The Latvian Legion

In 1946, the Nuremberg Tribunal declared the Waffen-SS a criminal organisation. Then it carved out an exception for one group of soldiers wearing the same uniform.

This episode covers the Latvian Legion, roughly eighty thousand men, most of whom never chose to be there, caught between two occupying powers in the middle of World War Two. The history of conscription, the small minority who genuinely volunteered and committed real atrocities, and why this is still a live political argument in the Baltics today.

Content note: this episode covers Nazi occupation, forced conscription, and war crimes, including the Holocaust in Latvia. Not one for the kids.

Look! Squirrel! Your attention span is selective, not short.