Azerbaijani SS volunteer formations were recruited from prisoners of war, mainly from the Soviet Union and the countries annexed by it after 1939. The volunteers composed of patriots who wanted to fight the Russians for an independent Azerbaijan. Origins In November 1943, Meyer-Mader offered his services to Himmler to help raise and command a Turkic SS unit. Himmler approved the broad plan and then transferred him into the ranks of the Waffen-SS and promoted him to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. Then, on 14 December, a meeting was held in Berlin in the presence of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini. The Grand Mufti approved the plan to raise a Turkic-Muslim SS division and to give his "spiritual leadership" to influence the Muslim volunteers. Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment Between November 1943 and January 1944, there was a series of meetings between Meyer-Mader and Muslim volunteers. As a result of these meetings, on January 4, 1944, it was decided to form the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment. At the same meeting, it was decided to disband the following Wehrmacht battalions who would serve as a basis for a new platform: 450th, 480th, 782nd, 786th, 790th, 791st and I/94th Turkestanische battalions, Aserbeidschanische 818th and Volga Tatar 831st. Unfortunately, many of the volunteers deserted at this time, and the 818th defected to Polish and Ukrainian resistance movements in 1943. Furthermore, at the same time, Meyer-Mader visited prisoners of war camps and called for volunteers to join the new Muslim SS legion. The recruits were not only Turkestani but also Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik. By the end of January 1944, he was able to recruit three thousand volunteers who were concentrated in Poniatova. To increase the staffing regiment, dozens of German officers and non-commissioned officers were transferred there. Nevertheless, it was a prolonged process, mainly due to a lack of equipment, including uniforms and even shoes. Therefore, by the October 1944 deadline, which Himmler appointed for the deployment of divisions, the regiment had only four thousand people formed into three battalions. The unit was formed in Trawniki, Poland, before they were transferred to Byelorussia for further training. SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Meyer-Mader was appointed as its first commander. This unit suffered from poor discipline, and poor morale, especially after Meyer-Mader was killed during a skirmish with partisans in Yuratishki, near Minsk, on March 28, 1944. The situation worsened when the replacement commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer Billig, executed 78 unit members for insubordination.