When Riga, the capital of Latvia, fell to the Wehrmacht on 1 July 1941, the Germans began forming self-defence and police forces.

As early as autumn 1941 Latvian auxiliary police units, temporarily attached to the Wehrmacht, were first used in front line duties.

At the end of April 1943 a three battalion formation fighting under the name of the Latvian Legion was withdrawn from the front line and renamed the 1st Volunteer Regiment of the SS (Latvian), with a change of Wehrmacht ranks to those of the Waffen-SS.

Voldemārs Veiss was given command of this regiment, which was a part of the 2nd Latvian Brigade, and received the rank of Legion-Obersturmbannführer.

On 17 April 1944, Veiss died from wounds he had suffered seven days prior.