Latvia

   When the German army entered Latvia in June 1941, many Latvians who had suffered under Soviet rule greeted them as liberators. The commanders of Einsatzgruppe A, therefore, had little difficulty in enlisting Latvians, who identified Jews with Bolshevism, to kill Jews. The major Latvian militia, the Arajs Commando, which numbered 400 men, engaged in killing operations in Riga and in the provinces. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Jews were murdered by the Arajs Commando. About 2,000 Latvians also served in the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD) or Security Service. It is impossible to accurately estimate the number of Latvians who participated in the overall killing of Jews, although it is clear that the native population made it easier to implement the Final Solution. It is estimated that of the 70,000 Jews in Latvia, not more than 3,000 survived the massacres. In addition, the Germans deported about 20,000 Jews from the Greater Reich to Latvia, and about 1,000 survived the war.