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The [[German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939]] steadily forced Latvia under Soviet influence, culminating in Latvia's annexation by the Soviet Union on August 5, 1940. On June 14 of the following year, 15,000 Latvian citizens were forcibly deported and a large number of army officers shot.
The [[German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939]] steadily forced Latvia under Soviet influence, culminating in Latvia's annexation by the Soviet Union on August 5, 1940. On June 14 of the following year, 15,000 Latvian citizens were forcibly deported and a large number of army officers shot.
In Latvia, the [[Holocaust]] started on the night of 23 to 24 June 1941, one day after the [[Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union]]. The subsequent German occupation witnessed the mobilization of many Latvians into Waffen SS legions, while some Latvians joined the Red Army and formed resistance groups, and others fled to the West and East.
In Latvia, the [[Holocaust]] started on the night of 23 to 24 June 1941, one day after the [[Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union]]. Ahead of the invasion, the German SD {''Sicherheits Deinst'') organized four ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'', mobile killing squads. The name ''Einsatzgruppen'' ("special assignment units") was a euphemism; their real purpose was to murder people the Nazis saw as "undesirable". These included [[Communist]]s, [[Romani people]], the mentally ill, and especially [[Jew]]s. The Einsatzgruppen followed closely behind the German invasion forces and established a presence in Latvia within days and sometimes hours of the occupation of a given area by the German ''[[Wehrmacht]]''.<ref name = Ezer_245/> The subsequent German occupation witnessed the mobilization of many Latvians into Waffen SS legions, while some Latvians joined the [[Red Army]] and formed resistance groups, and others fled to the West and East.
An estimated 70,000, or 89.5%, of Latvian Jews were killed in Latvia under Nazi occupation. Up to one-third of Latvia's pre-war population (approximately 630,000 residents) was lost between 1940 and 1954 due to the Holocaust and the Soviet and Nazi occupations.
An estimated 70,000, or 89.5%, of Latvian Jews were killed in Latvia under Nazi occupation. Up to one-third of Latvia's pre-war population (approximately 630,000 residents) was lost between 1940 and 1954 due to the Holocaust and the Soviet and Nazi occupations.