5 lats coin coins were never minted as the Second World War broke out. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, lats continued to circulate alongside the Soviet ruble, although silver coins had largely disappeared from circulation. (Even prior to the war, Latvian people had started to hoard silver coins to prepare for the imminent crisis.) On 25 March 1941, all denominations of lats were abruptly annulled. As the general society was given no prior warning, an estimated 50 million lats were never exchanged for rubles. The people were left with suddenly-worthless coins and bills, except for sentimental value and the silver
MS Jan Heweliusz captain, who died in the accident, also being blamed for allowing the ship to sail in such an unseaworthy state. In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg ruled that the official investigation of the sinking was not impartial and granted 4600 euros in damages each to eleven relatives of the victims. Today, the wreck of the ship is located at the depth of 27 metres and is frequently visited by divers. MS Jan Heweliusz MS "Jan Heweliusz" was a Polish ferry named after astronomer Johannes Hevelius () that served on the route Ystad-Świnoujście. It was built in