Stark reminders of a painful past

A man carries flowers through the Salaspils Memorial Ensemble, which commemorates the victims of Nazism in World War II in Salaspils, Latvia.

It opened in 1967 and covers 25ha, making it one of Europe's largest memorial complexes. It comprises a 100m-long concrete wall and giant sculptures representing Mother, the Unbroken, the Infamous, Protest, Red Front and Solidarity.

The memorial stands on the site of a Nazi labour correctional camp which operated from 1941 to 1945.

The camp imprisoned Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian civilians and military personal, as well as transit prisoners, including children, from Latgale, Belarus and Russia. More than 20,000 people passed through the camp, and 2,000 to 3,000 people died there.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 09, 2018, with the headline Stark reminders of a painful past. Subscribe