Generalbezirk Lettland was originally organized on 25 July 1941 on the territory of the then German-occupied Latvia, which had until then been under the military administration of the Wehrmacht'sArmy Group North. By 1 September 1941, in the wake of further German gains, it expanded to its full extent, reaching the former Estonian and Soviet borders. The capital of Generalbezirk Lettland was Riga.[1]
Administrative divisions
Generalbezirk Lettland had the following six subdivisions called Kreisgebiete (County Areas). The seat of administration is in parentheses.[1]
Following the German invasion in June 1941, the death squads of Einsatzgruppe A and their Latvian collaborators, including the Arajs Kommando, immediately began the systematic murder of Latvian Jews. It is estimated that approximately 70,000, or about three-quarters of the pre-war population, were killed.[6] In addition, thousands of Romani people and ethnic Latvians perished in the slaughter. Generalbezirk Lettland was the site of the Rumbula massacre, one of the most notorious mass executions in the eastern occupied territories.
Dissolution
On 14 September 1944, the Red Army launched its Riga offensive and Generalkommissar Drechsler departed for Lübeck in Germany. Riga fell on 13 October and Generalbezirk Lettland effectively ceased to exist. Administration of those parts of Latvia still under German occupation reverted to military administration under Army Group North. Some German forces were trapped in the Courland pocket and continued armed resistance until finally surrendering on 10 May 1945.[1]
^Miller, Michael D.; Schulz, Andreas (2017). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 2 (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James Bender Publishing. p. 249. ISBN978-1-932-97032-6.
^Yerger, Mark C. (1997). Allgemeine-SS : the commands, units, and leaders of the General SS. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub. pp. 23, 44. ISBN0-7643-0145-4.