Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga: Rights and Remembrance

Washington Post ^ | May 7, 2005 | President Vaira Vike-Freiberga

[RWR8189]

RIGA, Latvia -- As the president of a country that suffered immensely under Soviet and Nazi rule, I recently faced a dilemma. I had to decide whether to accept an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a rally in Moscow on Monday. That is the date when Russia traditionally celebrates its military victory over Nazi Germany, and this year is particularly significant, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Numerous heads of state and government, including George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroeder and Silvio Berlusconi, had already said they would attend the Moscow celebrations. But unlike in France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Austria, the collapse of the Nazi empire did not lead to my country's liberation.

Instead, with the full acquiescence of the western Allied powers, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were reoccupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, while a dozen other countries in Central and Eastern Europe experienced renewed repression and decades of totalitarian rule as powerless satellite states of the Soviet empire.

Latvia certainly rejoices with the rest of the world at the fall of Hitler's regime. Like numerous other European countries, my country suffered immensely under the German occupation, which lasted in Latvia from 1941 to 1945. During that time, the Germans and their local accomplices carried out the most heinous and large-scale crimes against humanity ever committed on Latvian soil. They murdered about 100,000 of Latvia's inhabitants, including more than 90 percent of the country's prewar Jewish community, as well as tens of thousands of other Jews whom they transported into Latvia from other parts of Europe.

The Nazis also drafted some 115,000 Latvian men into various German military units. Thousands more people were shipped to Germany as forced labor. For a

[RusIvan]

Its own history is about as bad as it gets.==

Kto ti takoi chto bi eto govorit'? Bivshii potomok postradavshego latviiskogo ss-ovtsa?

[RusIvan]

Cho suka pravda tebja pugaet? Muraz' ti russkoyazichnaya.

[Lukasz]

Come on! You are just jealous, that these oppressed countries don’t want to have anything to do with your country, mostly because of stupidity of Russian political elites or rather chekists. Now they want to be closer to us, because we are not imperial anymore, we have higher GDP per capita than Russia (without oil and gas, which create almost all Russian GDP) and they can count on us in political arena. Russia under Putin looks like insane freak in their eyes but in Poland people are only laughing when they see this “handicapped imperialism”. This is rather pitiful view…

Then how many time this “small Poland” won the war with your country? Russia was able to beat us only thanks to shameful for Slavs alliances with Teutonics.

[DB]

Stalin made Hitler look like an amateur when comes to quietly murdering people.

[RusIvan]

Then how many time this “small Poland” won the war with your country? ==

Common Lukash:). Who was colony of who?
But you know I'm bit tied with this pickerings. You are like yourself with bunch of those small guys. Be happy. Russia not imperial either and don't care.

Russia may live without Poland and vise versa. What is needed that Poland and baltics will pay for energy in time and good money.

Before Soviet Union robbed russian resources to feed you guys. Now they only for hard cash.

Your marchandise is no need. I didn't see no polish or baltic goods in russian marts. Except only baltic sprottes.
I for myself stopped to buy baltics since there are new russian production of same quality.
SO in time all what will left.
Russia will sell you energy for hard cash. Prices are rising so Russia are prospering.

[Lukasz]

Common Lukash:). Who was colony of who?

As I said the most shameful facts from Russian history, alliances with the Germans against Poland. Really nothing to be proud. The Poles didn’t need such dishonor to conquer Moscow when they liked. Even more we could put a Pole in Russian czarist throne when we liked. :-))

But you know I'm bit tied with this pickerings. You are like yourself with bunch of those small guys. Be happy. Russia not imperial either and don't care.

I understand that you will not cry when Belarus change political orientation? LOL

Russia may live without Poland and vise versa. What is needed that Poland and baltics will pay for energy in time and good money.

Before Soviet Union robbed russian resources to feed you guys. Now they only for hard cash.

Once again the Russian will live for our money but first time they will earn it honestly. Whole communist era we were robbed, this is over.

Your merchandise is no need. I didn't see no polish or baltic goods in russian marts. Except only baltic spotters. I for myself stopped to buy baltics since there are new russian production of same quality.

Polish export to Russia is around 60% bigger than it was in last year. But in fact we exporting more to EU, you know they have real cash for us.

Russia will sell you energy for hard cash. Prices are rising so Russia are prospering.

ahhh... Ivan, when you will learn that Russia and the Russians will get nothing, so only oligarchs are prospering. (and chekists)

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

RusIvan, my reply to you on the other thread follows again here - I repeat it for the benefit of others reading this thread and not the other:

"by 1947 there were 134,000 Latvian political refugees,"

RusIvan, by 1947 - Hitler was still in charge? Germany surrendered in 1944. Most of these 134,000 Latvian political refugees were in West Germany - so? They wanted to get away from the Russians who again had overrun their country and were murdering Latvians in Latvia.

Read the history - Russian atrocities against Latvians goes back to the Czars. Germany was not involved at all then. Russia was. And why should the Latvians just accept the Russians in any of the cited Russian invasions of Latvia? Again, read the history. All of it. Not just Russian revisionist history. Russia was the invader, not Latvia. Russians were the bad guys. Worse than the Germans. And the Latvian DP's were getting out after Germany's defeat.

And by the way, Latvians had a right to help Germans against the Russians. Russia established itself as an enemy of Latvia before either WWI or WWII. Russia made itself Latvia's hated enemy before the Bolshevic Revolution in Russia. The historical record is there. Read it.

[RusIvan]

RusIvan, by 1947 - Hitler was still in charge? Germany surrendered in 1944. Most of these 134,000 Latvian political refugees were in West Germany - so? ==

Germany surendered in 1945 not in 1944. But those "refugees" to be in 1947 in West Germany only if they were evacuated from Latvia by retreated german army.

SO they are german collaborators or families of latvian SS men otherwise german army during war would get care of them.
Hence all they say about "atrocities" you may accept with bit of scepticism. The reason - they were on Hiler side of the war. The latvian collaborators (auxilary police) run in Latvia concentrations camp for jews and russians.

Ask them about Salaspils concentration camp. May be some relatives of you acquantatnts was the guards there:)).

You got a "great source" of your information about "russian atrocites":)). You source are the hitlerites supporters and the family of latvian SS men.

[giotto]

This is one of the most bizarre threads I've ever read.