Figure 1.-- /i> |
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e Baltics which had racial material (rassische Substanz) and a high level of cultural development. The Plan concluded that there were a large number of salvagable racial material in the Baltic republics, although opinions varied among the SS planners and Himmler. While differences existed about the level of salvagable racial material, there was no difference of opinion about the politicAl future. All three Baltic Republic were to disappear. Their territories were to become part of the eastern area of German settlement. Latvia and especially Lithuania would be be subject to deportation plans, though the deportations were to be conducted in a milder form than that planned for the Slavs.
Dr. Erich Wetzel, the Director of the Central Advisory Office on Questions of Racial Policy of the Nazi Party (Leiter der Hauptstelle Beratungsstelle des Rassenpolitischen Amtes der NSDAP) andeeply involved with drafting Generalplan Ost was impressed with the Estonians. He suggested thepossibility of Germanizing the entire Estonian nation.
Latgalians developed somewhat diffeently from other peoples in what is now Latvia somewhat differentky, in part because of language differences. Latagalia was divided between Sweden and Poland after the Truce of Altmark (1621). This left much of eastern Latvia under Polish control as Inflanty Voivodeship. This meant that there was areater Polish admixture, bith racually abd culturally. The SS planners decided to completely eliminate theLatagalians. We are not sure why they were to be treated more severelyh than the Lithuanians who had a similr Polish admixtyre or for that matter than the Poles themselves. Perhaps the Latgalians were such amall group that the SS planners ecided it was easier to simplydo away with them. As far as we know, however, there were no ctual killing operations during the NAZI World War II occupation (1941-44).
Dr. Wetzel also wanted to Germanize a sizable proportion of the Latvians nation, except for the Latgalians.
The SS planners concluded that the Lithuanians were less suitable for Germinization than the Estonians or Latvians. The primary reason was the substantial admixture of Slav blood. Amd the Lituanians had annexed Memel after World War I. Himmler's view was that most of the Lithuanians like the Poles needed to be deported to the East. Why the Lithuanians were to be treated slightly more severely than the Poles we are notcsure.
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