A
former member of Germany's Waffen SS lays flowers at
the foot of Riga's
Freedom
Monument. In one of the most dramatic open 20th century wounds
remaining,
the former soldiers claim to have been fighting for their country
against
the Soviets, but much of the world sees them as unrepentant Nazis.
Latvia's Grey-Haired Legionnaires Never Fought for German Glory
(LatvijasAvize, Latvia)
This article looks at Latvia's annual Legionnaires’ Day march to Riga's Freedom Monument by former Latvian members of the Waffen SS, an open wound from WWII that has taken on added drama thanks to recent events in Ukraine. The men who are now mostly in their eighties and nineties, fought the Soviet Union on the side of Germany after Latvia was overrun by the Nazis in 1941. When the war ended, these soldiers, who claim only to have fought for their country against Soviet occupation, endured decades of unrelenting humiliation while the country was behind the Iron Curtain. Since Latvia's independence after the Soviet collapse, their annual march has been a hot potato that the authorities tolerate, but that many people in and out of the country protest as a dangerous tribute to Nazism.
[The
Republic of Latvia was occupied and annexed by the USSR in June of 1940. One
year of Soviet rule was followed by four years of another occupation - this
time by the army of Hitler's Third Reich. After Germany's defeat, the Soviet
occupation returned, lasting for the next 45 years.]
As
happens every year [March 16], much-grizzled legionnaires will carry out their
painful Calvary procession to show their love for Latvia, for a country they
dreamed of while lying in muddy trenches dressed in uniforms imposed by an
occupying power. For this country and its freedom, many gave their lives. The grey-haired
legionnaires go to the Freedom Monument because at the
foot of the edifice are inscribed what for them are the most sacred words : "For
Fatherland and Freedom."
The
delusion that German
weapons would bring freedom for Latvia ended long ago. The bitter pain of
injustice dissipated after gazing in despair in the direction of Churchill or
Roosevelt. For the rest of their lives, the legionnaires were destined to march
under the yoke of humiliation and contempt in their Russian-occupied homeland.
The soldiers drew strength from their faith that Mother Latvia would never compromise
on her lost sons, would understand them and forgive them. Mother Latvia would
allow these grey-haired men to lovingly lay their blood-spattered flowers at her feet.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Illusions
that a free Latvia would bring the era of humiliation to an end have also long
ago dissipated. The hope of breaking free of bitter grievance was covered in
ashes as they heard themselves called fascists and gazed into the eyes of pig
heads with gallows ropes around their throats. Legionnaires no longer gaze in
despair at the Saeima [parliament] or police. Last
year, with sirens wailing, the soldiers realized that help would never arrive,
the ridicule and taunt destined to continue until the end of their lives. All
they had was faith that Mother Latvia would never give up on her sons.
Self-interested
politicians may stuff their ears with cotton, crawl under their desks and
tremble in fear over the factional provocations of their own. The police can put
chains around the Freedom Monument and hold all-day consultations with the “anti-fascists.”
The head of government can lock his office doors with nine keys so he won't
have to justify himself. The grizzled legionnaires are no longer affected by
this petty and cowardly uproar. Having already forded every circle of hellish humiliation,
they have ascended to a far higher level where they commune with Mother Latvia.
Mother Latvia has never renounced her sons. She tilts her head in awe before
the loyalty of her soldiers and with love accepts the flowers from her grey-haired
warriors' hands.
Reporter
KarlisSkalbe quoted one
soldier: “I can assure you that no Latvian wanted to fight for the glory of Germany.
Those who fought and fell did so for Latvia's freedom. There are times when the
noble knight cannot openly mention the name of his lady, but must express
himself by standing guard with his heart and his sword. Latvia long ago established itself as a nation, and too many have pledged their allegiance for her to disappear from history's stage without a fight.”
