Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944
The Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944 refers to the military occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union in 1944.[1] During World War II Latvia was first occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, then was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944, and after which it was re-occupied by the Soviet Union.
Battle of the Baltic
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However, some 200,000 German troops held out in
On January 15, 1945,
Wartime expediency
The precedent under
Treaties the USSR signed between 1940 and 1945
The Soviet Union joined the Atlantic Charter of August 14, 1941 by resolution, signed in London on September 24, 1941.[10] Resolution affirmed:
- "First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other;
- "Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned;
- "Third, they respect the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them. ..."[11]
Most importantly, Stalin personally reaffirmed the principles of the Atlantic Charter on November 6, 1941:[12]
We have not and cannot have any such war aims as the seizure of foreign territories and the subjugation of foreign peoples whether it be peoples and territories of Europe or the peoples and territories of Asia....
We have not and cannot have such war aims as the imposition of our will and regime on the Slavs and other enslaved peoples of Europe who are awaiting our aid.
Our aid consists in assisting these peoples in their struggle for liberation from Hitler's tyranny, and then setting them free to rule on their own lands as they desire. No intervention whatever in the internal affairs of other nations.
Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union signed the Declaration by United Nations of January 1, 1942, which again confirmed adherence to the Atlantic Charter.
The Soviet Union signed the Yalta Declaration on Liberated Europe of February 4–11, 1945, in which Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt jointly declare for the reestablishment of order in Europe according to the principle of the Atlantic Charter "the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live, the restoration of sovereign rights and self-government to those peoples who have been forcibly deprived of them by the aggressor nations." The Yalta declaration further states that "to foster the conditions in which the liberated peoples may exercise these rights, the three governments will join ... among others to facilitate where necessary the holding of free elections."[13]
Finally, the Soviet Union signed the Charter of the United Nations on October 24, 1945, which in Article I Part 2 states that one of the "purposes of the United Nations is to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples."
Latvian losses
Losses in Latvia during the World War II period were among the highest in
See also
- Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940
- Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)
- Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany
- Holocaust in Latvia
- Latvian national partisans
- The Barricades
- Litene
- Occupations of Latvia
- Population transfer in the Soviet Union
- Rainiai massacre
- United States resolution on the 90th anniversary of the Latvian Republic
- Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers
- Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
- Serov Instructions
- NKVD Order No. 001223
Notes
- ^ Country Profiles: Latvia at UK Foreign Office
- ^ Д. Муриев, Описание подготовки и проведения балтийской операции 1944 года, Военно-исторический журнал, сентябрь 1984. Translation available, D. Muriyev, Preparations, Conduct of 1944 Baltic Operation Described, Military History Journal (USSR Report, Military affairs), 1984–9, pp. 22–28
- ^ Background Note: Latvia at US Department of State
- ^ Latvia: Latvia By David J. Smith; Page 138
- ^ Harriman, Averell & Abel, Elie. Special Envoy to Churchill and Stalin 1941–1946, Random House, New York. 1974. p. 1135.
- ^ Gannon, Robert. The Cardinal Spellman Story. Doubleday, New York. 1962. pp. 222–223
- ^ Minutes of meeting, Bohlen, recording. Foreign Relations of the United States, The Conferences of Cairo and Teheran, 1943, pp. 594–596
- ^ Bullitt, Orville. For the President: Personal and Secret. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston. 1972. p. 601.
- ^ Churchill, Winston. The Second World War (6 volumes). Houghton-Mifflin, Boston. 1953. v. 6. pp. 227–228.
- ^ B. Meissner, Die Sowjetunion, die Baltischen Staaten und das Volkerrecht, 1956, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Louis L. Snyder, Fifty Major Documents of the Twentieth Century, 1955, p. 92.
- ^ Embassy of the U.S.S.R., Soviet War Documents (Washington, D.C.: 1943), p. 17 as quoted in Karski, Jan. The Great Powers and Poland, 1919–1945, 1985, on 418
- ^ Foreign Relations of the United States, The Conference at Malta and Yalta, Washington, 1955, p. 977.
- ^ Latvia, World War II losses at Encyclopædia Britannica
References
- Petrov, Pavel (2008). Punalipuline Balti Laevastik ja Eesti 1939–1941 (in Estonian). Tänapäev. ISBN 978-9985-62-631-3.
- Brecher, Michael; Jonathan Wilkenfeld (1997). A Study of Crisis. University of Michigan Press. p. 596. ISBN 9780472108060.
- O'Connor, Kevin (2003). The History of Latvia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 113–145. ISBN 9780313323553.
- Rislakki, Jukka (2008). The Case for Latvia. Disinformation Campaigns Against a Small Nation. Fourteen Hard Questions and Straight Answers about a Baltic Country. Rodopi. ISBN 9789042024243.
- Plakans, Andrejs (2007). Experiencing Totalitarianism: The Invasion and Occupation of Latvia by the USSR and Nazi Germany 1939–1991. AuthorHouse. p. 596. ISBN 9781434315731.
- Wyman, David; Charles H. Rosenzveig (1996). The World Reacts to the Holocaust. JHU Press. pp. 365–381. ISBN 9780801849695.
- Frucht, Richard (2005). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 132. ISBN 9781576078006.
Further reading
- Mälksoo, Lauri (2003). Illegal Annexation and State Continuity: The Case of the Incorporation of Latvia by the USSR. Leiden – Boston: Brill. ISBN 90-411-2177-3
- The Occupation museum of Latvia
- Leonas Cerskus Crimes of Soviet Communists — Wide collection of sources and links
- Non-Recognition in the Courts: The Ships of the Baltic Republics by Herbert W. Briggs. In The American Journal of International Law Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct., 1943), pp. 585–596.
- The Soviet Occupation of Latvia, by Russian Review, 1955
- Soviet Aggression Against Latvia by (Latvian Supreme Court justice) Augusts Rumpeters — Short and thoroughly annotated dissertation on Soviet-Baltic treaties and relations. 1974. Full text
- The Steel Curtain, TIME Magazine, April 14, 1947
- The Iron Heel, TIME Magazine, December 14, 1953