The Museum of The Occupation of Latvia in Riga
The Museum of The Occupation of Latvia is located next to the Tourist Information Office with free admittance and has a mission to:
- Show what happened to Latvia, its land and people under two regimes from 1940 to 1991;
- Remind the word of crimes committed by foreign powers again the state and people of Latvia; and
- Remember the victims of occupation. Those who perished, were persecuted, deported or fled the terror of the occupation regimes.
Visitors walk through the museum rooms reading texts in Latvian, English, German, Russian, Spanish, and French. Poor Latvia underwent 51 years of occupation by the Soviets to begin with, followed by Nazi Germany, and then the Soviets once again.
We made our way slowly through the Museum exhibits divided into different sections chronicling the 51 years. Latvia was ruled by Poland, Sweden and Germany, became independent, was again ruled by the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union again. It wasn't until 1991, after 50 years of occupation that Latvia became independent. There are historical documents, artifacts and pictures along with personal keepsakes testifying to inhumane conditions in prisons and Siberian gulags. The Soviets sentenced over 25 million people to the gulags in Siberia from all Russian occupied domains, and it is estimated over 6 million people died.
When Nazi Germany entered Latvia, they exhumed hundreds of bodies that the Russians had exterminated, considering them "political" prisoners during Russian rule. Under Nazi rule, there were exactly 400 "righteous" Latvians who aided and hid the Jewish people by risking their own lives. When the Russians took over once again, they blamed the Jews for whatever problems existed fostering more anti-semitism and there are now approximately 7,000 Jews remaining in Riga. Wikipedia has an excellent article on the Riga Ghetto. Depressing? Yes. Important to visit? Yes.
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