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Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews

JL;DR SUMMARY Herbert Cukurs, a key figure in the Nazi-aligned Arajs Kommando responsible for mass murders during World War II, has once again seen legal charges dropped against him in Latvia. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustYad VashemLatviaWar CrimesNationalismNazi CollaborationHerbert CukursArajs KommandoRiga GhettoRumbula

Places mentioned

Riga, Latvia
"In late 1941, he personally took part in mass murder at the Riga Ghetto and the nearby Rumbula forest, earning him a title as The Butcher of Riga."
Israel
"then Davids Lipkins, a lawyer representing alleged victims, found two Holocaust survivors living in Israel who did testify including one who said that he saw Cukurs shooting people in Riga."
Brazil
"After World War II, he fled to Brazil and never faced a trial."
Uruguay
"In 1965, he was assassinated in Uruguay by Mossad agents, who left his body with documents outlining his crimes against humanity."
Japan
"He rose to fame in the 1930s as a pioneer aviator flying solo to Gambia and Japan."
Gambia
"He rose to fame in the 1930s as a pioneer aviator flying solo to Gambia and Japan."

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Cairo Item ID 50163
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2025-04-25 18:00:15 UTC
Curated 2025-04-25 19:00:51 UTC