The Baltic country of Latvia was occupied by the German armies in the opening weeks
of operation Barbarossa. With the horrors of Soviet occupation fresh in their minds many
Latvians hailed the Germans as liberators and hoped for the restoration of Latvian
independence, but these hopes were idle. Yet... Latvians served for the Germans during the
WW2 and the Germans set up the Latvian Waffen-SS Legion. To what extent
were these Latvians voluntarily serving for the Germans? That and more is what you're going to
learn in this episode, keep watching.
Good to have you back on the channel; if this is your first time here welcome to History Hustle. My name is Stefan. I'm a Dutch history teacher and I like
to make videos about history for you; if you find it interesting, consider subscribing and also hit
that notification bell. The small Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania saw independence in
the wake of the Russian Revolution and the WW1 in what became known as the Latvian War
of Independence Latvian nationalists who strived for an independent Latvia struggled against
the communist forces, both from Latvia and Russia. Also involved where German troops still stationed
in the region and later Freikorps troops and White Russian forces led by Pavel Bermondt-Avalov:
the West Russian Volunteer Army (also known as the Bermontians). Although the Germans were generally
seen as a lesser evil than the Bolsheviks, German Freikorps troops did unleash a reign
of terror against the Latvian population. After the turmoil was over Latvia started as a sovereign
western style parliamentary democracy. In 1934 a military dictatorship was established by Kārlis Ulmanis.
At that time the country found itself between two totalitarian Sstates: Nazi Germany in
the west and the USSR in the east. They relied on the League of Nations and the Western powers for
guaranteeing their sovereignty but preserving their independent status became a big challenge
when the Soviets and the Nazis signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression Pact. The Latvians could
now only speculate on what was to come but what was to come was already decided in a secret
protocol: USSR annexation. On the 2nd of October 1939 Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav
Molotov urged Ltvia to sign a treaty with the USSR, like Estonia had done several days ago.
Ulmanis yielded and with the pact some 25 to 30 000 Red Army troops marched in. Full occupation
took place in June 1940, a year later on the night of the 13th to the 14th of June 1941 around 15 000
Latvians were arrested and deported many would not return. Also the Latvian military was destroyed
many of its officers were deported or murdered and several thousand Latvians were absorbed in the
Red Army. Estonia and Lithuania suffered a similar ordeal. And then on the 22nd of June 1941 Nazi
Germany invaded the USSR. Operation Barbarossa had begun. Army Group North advanced through the Baltic
states towards Leningrad. Among its ranks were Baltic Germans who only recently had left their
home country for Germany and were now assisting the branches of the German Army since they knew
the language, the people and the terrain. As the Germans marched in thousands of anti Soviet armed
Latvians attacked Soviet bases. On the first of July the German troops entered the Latvian capital
of Riga. As the Soviets retreated they murdered 1 300 political prisoners before the Germans could
reach them. Many Latvians welcomed the Germans and hailed them as liberators: they greeted them
with flowers and the Latvian flag colors were displayed everywhere. With the horrors of Soviet
occupation fresh on their minds they hoped for the restoration of Latvian independence... but they had
misread and misunderstood the Germans. Hitler had other plans: “[T]he Baltic region, was to be
conquered for future colonization and for the Germanization of the land and peoples. […] In their
[the Nazis] minds the three Baltic peoples ranked somewhere between the superior Nordic peoples
and inferior Slavs. […] As for Latvians, their suitability dropped to around 50 per cent, as a
result of more mixing with Slavs, and their ‘natural’ proclivity toward communism. This
Nazi ideal clearly did not coincide with Baltic national goals.” Two competing Latvian governments
offered their assistance: one was moderate, the other was fairly extreme, known as the Pērkonkrusts.
These were basically the Latvian Nazis. The Germans found the latter too extreme to deal with so it is
settled for a more moderate coalition of Latvian officers and civil servants. The Latvian armed
units that had risen up against the Soviets and attacked their bases, once the German invasion
commenced, they were now disbanded and shortly after they were rearmed and named 'self-defence'
units. Under the command of Franz Walter Stahlecker these units had to perform guard duties, hunt
down Red Army stragglers, eliminating communist officials and other people deemed enemies. To the
latter category the Nazis also included the Baltic Jews and the Latvian Auxiliary Police
assisted the German Einsatzgruppen with the murder of Latvian Jews such as Liepāja massacres. Infamous
executioners were mostly Pērkonkrusts members who started to travel around in blue buses and murdered
Jews in Riga and beyond. Latvian Lieutenant Colonel Voldemars Veiss was eager to rebuild a Latvian army
but the Germans would not let him. Only several battalions were raised as security units under
the SS in small disconnected formations they were easy to control and by calling these men
'policemen' Hitler's aversion towards non-Germans functioning as soldiers was mollified. The Latvian
fields of operation moved closer towards the front: in October 1941 the Latvian 16th Battalion
was stationed in Staraya in German occupied USSR and in April 1942 the Latvian 21st
Battalion was fully engaged at the Leningrad Front. Other units served in occupied Warsaw as well as
assisting Germans with the deportation of Jews to to Treblinka. Nevertheless the relation between German
and the Latvian officials remained fraught and was full of misunderstanding and distrust especially
because the Germans outlawed a native Latvian government. As the Baltic states as well as a part
of Belarus were incorporated in Reichskommissariat Ostland. And as it became apparent that Latvian independence
would not be restored under German rule Latvian manpower for the German war machine dried up and
recruitment for labor was even more difficult. Ostminister Alfred Rosenberg decreed at
the end of 1941 compulsory labor application for everyone age 18 to 45. Early 1942 the Latvians had
these options: employment in Germany; joining the Wehrmacht as Hilfswillige (voluntary workers) or the
Luftwaffe as air defence auxiliaries; or enlisting with the SS security police battalions.
Many Latvians managed to evade enlistment, they were not motivated to join the Germans. Meanwhile
the German losses on the Eastern Front were enormous, especially among the Waffen SS who
needed desperate replenishment. The Nazi leaders became less concerned with racial perfection and
after all the Latvians weren't that inferior they believed. The concept of legions was brought up:
foreign nationalities would serve under a specific legion in the Waffen SS and because it was part of
the Waffen SS, these legions could not be national armies. Himmler was convinced and he won over
Hitler. In January 1943 the Latvian Legion was set up the legion consisted of two divisions of
the Waffen SS: the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian), and the 19th Waffen
Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian). The men of the legion wore German SS uniforms and had
German weapons. One distinctive baadge was the arm shield of the Latvian flag colors. Also a Latvian
air legion was set up. “The authorities estimated 90,000 young men born in the years 1919-1924 were
eligible to enlist. Although numbers vary, one reliable source counted 67,584 men as having
reported and registered, of which 15,000 to 18,000 were designated as qualified for the Legion, 11,000
as suitable for the Hiwis, and another 27,000 for various labor assignments.” By mid-August 1943
the legion had around 28 000 men. Over the course of 1943 the Germans used more pressure to enlist
Latvians. Although being officially for volunteers only the pool was widened by adjusting the age. At
some point men born in 1915 could enlist, but also threatening harsh consequences for those
failing to report. Near the end of 1943 the Soviet threat was no longer a mere hyperbole used to prod
reluctant recruits into enlisting. The Germans had set up a Latvian self-administration back
in 1942 which was led by Latvian General Oscar Dankers and he announced a mobilization: 14 000
reported of which to 5 200 were inducted. As the front line came closer the Germans
made more calls on the Latvians. Once the Red Army entered Latvia in July 1944 total mobilization was
announced. Basically everyone that was willing to serve could serve although the Germans did most of
the fighting the Latvians attributed the best as they could suffering many losses. In the following
month most of Latvia was retaken by the Soviets except the Courland Pocket, here Army Group Kurland
which had also many Latvian legionnaires under arms held out until May 8 1945 when it surrendered.
The Latvians of the 15th division retreated out of Latvia before the Soviet reoccupation. In Germany
they were retrained and refitted in order to be sent back to the front line and this happened
late January 1945. By now the Soviets managed to overrun East Prussia and the Latvians were sent
to the front line near the Vistula Order River. There they suffered many losses and were almost
fully encircled and annihilated... yet, this did not not happen. The unit lived to fight another
day. Some were shipped off to Danzig and others to the besieged city of Königsberg which would fall
in April. As the Third Reich fell apart many Latvian SS men tried to evade Soviet capture: some managed
to get to Sweden by boat, others marched west in order to surrender to the Americans. Some
of these served for the Americans as guards during the Nuremberg trials. To what extent the Latvian
SS men were involved in war crimes is debated by historians. It is true that in the legion served
men that previously served in these police units that participated in the killings of Jews. It is
also claimed they were involved in the Podgaje massacre in January 1945 or around 200 Polish POWs
were murdered by the SS. Other historians claimed that this massacre was carried out by German and
Dutch SS men. And then there's a thorny issue of the Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires on
March 16th which has evoked controversy. Because on one hand these men serve in Nazi uniforms
on the side of Nazi Germany; on the other hand most of the Latvians were actually drafted by
the Germans and they fought against the USSR. A country that had brutally occupied their country
before. After WW2 was over Latvia was reincorporated into the Soviet Union as the
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic. In 1990 Latvia regained its independence.