Latvian Legion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Legion#War_Crimes_Involvement

The Latvian Legion was a formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II created in 1943 and consisting primarily of ethnic Latvians.

The 19th Division remained active in the Courland Pocket until May 1945, when it was among the last of Nazi Germany’s forces to surrender at the close of World War II.

The Latvian Legion was created in January 1943 on the orders of Adolf Hitler following a request by Reichsfé¼hrer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Technically, it was a volunteer unit, but one month after the unit was founded, German occupation authorities in Latvia started conscripting military age men, as close to none had volunteered.

They were given a choice between “volunteering” for SS Waffen legions, serving in the German army (Heer) as “auxiliaries” (labourers behind the front lines), commanded by German officers and often treated as subhumans, or being sent to a slave labour camp in Germany. Those who tried to avoid one of those options were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

As a result, only 15-20% of the soldiers serving in the legion were actual volunteers

Soldiers serving in the Legion did not necessarily share Nazi ideology and were not completely loyal to Germany. A report by the commander of the 15th Division, Oberfé¼hrer Adolf Ax on 27 January 1945 says: “They are first and foremost Latvians. They want a sustainable Latvian nation state. Forced to choose between Germany and Russia, they have chosen Germany, because they seek co-operation with western civilization. The rule of the Germans seems to them to be the lesser of two evils.”

hope was that the legion would fight off the Soviet Union, until it was no longer dangerous to Latvia, and then turn its arms against Nazi Germany, as a repeat of the Latvian War of Independence of 1918-1920, when Latvian forces managed to fight off both the Red Army and German forces. This was reflected in one of the most popular legion songs which went “We will beat the Russians now and we will beat the Germans after that” (with euphemisms for Russians and Germans).[3] Also Latvians, like Estonians and to lesser degree Lithuanians, believed that Western powers, especially Britain, will come to their aid any time soon, as they did in 1918-1920.

they were betrayed at Yalta…

“The Baltic Waffen SS Units (Baltic Legions) are to be considered as separate and distinct in purpose, ideology, activities, and qualifications for membership from the German SS, and therefore the Commission holds them not to be a movement hostile to the Government of the United States.”

free book:
THE LATVIAN LEGION
According to Independent Observers
home.mira.net/~vanagi/AV/Latvian_Legion.pdf

The year of Russian occupation from June 1940 to July 1941 Latvia remembers as the Year of
Horror.

The 15th SS Latvian Division was one of the most decorated foreign volunteer forces. Who had won no less than 13 Knight Crosses! This was the highest score of any non-German Legion.

By January 1945, the Germans withdrew seven divisions from Courland to defend the German Reich, leaving 25 divisions to hold a 161kms front line in Latvia. The 19th SS Division remained in “Fortress Courland” engaging Soviet forces until the end of the war. Most of the surviving Latvians surrendered to Soviet forces, and were subsequently sent to Siberia and probably executed. The division went through five commanders. The last commander was SS-Generalleutnant Bruno Streckenbach from 19 May 1944 to 8 May 1945.

http://www.lettia.lv/en_a_legionari-nirnberga.html

Everybody has seen soldiers with white helmets and white gloves standing along the walls in Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal hall. They are Americans. But only few know, that people dressed in similar uniforms – former Latvian and Estonian legionaries – were guarding imprisoned Nazis and securing facilities of Allied army.

“In 1946 next to English and American armies there were founded so called Guard companies. (The first one was called Viesturs company.) Legionaries were recognized as units in no way connected to the crimes of SS.” “Four companies (approx. 1000 men), including Viesturs company, in 1947 took over the guard at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice (!) and the prison!” “At their sleeves and later at their helmets there were the red-white-red national colors of Latvia” “Besides it shall be taken into account, that attitude of Allied authorities to the Nazi war criminals was very serious and consistent”.

”References about the Baltic soldiers were good[…]. Almost all “viesturians” were former legionaries, therefore soldier drilling was not required, only “americanised” military code had to be adjusted to. […] Officers and soldiers of the company were on garrison duty in several cities of Germany (from spring 1947 – were also on guard in Nuremberg Palace of Justice and the prison).”

“Paramilitary units of Latvians and Estonians in Germany were also working at the Nuremberg Trials (1947 – 1949), where they were guarding war criminals. […] guard posts were located not only at the perimeter of the Palace of Justice, but also at the doors to the cells. Baltic guards were escorting inmates to the walking areas and to the interrogations. […] Only two functions at the Nuremberg Trials were performed by American military police: escort of inmates in the court hall and to the execution (hanging).” “When Berlin crisis took place and airlift for supply of West Berlin started to operate, viesturians were transferred to the forests near the border to secure the most important field storages of the USA Army. After that Latvian guards were transferred to the surroundings of Stuttgart to guard USA Army corps headquarters”

good for image reference, latvian language
http://www.hot.ee/vaikal/vahi.htm
http://www.hot.ee/hintzer/album_8.htm

history has a lot of answers and stories that are rarely known or told any more…

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Ezekiel 18:3 –

“As surely as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb* in Israel. For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child – both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.”

And cf. the entirety of Ezekiel 18.

Contradiction between Deuteronomy-Ezekiel and Exodus? Don’t know:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/ostroot01.htm

* The proverb is: “The parents eat sour grapes / and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

I would doubt that most of them know who Che was, let alone his crimes or even his racism.

I have long felt that a key reason for the demonization of the United States is to bring it down to the moral level of the moral level of the evil regimes that America’s critics prefer.

The WWII generation, the younger ones, those who were mere foot-soldiers at that time, are rapidly dying off now. The older people of that era – the ones who actually had power during that time – are long gone. Modern Germany and modern Japan have almost nothing in common with their WWII regimes.

Yes, we can all learn from history. But not to assign blame to people now living who had no part in the atrocities of that time.

Let it go.