His decision to commit suicide was sealed when he learned that the Soviets had indicted him for war crimes, specifically the deaths of 577,000 people in concentration camps in Latvia and the deportation of 175,000 others as slave labor.
Hans beslutning om at begå selvmord blev taget, da han hørte, at Sovjetunionen havde anklaget ham for krigsforbrydelser, nemlig 577.000 personers død i tyske koncentrationslejre i Letland og deportering af 175.000 andre som tvangsarbejdere.