lange was called to the wannsee conference by heydrich in january 1942. lange (an ss major) was the lowest-ranking officer present. heydrich viewed lange's first-hand experience in conducting the mass murder of deported jews as valuable for the conference. instead of lange, heydrich could have invited either karl jäger or erich ehrlinger, who commanded the sipo and sd in lithuania and belarus respectively, and were responsible for similar massacres. he chose lange because riga was the main deportation destination, and because lange's doctorate made him seem more intellectual than the other two men. lange's superior, franz walter stahlecker, was not invited, as he was not familiar with the realities of the jewish deportations and was not located in riga.