Figure 1.--These men with a Latvian polixe unit were incorporated into the SS. The officers may have been German. They were involved in the murder of Jews in Latvia and Belarus. One of them took pitty on a Jewish boy and passed him off as a Russian war orphan. The unit adopted him as a mascot not knowing that he was Jewish. Click on the image for details.

Both Germans and Latvians participated in the murder of Jews. In Latvia the Einheimische (locals) playeda a major role in the killing. Heydrich ordered Brigadefuhrer Stahlecker, the commander of Einsatzgruppe A, to instigate and support local pogroms, this desguised the NAZI holocaust as local actions against Jews and Bolsheviks. After the pogrom policy failed to produce the desired results, the NAZIs took more direct measures. The Arajs SD Commando was organized by Brigadefuhrer Stahlecker to kill Jews. Numerous other Latvian auxiliary police units also played a role. The active participation of the Latvians was a key factor in the rapid murder of most Latvian Jews. Most of the Latvian Jews were killed by the Arajs unit. Many of the units at first acted with considerable iniative, but by October 1941 were firmly under central German control. Some of the Latvian police units were eventually brought under SS control.

Created: 1:52 AM 8/24/2007
Last updated: 1:53 AM 8/24/2007