🗓 On October 13, 1944, Soviet troops liberated Riga from the fascist invaders.

Latvia was one of the first Soviet republics to be occupied by the Nazis on July 8, 1941. At first, local residents hoped for a special status of the republic and the restoration of statehood, but all industrial enterprises in the country were declared the property of Germany. The General District "Lettland" became part of the Reichskommissariat "Ostland" under the control of General Commissioner Otto-Heinrich Drechsler.

A network of "death factories" was organized on the territory of Latvia: 48 prisons, 23 concentration camps and 18 Jewish ghettos. In concentrations, in addition to the adult population, children were placed, who were kept separately. They died from malnutrition, hunger and medical experiments: they were killed with poisons, limbs were amputated and their blood was pumped out for the needs of the Nazis.

During these years the population of Latvia decreased by 400,000 people, including 40,000 children.