Herberts Cukurs

Herberts Cukurs ( Liepaja , Latvia ; 17 of maypole of 1900 - Shangrilá , Uruguay , 24 of February of 1965 ) was an aviator, captain of the Latvian Air Force , aeronautical engineer, journalist and writer. It was involved in some way in the Holocaust in Latvia during World War II , although Latvian nationalists still deny their guilt. ¹

Cukurs was a native of Liepāja , about 170 kilometers southwest of Riga , the Latvian capital . He became famous worldwide for the raids (long-distance flights) he made in the 1930s , when he wrote his name and his country’s name in the history of world aviation, which made him known as “the Baltic Lindbergh .” ²

Aerial feats

• In 1933 , with a plane designed and built by himself, he leaves from Riga (Latvia) to Banjul ( Gambia ) and returns, on a journey of more than 19,000 km. ³
• In 1936 , again with a plane designed and built by him, part of Riga (Latvia) to Tokyo ( Japan ), and returns, in a flight of 40,045 km. ⁴

Participation in the Holocaust

Cukurs joined forces with Major Victor Arajs as an auxiliary of the Latvian Police , the anti-Semitic groups that supported the so-called “Kommando Arajs”, ¹who were directly responsible for the deportation and murder of about 30,000 Latvian Jews from the Riga Ghetto , Although Cukurs’ participation in those acts is not currently proven. ¹

Historian Andrew Ezergailis has argued that Cukurs was involved in the atrocities committed in the Riga ghetto in conjunction with the Slaughter of Rumbula the 30 of November of 1941 . ⁵ After the war, surviving witnesses reported that Cukurs had been present during the evacuation of the Ghetto. ¹

After the war, Cukurs emigrated to Brazil through France , and there established a business of panoramic flights in the city of São Paulo .

The end

Herbert Cukurs, was identified by members of the Mossad in Brazil , and with the false intention to set up a business in Uruguay , ⁶ the executors were for several days before the death in a villa “summer house” that was rented by season where Was executed Cukurs located in the street Colombia, Shangrila to about 18 kilometers of Montevideo , they traveled in fuscas of the year rented and they spoke Spanish with a slight accent difficult to define. They did not attract the attention because it was a spa in which the population of the place was accustomed to tourists. He was taken to that country and the 23 of February of 1965 in that place was murdered leaving him in a suitcase in this house, leaving a note saying “Those who never forget.” His case is the only one besides Adolf Eichmann , which has been claimed by the Mossad. ⁷

Conclusions on their participation in the Holocaust

Accusations of Cukurs’ involvement in the atrocities committed during World War II earned him the nickname “The Hangman of Riga” among Holocaust survivors. ⁶

None of these allegations about the alleged involvement of Cukurs in the Holocaust within Latvia have been proven in any Court of Justice. For this reason, there are people who argue that it has been wrongly defamed. ^{Referring to Fig.}

At present, in Latvia, some of the public opinion is in favor of the exoneration of guilt of Cukurs. ¹ For example, there is an exhibition in Riga in honor of the national hero Herberts Cukurs, in which his performance in the Arajs Command is considered innocent. ¹ However, it is hard to believe that MOSSAD has carried out such a hunting and killing operation at more than 11,000 km from Israel without sufficient evidence and evidence of Cukurs’ participation in the Holocaust

Ezergailis also points out that much of the available literature suggests that Cukurs’ primary responsibility in the Arajs Command was as a mechanic in the garages of the same. ⁵ There have been attempts to explain or excuse Cukurs’ participation in the murder of Jews, due to the claim of witnesses and survivors, the lack of evidence involving him, or the fact that he may have acted under duress. ¹

See also

• History of Aviation
• Chronology of aviation
• Holocaust
• Eduard Roschmann , the Butcher of Riga

References