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Herberts Cukurs: The Assassination Of The Notorious 'Butcher Of Riga' | Nazi Hunters | Timeline

Timeline - World History Documentaries

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Herbert Cukurs is an officer in the Latvian Air Force and his country's most celebrated pilot. But after the Nazi invasion, he earns the nickname The Hangman of Riga after joining forces with the fascists, and is responsible for the extermination of 30,000 Latvian Jews. Twenty years later, Cukurs is living quietly in Sao Paolo, Brazil. That is, until the Nazi-hunting unit of the Israeli secret service tracks him down. Will their master plan ensnare the greedy and paranoid Cukurs? And can a cunning spy kill Cukurs before Cukurs sees through his disguise?

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20 Comments

@janina8559 5 years ago

My Grandparents fled Latvia when these atrocities were going on. They lost their first born @5 mos old due to dehydration crammed on a train to Poland. I am forever grateful to them for bringing my father to America. I am first generation to be born in the US.

@circomnia9984 4 years ago

His last words, "Let me speak". I'm glad he was given the same amount of time to plead his case, as he gave to the babies, children, women and men he personally killed. Killing armed enemy combatants takes courage. Killing unarmed babies and children is just....well, words can't describe how low you have to be, really.

@FireOccator 2 years ago

"Living in poverty."
Has his own house, own plane, own boat.

@stevetaylor8298 4 years ago

2105 "Cukurs is borderline paranoid", No he wasn't, if people are after you, you aren't paranoid. It's call caution.

@paulolodicora4471 4 years ago

I am a brazilian, and I feel very sorry to hear that my beloved country that was a Nazi's den, and not to mention we had the worst one, Doc Mengele wich die of natural causes escaping justice. Greetings from Brazil.

@rosiemackenzie5976 4 years ago

It is astonishing that this mans family, given the length of time, and the proof he caused all these deaths, 30, 000 people, no small number, where in such denial of the atrocities this man carried out.

@janiceduke1205 5 years ago

Cukurs: He lived by violence and died by violence. ⚖️

@israelson4509 5 years ago (edited)

Watching this story, always bring a tears,all sad story about Holocaust that I've heard from my dear departed grandma who survived the Jewish genocide but lost all of her family, God saving her with help from a polish sailor who bring her to Indonesia and she living the rest of her life in Indonesia and married to my grandfather,an Indonesian army, a Bataknese, in North Sumatra. RIP: Johanna Kaufmann. 1927-2015.❤

@amoryalsani2212 5 years ago

his life is never enough for those innocent ones he killed infront of their mothers

@pawelhuszcza9611 4 years ago

"Some did not forget"... No one should ever forget!

@frederickbunnell2343 3 years ago

People should never forget because history often has repeated itself.

@truthbetold8380 5 years ago

There should never be a time limit for hunting war criminals!

@JohnRodriguesPhotographer 5 years ago

Good riddance. Never forget. Dad was among the troops that liberated buchenwald. I will never forget and I made sure that my kids will never forget

@rob7hg 5 years ago

Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.

@atulofau9006 4 years ago

what I like about their hunt is " they went straight to kill the murderer, not blindly terrorizing random innocent Germans anywhere"

@flstffatboy3910 5 years ago

This story brought me great personal joy and I’m not even Jewish ...His death was to humane

@Triharyanto1968 4 years ago

The way how Mossad operatives proceed with their plans always interests me. Patience, perseverance.

@hazeldmello5800 4 years ago (edited)

Some years back, I was walking along with my sister on a road in Paris. All of a sudden, an elderly woman caught hold of me and started talking excitedly in French. I tried to explain that I could not understand French. Then she showed me her arm and I saw a number tattooed on it. I realised that this lady was a Holocaust survivor. I tried to show my sympathy, my heart filled with grief.