Soviet memorial "Mother – Homeland" in Tukums
Memorial site

The World War II Brethren Cemetery Memorial in Tukums is one of the largest Soviet-era memorials in Latvia. It is located in the Hill Cemetery and is visible from the Revolūcijas street. The memorial was unveiled during the Soviet occupation in 1985 to mark the Red Army's victory over Germany. It is dedicated to those who at various times fell in the name of Soviet rule. ‘Mother – Homeland’ was one of the most common images used in the creation of many memorials. The monument was used to communicate communist ideology and propaganda, symbolically strengthening the presence of the occupation regime in Latvia. After the surrender of Germany, the Red Army treated Kurzeme as a territory that had been taken from the enemy and not a liberated part of the USSR. The repressive authorities and the army began the “cleansing of Kurzeme”. Men aged 16-60 were detained, registered and screened. In terms of threat the men of Kurzeme were seen as just as dangerous as the military personnel of the former German Army. This was the start of the Red Army’s crime wave that brought with it murder, rape, theft, arrests and “mysterious disappearances of people”. Only national partisan groups showed armed resistance. The Soviet authorities set up Destruction Battalions (including in Tukums) to eliminate any resistance. The wave of violence and terror culminated in 1949, when deportations took place throughout Latvia.