German occupation of Latvia, 15th and 19th Waffen SS Grenadier, 1st and 2nd Latvian, Heinrich Lohse

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL and get access to exclusive film footage
www.Patreon.com/Military1945
Episode 107

This rare combat footage from January of 1944 from an obscure news reel series fits in well with todays content which covers the Latvian soldiers who fought for the Waffen SS. At the end of this video I’ll show more from the same reel so stick around, it’s worth it.

The footage you just saw comes from the series Ostland Woche, which was produced in the Kommisariat Ostland which included the Baltic states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

The occupation of Riga, the capital of Latvia, took place in July of 1941 and the Germans greeted as liberators. This rare footage shows them just after their arrival.

Heavy fighting had caused serious damage to much of the city which the Germans blamed on the Soviets. Latvian militias were allowed to arm and began playing an ever increasing role in the keeping of order. In addition symbols of Latvian nationalism that had been suppressed under the Soviets, for example the showing of the Latvian flag, were tolerated. Little did the Latvians know, in the secret protocols of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the Germans had agreed to Soviet domination of the Baltic states which lead to the loss of their independence in 1940.

The main role of the police battalions was to ensure security but it was intended that they would also be active in other occupied territories. To a limited extent some saw also combat at the front under the command of the Wehrmacht.

In early 1942 the German Occupation Authority began conscripting Latvians giving them the choice of joining the labor service, similar to the German Reichsarbeitsdienst, or police battalions. Soon thereafter Germans began conscripting military age men specifically for the Legion which was intended to become a full military fighting formation. As a result only 15-20% of the Legionnaires were actually volunteers. Although there were instances of individuals trying to avoid military service for the Germans, most accepted being involved in the fight against Bolshevism.

Let’s stop the film here for a moment. We can see by this officer’s shoulder insignia that he’s recruiting for the German police.

So let’s talk about those that were recruited for the Police battalions first. This is an original collection of the 1942 Die Deutsche Polizei periodicals. We are looking at Nr. 20 from October of 1942.

The police battalions followed the advance of the front line German troops. In addition to fighting partisans they also took over control of recently taken urban areas to maintain security. This article goes over some of the basic tasks that this were involved in this duty.

Nr. 1. Durch die Staubwolken… Through clouds of dust from typical roads in the east that are in terrible condition, the police arrive to take over responsibility of a recently taken city from the soldiers.

Nr. 2. A bicycle mounted police patrol enters a burning city.

Nr. 3. Quickly, radio and telephone communication is established in the new location. Important messages and orders are sent out.

Nr. 4. The police oversee the initial cleaning and repairing of city services that are most important. They make sure that the roadways are clear and usable.

Nr. 5. Police checkpoints are set up all over the city. All suspicious individuals are taken in for interrogation.

Nr. 6. The main roads are hermetically controlled. Suspicious individuals are stopped and searched.

The Latvian Legion was created in January of 1943. It was a Waffen SS formation which would be made up of the 15th Waffen Grenadier, or 1st Latvian and the 19th Waffen Grenadier or 2nd Latvian divisions. The core of these divisions had come from Latvian Police battalions and the rest were new conscripts. As it turned out only about 15-20% of the soldiers fighting in these divisions were volunteers. The division commanders and most of the staff were German SS officers. The individual combat regiments were typically commanded by Latvian officers.

Before I show more of the combat footage, I’d like to take a second to thank my Patreon supporters who have made the buying of the originals I use in these videos possible. If your are not yet a member please consider becoming one. As a member you get access to exclusive footage that can’t be shown here. It’s worth it, I promise.

Soon i will be starting a series which covers an original diary and photo album written by a famous platoon leader in the 2. SS PzD Das Reich. The division was mauled during operation Typhoon in the effort to take Moscow. As part of the “Der Führer Regiment” he was one of the 35 men out of the 2,000 that had started the campaign in June that still remained. It’s a sensational first-hand account, the best I’ve seen. If you haven’t subscribed yet make sure to do that.

Thanks for watching.