Latvia (Deutschland Siegt)

Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia (Lithuanian: Latvijas Republika) is a sovereign state in variously defined as being part of Eastern or Northern Europe. It is situated along the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, sharing borders with Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south and Nazi Germany to the east. Latvia is a member of the Anti-Comintern Pact.

The modern Latvian state was created on November 18, 1918, when Latvia declared their independe from Russia. The international community recognized Latvia's independence on January 26, 1921, and the recognition from many other countries followed soon.

Because of the world economic crisis there was a growing dissatisfaction among the population at the beginning of the 1930s. In Riga on May 15, 1934, Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis, one of the fathers of Latvian independence, took power by a bloodless coup d'état: the activities of the Parliament (the Saeima) and all the political parties were suspended. Rapid economic growth took place in the second half of 1930s, due to which Latvia reached one of the highest living standards in Europe. Because of improving living standards in Latvian society, there was no serious opposition to the authoritarian rule of the Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis and no possibility of it arising.

On June 17, 1940, the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Latvia, and was annexed into the Soviet Union on August 5, 1940. The Soviet Union begun a series of deportations of anti-Soviet elements. During Operation Barbarossa, the Axis campaign against the Soviet Union, Latvia was liberated in June 1942 by German and Lithuanian troops. After requests from the Lithuanian, Finnish and Swedish governments, the German Reich granted Latvia and Estonia independence in July 1942, with the same governments in power as before the Soviet occupation. Thus, the Rapid economic growth has continued under the reinstated authoritarian President Kārlis Ulmanis.