Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
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The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia - commonly known as the Occupation Museum - chronicles the country's turbulent, 20th-century history, beginning with the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the start of the Second World War (1939). Other sections cover Latvia's forced annexation into the USSR (1940), the Nazi German occupation and the Holocaust (1941-1945), the re-occupation of Latvia by the Soviets (1944-45) and the long years under Soviet rule before Latvia regained its freedom in 1991.
Established in 1993, the Occupation Museum is housed in what was once quite a different museum that was formerly devoted to the Latvian Red Riflemen, who helped the Soviet regime ascend to power during the Russian Civil War, which took place from 1917-1923.
The Occupation Museum's current collection includes documents, photographs, posters and an array of extraordinary artefacts, like the masks made by deportees to protect themselves from frostbite. The museum's helpful guides and bookshop staff can assist those interested in acquiring a better understanding of that traumatic era for Latvia and her neighbours.
Strēlnieku laukums 1
www.occupationmuseum.lv