Courland Pocket/Fortress II World War II

The Saldus German Soldiers' Cemetery is located on the Saldus–Ezeres highway. The cemetery, which covers an area of 8 hectares, contains the remains of around 25,000 German soldiers, as well as some Latvian legionnaires. Reburials have been taking place since 1997.

From May 1 to October 1, an exhibition about the battles of Courland can be viewed in the memorial room. During this period, the memorial room is open on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00, and on Saturdays and Sundays a guide is also working in the cemetery. Registers of soldiers buried in the Saldus German soldiers' cemetery and soldiers who fell throughout Latvia are also available.

The only sewing machine collection in Latvia with more than 200 different sewing machines from the pre-war and Soviet periods, which played a direct role in the production of military clothing in the pre-war and war years. Collection creator - Juris Beloivans

The fraternal cemetery of the Red Army 130th Latvian and 8th Estonian Rifle Corps soldiers is located about 350 metres south-west of the Blīdene-Remte road. The name derives from the farm Tušķi, which was located 400 m south of the cemetery.

On 17 March 1945, the last attempt of the Red Army in Kurzeme began. The 308th Latvian Rifle Division attacked south-west and west of the Tušķi homestead and during three days of fighting crossed the Blīdene-Remte road in the 142.2 area of the highlands and reached the Jaunāsmuižas-Mezmali line. The soldiers killed during the battles were buried in several small cemeteries near Ķēķiai, Vērotāji, Jaunāsmuiža and elsewhere.

In the late 1960s, when the Soviet Union began to commemorate the Second World War, a new cemetery was established north of the ruins of the Tušķu homestead, where it was planned to rebury all the soldiers who had fallen in the Pilsblidene and Kaulači area. In reality, the reburial was partial, as very often the fallen soldiers remained in their original gravesites, but only their names were overwritten in the cemetery of the Tuški brothers. The names of the soldiers of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, whose main wartime cemetery was located on the site of the present Pilsblidene cemetery, can also be found in the Tuški Brethren Cemetery.

There is also a monument to Jakob Kundera, a soldier of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, to whom the object 'Kundera dots' is dedicated. Immediately after the battle, Jakob Kundera was buried in what is now Pilsblidene Cemetery, and later reburied in the Tuški Brethren Cemetery.

Campsite Melnsils is located next to the sea 10 km from Kolka. Here German Army type dugouts have been built that can be used as lodging for the night. This is a nod to the history of this region when during World War II the German Army had a border guard post and a camp site here and soldiers built dugouts for themselves using materials that could be found nearby. Trenches can still be found in the dunes along the coast.

‘Bunker Nr. 13’ is the largest of the two dugouts, with three bunk beds. The ‘Small Bunker’ is smaller and has two bunk beds. Campsite ‘Melnsils’ is a great choice for active recreation and sporting events for up to 300 people. It is located near the Slitere National Park, coastal bluffs and forest hiking trails. There are marked cycling trails that wind through the natural surroundings in the area. There are designated places for tents and campfires by the sea, as well as barrel-type guest houses for two or four people. A bathhouse with different types of whisks is also available.

The railway station building was opened with the construction of the Liepāja-Vainode railway line in 1871. The station building itself was opened in 1872. This was also the beginning of a great activity in the development of the central streets of Vaiņode. It is significant that in the guidebooks of the time, the distance of each building or object was indicated as the distance from the railway station. The railway station was once an important military transport hub. 

During the First World War, a branch line was built from the station to the airfield, which brought materials (metal shapes for hangars), cranes, winches and ammunition for war stores, which were then transported by zeppelins to Riga and bombed the Russian fortifications.

The railway station building was not affected by the devastation of World War II and has not changed its appearance over time. Vaiņode station can be seen from the outside.

The military activity in the vicinity of Vaiņode can be traced back to the successful Red Army offensive that began on 5 October 1944 in the vicinity of Šiauliai. Quickly crushing the weak German resistance, Soviet tank units were tasked with seizing the strategically important Liepāja-Shaul railway line. In the early hours of 9 October 1944, the first units of the 79th Tank Brigade of the 19th Panzer Corps and the separate units of the 143rd Tank Brigade launched an offensive. As a result of the collapse of the German front, only small units of the German 61st Infantry Division, supported by armoured trains, were present in the eastern outskirts of Vaiņode. The resistance was quickly overcome and by the evening of 9 October the whole of Vaiņode was under the complete control of the Red Army. On 10 October, units of the 103rd Rifle Corps of the Soviet 6th Guards Army arrived and continued their attacks, pushing back the German 61st Infantry Division 2 km north of the Skaistkalne sanatorium. As the Soviet forces took Vaiņode with little fighting, the Vaiņode station and the town's buildings suffered relatively little.

The fighting got a little closer to Vaiņode on 24 October 1944, when the German 10th Corps, with the 14th Panzer Division in the lead, carried out an offensive operation nicknamed "Eberhard". During the fighting, the front line consolidated just north of the sanatorium and remained there until 27 October, when the Red Army launched an offensive known as the 1st Kurland Bolshoi.
 

The manor house was built in the classical style in the 1920s of the 19th century. After the land reform, the manor complex was rented out to private individuals, but from 1932 it passed to the Ministry of People's Welfare.

6. During the fierce battles of the Great Battle of Courland it was used both as a support post and as an infirmary. 

On 17 March 1945, the last attempt of the Red Army to attack Courland began. Units of the German 24th Infantry Division defended themselves in the vicinity of the Pilsblidene Manor complex. On 18 March 1945, the manor house was attacked from the south by the 121st Rifle Regiment of the Latvian Rifle Division of the 43rd Guards, which was unsuccessful. The 1st Battalion of the 300th Rifle Regiment of the 7th Estonian Rifle Division attacked from the west, and at the end of the day the 35th Tank Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps joined the 1st Battalion of the 917th Rifle Regiment of the 249th Estonian Rifle Division on the Blīdene-Remte road.

On the night of 19 March, the 43rd Grenadier Regiment of the 19th Latvian SS Grenadier Division arrived in the vicinity of Blīdene Station and counter-attacked to retake the Pilsblīdene Manor residential building. However, as a result of a night tank attack, Estonian and Latvian units of the Red Army gained a foothold at the station.

In 1959, a fire broke out in the castle. From 1961 to 1986, a retirement home operated in the residential building. In 1986, the castle was again destroyed by fire. Since then, the castle has stood empty and ruined.

A 24-hectare park surrounds the manor house, which is now overgrown. The park has about 37 plantations of non-native species of trees and shrubs and is under state protection. The park is unmaintained and the surroundings are overgrown.

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.

The Priekule Memorial Ensemble of Warrior’s Cemetery is on the Liepāja-Priekule-Skoda road and is the largest burial site of Soviet soldiers of World War II in the Baltics. More than 23,000 Soviet soldiers are buried here. Operation Priekule was one of the fiercest battles in Kurzeme Fortress that took place from October 1944 to 21 February 1945. The Battle of Priekule in February 1945 lasted seven days and nights without interruption and had a lot of casualties on both sides. Until Priekule Warrior’s Cemetery was transformed into a memorial, the last monument of the outstanding Latvian sculptor K. Zāle (1888-1942) was located here to commemorate the independence battles in Aloja. Between 1974 and 1984, the 8 ha Priekule Warrior’s Cemetery was transformed into a memorial ensemble dedicated to those who fell in World War II. It was designed by the sculptor P. Zaļkalne, architects A. Zoldners and E. Salguss, and the dendrologist A. Lasis.

The centre of the memorial holds a 12 m tall statue called the ‘Motherland’, and names of the fallen are engraved on granite slabs. Until Latvia regained its independence, the Victory Day was widely celebrated every year on May 9.

The Pelči Manor is located in Pelči parish, Kuldīga municipality. Tours of the manor house must be booked in advance. The Pelči Manor was built between 1903 and 1904, and this work by architect Wilhelm Neumann is one of the most outstanding manors of the early 20th century in Latvia. Its architectural language involves compositional principles and elements from Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. Between the late 19th century and 1920, the manor was owned by the Fürst von Lieven family.

From 1944 to 1945, the Pelči Manor was used as headquarters of the German Army Group ‘North’ (known as Army Group ‘Kurzeme’ as of 25 January 1945).

The headquarters of the Army Group ‘North’ moved from Sigulda to the Pelči Manor on 23 September 1944 in view of the planned retreat of the 18th army force from Estonia. The headquarters remained there approximately until mid-May 1945 when, after the capitulation of Army Group ‘Kurzeme’, information and documents were handed over to Red Army officers.

The Nīgrande Local History Repository is located in the Nīgrande village in the manor barn, next to the Nīgrande Primary School, and is accessible by appointment.

The military history section of the repository includes an exhibition on World War II and original objects and parts found in the area after the war and in later years. You can also find out stories and see photographs about Nygrande and its surroundings from the War of Independence, World War II and the post-war period, as well as life on the collective farm in Soviet times. 

The exhibition has a special place for the local writer Jēkab Janševskis and his works, and there is an exhibition presenting traditional manor house life and furnishings. A mammoth tusk found in Nīgrande is also on display in the barn of Nīgrande Manor.

The memorial is located near the Zlēki Manor ensemble, in the western part of Karātavkalns.  Around twenty boulders with the names of the people killed form a circle, and in the centre is a black marble obelisk about three metres high.

Some of those killed have been reburied at the Zlēki memorial.

In December 1944, in the vicinity of Zlēki, the German Nazi army carried out a large-scale operation against the civilian population.In the combat action log of Army Group Nord, an entry was made at 17.30 on 9 December 1944 that 161 people belonging to the "Rubens Brigade and units of the Red Arrow" had been killed on the enemy side during the action. In Soviet times, this figure was apparently taken as the total number of victims of the Zlēki tragedy, referring to civilians killed.

The course of the action is partly documented in the report of the head of the counter-intelligence section of the German 16th Army of 31 December 1944. It explains that from 5 to 9 December, under the leadership of the highest SS and police leader in Ostland, SS Oberruppenführer and Police General Friedrich Jekeln, a large-scale operation took place at Eichensumpf ("Oak Swamp") against the "Red Arrows" and the remnants of General Kurel's group at Abava.

During the ride with the recreational boat “Zezer” along Lake Ciecere near Brocēni you can listen to the audio guide and captain's stories about Lake Ciecere and the city of Brocēni on its shores, World War II events near Lake Ciecere, trenches on both sides of the lake and the Oak Island, as well as the tank route running along an observation tower and the tank that is said to be sunk in the lake. The audio guide is available in Latvian, Lithuanian, English, and Russian languages. The ride takes 1 hour 15 min.

The "Sail of Hope" commemorative sign for the World War II refugees who crossed the Baltic Sea by boat to the island of Gotland in Sweden in 1944 and 1945. The memorial is located in Osvalki on the dunes between the sea and Ventspils-Liepaja highway, near the public transport stop "Kaijas". It was created by sculptor Ģirts Burvis, who realised it as a sail of hope symbolising the memory of Latvian refugees.

Between autumn 1944 and spring 1945, fearing the renewed Soviet occupation but unwilling to evacuate to a devastated and threatened Germany, some Latvian citizens tried to reach the nearest neutral country, Sweden, by sea. Some of the boats were organised by the Latvian Central Council with the help of the Western Allied countries, which resulted in one of the largest refugee concentration points in Jūrkalnes parish. Besides the boats organised by the Latvian Central Council, other boats were also taken across the sea. It is estimated that about 5000 persons managed to cross the sea. The number of deaths is unknown, as no records were kept of refugees leaving the Kurzeme coast. 

The voyages were dangerous because the refugees were threatened by German patrols on the coast and at sea, sea mines, Soviet aircraft and warships, as well as storms, as the crossings often took place in unsuitable and overloaded cutters and boats without sufficient fuel and food supplies, sea charts and navigational instruments. Departures from Latvia were carried out in secret. The destination of the boats was the island of Gotland, and the journeys most often started on the west coast of Courland (from Jūrkalne to Gotland is 90 nautical miles or about 170 kilometres as the crow flies).

The Soviet Soldiers' Cemetery is located on the Skrunda - Embute - Priekule road, which is situated on a highland between the two rivers Dzelda in the south and Koja in the north. More than 3000 fallen are buried there. 

World War II battles

The Red Army launched an offensive operation from 27 October 1944, now known as the 1st Kurland Battalion, with the aim of destroying the German army group "North", later renamed "Kurland". By 5 November, the Soviet 61st Army and parts of the 6th Guards Army and the 4th Shock Army reached the River Zeld and some units of the 5th Guards Panzer Army captured the bridgeheads on the north bank of the river. Before the next attack, the 2nd Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front was moved into this sector to reach the Skrunda-Liepaja railway line. After the initial invasion was achieved, the attack towards Kuldīga would be continued by the 5th Guards Panzer Army.

The start of the 2nd Battle of Courland was delayed by weather conditions and only began on 19 November. The Red Army made its greatest gains in the vicinity of what is now the Cemetery of the Brothers and by the evening of 24 November the 1st and 60th Rifle Corps had captured the placdarm on the north bank of the River Koj. However, the Red Army's success ended there. The German Army Group North anticipated the direction of the Soviet attacks and concentrated appropriate forces here, including two panzer divisions.

On the evening of 26 November 1944, the Red Army attacks were halted and no further attempts were made to destroy the German forces in Courland until the end of the Second World War. In the battles that followed, the task was to prevent the German army from being evacuated from Courland.

The monument to the soldiers of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army is located at the ruins of the Kaulači half-manor farmhouse about 100 metres south-west of the road.

On 17 March 1945, the last Red Army offensive attempt in Courland began. The task of the 7th Estonian Rifle Division of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps was to reach the Riga-Liepaja railway line west of Blidene station and to secure the attack of the 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps in the direction of Gaiki. By the evening of 17 March, the 354th Rifle Regiment reached the railway south of Kaulači half-manor through the forest and continued its attacks north-westwards, reaching the Pikuliai houses. In the Kaulači semi-mansion and further to the north-east were the German Burg-Stellung positions, defended by individual units of the 329th Infantry Division. Throughout the day of 18 March, attacks by the 354th Rifle Regiment continued unsuccessfully.

On the evening of 18 March the 354th Rifle Regiment was relieved by the 27th Rifle Regiment. The advance unit of the 7th Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps, the 1st Motorised Battalion, with one tank company, was also to be used for the attack. By the evening of 19 March, in a concentrated attack, the Soviets had captured the Kaulači half-manor, seizing a section of the German-built defensive line on the dominant high ground.

Until the end of March 1945, attacks by the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps and the 3rd Mechanised Corps in the directions of Vikstraute and Remte continued, but without success.

During the fighting, the Kaulači half-manor housed various levels of headquarters and a memorial stone was unveiled on the site in May 1975.

There is also a private collection in Zvārde municipality that contains both cars and trucks, as well as motorcycles.

The collection includes a restored German army BMW motorcycle, which was already here during the siege of the german army group "Kurland", as well as several German cars that remained here after the surrender of the German army group "Kurland".

This collection was created by enthusiast Jānis Dobelis. If you make an appointment in advance, the owner is ready to welcome you and give you a full description of each of the exhibits.

The thematic horse-drawn carriage tours offered by the owner of the Stiebriņi farm, such as a horse-drawn carriage ride on a railway embankment, listening to a guide talk about the industrial heritage, are a great adventure. A horse-drawn carriage ride through the sites of the former military garrisons/towns around Paplaka will also be unforgettable. We particularly recommend the children's playground of the Soviet army housing estate, known locally as "Disneyland", the Finnish cottages (a Finnish wartime contribution to the Soviet Union), the water towers and the ruins of the former luxurious buildings of Barons fon Korfs. 

No military infrastructure was planned in Cape Kolka, except for several offshore lighthouses that were rebuilt over a long period of time, either before World War I, during World War I or during World War II. Coastal defence batteries were planned for the narrowest part of the Irbe Strait, between the Sirves Peninsula and the Michael Tower Lighthouse.

The only fortifications of a military nature appeared at the end of 1944, when the German Army Group North was preparing to repel possible landings by the Soviet Baltic Fleet. In the spring of 1945, after the ice retreated, two batteries of the 532nd Artillery Division defended the coast at Cape Kolka. Battery 7 with four 75 mm guns and three 20 mm zenith guns. Battery 8 with four 88 mm mortars, three 20 mm mortars and an 81 mm mortar. The anti-deserter infantry garrison consisted of one of the most famous coastal defence units of the German Navy, the 5th Company of the 531st Artillery Division. Although it was an artillery unit by name, it was an infantry unit by deployment, which started its war in June 1941 at Liepāja. The unit was then garrisoned on islands in the Gulf of Finland and later took part in the fighting on the island of Saaremaa. The remnants of the division were reformed into one company and, reinforced with seven anti-tank guns and three 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, deployed at Cape Kolka.

The Soviet naval landing operation never took place and the German units capitulated in May 1945.

The military infrastructure in Cape Kolka began to be built after the Second World War, when Soviet border guard posts were deployed here and Kolka, like the entire Kurzeme coast from Mērsrags to the Lithuanian border, became a closed zone

Walking along the slope of Mount Odju for 200 m along the path, you can see several objects related to the First World War - old concrete foundations of cannons from. An unfinished concrete observation tower stands next to the beach, parallel to the forest path along the Rojas Trail. The exact use of this object is unknown. Below the base, niches have been built for ammunition. Deep pits, former dugouts, are also visible among the pines.

Some of the objects probably date back to the end of the Second World War, when German coastal defence batteries were stationed in the area. The 4th Battery, 532nd Artillery Division, Navy, was armed with four 88 mm guns, three 37 mm guns, one 20 mm four-barrelled gun and one 50 mm mortar for illumination at night. Two 45 mm anti-tank guns are deployed at the mouth of the Rojas. The town garrison consisted of units of the 64th and 109th Sapper Battalions.

The ruins of the Ķerkliņu Church are located about 5 kilometres north-west of Kokmuiža, near the Ķerkliņu Lake. The church was built in 1641 by Heinrich von Dönhoff (Derkarth), the owner of the Ķerkliņi manor. The original wooden church was replaced by a stone building, under which tombs were built for the dead of the Dönhof and later Kleist families. The tombs were already destroyed during the 1905 riots, but in 1949 the coffins were moved from the tombs to the church. The church was an example of the Kurzeme Baroque style - its carvings were made by the Kuldīga - Liepāja woodcarvers. Although the owners of the manor and the church were at various times plagued by financial problems, the church underwent several reconstructions during its existence. It also suffered during the First World War, after which the parish rebuilt the stonework in 1929 and added an organ in 1934. Unfortunately, the church was damaged during the Second World War and much of it was lost, so it is to be commended that before the church was rebuilt in 1933, many unique pieces of Baroque sculpture were photographed, inventoried and even ended up in the archives of the Monuments Board. With the establishment of the landfill and the eviction of the inhabitants, the church was never restored. Today, the church walls and tower are visible.

The Virga Manor House houses an antiques collection. Here you can get an idea of the Curonians on the banks of the Vārtāja River and in Virga, the Virga Manor and the Baron Nold family, as well as the World War II and Soviet collective farm times in Virga. You can just look at the items, but you can also listen to stories about topics that are interesting to visitors.

The Virga Manor survived the Battle of the Kurzeme Cauldron in 1944/1945 so well that a simple walk through the territory of the former manor allows you to perceive the breath of antiquity and the presence of the former inhabitants of the manor. A moment of rest at the memorial sign of the Swedish King Charles XII "Charles' Boot" or at a specially arranged resting place near the Virga House of Traditions will be useful not only for relaxation, but also as a reminder that Charles XII spent the winter of 1701 right here - in Virga.

In the former manor barn, now the House of Culture and Domestic Traditions of the Locals, you can rent a sauna and rooms for any celebrations, including weddings.

Pampāļi is a settlement in Pampāļi parish, Saldus municipality, the center of the parish on the banks of the Zaņa River and its tributary Abrupe, 27 km from the county center Saldus and 147 km from Riga. The settlement developed around the center of the Pampāļi manor after the agrarian reform. In 1933, Pampāļi was granted the status of a densely populated area.

The hostilities at the gates of Pampāli began on November 21, 1944, when the Soviet 4th Shock Army, forcing the Venta River, launched an attack in the direction of Saldus. By November 24, the situation stabilized and the front line remained unchanged until December 21.

On December 21, 1944, the so-called 3rd Battle of Courland began, during which the 4th Shock Army of the 1st Baltic Front with 4 rifle corps (12 rifle divisions) and the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps attacked in the direction of Saldus to link up with units of the 2nd Baltic Front. The German 132nd Infantry Division defended the Pampāli area, whose 1st Battalion of the 436th Grenadier Regiment was fortified in the area of the manor and church.

The attack on Pampāli was carried out by the 357th and 145th Rifle Divisions of the 1st Rifle Corps, supported by massive artillery fire, and the 39th Guards Tank Brigade. Within the first 24 hours of the battle, the Pampāli garrison, commanded by Captain Eberard Coll, commander of the 14th (anti-tank) company of the 436th Grenadier Regiment, was surrounded and practically destroyed in fierce fighting.

Since Pampāļi was located right on the front line, all the buildings suffered from artillery fire and have practically not survived today.

Private military collection in Mundigciems. Aivars Ormanis has been collecting historical objects for many years - military uniforms, uniforms, camouflage, communication devices, household items, protective equipment from different periods and countries, dating back to the Second World War, the Soviet army and the restoration of independent Latvia.

The collection is currently not well maintained and the exhibits are housed in a former collective farm barn. 

It is located at the crossroads of rural roads, turning off the road leading from Pienava to Džūkste.

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.

The Otanki local museum is located in the yard of the former Rude school.

The guide's narration about the bunker and its creators, their further fate. A model of the bunker created by the students of the former Rude school (according to the partisans' own narrative) and a spatial map of the forest area of those times with marked houses of supporters and contacts can be viewed. Bunker household exhibits collected.

Advance application by phone 26323014 or email lelde.jagmina@gmail.com.

Aizvīķi Manor Park is located in Aizvīķi, Gramzda Parish, just a few kilometers from the Lithuanian border.

In Aizvīķi Park, the sites of bunkers and trenches from World War II are still clearly visible. One of the types of weapons was the rocket launcher system "Katyusha". Several such rocket launcher systems were located in Aizvīķi Park, even after the end of World War II, and these sites (caponiers) are clearly visible in nature.

This unique forest park, shrouded in secrets and legends, was created in the late 19th century as the Aizvīķi Manor Park, when the manor's baron von Korf planted the nearby hilly land with a pine and spruce forest. Later, walking paths were laid out in the 40-hectare area, other species of trees were also planted, and a pheasant garden was established.

In addition to the picturesque forest landscapes, there are also wooden fairy tale and legend characters, as well as stone sculptures that tell travelers events from the history of Aizvīķi and mark the cultural and historical sites in the park. The park also has a Green Class.

To better explore the cultural and historical heritage of Aizvīķi Manor Park, we recommend using the services of a guide.

Aizvīķi Manor Park is located in Aizvīķi, Gramzda Parish, just a few kilometers from the Lithuanian border.

In Aizvīķi Park, the sites of World War II bunkers and trenches are still clearly visible. A Red Army bunker has been restored in the park.

One of the types of weapons during World War II was the Katyusha rocket launcher system. Several such rocket launcher systems were located in Aizvīķi Park, and even today these places (caponiers) are clearly visible in nature.

To better explore the cultural and historical heritage of Aizvīķi Manor Park, we recommend using the services of a guide.

A memorial sign for the 7th Battery of the 3rd Division, commanded by Major Jānis Ozols, has been installed on the side of the Riga - Liepāja highway, in Džūkste parish, approximately one kilometer from the Memorial Site for the Defenders of Kurzeme.

During the Third Battle of Courland from December 23 to December 31, 1944, Major J. Ozols' III Division repelled the enemy's superior attacks, preventing the front from breaking through. In this battle, Major J. Ozols demonstrated personal heroism and commanding abilities.

Jānis Ozols (1904-1947) was an officer of the Latvian Army and the Latvian Legion, a recipient of the Army's Honor Roll Buckle, as well as a national partisan and victim of Soviet repression.

Monument at the Cirkale cemetery to the priests Ārija Stiebriņa and Velta Vaska, who were shot by the Germans on November 9, 1944. Created by sculptor J. Karlovs.

The two women were shot by units of the German Nazi army on December 9, 1944, along with other captured residents of the Zlēki area, deserters from the German army, or the like.

According to the stories, the young women joined the Rubenis battalion voluntarily. They traveled with the Rubenis battalion from Suntaži to Usma. However, during Jekeln's "Eichensumpf" operation, the young women were arrested on the road, taken to the Vēlogi forester's house for interrogation and shot together with a small group of other detainees. A woman, a resident of Cirkale, knew Ārija and managed to rebury the remains of both girls at the edge of the Cirkale cemetery and maintained this cemetery throughout the Soviet occupation.

Under the leadership of the Supreme SS and Police Leader in Ostland, SS Obergruppenführer and Police General Friedrich Jeckeln, a large-scale operation, Eichensumpf ("Oak Swamp"), took place from December 5 to 9, which was directed against the Red Arrow fighters and General Kurel's group near Abava.

The course of the campaign is partially documented in a report dated December 31, 1944.

The Rubenis Battalion soldiers' cemetery is located on the Kuldīga - Sabile road, opposite the place where Renda's doctoral thesis used to be located. There is a signpost by the road and a memorial stone is located just a few hundred meters from the road.

Lieutenant Roberts Rubenis' battalion was one of the parts of the military unit formed by General Jānis Kurelis, which did not surrender to the German troops and showed fierce German resistance. During the Usma period, the battalion's numerical composition increased to 650 men with four fully equipped companies, an ambulance and a farm team. Commanding staff: Lieutenant R. Rubenis, Lieutenant Filipsons, Private A. Druviņš, Private Šulcs, Private Briedis, Private Sergeant J. Rubenis, Private J. Bergs, Private Jaunzems.

From November 14 to December 9, 1944, fierce battles took place in the Ugāle, Usma, Renda and Zlēki parishes between parts of the German 16th Army, SD and SS units under the command of Police General Friedrich Jekeln, and a separate battalion of the Kureli unit commanded by Lieutenant Roberts Rubenis. In the battles near Renda and Zlēki, about 250 German soldiers were destroyed, while the Rubenis suffered about 50 casualties.

After the death of Lieutenant Rubenis, Druvinš announced to his men that he would henceforth operate on a voluntary basis, and as a result, several dozen men decided to secede from the Rubenis battalion. On November 20-21, 1944, a group of 11 people was captured by a German SD unit and, after interrogation, taken to a local forest and shot.

Among the many objects of the Liepāja Naval Museum, the Liepāja Coastal Artillery Battery No. 2 is still the most mysterious place in Liepāja. Battery No. 2 was invariably equipped with ammunition depots for the troops of various existing powers.

Liepāja Fortress Battery No. 2 was built further from the coastline and was protected by a high fortification wall. The battery was armed with 16 11-inch (280 mm) mortars of the 1877 model. After the fortress was dismantled, ammunition depots were set up here. Due to the explosive hazard, the territory was closed to the public for 130 years, a guarded area, but now an exhibition has been set up here about the activities of the 1st Courland Division Headquarters in 1919-1940, as well as photographic evidence of the 1st Liepāja Infantry Regiment, the 2nd Ventspils Infantry Regiment and the Courland Artillery Regiment.

The Mazirbe coast was an important place during World War II, from where refugee boat traffic to Sweden took place in 1944.

Memories of boat refugee Ilona Cīrule (nee Mālītis): “I was 13 years old at the time. I remember that at the end of September we traveled in a caravan from Riga to Mazirbe for a whole week. The trip remains in my memory as something unpleasant: the Russian candles in the sky worried me to the core. We lived in Mazirbe for about three weeks, and every day I heard talk about crossing over and about looking for boats. Finally, on October 21, we had to get ready. [..] There were about 90 of us on the boat. I sat on my father’s lap on the deck. The small children with their mothers were below, and they were short of air. I must have been dozing, but in the morning of the next day a plane was spotted and a ship on the horizon. Then the people became quiet. In the afternoon, the ship came again, and this time it came right at us. But it happened like in a fairy tale: it was a Swedish military ship! They pulled us all onto the ship, gave us warm cocoa and took us to the port of Nynashamn. Our boat was tied to the ship and its owner Zariņš-Petravs received it safe and sound. Among the guests were Šici, Zanderi, Vanagi, the former Minister of Justice Mrs. Apsīša, our family and others. I know that the boat had to be paid in gold. But how much - I don't know.

In 1944, there was active refugee boat traffic from the Staldzene cliffs to the shores of Sweden.

Ž. Lapuķis' memories of meeting with Dr. E. Bakusis:

“One afternoon, a local police officer came to me and quietly told me that a boat from Sweden was expected to arrive that night near the village of Staldzene near the Koku hills to pick up refugees. My task was to come with a group of guards from my unit to guard this place and, if necessary, help to transport the refugees to the motorboat. [..] Not far from the sea, without waiting, a man stood in front of us on the rope, wearing a gray half-coat with a turned-up collar and a jockey's hat pulled low on his forehead. He said a quiet good evening and asked: “Is this the road to Lošupi?” That was the watchword for Swedish riders in that place. He said that he was here on a special mission, but at the same time he would like to get his family to Sweden safely. Then, to my great surprise, he pulled out our forestry plan from his pocket. In the twilight, I began to watch the stranger's face and soon recognized him. It was Bakūzis, the head of the Forestry Department's Forestry Management Division [..] It was approaching midnight when we saw a black dot in the distance in the sea. We gave the agreed signal with a flashlight, repeating it several times. After a short while, the same answer came from the black dot, only it was not from a flashlight, but the light transmission of a warship. We realized that the boat was no longer expected that night and the group of refugees was starting to disperse. Bakūzis invited us both with the company commander to stay with his family. We found it in a hollow in the dunes under a thick fir tree. There, in the green moss, with their heads resting on a white pillow, three offspring of this family were lying in a deep sleep, and next to them, with a white scarf around their heads, sat the caring mother of the house. The father of the house found a bottle and the mother of the house offered sandwiches. It seemed that with their Latvian sincerity they were the real father and mother of the house, who had found their home on this rainy autumn night under the fir tree of their homeland. On one side the sea hisses, on the other a forest massif and heavy raindrops slowly fall through the branches of the fir tree. We emptied the bottle, but refused the sandwiches, because we realized that they needed them more themselves.

The house at Lauku Street 4, Ventspils, was home to the teacher Valentīne Lasmane (nee Jaunzeme) (1916–2018). She was a liaison officer for the Latvian Communist Party and a member of the Ventspils liaison group. After World War II, she lived in Sweden.

She compiled the testimonies of 130 boat refugees in the publication “Across the Sea 1944/1945” (Stockholm, 1990), but V. Lasmane's own life story can be read in the book “Night is No Longer Just for Sleeping” (Riga, 2020). In 2000, she was awarded the Order of the Three Stars. She died at the age of 102 in 2018 in the Stockholm suburb of Täby.

The house at Katrīnes Street 4, Ventspils, where archaeologist Valdemārs Ģinters worked.

From October 1944 to May 8, 1945, the LCP representative in Kurzeme was archaeologist Valdemārs Ģinters (nicknames “Doctor”, “Gardener”) (1899–1979). Participant in the Latvian War of Independence, director of the State Historical Museum and docent at the University of Latvia. Awarded the Lāčplēsis War Order and the Three Star Order. One of the signatories of the LCP memorandum of March 17, 1944. After World War II, he lived in Sweden. From 1949 to 1979, he was chairman of the board of the Latvian National Foundation.

Several members of the LCP Ventspils communications group and refugee boat operators were detained in the prison established in the Livonian Order Castle in 1944-1945.

Memories of the boatman Žanis Fonzovs: “Two boats left Sweden - “Krīvs” and “Zvejnieks”. I was on “Zvejnieks”, and the crew included Saulīte and Grunti. [..] The weather was beautiful, I was sailing so inconspicuously, not very high. I immediately saw - I was in Morse code. The boat was approaching. I went down to the engine room, because in addition to Saulīte's papers, I also had letters from the arrivals to relatives in Latvia and the collected weapons in a bag. I threw the letters and papers into that bag of weapons and everything overboard.. What then! The boat approached ours and the Germans asked for our driving permits. [..] So on October 21, the Germans took us with the entire “Zvejnieks” to Ventspils. They took us to prison. There were about 30 people in the room. I had a sheepskin coat on my back, I put it on the floor and put it on myself, but I had not slept last night. On the second or third day, they called us out for questioning. We had agreed to say that we were refugees on our way to Germany. I had just wanted to go to Lielirbe to follow my friend. It seems that they believed us then. [..] But then the situation in Ventspils changed: the city was taken over by the military administration, and we were called in for questioning a second time. It was worse, because they showed us a box of Swedish matches and a piece of kroon that were allegedly found on the boat. One of the interrogators was a Latvian, and he even beheaded us for telling the whole truth. We saw that the fairy tale had ended, we simply had to confess.

The road to the “Grīnieki” houses in Vārve parish, where in 1944 one of the main settlements for boat refugees on the Kurzeme coast was located.

Memories of boatman V. Jurjakas: “Entering the “Grīnieki” yard, everything looks very normal. A quiet country house, not a soul, probably people in the sun. [..] It turned out that not only the “Grīnieki” residential house was full of people, but all the buildings were full. The barn, the granary, the hayloft and the bathhouse. I met one or two acquaintances, because it was time to leave our land. [..] The nutritional situation was not critical, but quite poor. [..] In the evening, the refugee caravan began to move towards the seashore. I warned everyone in advance not to come out of the bushes by the seashore, because there were coast guard dugouts and observation posts nearby. It was a large caravan, because about 200 people were going to the seashore. There was no hope that everyone would arrive on time. The evening was not very dark, and I was able to review the activities of the entire group. The most striking were the large "When people lived in "Grīnieki", they didn't see them, but now, when they were brought into the light, they only saw this. The goods alone required a whole boat. 3-4 two-horse carts were loaded with goods, followed by people. [..] We waited for the boat for a long time, but it didn't come. The whole caravan had to turn back. It was very dark."

"Vārves būdas", a place in Ventspils municipality that served as temporary housing for Latvian refugees who were waiting for boats from Gotland to arrive in 1944.

Memories of the boatman V. Jurjaks:

“My half-brother and his family had come to us from Riga, and when the news came that a boat was expected at Vārve, I united these people of mine with the group of police chief Jasūnas and we all set out for Vārve. We waited for the signals until late at night, but the boat did not arrive. We waited there like that for a whole week. It started to rain. People made tents out of sheets, so we called this place “Vārve huts”. My wife and I spent more time in Ventspils during the day, and eventually we had to think about how to deliver food to those waiting. I remember one night my wife and I were carrying hot boiled potatoes through the forest for them on our bicycles. It was raining heavily, lightning was roaring, and the warm potatoes tasted good to the waiting people who had spilled out. The Vārve forester had accidentally discovered this hiding place, but - promising him the possibility of a transfer, he came to help. The Germans had begun to go through the houses of the coastal residents, looking for people in the years of conscription. Two young people had been caught in the forest near the “Vārve huts”. Therefore, this place could no longer be safe for these more than fifty people who were languishing here.

The restored “Bambaļi” houses in Ošvalki, Jūrkalne parish, which in 1944 was one of the main places of accommodation for boat refugees on the Kurzeme coast.

Memories of boat refugee Kārlis Draviņš: ““Bambaļi” were old, small, very run-down houses in Jūrkalne parish, about 40 kilometers from Ventspils. [..] Small fields spread around in a damp place, but on the other side an old, overgrown dune wrapped itself around it. The sea gurgled a little behind it - the houses were right next to the sea. On the other side, half a kilometer away, the Pāvilosta-Užava highway ran, but the road to the houses was not easy to drive on, which is why the Germans could not be everyday guests here. The place where boats were waiting was easily accessible - a small forest clearing on a high bank. [..]

The owner of "Bambaļi" and her group, who were also waiting for the "movement of the water", lived in two rooms facing the sea, but the group of refugees lived at the other end of the house, also in two rooms. They shared the kitchen. The hallway between the two ends was stuffed with the refugees' many belongings. The rooms were filled with straw, which was spread out along the walls. On each side of the room was one bed, where a mother and her children slept. The straw beds were covered with sheets or something else during the day. They came out to sit or sleep in them during the day, because there was nowhere else to stay. [..] The days passed monotonously, one after the other. They got up on command, there was no hurry. When the communal breakfast was eaten, some went to play cards, some took up fortune-telling, while others tried to read. Some had to do household chores - fetch firewood, water.

“Laukgaļi” in Jūrkalne parish, the place where writer Kārlis Skalbe stayed in October - November 1944, while waiting for a refugee boat to Sweden.

Writer Kārlis Skalbe (1879–1945) was a member of the Latvian Provisional National Council and the Latvian People's Council, a deputy of the Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of Latvia and the 1st and 4th Saeima. During the German occupation, he was the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine "Latvju Mēnešraksts", one of the signatories of the LCP memorandum of March 17, 1944.

On November 11, 1944, she fled to Sweden. She died in 1945 in Stockholm.

The memorial is located near the Pāvilosta beach lookout tower in the dunes. There are signs pointing to the memorial.

At the end of the Second World War, three Lithuanian police battalions, the 5th, 13th and 256th, were also deployed in Latvia, and after guard duty and fighting against Soviet partisans and the Red Army on the Eastern Front, from autumn 1944 they were involved in guarding the Baltic Sea coast in Kurzeme.

In October 1944, all three battalions, consisting of 32 officers and about 900 instructors and soldiers, were subordinated to the German 18th Army's 583rd Rear Guard Unit (Koruck 583). The unit was tasked with guarding the Kurzeme coast from Liepāja to Ventspils. All three Lithuanian battalions were deployed in the vicinity of Pavilosta. In December 1944, the 13th Battalion was transferred to the German 1st Army Corps at the Liepaja Lake.

One of the tasks of the Lithuanian coastguard, besides being ready to fight enemy landings and to report enemy ships, was to prevent Latvian refugee boats from sailing to the island of Gotland, 160 kilometres away, but the Lithuanian coastguard men did not prevent the refugee boats from leaving. However, news of the Lithuanian coastguard helping the Latvian refugees and the Lithuanians themselves preparing to cross the sea to Sweden also reached the Germans.

On 10 January 1945, the soldiers of the 1st Company of the 5th Lithuanian Police Battalion were rounded up. More than a week of interrogation and trial followed, which, as a warning to the others, decided to execute seven of the Lithuanian soldiers and to imprison 11 of their comrades in concentration camps in Germany. The execution of the seven Lithuanian soldiers (Sergeant Macijauski, the company commander; Juozas Sendrjuas, a soldier; Vladas Salickas, a soldier; Ionas Bašinskis, Krasauskas and two unknown others) took place on 21 January 1945 in the Zaļkalns Pines in Pavilosta.

In January 1945, the 5th Battalion was disbanded and the combat-ready soldiers were divided into the two remaining battalions, while the rest were formed into a separate sapper company. At the time of the surrender of Army Group Kurzeme in May 1945, two battalions (13th and 256th) were still in Kurzeme as a sapper company with a total of 900 soldiers who were taken prisoner by the Soviets.
 

The Mazirbe coast was an important place during World War II, from where refugee boat traffic to Sweden took place in 1944.

Memories of boat refugee Ilona Cīrule (nee Mālītis): “I was 13 years old at the time. I remember that at the end of September we traveled in a caravan from Riga to Mazirbe for a whole week. The trip remains in my memory as something unpleasant: the Russian candles in the sky worried me to the core. We lived in Mazirbe for about three weeks, and every day I heard talk about crossing over and about looking for boats. Finally, on October 21, we had to get ready. [..] There were about 90 of us on the boat. I sat on my father’s lap on the deck. The small children with their mothers were below, and they were short of air. I must have been dozing, but in the morning of the next day a plane was spotted and a ship on the horizon. Then the people became quiet. In the afternoon, the ship came again, and this time it came right at us. But it happened like in a fairy tale: it was a Swedish military ship! They pulled us all onto the ship, gave us warm cocoa and took us to the port of Nynashamn. Our boat was tied to the ship and its owner Zariņš-Petravs received it safe and sound. Among the guests were Šici, Zanderi, Vanagi, the former Minister of Justice Mrs. Apsīša, our family and others. I know that the boat had to be paid in gold. But how much - I don't know.

Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 highway, 500 m from the turnoff to Lesteni in the direction of Riga.

The memorial was established in 1991 near the Rumbu houses, which were the scene of active hostilities. It is a tribute to the defenders of the “Courland Fortress” who fought against the Red Army in World War II. The battles were significant because they temporarily halted the Red Army’s complete occupation of Latvia. Approximately 300,000 Latvians emigrated to escape the crimes committed against civilians by the Soviet regime.

At the end of World War II, a peculiar situation had developed in the territory of Latvia. German army forces were located in Courland, which the Red Army tried to eliminate or prevent from being involved in battles in East Prussia or around Berlin. “Courland Fortress” is the most common term used to describe the hostilities in Courland from 1944 to 1945. “The Battle of Courland” was the German army’s fight to repel the Red Army’s massive attacks. The Courland Fortress ceased to exist shortly after Germany’s capitulation.

Today, you can visit the memorial and resting place, which was popular among Latvian legionnaires since the restoration of Latvia's independence.

Named ‘Pāvilosta, a Closed Area’, the exhibit in the Pāvilosta Local History Museum is about everyday life in the town of Pāvilosta during the Soviet occupation; specifically, about the executive branch, border area, fishermen’s collective farm, and the cultural and social activities. In addition to the permanent exhibit, there is an interactive and emotionally rich digital exhibit in two languages and an audio-visual installation offering a film about Pāvilosta.

The museum also features a new exhibit named ‘The Golden Sand Grains of Pāvilosta’. The digital installation showcases old events, how Pāvilosta was founded and the most important developments from 1918 to the present day. Military heritage is a point of focus in the War of Independence section, which tells a story about the freedom fighters of Latvia and the time of the Soviet occupation.

Located in Tukums region, Lestene, next to the church.

The creation of the mass grave in Lestene began in 1998. It is the second largest military cemetery in Latvia, where more than 1,300 Latvian legionnaires are buried. Only after the restoration of the Republic of Latvia was it possible to rebury Latvian soldiers who fell in World War II from various places.

The Latvian Legion was a combat unit of the German army, formed mainly from illegally mobilized Latvian residents. The soldiers perceived their presence in the legion as a fight for the restoration of Latvian independence, despite the fact that it took place within the ranks of the German armed forces and Germany had occupied Latvia. There was no other military force that could delay the return of the Soviet occupation. The Latvian legionnaires fought against the Red Army, which had liquidated the independence of Latvia, destroyed its army and committed crimes against the civilian population. About 110,000–115,000 soldiers fought in the ranks of the German army, about 30,000–50,000 of them lost their lives on the battlefields.

Nowadays, in Lestene you can visit the Brothers' Grave, next to which is the Lestene Church. It is an outstanding example of Baroque sacred art. In the ancient church tavern you can get acquainted with an exhibition dedicated to the history of the Latvian Legion. The central image of the brothers' grave, "Homeland - Mother - Latvia", was created by sculptor Arta Dumpe. Nearby is the Lestene Manor, which belonged to Latvian Army General Mārtiņš Hartmanis before World War II.

Tours of the Lestene Church can be booked with the parish priest of the Lestene Evangelical Lutheran Church, Inguna Kokina, phone +371 29993743.

The memorial site in Kambari is located in a place that is not easy to find. When driving along the Riga-Liepāja highway, between Annenieki and Kaķenieki, you should turn left onto a dirt road and drive about 2 kilometers.

The battles at Kambari and Ileni have gone down in history with a huge number of fallen on both sides of the army. The monument was erected at the Kambari homestead, where in January 1945 one of the most senseless battles took place, when at least 3,000 soldiers fell.

The front line of the Courland fortress advanced through Annenieki in the winter of 1944/1945. Here the 319th Regiment of the 308th Latvian Rifle Division of the Red Army fought against the units of the 19th Division of the Latvian SS Volunteer Legion. Here Latvians fought against Latvians.

Photographer, publicist and writer Gunārs Birkmanis recorded the memories of his schoolmate Alfons Kalniņš in his book “Reflections of a Century”: In 1946, we went to the Īleni and Kambari fields to look for weapons. There, two large fields were full of the remains of fallen Red Army soldiers. A thousand, I think, or more skeletons in gray Russian army overcoats. They had nothing: no weapons, no belongings, no documents that would indicate their belonging. We knew that they were Latvians mobilized by the Russians.

During the Soviet years, a memorial was erected at this place, interpreting what happened there in the Soviet spirit. The monument – the figures of a standing girl and a young man – was brought from one of the many nearby Brothers' Cemeteries, when soldiers were reburied there. The old inscription in Latvian and Russian is still on the plaque: "Here were battles of 1944. gada XII and 1945. gada I for the liberation of the region from the German occupiers". A small memorial stone "Missing soldier 1944-1945" has recently been placed nearby.