UK MP GARETH THOMAS WRITES TO ... BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE March 10, 2016
Lowenberg includes links to two separate correspondences. The second is Thomas's letter to the British Foreign Office, addressed to David Lidington, the UK Minister for Europe, retrieved and reproduced here for commentary.
Re: SS march in Latvia 10 March 2016
The Rt Hon David Lidington MP
Minister for Europe
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AHOur Ref: MM/LOWE01007/01130312
10 March 2016
Dear David,
I am writing regarding the correspondence I have received from my constituent, Ms Monica Lowenberg, concerning the attendance of Latvian MPs at a march on 16th March to mark the contribution of the 2Latvian SS Legion who fought alongside the Nazis during World War II.
Six weeks ago we marked Holocaust Memorial Day to remember those killed, and vowed not to stand by as hatred and persecution take root. Almost all of the 70,000 Latvian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and it is abhorrent that the pro-SS marches planned for 16th March 3seek to celebrate and glorify the actions of those who fought alongside the Nazis — whether they were forcibly conscripted or enthusiastic volunteers.
Ms Lowenberg has campaigned for a number of years against these pro-SS marches, which in her words seek to "merge myth with memory", 4insidiously rewriting history to justify the actions of those who seek to spread bitterness, hate and division today.
I understand that the Latvian Government has not allowed Ministers to attend the marches in the last two years, but I am concerned that it has now been reported that this year a significant number of MPs from the All for Latvia–For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (VL-TB/LNNK) party intend to participate.
As you know, the VL-TB/LNNK party has one MEP, Robert Zile, who sits in the European Conservatives and Reformists European Parliamentary group, in which Conservative MEPs also sit, and indeed form the largest group.
Particularly given the vows that were made recently as part of Holocaust Memorial Day, I would urge you to publicly condemn this march, and to 5reconsider the position of Conservative MEPs that share a platform in the European Parliament with an MEP who represents a party that appears happy to glorify in the actions of Latvian troops that fought alongside the Waffen SS.
I would be grateful if you would advise what representations the Government has made to their Latvian counterparts regarding this march, and the possible participation of a number of Latvian MPs.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely
(signed)
Gareth Thomas MP
Harrow West
Examination
Thomas betrays his political turpitude. Whereas his letter to the Latvian ambassador addressed the issue of "Legionnaire Remembrance Day events", here he takes the gloves off and assaults the (Nazi) "SS march in Latvia."
Yet again, there was no "Latvian SS Legion." The Nazis fought against the USSR because Hitler launched the attack. (Incidentally, in his announcement of the invasion, Hitler cited as justification the USSR's annexation of the Baltic republics, parts of Romania... overstepping the concept of "spheres of influence.") The Latvians fought against the USSR because it had invaded and brutalized Latvia and all its citizens, and were desperate to make sure the USSR did not return.
The only guns available were German ones. For the Latvians, the relationship (regardless that the Nazis conscripted the majority) was one of necessity if they were to defend their homeland against a Soviet return. That did not mean support of the Nazi cause. Only a generation earlier, the Latvians had defeated both the Russians and Germans to achieve independence — after having declared it sitting on a boat in the Baltic Sea, holding no Latvian territory whatsoever. See our prior analysis for a discussion of conscripted versus volunteered.
As in the discussion of the letter to the Latvian ambassador, Thomas makes no mention of what actions he is actually denouncing — we expect, to avoid charges of libel.
Once again, the gloves are off. Thomas did not use the word "insidious" with the Latvian ambassador. The stark difference in tone as compared to his letter to the Latvian ambassador betrays Thomas's political agenda.
And here it is, a frontal assault on Conservative MPs who welcome a relationship with Latvia's conservatives, who only seek to appropriately commemorate the Latvian Legion, as has now been done for seventy-two years.
While the Latvians were designated Waffen-SS, they categorically did not fight "alongside" the criminal German Waffen-SS. They reported to and took orders from the Wehrmacht — even when knowingly sent in as cannon fodder to take the place of Germans who retreated to safety, because the survival of their homeland was at stake.
Other than word-associating "SS" with the Latvian Legion and Latvians commemorating their sacrifice, and casting aspersions on the Latvian-German military relationship as if the Latvians had the option of allying with a third party (!), Thomas says nothing of the Legion's implied crimes. Based on proportion of content dedicated to the topic, this is more a cynical assault on Thomas's long-time Conservative rivals (Thomas has been a Labour MP since 1997), rather than a legitimate complaint about the Latvians, having ginned it up from the start, invoking the "SS" specter.