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Herberts Cukurs (May 17, 1900 in Liepāja, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire – February 23, 1965 in Shangrilá, Uruguay) was a Latvian aviator. He was a member of the Arajs Kommando and was involved in murders of Latvian Jews as part of the Holocaust but he never stood trial, though there are eyewitness accounts linking Cukurs to war crimes.〔Kaufmann, ''The Destruction of the Latvian Jews'', at 81〕 He was assassinated by operatives of the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad) in 1965.〔 〕 As a result of his actions during the Nazi occupation of Latvia from 1941 to 1944, Cukurs has been called the "Butcher of Riga".〔Press, ''The Murder of the Jews of Latvia'', at pages 69 to 70.〕〔Künzle and Shimron, ''The Execution of the Hangman of Riga'', at page 127.〕〔Lumans, ''Latvia in World War II'', at page 240.〕〔Eksteins, ''Walking Since Daybreak'', at page 150.〕〔Michelson, Max, ''City of Life, City of Death'', at 103.〕 If Cukurs was or was not responsible for the killings remains a subject of debate. On the light of new evidence, historian Andrew Ezergailis (which previously believed Cukurs to be a murderer) said: “MASAAD killed an innocent man”. Since the fall of Communism, there have been several attempts to rehabilitate Cukurs's image as one of a national hero, denying the accusations set against him. == Aviation pioneer == As a pioneering long-distance pilot, he won national acclaim for his international solo flights in the 1930s (Latvia-Gambia and Riga-Tokyo). He was awarded the Harmon Trophy for Latvia in 1933, and was considered a national hero, compared to Charles Lindbergh.〔''Operation Last Chance: One Man's Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice,'' by Efraim Zuroff, Macmillan, Nov 10, 2009 p. 117〕 Cukurs built at least three aircraft of his own design. In 1937 he made a tour visiting Japan, China, Indochina, India and Russia, flying the C 6 wooden monoplane "Trīs zvaigznes" (registration ''YL-ABA'') of his own creation. The aircraft was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy engine. He also designed the Cukurs C-6bis prototype dive bomber in 1940.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cukurs C-6bis )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Herberts Cukurs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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