Uncomfortable Heroes… Comparing thoughts about Latvian Riflemen and SS-Legionnaires in Latvian Memorial Culture 1920–2017

Abstract

In both World Wars of the 20th century a significant proportion of the male population of Latvia participated in special Latvian units in warfare — the Latvian Riflemen in World War I and the SS-Legionnaires in World War II. The article attempts to compare the representation of these units in Latvian memorial culture, with a special focus on the historiography. Although both units played an integral part in Latvian History in the 20th century, a comparable approach hasn’t been undertaken yet, which seems to be indispensable because perceived together they almost perfectly reflect radical turns in Latvian History in the previous century. Firstly, and naturally for a military unit, there is a narrative of brave and bold fighters for a national cause best exemplified in the issues of the Christmas Battles or the Volkhov Battles. Secondly, and to a certain extent contrary to the first aspect, there is an issue of traitors and collaborators, such as Red Riflemen or German cannon fodder. Finally, they represent an extraordinarily sharp and rapid shift from the Latvians depicted as anti-German and leftwing socialist Revolutionaries at the beginning of the century to Nazi rightwing henchmen during the second half of the century until today.