RIGA — March 16, or Legionnaires’ Day, Latvia’s annual public relations nightmare, passed peacefully, with nearly a thousand participants laying flowers at the Freedom Monument amid intense police security and insulting jaunts from Russian protesters.

Police officials said several people were detained but that there were no incidents of violence.

Several hundred police, many in full riot gear with crowd-control weaponry, ensured that the veterans’ procession, from Riga Cathedral in Old Town to Milda, was not attacked or [private_supervisor]impeded by protesters.

In comparison to previous years, the police presence was tremendous, if not overkill, while the number of protesters, about 70, was considerably smaller.

Participants in the procession, including about 200 veterans of the two Waffen SS divisions and the same number of relatives, laid flowers at the monument and sung patriotic songs under a row of flags. Many youths also took part, including several children who held flowers.

For their part, the protesters, ethnic Russians who consider the commemoration ceremony an insult to all those who died to defeat Nazi Germany, shouted insults — “Murderers!” “Disgrace!” “Hitler is dead!” — and waved posters showing graphic images of the Holocaust.

Past wounds resurrected

The yearly event brings forth the complicated aspects of Latvia’s wartime history, which included three invasions, two by the Soviet Union and one by Germany, forced conscription, Siberian exile, concentration camps, and the mass extermination of Jews.

The Latvians who participate in the procession claim they simply want to pay homage to relatives and compatriots who fought in the Waffen-SS divisions, which were formed in early 1943 in the wake of the huge German defeat in Stalingrad.

The Latvian Legion was created in order to utilize foreign soldiers in the Germany army, which up to them had been prohibited, not to kill local Jews, which mostly occurred in occupied Latvia in 1941-1942 before the units were created.

However, all Legionnaires took an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer and some had participated in executing remaining Jews before being sent to the front line, thus stigmatizing the two divisions.

Latvia’s leaders, including President Valdis Zatlers, distanced themselves from the Tuesday ceremony, saying that Latvia commemorates its dead on Nov. 11.

Critics say that, at best, the ceremony should be allowed to take place but only in a cemetery and not in the center of Riga, where the pomp and circumstance is an insult to the millions who died in the war against Nazi Germany.

“You can’t masquerade as a freedom fighter if you’re fighting alongside the forces of a regime that orchestrated the murder of tens of millions of people,” said Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff, who for the first time was present at the procession.

He said it was saddening to see so many young people participate in the procession. “It’s one thing for the elderly people to have their read of the period, and nothing’s going to change that frankly … what worries me is the young people, the people in their twenties holding the Latvian flag. They’re the problem, because they’re the future,” Zuroff said.

Critics, particularly the Kremlin-controlled Russian media, claim the annual remembrance is a reflection of resurgent nationalist, even neo-Nazi sentiment in the Baltic state.

During the course of the procession, many ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians faced off, hotly debating the nuances of World War II history and the post-war period. While both the elderly and youth argued, no one came to blows and everyone parted peacefully. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]impeded by protesters.

In comparison to previous years, the police presence was tremendous, if not overkill, while the number of protesters, about 70, was considerably smaller.

Participants in the procession, including about 200 veterans of the two Waffen SS divisions and the same number of relatives, laid flowers at the monument and sung patriotic songs under a row of flags. Many youths also took part, including several children who held flowers.

For their part, the protesters, ethnic Russians who consider the commemoration ceremony an insult to all those who died to defeat Nazi Germany, shouted insults — “Murderers!” “Disgrace!” “Hitler is dead!” — and waved posters showing graphic images of the Holocaust.

Past wounds resurrected

The yearly event brings forth the complicated aspects of Latvia’s wartime history, which included three invasions, two by the Soviet Union and one by Germany, forced conscription, Siberian exile, concentration camps, and the mass extermination of Jews.

The Latvians who participate in the procession claim they simply want to pay homage to relatives and compatriots who fought in the Waffen-SS divisions, which were formed in early 1943 in the wake of the huge German defeat in Stalingrad.

The Latvian Legion was created in order to utilize foreign soldiers in the Germany army, which up to them had been prohibited, not to kill local Jews, which mostly occurred in occupied Latvia in 1941-1942 before the units were created.

However, all Legionnaires took an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer and some had participated in executing remaining Jews before being sent to the front line, thus stigmatizing the two divisions.

Latvia’s leaders, including President Valdis Zatlers, distanced themselves from the Tuesday ceremony, saying that Latvia commemorates its dead on Nov. 11.

Critics say that, at best, the ceremony should be allowed to take place but only in a cemetery and not in the center of Riga, where the pomp and circumstance is an insult to the millions who died in the war against Nazi Germany.

“You can’t masquerade as a freedom fighter if you’re fighting alongside the forces of a regime that orchestrated the murder of tens of millions of people,” said Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff, who for the first time was present at the procession.

He said it was saddening to see so many young people participate in the procession. “It’s one thing for the elderly people to have their read of the period, and nothing’s going to change that frankly … what worries me is the young people, the people in their twenties holding the Latvian flag. They’re the problem, because they’re the future,” Zuroff said.

Critics, particularly the Kremlin-controlled Russian media, claim the annual remembrance is a reflection of resurgent nationalist, even neo-Nazi sentiment in the Baltic state.

During the course of the procession, many ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians faced off, hotly debating the nuances of World War II history and the post-war period. While both the elderly and youth argued, no one came to blows and everyone parted peacefully. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]impeded by protesters.

In comparison to previous years, the police presence was tremendous, if not overkill, while the number of protesters, about 70, was considerably smaller.

Participants in the procession, including about 200 veterans of the two Waffen SS divisions and the same number of relatives, laid flowers at the monument and sung patriotic songs under a row of flags. Many youths also took part, including several children who held flowers.

For their part, the protesters, ethnic Russians who consider the commemoration ceremony an insult to all those who died to defeat Nazi Germany, shouted insults — “Murderers!” “Disgrace!” “Hitler is dead!” — and waved posters showing graphic images of the Holocaust.

Past wounds resurrected

The yearly event brings forth the complicated aspects of Latvia’s wartime history, which included three invasions, two by the Soviet Union and one by Germany, forced conscription, Siberian exile, concentration camps, and the mass extermination of Jews.

The Latvians who participate in the procession claim they simply want to pay homage to relatives and compatriots who fought in the Waffen-SS divisions, which were formed in early 1943 in the wake of the huge German defeat in Stalingrad.

The Latvian Legion was created in order to utilize foreign soldiers in the Germany army, which up to them had been prohibited, not to kill local Jews, which mostly occurred in occupied Latvia in 1941-1942 before the units were created.

However, all Legionnaires took an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer and some had participated in executing remaining Jews before being sent to the front line, thus stigmatizing the two divisions.

Latvia’s leaders, including President Valdis Zatlers, distanced themselves from the Tuesday ceremony, saying that Latvia commemorates its dead on Nov. 11.

Critics say that, at best, the ceremony should be allowed to take place but only in a cemetery and not in the center of Riga, where the pomp and circumstance is an insult to the millions who died in the war against Nazi Germany.

“You can’t masquerade as a freedom fighter if you’re fighting alongside the forces of a regime that orchestrated the murder of tens of millions of people,” said Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff, who for the first time was present at the procession.

He said it was saddening to see so many young people participate in the procession. “It’s one thing for the elderly people to have their read of the period, and nothing’s going to change that frankly … what worries me is the young people, the people in their twenties holding the Latvian flag. They’re the problem, because they’re the future,” Zuroff said.

Critics, particularly the Kremlin-controlled Russian media, claim the annual remembrance is a reflection of resurgent nationalist, even neo-Nazi sentiment in the Baltic state.

During the course of the procession, many ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians faced off, hotly debating the nuances of World War II history and the post-war period. While both the elderly and youth argued, no one came to blows and everyone parted peacefully. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]impeded by protesters.

In comparison to previous years, the police presence was tremendous, if not overkill, while the number of protesters, about 70, was considerably smaller.

Participants in the procession, including about 200 veterans of the two Waffen SS divisions and the same number of relatives, laid flowers at the monument and sung patriotic songs under a row of flags. Many youths also took part, including several children who held flowers.

For their part, the protesters, ethnic Russians who consider the commemoration ceremony an insult to all those who died to defeat Nazi Germany, shouted insults — “Murderers!” “Disgrace!” “Hitler is dead!” — and waved posters showing graphic images of the Holocaust.

Past wounds resurrected

The yearly event brings forth the complicated aspects of Latvia’s wartime history, which included three invasions, two by the Soviet Union and one by Germany, forced conscription, Siberian exile, concentration camps, and the mass extermination of Jews.

The Latvians who participate in the procession claim they simply want to pay homage to relatives and compatriots who fought in the Waffen-SS divisions, which were formed in early 1943 in the wake of the huge German defeat in Stalingrad.

The Latvian Legion was created in order to utilize foreign soldiers in the Germany army, which up to them had been prohibited, not to kill local Jews, which mostly occurred in occupied Latvia in 1941-1942 before the units were created.

However, all Legionnaires took an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer and some had participated in executing remaining Jews before being sent to the front line, thus stigmatizing the two divisions.

Latvia’s leaders, including President Valdis Zatlers, distanced themselves from the Tuesday ceremony, saying that Latvia commemorates its dead on Nov. 11.

Critics say that, at best, the ceremony should be allowed to take place but only in a cemetery and not in the center of Riga, where the pomp and circumstance is an insult to the millions who died in the war against Nazi Germany.

“You can’t masquerade as a freedom fighter if you’re fighting alongside the forces of a regime that orchestrated the murder of tens of millions of people,” said Nazi-hunter Efraim Zuroff, who for the first time was present at the procession.

He said it was saddening to see so many young people participate in the procession. “It’s one thing for the elderly people to have their read of the period, and nothing’s going to change that frankly … what worries me is the young people, the people in their twenties holding the Latvian flag. They’re the problem, because they’re the future,” Zuroff said.

Critics, particularly the Kremlin-controlled Russian media, claim the annual remembrance is a reflection of resurgent nationalist, even neo-Nazi sentiment in the Baltic state.

During the course of the procession, many ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians faced off, hotly debating the nuances of World War II history and the post-war period. While both the elderly and youth argued, no one came to blows and everyone parted peacefully. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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