Latvia and the Second World War

Re: “For Russians, ‘No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten’” (Extra, May 26)

It is only fitting and correct that veterans of any army honour and remember their fallen comrades. This includes Russia. However, the distinction must be made between “Russian” and “Soviet” armies, especially with regard to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Arthur Kaptainis states: “Interest in defending Russia was faint in the Baltic states” and the Germans “were another wave of invaders with no interest in their (Balts’) national aspirations.”

It should be noted that there was another wave of invaders. The Soviet army occupied Latvia in June 1940, before the Germans. These two invading armies crisscrossed Latvia during the years of the Second World War with the Soviets cementing their final occupation in 1944.

Latvia, a proud and independent nation since 1918, had tens of thousands of its citizens sent to Siberia with tens of thousands more (including my parents) escaping the Soviet occupation by fleeing to the West. The Soviet occupation of Latvia from the initial invasion lasted 51 years, until Latvia renewed its independence in 1991.

In the cold light of history, no one can deny the imperial aspirations of both the Nazi and Soviet armies and their leaders, and the human suffering they caused, even away from the battlefield. It is no wonder that the interest to defend Russia was so faint in the Baltic states.

Robert Klaise, honorary consul of Latvia (Quebec), Dorval