The 2 SS Infantry Brigade was raised on 15 May 1941 and was placed under the command of
Army Group North Rear Area for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Prior to this, the role that the unit would undertake during the assault was discussed in a meeting between
Henning von Tresckow and
Kurt Knoblauch of the
RFSS office, held just three days before hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union began. In this meeting it was decided that the 2 SS Infantry Brigade along with the
1 SS Infantry Brigade and the
SS Cavalry Brigade would be used in the rear of the advancing army to conduct
rear-security operations as well as assisting in rounding up the
Jewish population. A few weeks later they took part in the mass murder of the population of the occupied territories, their victims for 1941 could be measured in the tens of thousands. In 1942, the 19th and 21st Latvian Security Battalions from the
Latvian Legion were attached to the Brigade. The brigade now included Dutch, Flemish and Norwegian volunteer legions. In January 1943, the 19th and 21st
Latvian Police Battalions were serving with the brigade;
Heinrich Himmler changed the 2 SS Infantry Brigade into a Latvian Brigade and at the same time set the foundations for a Latvian division. The existing 18th, 24th, and 26th Latvian Police Battalions were used to form the Brigade's 2nd SS Volunteer Regiment. They were then sent for training at
Krasnoye Selo, where Himmler added the 16th Latvian Police Battalion to the brigade in February. In January 1944, the Brigade was used as the
cadre in the formation of the
19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian). ==Citations and references==