• Latvian SS Veterans Deserve Respect - President
    115 replies, posted
[release] Latvian President Andris Berzins said on Tuesday the nation should bow to its Waffen-SS veterans, many of whom died for their fatherland, the LNT TV channel reported. The announcement came ahead of March 16 celebrations of the anniversary of the Latvian Waffen-SS Legion’s founding in 1943. The date is marked by a parade of former Latvian Legion members in Riga, an event traditionally criticized by anti-fascist organizations in the country and abroad. "Many Latvian residents were forcibly drafted to serve in the German army," Berzins said in an interview with the LNT. "In 1950 the United States acknowledged that Latvian legionnaires committed no military crimes. Moreover, they were later rehabilitated even by the Soviet Union,” he said . “Saying they are criminals is beyond common sense. We should bow to them instead,” he added. The Latvian Legion consisted primarily of about 150,000 ethnic Latvians in two divisions - the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian) and the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian). The 19th Division remained active until May 1945 and was among the last of Nazi Germany's forces to surrender at the end of WWII. [/release] [url]http://en.rian.ru/world/20120228/171590510.html[/url] He is talking about the frontline SS soldiers fighting right?
If both the USA and the Soviet Union have said they committed no war crimes, then yeah, they should be seen in the same light as any other soldier.
I didn't know that they would even put non-Germans into the SS, I thought that the SS was the exclusive Aryan group.
Go Latvia ! ( I am from Latvia ) And GO Mr.President !
Baltic countries rehabilitating fascists and fascist armies is nothing new.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];34910888']I didn't know that they would even put non-Germans into the SS, I thought that the SS was the exclusive Aryan group.[/QUOTE] There were some Finnish in SS afaik
[QUOTE=shian;34910856]He is talking about the frontline SS soldiers fighting right?[/QUOTE] The article mentions Waffen-SS, so I guess he does. They weren't exactly as batshit insane as the other SS branches.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];34910888']I didn't know that they would even put non-Germans into the SS, I thought that the SS was the exclusive Aryan group.[/QUOTE] Nah there was Croats, Dutch, Belgian, Danish, Norwegians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns, and probably more.
If they were conscripted by force, maybe, but if they were willing collaborators, not so much.
While they weren't evil, I wouldn't hold a parade for them.
Also for Latvia its different in a way along with the other Baltic states. Russia had beaten them up over and over and they just wanted independence and these men fought for it against the "Bolsheviks". It was either fight or have your country practically annexed.
[QUOTE=Aman VII;34911065]Also for Latvia its different in a way along with the other Baltic states. Russia had beaten them up over and over and they just wanted independence and these men fought for it against the "Bolsheviks". It was either fight or have your country practically annexed.[/QUOTE] Yeah so join the SS :downs:
I do believe most of them joined because the Soviet Union ( NOT RUSSIA ) took over the Baltic states a bit before WW2.Obviously they wanted to fight back and kill the Russians by joining the SS. [editline]28th February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=NoDachi;34911104]Yeah so join the SS :downs:[/QUOTE] That's not stupid, that's logical. If you got a man who was put down and had his people deported by the commies, then you would want revenge on them.
I believe all veterans deserve some respect, no matter which side they fought on. A war's a war. It sucks for everybody.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;34911104]Yeah so join the SS :downs:[/QUOTE] In their defense, most of the people who joined the Waffen SS probably had no idea about the genocide.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;34911237]In their defense, most of the people who joined the Waffen SS probably had no idea about the genocide.[/QUOTE] Neither did they care about jew genocide since soviets were committing one on latvian motherland.
[QUOTE=Aman VII;34911065]Also for Latvia its different in a way along with the other Baltic states. Russia had beaten them up over and over and they just wanted independence and these men fought for it against the "Bolsheviks". It was either fight or have your country practically annexed.[/QUOTE] Except latvia was one of the cradles of the revolution and home to many communists (not just bolsheviks), but it was unfortunately too close to the germans. For the brief time there were 'independent' baltic states in the interwar period, they never amounted to more than fascists looking towards the nazis for opportunity and consumed with crushing leftovers of the revolutionary peasantry & workers and the memory of the latvian riflemen. Rather than celebrating the last time latvians themselves took up arms out of their own motives, the president wants to embrace shit like this. This has nothing to do with cherishing latvia or its people, just proto-fascist latvian nationalism. Let's form a voting bloc of right wing stooges!
I thought there was a big diffrence between Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht...Waffen-SS a paramilitary organisation, not better than other sick SS groups... . and wehrmacht just the military doing its job there is no reason to respect any SS.
[QUOTE=scorpinat;34911290]I thought there was a big diffrence between Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht...Waffen-SS a paramilitary organisation, not better than other sick SS groups... . and wehrmacht just the military doing its job there is no reason to respect any SS.[/QUOTE] The Nazi's started conscripting SS officers from other countries when they began to lose the war.
[QUOTE=scorpinat;34911290]I thought there was a big diffrence between Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht...Waffen-SS a paramilitary organisation, not better than other sick SS groups... . and wehrmacht just the military doing its job[/QUOTE] The SS encompassed a lot of different nationalities because it represented the fascist national revival. It was part of a greater nationalist backlash against western liberalism and vestiges of revolutionary socialism in europe.
Fun Fact: There were [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indische_Legion]Indians[/url] in the Waffen-SS :v:
[QUOTE=Scar;34911380]Fun Fact: There were [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indische_Legion]Indians[/url] in the Waffen-SS :v:[/QUOTE] I think there were Japanese people in the Waffen-SS too, or at least in the army.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;34911104]Yeah so join the SS :downs:[/QUOTE]Highly unlikely they had an inkling of the genocide or other atrocities that other SS units like Totenkopfverbände, Sicherheitspolizei or Einsatzgruppen were carrying out. Some SS foreign legions were convicted of atrocities, but the vast majority were carried out by the more loyal German divisions or Russians convicted by the Soviet Union for counter-revolutionary activity and such. 2 of the most infamous of Waffen-SS units (36th Waffen Grenadier and S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A.) were comprised of ex-Einsatzgruppen, released criminals (and in the case of R.O.N.A., it was mainly made up of Russians convicted of political crimes by the Soviet Union); and were specifically put on anti-partisan duty. For most foreign SS volunteers, it was an "enemy of my enemy" mentality.
[QUOTE=Conscript;34911280]Except latvia was one of the cradles of the revolution and home to many communists (not just bolsheviks), but it was unfortunately too close to the germans. For the brief time there were 'independent' baltic states in the interwar period, they never amounted to more than fascists looking towards the nazis for opportunity and consumed with crushing leftovers of the revolutionary peasantry & workers and the memory of the latvian riflemen. Rather than celebrating the last time latvians themselves took up arms out of their own motives, the president wants to embrace shit like this. This has nothing to do with cherishing latvia or its people, just proto-fascist latvian nationalism. Let's form a voting bloc of right wing stooges![/QUOTE] Oh, now i get it, YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE FUCKING ASSHOLES WHO THROW EGGS WHEN WE GO AND MARCH TO PUT FLOWERS BY THE LEGIONNAIRE GRAVES ! I spit on communism and i spit on you for those words. Also you're pretty silly. By the way. Germans had nazism. Italians had fascism. Get those two right.
[QUOTE=Haywood;34911039]If they were conscripted by force, maybe, but if they were willing collaborators, not so much.[/QUOTE] The Germans are indoctrinated, you think you would be a Nazi resistor if you were born there? Nope. When everyone you know thinks a certain way, and there is no internet or free news to teach otherwise, you will adopt that way of thinking. War is war, this "good guys" and "bad guys" thing is man made.
[QUOTE=The Baconator;34911730] War is war, this "good guys" and "bad guys" thing is man made.[/QUOTE]There are rarely good guys in a war, and there were none in ww2.
The Waffen-SS, at least the Lavian divisions, did nothing wrong. There were units like the Araya Komando (I didn't spell it right) who did batshit insane things, but the rest of the gusy were just latvians hoping for a FREE Latvia from Russians and Germans. It's insane how that is demonized, while the Red Army day is put in the showlight like it's the most important holiday fucking ever. It's not. If the SS Veteran day should be criminalized, then the Red Army one should be criminalized too. But it won't, because Moscow says: FUCK YOU.
TBH, as much as I despise the SS, they still didn't do nearly as bad things as what the Red Army did after Kursk. And if these men did nothing wrong, then why should they be demonized with the rest of the SS.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];34910888']I didn't know that they would even put non-Germans into the SS, I thought that the SS was the exclusive Aryan group.[/QUOTE] Every Axis country had an SS branch
I think they just need to separate themselves from the name, this goes for all who were forced by circumstances to serve under duress. So instead of saying "They were awesome SS forces who did no wrong and deserve respect" it should be "They were awesome forces who did no wrong and deserve respect. They were forced to wear the SS uniform against their will." Cause let's face it, if you weren't forced against your will to wear an SS uniform and you did it anyways, you don't have anything to complain about, you threw in with the wrong side.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.