Memorial Stone to Defenders of the Kurzeme Fortification
Memorial site
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Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 motorway, 500 m from the turn to Lesteni in the direction of Riga.
The memorial site was established in 1991 near the Rumbu houses, in the vicinity of which there was active warfare. This is a tribute to the defenders of the "Kurzeme Fortress" who fought against the Red Army in World War II. The battles were significant because they temporarily stopped the Red Army's complete occupation of Latvia. About 300,000 Latvians emigrated, avoiding crimes against the civilian population by the Soviet regime.
At the end of World War II, a peculiar situation had developed in the territory of Latvia. There were German army forces in Kurzeme, which the Red Army tried to eliminate or prevent their involvement in the fighting in East Prussia or around Berlin. "Kurzeme Fortress" - the most common term to describe the warfare in Kurzeme from 1944 to 1945. The "battles of Kurzeme" were the battles of the German army to repel the large-scale attacks of the Red Army. The Kurzeme fortress ceased to exist shortly after the German capitulation.
Today you can see a place of remembrance and rest, which has been popular among Latvian legionnaires since the restoration of Latvia's independence.
Used sources and references:
Latvian soldier during the Second World War. Daugava Vanagu Central Board Edition, Volume 5. 1977
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