Today marks 85 years since that dreadful summer day when innocent people of Latvia were driven from their homes and taken away. On this day, repressions were also carried out against Latvian Army soldiers in Gulbene, Litene and elsewhere across Latvia. Several hundred Latvian Army officers were arrested and deported to Siberia. Many of them were shot on the spot. On 14 June 1941, Latvia’s towns and villages grew emptier and darker, Latvian songs fell silent, and the nation’s self-confidence was…
Today marks 85 years since that dreadful summer day when innocent people of Latvia were driven from their homes and taken away. On this day, repressions were also carried out against Latvian Army soldiers in Gulbene, Litene and elsewhere across Latvia. Several hundred Latvian Army officers were arrested and deported to Siberia. Many of them were shot on the spot. On 14 June 1941, Latvia’s towns and villages grew emptier and darker, Latvian songs fell silent, and the nation’s self-confidence was severely undermined. The mass deportation was not merely the removal of people from their homes. Four out of every ten deportees perished in exile. Those who returned to Latvian territory did not return home, for their home was a free Latvia, not a…
