SZ Photo - Free Corps ìIron Divisionî in the Baltic States, 1919

The ìIron Divisionî Free Corps Association initially fought against Soviet troops in the Latvian War of Independence with the approval of the German government, but later fought against them without government sanction. In addition to fighting against communism, the division was also a melting pot of reactionary, monarchist and nationalist forces. Several members were also involved in the Kapp Putsch in 1920. The members, mainly World War I front-line soldiers, criminals and adventurers, were considered extremely brutal and committed several war crimes. - This selection contains pictures from our partner agency S¸ddeutsche Zeitung Photo.