National partisan
The guerrillas are known by local residents with the National Partisans ( to distinguish them from the Soviet Partisans who fought against Germany ) . In general , they are no longer bound by the strict rules of their previous unit , the Waffen - SS . Guerrilla war requires a flexible approach and not as rigid as conventional warfare . The National Partisans also then increase the number of members after many civilians joined . In the early years of guerrilla warfare , most of them still wearing the SS uniform ( which depends also on the tasks undertaken ) . This is due to the state of war that makes them have to remain in hiding in the woods without mingling with the locals so that they do not have an obligation to make to be wearing civilian clothes . It is estimated that approximately 10,000 people ( men and women ) to join the Partisans , while 20,000 others are active supporters who provide food , information , protection , and others .
One of the interesting stories coming from Ritterkreuzträger ( Knight's Cross winner ) and former SS - Unterscharführer Alfred Riekstins of the Waffen SS Fusilier - Bataillon 19 . He was killed in the forest edge Frauenburg , Latvia , in 1952 . He managed to escape by boat Kurland Pockets date May 9, 1945 , and is capable of reaching Sweden where he then resided . In the early 1950s he was recruited by British intelligence agency , and in 1951 disappeared from his home in Gothenburg , to undergo training in Bavaria . On August 30, 1952 Riekstins deployed by parachute in Kurland along with two other agents ( one of whom was lost after landing away from the place that has been set ) . Unfortunately , they then betrayed by a double agent Kim Philby's well known that the MGB USSR ( the forerunner of the KGB ) immediately conduct search operations against them . All three men then besieged dated 11 September 1952 . Both co Riekstins surrender , while Riekstins preferring to fight to the run out of bullets and kill 6-7 people from pengepungnya . He then committed suicide by swallowing cyanide capsules rather than having to give up . Until now his grave is not known , whether in Frauenbeurg or perhaps in other places adjacent .
Frauenburg itself has become the main target of the Red Army attack in heavy fighting in late 1944 and early 1945 in their attempt to seize the main bridge Kurland controlled Germany . Once the core German forces surrendered , Riekstins ( he was one of 12 laureates Knight Latvian ) continued his struggle , and persistent in and out of the woods in order to fight against the Soviet occupation forces 14 years after Germany 's unconditional surrender ! It is a symbol of fierce German resistance on the defensive Kurland and determination of the soldiers who live it . At the end of World War II , Heeresgruppe Kurland managed to survive for eight months against the continuous mass attack of enemy strength many times , and only surrendered after Germany itself surrendered May 8, 1945 ! Kurland armbands , the last award of its kind , was produced and distributed to commemorate the soldiers who struggled in one of the most brutal battles in World War II , which unfortunately is not widely known and " covered " by other such battles or the Battle of the Bulge Market Garden .
Back to the story about the Latvian National Partisans . There are several reasons why their resistance ended in 1956. Itself starting its decline since 1949 when on March 25, the Soviet authorities ordered the deportation of 41 811 Latvians to Siberia . They hope that this deportation can reduce the number of people who joined the Partisans significantly. With the loss of their main supporters , fighters who fought in the forests become difficult to survive , not to mention the vigorous and sweeping patrols conducted by Russia . The sadistic Stalin's death on March 5, 1953 ( note the unique number : 5-3-53 ! ) The more convinced partisans to surrender . They use this term as " legalize themselves " .
On January 8, 1957 , Deputy Commander of the KGB in Latvia , Colonel Velikanov , officially announced in the next Chairman of the Latvian SSR Council of Ministers that in the period autumn 1944 s / d in December 1956 , there were 2,407 partisan ( or " bandits " as they are called in the report ) has been killed or committed suicide , 4,370 were arrested and convicted , and 3,973 legalize themselves ( surrender ) .
It seems that these numbers are not huge , but if we compare the proportion of the population of Latvia as a whole , so if this happens in Britain today means 300,000 people became guerrillas and 1,200,000 people deported !
Actually , there are several such instances where the units do not German soldiers laid down their arms after the surrender in May 1945. In his book " Werwolf , The History of the National Socialist Guerrilla Movement, 1944-46 " ( University of Toronto Press , ISBN 0 -8020-0862-3 ) , Perry Biddiscombe make a list of examples of attacks on Allied forces events that occurred after the war , especially in Harzgebirge , Silesia ( region Oppeln / Gogolin ) , Bavaria and Austria . Even some groups of SS is not " down the mountain " from their hideout in the mountains until the end of 1951 , and dependent life of the natural resources that exist at once sympathetic locals . Several times the gunfire had occurred among people who never give up this with the Allied occupation forces .