of March, 73 years the 15 th and 19 th, fought shoulder by request made by Latvia s leaders at that against the attacking enemy, the USSR deported to the USSR slave labor camps 7 3 have passed since both divisions, shoulder, in response to the urgent time, to defend the borders of Latvia and NKVD, who had murdered and thousands of peaceful citizens of Latvia. 18 THE CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LATVIAN RELIEF SOCIETY DAUGAVAS VANAGI