Aftermath of The Second World War
It is estimated that, as a result of the war, the population of Latvia decreased by between 300,000 to 500,000 (a 25% decrease compared to 1939). The war also heavily damaged the economy: many historic cities were destroyed, as well as industry and infrastructure.
As of 1940, most western governments did not recognise the incorporation of Latvia and the other Baltic States into the Soviet Union. The only exception was Sweden, which returned the members of the "Latvian Legion", who had ended up in Sweden at the end of the war, to the USSR, and handed the diplomatic representative offices of the Baltic countries in Stockholm to the USSR. After the war, the United States applied the most persistent pressure on the Soviet Union regarding the Baltic States' wish for independence. Throughout the entire period of occupation, the embassy of independent Latvia continued to function in Washington D.C.
Read more about this topic: Occupation Of Latvia By Nazi Germany
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