Latvian SS units

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Formations of the Latvian Waffen SS Volunteer Legion on the way to roll call on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Republic of Latvia on November 18, 1943. The hanging striped flags are the red-white-red national flag of the sovereign Republic of Latvia

During the Second World War , after the German occupation of Latvia in 1941, Latvian volunteers were called on to join the German war against the Soviet Union . Later all Latvian men were subject to conscription and served in German or Latvian associations. A total of around 160,000 Latvians were in German service during the war . Most of them belonged to the Waffen SS , which they either joined voluntarily or were conscripted into.

Historical background

The territory of the Latvian Soviet Republic was conquered by the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1941 . Police, self-protection and security battalions were set up in many cities. These associations were initially intended as auxiliary troops and for police tasks in the hinterland. Some of the battalions were used to fight partisans in Belarus. During the massacres of Latvian and German Jews in the Rumbula forest on November 29 and December 8, 1941, the SD used some of these police battalions.

Recruitment order for the Latvian SS Volunteer Legion, March 1943

Due to the unfavorable course of the war, it was decided to use Latvia's military capacity. After the German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad , Hitler ordered the establishment of a Latvian SS Volunteer Legion on February 10, 1943. For them, four battalions of Latvian self-protection troops were used, which had previously been deployed in the 2nd SS Brigade. In order to achieve division strength, volunteers were mobilized through compulsory labor service. The Latvian Legion received around 17,900 men. Himmler's demand for a further 20,000 men was accepted by the Latvian self-government in the hope of fulfilling their political demands for a free Latvia. She called a few years for drafts, of which 5,167 were called up for military service. The 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS "Latvia" (Latvian No. 1) was formed from the Latvian Legion, which was filled with volunteers . The 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 2) was formed in early 1944 from three Latvian police battalions and newly drafted recruits.

The Latvian SS men wore a swastika on the right collar tab and the Latvian flag on the left sleeve.

Twelve Latvian volunteers received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , sixteen the German Cross in Gold and nine Latvians were awarded the Ehrenblattspange.

More background information - including on the motivation of the volunteers - see under Foreign volunteers of the Waffen-SS .

War crimes committed by Latvian units later incorporated into the Volunteer Legion

In 1943 and 1944, members of the Latvian criminal commandos of the Security Police SD were integrated into the Latvian Legion , who between 1941 and 1943 were involved in operations to carry out mass murders of the civilian population in Latvia, Russia and Belarus , as well as in mass shootings in the forest of Biķernieki and to guard death camps and the concentration camp in Salaspils .

In 1942 the Latvian special commandos burned the village of Fyodorovka in the Chudskoy Rajon of the Novgorod region and the settlement of Osno . In the localities of Lubnizy , Osez, Kretschno (60 km northwest of Novgorod). In the camp for prisoners of war in Krasnoye Selo not far from Leningrad they carried out mass arson and shootings .

For aiding in the extermination of the civilian population, the most famous leader of the Latvian criminal command Viktors Arājs was awarded the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer in 1942 , and in 1943 he was awarded the War Merit Cross with Swords .

After the war

With the surrender, around 25,000 to 30,000 Latvian military personnel became prisoners of war by the Western powers. Most of them were dismissed in 1946. Most of them later emigrated overseas.

Around 50,000 Latvian soldiers were taken prisoner of war by the Soviet Union. These were interrogated in so-called filtration camps and sentenced by a court. The fight against partisans, the acquisition of medals, etc. were particularly stressful. Around 25 percent of them were executed or perished as a result of the prison conditions in Soviet captivity. The survivors were allowed to return to Latvia after their sentence or amnesty was over. Former SS membership was seen as a flaw that stood in the way of career advancement.

In 1945 around 12,000 Latvian military personnel were interned in the Zedelgem prisoner-of-war camp. On December 28th, they founded the organization “Daugavas Vanagi” (Düna falcons) as an aid association for former war veterans and their family members. In 1952 the organization proposed March 16 as the day of remembrance for the fallen.

Dealing with the story

Since the renewal of Latvia's independence , the “legionaries” have been viewed and honored by parts of the Latvian population as freedom fighters because they fought against the Red Army not for the Nazi German, but for the Latvian cause. In a letter to the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories of October 26, 1943, Government Councilor Friedrich Trampedach quotes the report by the Commanders of the Security Police and the SD in Latvia of August 1, 1943: “It is striking that the relatives of those at the front Latvian brigades - impressed by the shared front-line experience - advocate for the Germans and Latvians to come together unconditionally, while the units in training at home - primarily in the officer corps - are increasingly noticing a blatant nationalistic attitude and rejection of all Germans. The officer corps is evidently under the growing influence of chauvinist circles. This is noticeable in an increasing lack of discipline and in an accumulation of anti-German statements by the teams. "Already in his report on the political situation in Latvia of August 16, 1941, Trampedach had warned (in vain):" A formation of closed Latvian associations for the fight I consider it a grave mistake against Bolshevism. Just as the Lithuanians derive the moral right to independence from the struggle of their partisans, the Latvians would also do it from the struggle of their associations. "

March 16, 1944, on which the two Latvian divisions fought in the same front area, is celebrated as Leģionāru piemiņas diena (Legionnaires' Day). It was an official memorial day from 1998 to 1999, but had to be lifted under pressure from Russia. In addition to representatives of the radical nationalist political forces of Latvia, the then Minister of Culture Ingūna Rībena and the Executive Secretary of the Defense Ministry for Integration Issues in NATO , Raimonds Graube , took part in an event organized by veterans of the Legion in Lestene . An honorary company of the Latvian National Armed Forces paid tribute to the fallen legionnaires. At the Brothers Cemetery (Riga) , a monument commemorates the Latvian volunteers. Many of their fallen are buried here.

To this day, the veterans and sympathizers of the former "Latvian Legion" roam downtown Riga every year on March 16. In 2012, around 1,500 people, mostly from the generation of children and grandchildren, took part in the parade, which is organized by the veterans' association, a nationalist youth association and the Everything for Latvia party. President Andris Bērziņš said in 2012 that one should bow before the legionnaires - after all, they had fought “for their fatherland”. On March 14, 2014, the previous Environment Minister Einārs Cilinskis was dismissed by Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma . As in previous years, he had announced that he would take part in the memorial march to the Freedom Monument .

To this day, war-disabled Latvian members of the Waffen SS from Germany receive a pension.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rolf-Dieter Müller : On the side of the Wehrmacht. Hitler's foreign helpers in the “Crusade against Bolshevism” 1941–1945. Chr. Links Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-448-8 , pp. 167-172.
  2. ↑ Eva Matter: Latvia between pain and guilt. Difficult coming to terms with the past in the Baltic States. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 20, 2000, international edition, p. 5.
  3. ↑ LVVA (Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs / Latvian State Historical Archives), P-1018 t. 1st apr., 2nd lieta, 180th lp.
  4. ↑ LVVA, P-1018 t. 1st apr., 2nd lieta, 30th lp.
  5. ↑ On "Legionnaires Day" flowers for the Waffen SS? on the VVN-BdA website
  6. ↑ Veterans of the Waffen-SS march through Riga , N24 from March 17, 2014
  7. ↑ Cilinskis paziņo, vai dosies 16.martā pie Brīvības pieminekļa , Apollo.lv (accessed March 19, 2014)
  8. ↑ Pension scandal: Jewish victims fight for recognition, SS people cash in. Contrast broadcast on March 20, 2014