A thread on the consequences of Soviet and Nazi takeovers of Latvia (mainly the USSR's re-occupation of Latvia):

In the early 1940s, Latvia was invaded 3 different times.

- June 1940, by military forces of USSR
- June-July 1941, by Nazi Germany
- July 1944-May 1945, USSR again

Military presence and control by the occupying forces lasted from 1940 to 1991, when Latvian independence was regained. Though both powers installed collaborative administrations, effective control was really done through intimidation and suppression by foreign troops.

Latvia's second and third occupation were labeled as "liberations" by the occupiers. Obviously, neither Nazi Germany's "liberation" nor the USSR's "liberation" brought freedom to the Baltic States and their peoples.

The first Soviet occupation laid the groundwork for when it resumed occupation aka complete subjugation and Sovietization of the Latvian people. For many, Soviet "liberation" from Nazi tyranny just meant the return of terror from 1940/41.

Mass deportations to far off, isolated parts of the USSR were one of the Cheka's most dreaded tools of suppression and terror. In the night of June 13-14 in 1941, 15,000 Latvian residents (2,400 children under age 10) were arrested without court orders.

They were quickly herded into cattle or freight railroad cars. Many fell ill and/or died on the way. Men were separated and sent to labor camps. Women and children sent to "administrative settlements" in Siberian areas with harsh climate conditions.

The March 25, 1949 deportation of 43,000 Latvians was carried out with military precision and participation. File No. 17 listing deportees from the Limbaži District, was started on March 14 and finished on March 24, 1949. 47 pages of family members to be deported and their DOBs.

These are only a few examples and this thread barely skims the surface, but I simply will not tolerate any "USSR saved Latvia" rhetoric that I've encountered today.