Conclusion

Abstract This section uses the wartime history and postwar legacies of the Latvian Legion and Latvian Rifle Corps to reconsider and recontextualize the “memory wars” fought in Latvia and otherwise related to Latvia’s experience of World War II. To do so, it analyzes the “monument wars” of the 2020s, specifically: the Latvian Beehive for Freedom in Zedelgem, Belgium (2018–2022); and Soviet monuments in Latvia dedicated to victory in the Great Patriotic War (removed in 2022). Drawing sustained comparisons with Estonia and Ukraine, this section argues for the wider relevance of the Latvian case and the consolidation of national myths in Latvia and in its neighboring countries due to deepening military conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as between Russia and other post-Soviet states. It concludes by arguing for both the demythologization of Latvian national units and for reconciliation between the competing memory cultures surrounding Latvian national formations.