The Assassination of ‘The Butcher of Riga’
He was a national hero, a Nazi collaborator, and years later, he was found mysteriously dead inside a crate
The Latvian Lindbergh
During the 1930s, Herberts Cukurs became a national hero. The Latvian born 30-year-old was obsessed with airplanes and flying,
And with great technical skills, managed to build an aircraft of his own design. In 1933 he flew from Riga to Gambia, West-Africa, making a non-stop trip. This flight brought Cukrus to national fame and awarded him with the prestigious Harmon Trophy.
Cukurs later designed and built two more airplanes, and completed trips with an overall flying distance of 45,000 km (28,000 miles). He visited Japan, China, India, the Soviet Union, and Palastine — a place that had a great effect on him. Cukurs was made a member of the Latvian airforce and known throughout the country as “The Latvian Lindbergh”.
The Butcher Of Riga
In 1941, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied Latvia, Cukurs joined the notorious Arajs Kommando.
The group, made of volunteers, was headed by a SS officer and was founded with the sole purpose of hunting down and murdering the Jewish population of Latvia. Cukurs, a celebrity, was highly recognizable. There are many eyewitness…
