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Latvians march to honor Nazi SS. Is it wrong for them to honor their heritage?
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:07 pm
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:07 pm
quote:
"Last Wednesday some 1,500 Lithuanians participated in a march organised by the Union of Nationalist Youth down the main avenue of Vilnius to mark Independence Day.
On Monday, approximately the same number of Latvians gathered in the centre of Riga to honour Latvian SS veterans who fought for a victory of the Third Reich in the Second World War."
LINK
The march was part of Latvian Legion Day. It was made an official remembrance day in Latvia in 1998 and commemorates the service of more than 31,000 Latvians in the the 15th and 19th Waffen SS Grenadier Divisions in WW2 pictured below.
The Soldiers, while fighting for the SS, did not participate in the Holocaust. Despite this many Europeans have expressed shock and outrage that the Soldiers are being honored while many Latvians see it as a time to remember Latvian resistance against the Soviets who invaded their country in 1940.
Is it wrong for Latvians to honor the veterans of these divisions?
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Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:10 pm to KSGamecock
quote:
Latvian resistance against the Soviets who invaded their country in 1940
Hard to root for the Nazis. Even against the Stalinists. I'm going to pass on this one.
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:10 pm to KSGamecock
Germans
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:11 pm to OleRockyTop
Well actually, Latvians. Pro-German Latvians.
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:16 pm to KSGamecock
Any person who died fighting for their country deserves some modicum of respect. We must remember not every soldier believes in the leaders they take orders from but do believe in their country.
This post was edited on 3/23/15 at 9:18 pm
Posted on 3/23/15 at 9:23 pm to Agforlife
Here's how this thread was going to work in my head.
- Oh this is interesting, I bet a lot of people are going to oppose this cuz "Nazis"
- I bet some of those same people are really pro-Confederate remembrance shite cuz "heritage"
- Explain the contradiction in their thinking.
- Checkmate rednecks.
- Profit.
Has not gone as planned.
- Oh this is interesting, I bet a lot of people are going to oppose this cuz "Nazis"
- I bet some of those same people are really pro-Confederate remembrance shite cuz "heritage"
- Explain the contradiction in their thinking.
- Checkmate rednecks.
- Profit.
Has not gone as planned.
Posted on 3/23/15 at 10:12 pm to KSGamecock
Is there freedom of speech in Latvia? If so, frick it.
Posted on 3/23/15 at 10:15 pm to KSGamecock
my grandma's (dad's side) folks dipped/got tossed out of latvia in early to mid 1900's, pre bolshevik revolution but unsure on the exact year other than 190x. i pretty much support any and all who fought the russians there. my dad's brother is a rabbi so i'm pretty much ruled out on the pro genocide thing. i'm marking my calendar to celebrate next year.
Posted on 3/23/15 at 10:29 pm to KSGamecock
That's where my head went immediately when I saw this topic. 
Posted on 3/24/15 at 12:17 am to KSGamecock
No its not wrong.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 12:18 am to KSGamecock
quote:
Here's how this thread was going to work in my head. - Oh this is interesting, I bet a lot of people are going to oppose this cuz "Nazis" - I bet some of those same people are really pro-Confederate remembrance shite cuz "heritage" - Explain the contradiction in their thinking. - Checkmate rednecks. - Profit.
Damn this was a solid gameplan, tho
Posted on 3/24/15 at 12:36 am to TbirdSpur2010
And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for these damn OTBallers not being as crazy as I needed. I know it would work on the PB but I'm not about to go there.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 4:12 am to KSGamecock
quote:
many Latvians see it as a time to remember Latvian resistance against the Soviets who invaded their country in 1940.
Here's the answer.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 7:31 am to Agforlife
quote:
Any person who died fighting for their country deserves some modicum of respect. We must remember not every soldier believes in the leaders they take orders from but do believe in their country.
My sister-in-law is from a small town in Western Poland, that was actually part of Germany before WWII. It was ceded to Poland afterwards, but just down the street from my SiL's childhood home is a memorial to the fallen German soldiers who fought for Deutschland from '39-'44. Her town is ethnically German, but technically Poland, so it has a bit of an identity crisis. The monument itself is desecrated by the Poles in the town, and restored by the ethnic Germans.
History and borders are never as clean as we believe.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 7:38 am to RoyalAir
quote:
History and borders are never as clean as we believe.
No they are not. What many don't get is the fact that most of the soldiers in WWII from the other side were not volunteers and had little choice in the matter. I can be respectful of them while still hating the truly sadistic bastards they took orders from.
I don't agree that we should have been in Vietnam, but I have a huge respect for those that were sent there and did their jobs.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 8:01 am to Agforlife
quote:
Any person who died fighting for their country deserves some modicum of respect. We must remember not every soldier believes in the leaders they take orders from but do believe in their country.
I agree wth this almost fully. The almost is with a caveat that there are tPOS that don't deserve respect because of their individual conduct (like Mutsuhiro Watanabe).
I have no problem with people honoring their ancestors for their service, courage, and dedication even if the cause was wrong.
This post was edited on 3/24/15 at 8:03 am
Posted on 3/24/15 at 8:37 am to KSGamecock
The Nazis murdered 6 million innocent civilians on purpose in only 6 years! Slaves were provided ample food and housing. Both are atrocious, but are like comparing apples and oranges.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 9:10 am to KSGamecock
I can understand this. They as a people suffered a shite ton more under communism than the nazis, it would make sense that they would see things through a different lens.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 12:25 pm to Agforlife
agforlife, you need to do some research into those who joined the SS from other countries. Almost literally no one was forced to join the SS. Period. There are numerous historical books out there on the SS, each with chapters on the foreign divisions & one message is repeated over & over again in all the books. Those that joined and fought for the SS were not forced to do so. I respect no one in the SS. It was declared a criminal organization for a wide variety of reasons.
Posted on 3/24/15 at 12:36 pm to Keltic Tiger
Yeah I wasn't specifically speaking of the SS, just soldiers in general.
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