Belarusian education in General District Latvia (1941–1945)
Belarusian education in General District Latvia (1941–1945)

Summary/Abstract: The Belarusians were one of the largest ethnic groups in Latvia in the inter-war period. The main clusters of Belarusian population were located in the south-eastern part of the country, Latgale (former Polish Livonia). The inter-war Latvian state was one of the main centres of the Belarusian movement outside Belarus, with active Belarusian cultural, educational, and political organisations, as well as a school network and newspapers. In the summer of 1941, Latvia came to be occupied by the Wehrmacht, and an occupation regime was established. The German authorities in occupied Latvia, abiding by the principle of “divide and conquer,” were willing to grant the Belarusians a certain degree of cultural and educational autonomy. In 1941, the Belarusian National Committee (later, beginning with the spring of 1942, known as the Belarusian Association) was established in Riga and Daugavpils. The BNC gave priority to the establishment of Belarusian schools under German occupation. In the school years 1941/1942 and 1942/1943, thirty-five primary schools, two middle schools, and one agricultural secondary school were opened. Belarusian schools had to deal with numerous material difficulties, including the lack of school buildings and textbooks. In addition, schools suffered from a shortage of qualified teachers. The Latvians did not look favourably upon the Belarusian school action, seeing it as a threat to themselves. Despite these difficulties, Belarusian schools in Latvia continued to operate until the end of the German occupation.

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