Depends how you look at it. The Russians invaded first and occupied them. On October 5, 1939, Latvia was forced to accept a "mutual assistance" pact with the Soviet Union, granting the Soviets the right to station 25 000 troops on Latvian territory. On June 16, 1940, Vyacheslav Molotov presented the Latvian representative in Moscow with an ultimatum accusing Latvia of violations of that pact.

On June 17 the Red Army occupied the country. Rigged elections for a "People's Saeima" were held, and a puppet government headed by Augusts Kirhenšteins led Latvia into the USSR. The annexation was formalized on August 5, 1940. The ensuing months would become known in Latvia as Baigais Gads, the Year of Horror. Mass arrests, disappearances, and deportations culminated on the night of June 14, 1941. Prior to the German invasion, in less than a year, at least 27 586 persons were arrested; most were deported, and 945 persons were shot.

Then the Germans came forcing the Russians to leave. While under German occupation, Latvia was administered as part of Reichskommissariat Ostland. Latvian Einsatzgruppen and police participated in the Holocaust. 80 000 to 100 000 Latvian citizens were killed during the Nazi occupation, including 70 000 Latvian Jews; 20 000 Jews brought from Central and Eastern Europe were also murdered in Latvia. Latvian soldiers fought on both sides of the conflict, including in the Latvian Legion of the Waffen-SS, most of them conscripted by the occupying authorities.

Difficult to judge and probably dependant on who treated them the best.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!