Heinz von Westernhagen was born on 29th August 1911 in Riga, capital of Latvia – then part of the Russian Empire. His early life was turbulent; the Russian revolution in 1917 turned the previously well to do Westernhagen family into nomads, and Heinz would escape the drudgery by joining the German merchant marine as a … Continue reading SS-Obersturmbannführer Heinz von Westernhagen