Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
Encyclopedia
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991 is an historic educational institution located in Riga
, Latvia
. It was established in 1993 to exhibit artifacts, archive documents, and educate the public about the 51-year period in the 20th century when Latvia was successively occupied by the USSR in 1940
, then by Nazi Germany in 1941
, and then again by the USSR in 1944
.
The museum's stated mission is to:
Official programs for visits to Latvia of top level representatives of other countries normally include a visit to the Museum of the Occupation .
The building of the museum was built already in 1971 to celebrate Lenin's 100th birthday and up until 1991 it served as the Museom of Red Latvian Riflemen.
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. It was established in 1993 to exhibit artifacts, archive documents, and educate the public about the 51-year period in the 20th century when Latvia was successively occupied by the USSR in 1940
Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers, according to the European Court of Human Rights, the Government of Latvia, the State Department of the United States of America, and the European Union, to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union ostensibly under the...
, then by Nazi Germany in 1941
Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on July 10, 1941 by Germany's armed forces. Latvia became a part of Nazi Germany's Reichskommissariat Ostland — the Province General of Latvia...
, and then again by the USSR in 1944
Occupation of Latvia by Soviet Union 1944-1945
The occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union 1944–1945 refers to the re-occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1945. Army Group Centre was in tatters, and the northern edge of the Soviet assault threatened to trap Army Group North in a pocket in the Kurland region...
.
The museum's stated mission is to:
- "Show what happened in Latvia, its land and people under two occupying totalitarian regimes from 1940 to 1991;
- "Remind the world of the crimes committed by foreign powers against the state and people of Latvia;
- "Remember the victims of the occupation: those who perished, were persecuted, forcefully deported or fled the terror of the occupation regimes."
Official programs for visits to Latvia of top level representatives of other countries normally include a visit to the Museum of the Occupation .
The building of the museum was built already in 1971 to celebrate Lenin's 100th birthday and up until 1991 it served as the Museom of Red Latvian Riflemen.