Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany

The occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on July 10, 1941 by Germany's armed forces. Latvia became a part of Nazi Germany's Reichskommissariat Ostland — the Province General of Latvia (). Anyone who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, were killed or sent to concentration camps.

Persecutions

Immediately after the establishment of German authority in the beginning of July 1941, the elimination of the Jewish and Roma population began, with a major mass killings taking place at Rumbula and elsewhere. The killings were committed by the Einsatzgruppe A, and the Wehrmacht. Latvian collaborators, including the 500–1,500 members of the Arājs Commando (which alone killed around 26,000 Jews) and other Latvian members of the SD, were also involved., Andrievs Ezergailis ISBN 978-9984905433 The Simon Wiesenthal Center. By the end of 1941, almost the entire Jewish population was exterminated. In addition, some 25,000 Jews were brought from Germany, Austria and the present-day Czech Republic, of whom around 20,000 were killed.

During the years of Nazi occupation, special campaigns killed 90,000 people in Latvia, approximately 70,000 of whom were Jews and 2,000 Gypsies. Those who were not Jews or Gypsies were mostly civilians whose political opinions and activity were unacceptable to the German occupiers. Jewish and Gypsy civilians were...
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