__NOTOC__ Voldemārs Veiss (7 November 1899 – 17 April 1944) was a Latvian officer and prominent Nazi collaborator, who served in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. When

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, the capital of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, fell to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

on 1 July 1941, the Germans began forming self-defence and police forces. Veiss was appointed the commander of such a Self Defence organization. On 20 July the Nazis disbanded this organization and ordered the formation of

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called volunteer police, reserve police, assistant police, civil guards, or special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police servic ...

forces instead, with Lt. Col. Veiss being appointed Chief of the

Latvian Auxiliary Police Latvian Auxiliary Police was a paramilitary force created from Latvian volunteers and conscripts by the Nazi German authorities who occupied the country in June/July 1941. It was part of the '' Schutzmannschaft'' (Shuma), native police forces o ...

. At the end of 1941, he became the First Deputy Director General of the Director General of the Interior when the Latvian Self-Administration was reorganized. As early as autumn 1941 Latvian auxiliary police units, temporarily attached to the

, were first used in front line duties. This occasional employment continued until the 2nd Latvian Brigade was formed from six Latvian battalions, four of which had combat experience. At the end of April 1943 a three battalion formation fighting under the name of the

Latvian Legion The Latvian Legion () was a formation of the Nazi German Waffen-SS during World War II. Created in 1943, it consisted primarily of ethnic Latvians.Gerhard P. Bassler, ''Alfred Valdmanis and the politics of survival'', 2000, p150 Mirdza Kate Balta ...

was withdrawn from the front line and renamed the 1st Volunteer Regiment of the SS (Latvian), with a change of Wehrmacht ranks to those of the

. Voldemārs Veiss was given command of this regiment, which was a part of the 2nd Latvian Brigade, and received the rank of Legion-

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party ( NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ' was juni ...

. In January 1944, Veiss became the first Latvian to receive the

Knight's Cross Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield. Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cro ...

. On 17 April 1944, Veiss died from wounds he had suffered seven days prior.

Awards

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 9 February 1944 as Waffen-''

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

'' and commander of SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment 42 (lett. Nr. 4).Scherzer 2007, p. 756.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Lumans, Valdis O. - Latvia in World War II, , , Fordham University Press 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Veiss, Voldemars 1899 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Riga Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Latvian Auxiliary Police Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Latvian Waffen-SS personnel killed in action SS-Standartenführer Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross