Displaced persons from Russia

Nazis forcefully removed to Latvia the population from the occupied front-line regions of Russia and Byelorussia.

The forceful removal of the population by the occupying forces was carried out with the aim of securing their rear, suppressing the partisan movement, as well as for slave labour. In 1943 – 1944 around 200,000 displaced persons passed through Latvia. A part of them were taken to Germany for forced labour, others remained in Latvia even after the end of the war. In 1991 after independence had been restored to Latvia they were deprived of their political rights and many of them were even deprived of their official status of ‘repressed person’.

Displaced persons from Russia in one of the villages of Latgalia.