"Digging is better than burrial!"

BUCH GräbenstattGräber

The order of the Army Group “Kurland” is: "Build and build!" It is a task for every soldier of the front of the rear services. Which is best marked by the word: "Digging is better than burrial!"

Thus, in every spare hour left by the enemy, the carbine is exchanged for the spade. After the first autumn rains fall, the land is turned to mud and the construction flows tenaciously - but steadily.

Storyteller: Michael Molter; Wrote down this story: Jana Kalve
Used sources and references:

Werner Haupt "KURLAND 1944/45 - die vergessene Heeresgruppe"

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Related objects

Memorial Stone to Defenders of the Kurzeme Fortification

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.

 
Pūsēni Dune

Pūsēnu Hill is located just outside Bernāti, a 20-minute drive from Liepāja. Pūsēnu Hill is the highest coastal dune - 37 m high. The dune offers a beautiful view of the surrounding area. There is a path to the sea.

Near the hill there is a concrete structure several hundred metres long (probably a military heritage).

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Ezere local history repository “Muitas Nams” (Customs House)

The Ezere Customs House is located in Ezere near the Saldus-Mažeikiai highway at the Latvian-Lithuanian border. The act of surrender of the German Army units ‘Kurzeme’ (Kurland) surrounded in the so-called ‘Courland Pocket’ was signed in this building on 8 May 1945. It is believed that World War II actually ended in Ezere. The customs house has an exhibit covering the events of the end of World War II and exhibits detailing the history of Ezere parish from ancient to modern days. In the morning of 7 May 1945, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L. Govorov, sent an ultimatum to the command of the army group ‘Kurzeme’ to lay down arms. The act of surrender was signed by the involved parties on May 8 and it detailed the procedure of surrender, weapons collection points, documents and information to be submitted and other practical measures.

Saldus German Soldiers' Cemetery

Saldus German soldier's cemetery is located on the Saldus-Ezere highway. Around 25,000 German soldiers, as well as some Latvian legionnaires, were reburied in the 8-hectare cemetery. Reburial has been taking place since 1997.

From May 1 to October 1, an exposition on the Battle of Kurzeme can be seen in the memorial room. During this period, the memorial room is open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays the cemetery also has a tour guide. The registers of soldiers buried in Saldus German soldiers' graves and fallen soldiers throughout Latvia are also available.

Lestene Brothers' Cemetery, Memorial Exposition and bunker

Lestene Brothers’ Cemetery is located in Tukums municipality, Lestene, next to the Lestene church. The construction of the Brothers’ Cemetery in Lestene began in 1998. It is the second largest military cemetery in Latvia, and more than 1,300 Latvian legionnaires are buried here. Only after regaining the independence, it was possible to rebury Latvian soldiers who fell during World War II. The Latvian Legion was a combat unit of the German Army, formed mainly from illegally drafted Latvians. The soldiers thought of their presence in the legion as something that had to be done to be able to restore Latvia’s independence, despite the fact that they were in the ranks of the German armed forces and that Germany had occupied Latvia. Latvian legionnaires fought against the Red Army, which had destroyed Latvia's independence and its army and committed crimes against civilians. Between 110,000 and 115,000 soldiers fought in the ranks of the German Army and about 30,000–50,000 of them never left the battlefield. The Brothers’ Cemetery central theme ‘Motherland – Mother – Latvia’ was created by the sculptor Arta Dumpe. Across the road an exhibit dedicated to the history of the Latvian Legion has been created in a former pub. Right next to it the men of the Latvian Officers Association, under the leadership of Captain Jānis Slaidiņš, have built an underground bunker to show how soldiers and officers lived on the front lines.

Monument to Victims of the Christmas Battles in Pienava

Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 motorway, about a kilometer behind Pienava in the direction of Liepaja.

The memorial is erected on the site of the Third Battle of Kurzeme or the Christmas battles in 1944. 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 battles in Kurzeme from 1944 to 1945. The "battles of Kurzeme" were the military action of the German army to repel the large-scale attacks of the Red Army. Latvian legionnaires also took an active part in the fighting in Kurzeme.

Today you can see the memorial site. The open countryside without the oldest buildings is a witness to the war.

 
World War II battle sites in Krote

The last fortification lines of the army group "Kurzeme", which were held by the German troops until their surrender on 8 May 1945, are located on the banks of the Vārtāja River in the vicinity of Krotė.

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Today, Krotė houses the private collection of Maris Ūtēna and offers the opportunity to see German trenches and bunker sites in the forests along the Vārtāja River. There are camping, a fireplace, a small cottage and carp fishing.

Explosive objects are still present in the forests of Kurzeme! 

Guided excursion in Priekule “Along the Footsteps of World War II in the "Courland Pocket””

The guided tours feature the battlefields of World War II in the vicinity of the town of Priekule. The duration of the tour can be adjusted to suit the interests of the group: from 10 kilometres in three hours to 40 kilometres in six hours. All year round, the tours are available in Latvian, Russian and English. Tours must be booked in advance. The tours are suitable for travellers from 13 years of age. The most suitable mode of transportation is a car or bus with up to 30 seats. Key stops: Gramzda parish where the Soviet Army initiated its attack on the German Army in Priekule in the autumn of 1944. Priekule Brothers’ Cemetery: the largest Brothers’ Cemetery in the Baltics with more than 23,000 Red Army soldiers resting here. Priekule: a site of strategic importance in the south of the ‘Courland Pocket’ where a particularly heavy and difficult battle was fought. Krote parish where in the February of 1945 the attack of the Soviet Army on the German forces besieged in the ‘Courland Pocket’ stopped on the banks of the Vārtāja river.

Memorial site for Hermann Faul

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Memorial to H. Faul, and to the nine German and Latvian soldiers who fell in the battle of 27 December 1944 (probably blown up by a direct hit from a cannon shell) and who are presumed missing since then, as no remains, documents or other evidence of their identity have been found.