Why were Latvian men conscripted into the Latvian Legion in 1943?

The Latvian Legion was formed under German order in 1943 as part of the Waffen-SS during the Nazi occupation of Latvia. Latvian men were conscripted into this unit as the German administration sought to funnel local resources and manpower into the German war effort on the Eastern Front.123

While some Latvians initially viewed the Germans as liberators from Soviet occupation, these hopes for restored independence quickly evaporated as Germany incorporated the region into the Ostland territory with the intent of eventual Germanization. The German administration utilized local, virtually powerless administrations to facilitate the recruitment of volunteers and, eventually, the implementation of a compulsory draft to support their military objectives.3

It is important to note that this conscription occurred within the context of a brutal occupation, during which the Nazi regime also carried out the systematic murder of between 65,000 and 75,000 Latvian Jews. Resistance to the German occupation was led by the Central Council of Latvia, which formed in August 1943 to oppose the occupying forces.123