The SS Dirlewanger Brigade

The Dirlewanger Brigade was an anti-partisan unit of the Nazi army, reporting directly to Heinrich Himmler. The first members of the brigade were mostly poachers, released from prisons and concentration camps, who were believed to have the skills necessary for hunting down and capturing partisan fig [...]
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The Dirlewanger Brigade was an anti-partisan unit of the Nazi army, reporting directly to Heinrich Himmler. The first members of the brigade were mostly poachers, released from prisons and concentration camps, who were believed to have the skills necessary for hunting down and capturing partisan fighters in their camps in the forests of the Eastern Front. Their numbers were soon increased by others who were eager for a way out of imprisonment and included men who had been convicted of burglary, assault, murder, and rape. Under the leadership of Oscar Dirlewanger, a convicted rapist and alcoholic, they could do as they pleased: there were no repercussions for even their worst behavior. This was the group used for its special "talents" to help put down the Jewish uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, killing an estimated 35,000 men, women, and children in one day. Even by Nazi standards, the brigade was considered unduly violent and an investigation of its activities was opened. Based on the archives from Germany, Poland, and Russia, this book offers an unprecedented look at one of the darkest chapters of World War II.