Latvian legionnaires

Latviešu leģionāri apmācībās Paplakā 1944.gada vasarā. Avots: Latvijas kara muzejs.

After the offensive of the German armed forces on the Eastern Front and the defeat at Stalingrad in 1942/1943. In the winter of 2006, the Germans needed to form military units from the people of the occupied European countries. January 23, 1943. Hitler verbally allowed H. Himmler to form a Latvian SS volunteer legion. Ā. Hitler's written order to form a legion followed on February 10, 1943, and read as follows: “Order to create a Latvian SS volunteer legion. The size and type of units depends on the number of Latvian men at their disposal. ”

From March 1943 to September 1944, several mobilization campaigns took place in Latvia. And with the announcement of total mobilization in July 1944, all 1906-1928 subjects were subjected to it. men born in. Mobilization in the Legion also took place in September and October 1944 in Kurzeme. Initially, the most severe sentence for evading mobilization was up to six months in prison. On November 24, 1943, a Special War Court was established, providing for the death penalty, but a decision in Berlin in the summer of 1944 provided that anyone who did not comply with mobilization within 48 hours could be shot. There were relatively few real volunteers in the legion and their share did not exceed 15-20%. However, in the specific historical circumstances, a large number of legionnaires understood their presence in the legion as a struggle for the restoration of Latvia's independence.

Initially, the 15th and 19th Latvian SS volunteer divisions fought in Russia, but in July 1944 retreated to Latvia with heavy fighting. The 19th Latvian Division continued its fighting in Vidzeme and at the end of the war in Kurzeme, while the units of the 15th Latvian Division, which had suffered greater losses, were sent for reorganization to Germany, where they fought until May 1945. The commanders of the 15th and 19th divisions of the Legion were Germans, and the headquarters of the divisions consisted of German officers. The highest Latvian officer of the Legion was the Inspector General of the Latvian SS Volunteer Legion, Lieutenant General Rūdolfs Bangerskis, whose rights were, however, severely restricted. In total, around 110,000–115,000 Latvian soldiers fought in the ranks of the German armed forces during World War II, and about 30,000–50,000 of them left their lives on the battlefields.

The post-World War II Nuremberg Trials declared the SS a criminal organization in 1946, while acknowledging that "persons belonging to that organization had personally participated in the commission of crimes, but did not apply to persons forced by the State to become members. in such a way that they had no other option left, and if these persons had not participated in crimes ", which can be attributed to the majority of Latvian legionnaires. By the early 1950s, many former legionnaires had emigrated from Germany to Britain, Australia, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world.

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More information sources

Neiburgs, U. (Latvian Occupation Museum) 2017. Latvian Legion and March 16. Available: http://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/lv/aktualitates/latviesu-legions-un-16-marts-356/ [viewed [06.05.2021].

Your comments

Is this statement really true "About 110,000-115,000 Latvian soldiers fought in the Second World War, about 30,000-50,000 of them left their lives on the battlefields."? It is hard for me to believe that a Latvian soldier suffered more losses in the German army than in the Red Army. 50,000 fallen means that almost one in two has fallen. It could also be assumed that the total number of fallen and wounded is 50,000, but only the fallen? Sincerely, Agris Purvins

 
Agris Purviņš
Jan 21, 2023, 10:44:25 AM

Good afternoon. Thank you for your comment. On this page, we try to base the information on specific sources, research, memories, and in this case, the specific source from which the said information was prepared is indicated. If you have other figures and facts or people's recollections on the subject, please share this information with us, citing the source. Regarding:

Lauku ceļotājs
Jan 24, 2023, 10:24:43 AM

Hello, how or where to find out what someone did in WW2? Whether he was a soldier or a Latvian legionnaire or something else? Living in Riga at the time.

 
F. Bohrer
Apr 18, 2023, 7:12:53 PM

Seeking info Vilis Irbe ay be fallen

E;mars Dirikis
Apr 28, 2023, 1:32:12 AM

Es nerunāju latviski, tāpēc piedodiet, ja ir kāds nepareizs tulkojums. Labdien, Agris Purviņš, adresējot jūsu komentāru. Taču es ar pārliecību uzskatu, ka Latviešu leģionā bija ap 100 000 karavīru. Es neesmu pārliecināts par upuriem. Pats latviešu leģions nesastāv tikai no 15. un 19. SS-Waffen grenadieru divīzijas. Iekļauts bija Flaka bataljons vai brigāde, ja pareizi atceros, kā arī latvieši Luftwaffe, kas pildīja pilotu pienākumus un pilotu zemes apkalpi. (Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland) Bez tam Latviešu leģionā būtu arī palīgstrādnieki un policijas vienības, kas kopā varētu veidot visus latviešus. Vieni leģionu definē tikai kā divas SS vienības, citi definē kā visus latviešu spēkus Vācijas armijā. Pagaidām avotam man nav pieejams, bet apmēram pēc nedēļas vai divām es sniegšu un sniegšu informāciju par pārējām vienībām, taču jūtos pārliecināts, ka piekritīšu par Latvijas karaspēka skaitu Vācijas armijā Vērmahtā vai SS

Jitt
Jun 14, 2023, 10:51:18 PM

labdien! Vai kādam ir kas sakāms,vai kādam ir informācija? Būšu pateicīgs! meklēju ziņas par Ati Šnēbergu! Lūdzu, ja kādam ir idejas, kur vēl meklēt. vai kādas ziņas... Šnēbergs Atis - dzimis 08.12.1922. Ilūkstes apr. Lauceses pag. - mobilizēts 26.06.1943 - pirmā dienesta vienība - Latviešu leģiona 2. brigādes 1. kājnieku pulka I bataljons - pirmā dienesta pakāpe – kareivis - 10.08.1943 nosūtīts uz instruktoru kursiem - 07.10.1943 ieskaitīts 2. brigādes motociklu vadā - 01.01.1944 paaugstināts par dižkareivi - 05.01.1944 nosūtīts uz virsnieku kursiem Bad Telcā Vācijā - 01.05.1944 paaugstināts par goda seržantu - 30.09.1944 ieskaitīts 19. divīzijas 42. grenadieru pulka I bataljonā (tā pati vienība pirms kursiem) - 17.10.1944 ievainots galvā - 10.11.1944 nosūtīts uz 15. divīzijas Rezerves brigādes Veselības atgriešanas rotu - 14.11.1944 no rotas izslēgts (miris?) - 21.12.1944 paaugstināts par leitnantu

imisopis
Dec 5, 2023, 11:34:25 AM

Related objects

Brethren Cemetery of Latvian Legionnaires

Brothers’ Cemetery of Latvian Legionnaires of the Second World War is located on the side of Sigulda-More Road, where 117 soldiers killed during the battles of More from 25 September to 6 October, 1944, are buried. 

Reburial, landscaping and other improvements were made from 1988 till 1995. The monument, made by the sculptor A. Jansons, was unveiled on November 11, 1990 A remembrance ceremony in honour of fallen soldiers takes place every year on the last Saturday of September.

Memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Latvian Legion and national partisans

Located in Indrāni Parish, Lubāna New Cemetery.

A memorial place to the fallen soldiers of the Latvian Legion and national partisans can be seen

The memorial was opened on July 25, 1992. The memorial stone was created by Andris Briezis.

At the beginning of the Awakening, in October 1990, Kārlis Doropoļskis, a member of the Helsinki 86 human rights group, received permission from the authorities to resume the joint burial of Latvian legionnaires the cemetery of the brothers, which was arranged in the new cemetery of Lubāna. A total of 26 fallen legionnaires and national partisans were buried in the brothers' cemetery.

Burials of Latvian legionnaires and victims of the War of Independence

Located in Cesvaine Ķinderi cemetery.

A granite memorial stone to Latvian legionnaires was unveiled in the cemetery of the Brothers in June 1997, and the individual burials of the fallen in the War of Independence can be found and seen.

An information stand-scheme with memorial and burial places has been installed near the cemetery:

1. Cemetery of the Latvian Legionnaires' Brothers 1943-1945
2. Jēkabs Markovs 08.02.1883-08.08.1917. 8th Valmiera Latvian Regiment Rifleman
3. Arvīds Alberts Strads, Commander of the Green Partisans, September 22, 1894 - April 5, 1919. Senior Lieutenant
4. Harry Lyons 18.03.1914-19.01.2003. Captain
5. Jānis Purēns 15.11.1887-18.11.1918. Knight of the Lāčplēsis War Order.

Lestene Brothers' Cemetery

Located in Tukums region, Lestene, next to the church.

The construction of the Brothers' Cemetery in Lestene began in 1998. It is the second largest cemetery of soldiers in Latvia, where more than 1,300 Latvian legionnaires are buried together. Only after the restoration of the Republic of Latvia was it possible to bury Latvian soldiers who died in World War II from various places.

The Latvian Legion was a combat unit of the German army, formed mainly from illegally mobilized Latvians. The soldiers perceived their presence in the legion as a struggle for the restoration of Latvia's independence, despite the fact that it took place in the ranks of the German armed forces and that Germany had occupied Latvia. There was no other military force that could delay the return of the Soviet occupation. Latvian legionnaires fought against the Red Army, which had abolished Latvia's independence, destroyed its army and committed crimes against civilians. Between 110,000 and 115,000 soldiers fought in the ranks of the German army, and between 30,000 and 50,000 of them left their lives on the battlefield.

Today in Lestene you can see the Brethren's Cemetery, next to which is Lestene Church. It is an outstanding example of baroque sacred art. In the old church pub you can get acquainted with the exposition dedicated to the history of the Latvian Legion. The central image of the Brothers' Cemetery "Motherland - Mother - Latvia" was created by the sculptor Arta Dumpe. Nearby is Lestene Manor, which belonged to the Latvian Army General Mārtiņš Hartmanis before the Second World War.

Excursions to Lestene Church can be booked at the head of the parish of Lestene Evangelical Lutheran Church Inguna Kokina, phone +371 29993743.

 
Memorial Stone to Defenders of the Kurzeme Fortification

Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 motorway, 500 m from the turn to Lesteni in the direction of Riga.

The memorial site was established in 1991 near the Rumbu houses, in the vicinity of which there was active warfare. This is a tribute to the defenders of the "Kurzeme Fortress" who fought against the Red Army in World War II. The battles were significant because they temporarily stopped the Red Army's complete occupation of Latvia. About 300,000 Latvians emigrated, avoiding crimes against the civilian population by the Soviet regime.

At the end of World War II, a peculiar situation had developed in the territory of Latvia. There were German army forces in Kurzeme, which the Red Army tried to eliminate or prevent their involvement in the fighting in East Prussia or around Berlin. "Kurzeme Fortress" - the most common term to describe the warfare in Kurzeme from 1944 to 1945. The "battles of Kurzeme" were the battles of the German army to repel the large-scale attacks of the Red Army. The Kurzeme fortress ceased to exist shortly after the German capitulation.

Today you can see a place of remembrance and rest, which has been popular among Latvian legionnaires since the restoration of Latvia's independence.

 
Monument to Victims of the Christmas Battles in Pienava

Located in Tukums region, on the side of the A9 motorway, about a kilometer behind Pienava in the direction of Liepaja.

The memorial is erected on the site of the Third Battle of Kurzeme or the Christmas battles in 1944. At the end of World War II, a peculiar situation had developed in the territory of Latvia. There were German army forces in Kurzeme, which the Red Army tried to eliminate or prevent their involvement in the fighting in East Prussia or around Berlin. "Kurzeme Fortress" - the most common term to describe the battles in Kurzeme from 1944 to 1945. The "battles of Kurzeme" were the military action of the German army to repel the large-scale attacks of the Red Army. Latvian legionnaires also took an active part in the fighting in Kurzeme.

Today you can see the memorial site. The open countryside without the oldest buildings is a witness to the war.

 
Museum of Battles in More

The museum is located in More, on the side of the V319 motorway. It is dedicated to the Battles of More between the Red Army and the Latvian Legion of the German Army in the autumn of 1944. The exhibit includes a mock-up of the battlefield, weapons, awards, soldiers’ uniforms and military equipment. The Battles of More Museum and Memorial Park was established by former soldiers of the Latvian Legion who participated in the Battles of More. The memorial park features trenches, dugouts and battlefields. The battles in the More area were only part of a large-scale operation of the Red Army Baltic Offensive involving a total of 900,000 soldiers and large numbers of military equipment units. A part of the German Army fortification system where Latvian legionnaires prevented the Red Army’s attempt to break out to Riga was located in the vicinity of More. This allowed the German Army to withdraw its forces from Estonia and avoid defeat. Red Army leaders expected the enemy’s resistance near More to be short-lived and stubbornly continued its unprepared and uncoordinated attacks, suffering heavy losses. Local advantages and the combat capabilities of the Latvian legionnaires played a significant role in the subsequent course of the war. More is home to the Latvian Legionnaires’ Brothers’ Cemetery and a Red Army Soldiers’ Cemetery.

Red Army Brethren Cemetery in More

The Red Army Military Cemetery is located on the side of the main road through More. It is the final resting place for approximately 2000 soldiers who were killed during the Battle of More. In 1974 the cemetery was landscaped and a monument by sculptor B. Grīsle was unveiled.

Lestene Brothers' Cemetery, Memorial Exposition and bunker

Lestene Brothers’ Cemetery is located in Tukums municipality, Lestene, next to the Lestene church. The construction of the Brothers’ Cemetery in Lestene began in 1998. It is the second largest military cemetery in Latvia, and more than 1,300 Latvian legionnaires are buried here. Only after regaining the independence, it was possible to rebury Latvian soldiers who fell during World War II. The Latvian Legion was a combat unit of the German Army, formed mainly from illegally drafted Latvians. The soldiers thought of their presence in the legion as something that had to be done to be able to restore Latvia’s independence, despite the fact that they were in the ranks of the German armed forces and that Germany had occupied Latvia. Latvian legionnaires fought against the Red Army, which had destroyed Latvia's independence and its army and committed crimes against civilians. Between 110,000 and 115,000 soldiers fought in the ranks of the German Army and about 30,000–50,000 of them never left the battlefield. The Brothers’ Cemetery central theme ‘Motherland – Mother – Latvia’ was created by the sculptor Arta Dumpe. Across the road an exhibit dedicated to the history of the Latvian Legion has been created in a former pub. Right next to it the men of the Latvian Officers Association, under the leadership of Captain Jānis Slaidiņš, have built an underground bunker to show how soldiers and officers lived on the front lines.

Monument to members of the resistance movement in Stompakis

It is located 15 km from Balvi in the direction of Viļakas, on the right side of the road.

A memorial is visible.

The memorial to the members of the resistance movement, dedicated to the memory of the national partisans of Pēteras Supes who fell in the battles of March 2 and 3, 1945, on the side of the Balva - Viļaka highway opposite the Stompaki swamp, was opened on August 11, 2011, on the day of remembrance of Latvian freedom fighters. At the end of July, a capsule with a message for future generations was embedded in the base of the monument. A document with the names of 28 national partisans who fell in the battles of March 2 and 3, 1945 is placed in the capsule.

"In February 1945, Latvia's largest national partisan camp was established on the islands of the Stompaku swamp, which the people began to call the islands of the Stompaku swamp, 2 km from the Balvu - Viļaka highway, where 360 people lived in 22 dugouts. Among them, some legionnaires who, for the legion division retreating, they had stayed at their father's house with all their weapons. In order to destroy the partisans, on March 2, 1945, the soldiers of two battalions of Czech troops attacked the dugouts together with destroyers, which also had four mortars in their armament. The battles took place all day, the partisans resisted stubbornly, and the attackers suffered suffered great losses, so that they could not capture the camp and destroy the partisans. 28 inhabitants of the Stompaku swamp had also fallen or died after being seriously injured in the battle. The next night, the partisans broke the siege of the camp with a battle and left undefeated" - this is what a member of the national resistance movement of the award department writes about the Stompaku battle chairman of the case commission, Zigfrīds Berķis.

Commemorative sign to Arvīds Blūmentāls "Crocodile"

The Crocodile Monument is located in Dundaga, at the intersection of Talsu and Ernesta Dinzberga Streets. The two-tonne monument to Arvīds and other Kurzeme strongmen was erected in Dundaga in 1995. The sculptor is Oļegs Skarainis. An exhibition dedicated to Arvīds Blūmentāls is also located nearby in Dundaga Castle.

The "Crocodile", which sits on a pile of stones, tells the story of a Dundadz man's long journey after the Second World War and his sudden worldwide fame, becoming one of the prototypes of the modern world's adventurers. When Crocodile Dundee hit cinema screens in 1986, it quickly became a worldwide success. As people became interested in the characters depicted in the film, it became clear that such colourful characters could not be fictional! It soon became clear that the prototype for the main character was Australian - and that it was the Australian hunter Rodney Ansel, or the Latvian boy Arvīds Blūmentāls.

Arvīds Blūmentāls was born in 1925 in the home of Būdenu, Dundaga parish. During the Second World War he joined the 25th Abava Police Battalion - building positions in the north of Liepāja and taking part in anti-partisan operations in Ukraine. After the battalion was incorporated into the Latvian Legion, he took part in its battles and was wounded several times. During the fighting in the war, he ended up in Germany, where he escaped to American-controlled territory. After training at the Altferfrad Agricultural School, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in 1947 and took part in the first Indochina War, after which he moved to Australia in 1951 and began hunting in the rainforests of northern Queensland. He himself said he hunted between 10 000 and 40 000 crocodiles in his lifetime. When the Australian government banned the hunt, he moved to an opal mine in the town of Cumberpedie, got married and set up housekeeping in a mine cave, which he named 'Crocodile's Lair'. Arvydas Blumenthal died on 13 October 2006. During his lifetime, he was the subject of several documentaries, his home, the Crocodile's Nest, was the setting for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and he himself became a living legend.

             
 

Memorial stone of the Soviet partisan unit "Red Arrow"

The Soviet partisan unit was formed on 30 September 1944, when 19 soldiers of the German 283rd Police Battalion, under the leadership of Vladimir Semyonov, deserted with their weapons. The battalion was formed in 1943 from volunteers from the Latgale region and took part in the anti-partisan operations of the German occupation authorities in the territory of Latvia and Belarus.

The unit was called "Semyonov Unit" after its commander and only at the end of the war adopted the name of "Red Arrows", which was already spread by Soviet propaganda after WWII. By December 1944, the unit had 300-400 partisans. Most of them were escaped Red Army soldiers, former Legionnaires, including fighters left after the destruction of General Kurel's group. Although many Red Army reconnaissance groups were active in Kurzeme at this time, they avoided close cooperation because the activities of the commander of the partisan unit and its main core in the ranks of the German police were too suspicious. The Red Arrow's activities were relatively poorly organised and more focused on waiting for the end of the war. During its activities it carried out extensive terrorising of the local population.

Vladimir Semyonov, the first commander of the Red Arrow, drowned on the night of 10 December 1944 while knee deep tried to cross the swollen Abava River. His corpse was found only in the spring of 1945 and buried. He was reburied in Kuldīga in 1961.

The monument is located on the site of the "Red Arrow" and other guerrilla camps in the area (about 50-70 people), which on 7 March 1945 was surrounded and attempted to be destroyed by German troops.

The white cross is a memorial to fallen soldiers in the Second World War

It is located on the right side of the highway P79 Ārgli-Koknese, 3 km from Ārglii, opposite the Brothers' graves .

The white cross is a memorial to the victims of the Second World War, it was installed in Erglii on May 8, 1995, consecrated on July 30. On the cross there is a memorial sign with the inscription "To fallen soldiers of the Second World War".
In 1994, there was a grave marker with the inscription "We remember the fallen".

From "mouth-to-mouth" there is information about the burials of Latvian officers of the German army in LTK, which were carried out on leveled old Swedish burial grounds. No research work has been carried out, therefore there are no documentary confirmations.

Memorial to the artillery regiment of Major J. Ozola

A memorial sign has been installed for the division of Major Jānis Ozolas on the side of the Riga - Liepāja highway, in Džukste parish, about one kilometer from the Kurzeme backwaters of the memorial site.

During the Third Battle of Kurzeme on December 31, Ozola's III Division and Major Kristaps Insberg's II Division as the last line of defense repulsed the enemy's overwhelming attack, preventing the front from breaking. In this battle, Ozol displays personal heroism and commanding ability

Jānis Ozols (1904-1947) was an officer of the Latvian Army and the Latvian Legion, a recipient of the Army's list of honor buckle, as well as a national partisan and a victim of Soviet repression.

 

Related stories

Battle in Kurzeme fortress near Lestene

The narrator describes his impressions of the battles around Lestene and the role of the Latvian 19th Division in the battles.

Memories of Werner Preijer, Commander of the Company of the 42nd Regiment of the Latvian Legion, about the battles of Kurzeme.

The Kurzeme fortress was formed after the fall of Riga on October 13, 1944 and the Russian break-up to Klaipeda on October 10, thus stopping traffic with Germany by road.

Unrecognized soldiers. The story of a battle officer.

The Battle of Mores is an episode of the end of the Second World War, which was of great importance in the further course of the war in the territory of Latvia. The Battle of Mores marks the war in the Sigulda line of defense in the territory of Mores Parish, which took place from September 25 to October 5, 1944. In the trenches of the Sigulda line of defense, about 12 km long, the soldiers of the 19th Division of the Latvian Legion, fighting heavy battles with 10 to 15 times the enemy's defeat for 10 days, stopped the Red / Soviet army units moving towards Riga.

Meeting with Arvīds Blūmentāls - Crocodile Harry in Cumberpedia

The newspaper "Australian Latvian" published an article about a meeting with Arvīds Blūmentāls at his home in Australia. 

(A small episode from the journey to the roots of the Australian centre and west coast together with Aivars and Benita Browne.)

In the memories of Robert Ancāns at the Battle of Pilsbliden

Robert Ancans (11 November 1919 - 1 January 1982) was an officer of the Latvian Legion, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, who took part in the battles of Pilsblidene on 16 and 17 March 1945. The Sixth Kurland Battle is now in its fourth day. Anzāns had served in the Pilsblidene area and therefore knew the area well. Anzans' division is again diverted by another break in the front - an 8km deep invasion by the Red Army. Anzán is wounded in these battles.

Major Jānis Ozol's commanding abilities during the 3rd Battle of Kurzeme

A memorial sign has been installed for Major Jānis Ozola's division on the side of the Riga-Liepāja highway, in Džukste parish, about one kilometer away from the Kurzeme backwaters of the memorial site.

Major Jānis Ozols was a Latvian officer, participant of the 2nd World War, knight of the Order of the Three Stars, whose artillery division he commanded prevented the front from breaking during the 3rd Battle of Kurzeme.

 
The legacy of the legionnaire Andrej Apsīš in the Remte forest

Evidence of the Second World War is found in the forests of Kurzeme from time to time, because lovers of war relics and historical antiques visit the forests and fields of Kurzeme with metal detectors very often. At the beginning of 2021, various documents were found in an ammunition box buried in the forest on the Remte side of Saldus county, which proved belonging to the 19th division of the Latvian Legion, as well as the soldier's personal belongings. They had been lying in the ground for 76 years.

 
Report of Captain Jānis Ozols of the III./19th Artillery Regiment (2nd Latvian) on the battles of December 24 and 25, 1944

Division Commander Captain Jānis Ozols 27.12.1944. in the report to the commander of the 15th (1st Latvian) SS-art. regiment about the losses of the weapons of the 7th, 8th and 9th batteries in the battles from December 24-25 in Zvejnieku - Dirba district

Alfred Riekstiņš - Knight of the Knight's Cross

At the beginning of 1945, fierce battles are still taking place in the Kurzeme fortress, where Latvians are fighting in the ranks of the German army. One of them was Alfred Riekstiņš in the battle of the 19th division. For his bravery, Riekstiņa is awarded the Knight's Cross and is presented in the Remte Palace. Shortly before the capitulation, he becomes a lieutenant.