A Bad Year's file / תיק – שנה רעה

The attached sources present the "The Terrible Year" (Baigais Gads), the period of Soviet occupation of Latvia between 1940–1941, as documented in publications Propaganda issued under the rule of Nazi Germany. The documents include Difficult photos of victims, statistical lists of Citizens who were arrested or murdered, and a critical review of the process Sovietization The texts emphasize the forced Dismantling the army and the economy locals, using harsh rhetoric accusing communists and minority groups of treason and national destruction. Beyond documenting the events, the sources serve as evidence of the way in which the Latvian suffering for political propaganda purposes against the Soviet Union. Ultimately, the materials describe the collapse of the Latvian independence and the violent transition between totalitarian regimes during World War II.

The documents before us deal with the documentation and analysis of the period of the first Soviet occupation of Latvia (1940–1941), known as "The Terrible Year" (Baigais Gads), and how the Nazis used this documentation for propaganda purposes (H64-2-01f, H64-2f). Below is a breakdown of the key figures and an expansion of the important sources:

Key figures

Victims (Latvian military personnel, politicians, and citizens):

• General Jānis Balodis: The former Latvian Minister of War, who was deported according to the Villa Latsis order (H64_1f).
• Gen. Goppers: A senior Latvian officer executed by the Cheka (H64_1f).
• Colonel Streipa: Head of the recruitment department at the Latvian Army Headquarters, who was among the victims of Cheka torture (H64_1f).
• Bruno Rungainis: A student who managed to survive the Cheka interrogations and testified about the torture he endured (H64_1f).
• Gedimins Franckevevičs: A student who was executed by firing squad according to a sentence from the Soviet Union (H64_1f).
• Arnolds Čuibe: The director of the schools department who was among the murdered (H64_1f).
• Silvestrs Brokāns: Sentenced to death by the Soviets but miraculously survived (H64_1f).

Nazis and German government officials:

• Alfred Rosenberg: He headed the "Reichsleiter Rosenberg Staff" (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg), which was involved in collecting documents from the Soviet era for propaganda purposes (H64-2-01f, H64-2-1f).
• Propaganda teams (Propagandastaffeln): German units that were responsible for compiling and distributing propaganda materials against the Bolsheviks (H64-2-01f, H64-2-1f).
• Sonderkommando Künsberg: A special unit of the German Foreign Ministry that dealt with the confiscation of archives and documents in the occupied territories (H64-2-01f, H64-2-1f).

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Expansion of important sources

1. The book "The Terrible Year" (Baigais Gads): This source is a collection of photographs and documents first published in Latvia in 1942 under German occupation (H64-2f). The book documents the atrocities committed by the Soviets, including mass deportations (34,250 people according to the statistics presented therein) and murders in Cheka cells (H64_1f). The sources emphasize that the book served as a particularly effective Nazi propaganda tool, designed to link Bolshevism with Judaism ("Judeo-Bolshevism") and to justify the German invasion (H64-2-04f, H64-2f).
2. Historical analysis of the propaganda (from the newspaper Diena, 1999): In articles by historian Kārlis Kangris, the book "The Terrible Year" is analyzed not only as historical evidence but also as a propaganda manipulation (H64-2-01f, H64-2f). The articles reveal how German bodies such as the SD and the Abwehr collected the documents "in the aftermath of the battles" to construct a narrative that blamed the Soviet terror on the Jewish population (H64-2-01f, H64-2-04f).
3. Cheka (NKVD) documents: Among the sources are photographs of execution orders and lists of prisoners found after the Soviet withdrawal (H64_1f). These documents, like orders signed by S. Šustins, serve as direct evidence of the systematic nature of the Red Terror in Latvia, as presented to the Latvian public during the war (H64_1f).

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List of sources

• H64_1f : Visual documentation and original NKVD documents from the book "The Terrible Year" about Soviet crimes in Latvia.
• H64-2-01f : A critical article from the newspaper Diena examining the book "The Terrible Year" as a German propaganda tool.
• H64-2-04f : Continuing the analysis of the use of data on victims of Soviet terrorism for the purposes of anti-Semitic incitement.
• H64-2-1f : A historical review of the German units that were involved in the confiscation of Soviet archives in Latvia.
• H64-2f : An analysis by historian Karlis Kangris on the propaganda manipulation in the book "The Terrible Year."
• H64-3f : An interview dealing with the public and legal controversy surrounding the re-publication of the book in Latvia.
• H64-4f : Report on a Latvian art exhibition in Israel and cultural ties between the countries.

H64_1f

H64-2f

H64-2-01f

H64-2-1f

H64-2-04f

H64-3f

H64-4f

 

**end of A Bad Year files**

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