The SS Dirlewanger Brigade

Author: Christian Ingrao
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1626364877
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
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 who were released from prisons and concentration camps and 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—including men who had been convicted of burglary, assault, murder, and rape. Under the leadership of Oskar 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 a single day. Even by Nazi standards, the brigade was considered unduly violent and an investigation of its activities was opened. The Nazi hierarchy was eager to distance itself from the behavior of the brigade and eventually exiled many of the members to Belarus. Based on the archives from Germany, Poland, and Russia, The SS Dirlewanger Brigade offers an unprecedented look at one of the darkest chapters of World War II.

Dirlewanger

Author: Anon.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781548628604
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
A Graphic Novel detailing the true life crimes of SS Colonel Oskar Dirlewanger - the leader of the infamous 'Dirlewanger Brigade' and one of the worst characters of the Nazi regime. Dirlewanger is the product of expert historical research and beautifully illustrated by the artist MIND. Dirlewanger sheds light on a terrifying past many would rather forget. Set in Poland during World War Two and following true life events, it is in many ways a horror story, made all the more grotesque by the fact that it is no exaggeration or 'flight of fancy'. Oskar Dirlewanger was a sadist and psychopath, his men the scum of the German army and together they inflicted upon the people of Poland a reign of terror unmatched in cruelty.

The Cruel Hunters

Author: French L. MacLean
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
This is a brutal story - but, from the safety of fifty years distance in time - it is an extremely compelling one. It is also an enduring lesson that a military unit, formed under an evil ideology, led by a social outcast and composed of vicious criminals, will sink to its lowest common denominator - hate. The Dirlewanger Battalion, also known as "Sonderkommando (special commando) Dirlewanger" was perhaps the least understood, but at the same time the most notorious German SS anti-partisan unit in World War II. German propaganda correspondents and wartime photographers did not follow them in action. And for good reason. Wherever the Dirlewanger unit - named for and led by Oskar Dirlewanger - operated, corruption and rape formed an every-day part of life and indiscriminate slaughter, beatings and looting were rife. Formed as a battalion of convicted poachers in 1940, the unit operated in Poland until 1942, guarding Jews in forced labor camps and making life miserable for Poles in Lublin and Cracow. From there Dirlewanger spent two years combating partisans in central Russia, giving no quarter and expecting none in return, during vicious fighting against an elusive foe in the midst of inhospitable swamps and dismal forests. In 1944 Dirlewanger savaged Warsaw during the Polish Uprising, before moving to Slovakia to crush another rebellion there. The end of the war saw the unit, which was now a division in size, fighting for its life south of Berlin against the Soviet Army. Medieval in their outlook on war and certainly not indicative of many German military formations, this unit none-the-less remains a reflection of a segment of mankind gone mad in the inferno of World War II on the eastern front. Size: 6" x 9" over 50 b/w photographs, maps, fully annotated

The SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger"

Author: Rolf Michaelis
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764344794
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A rare look inside the Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger," the SS anti-partisan unit notorious for atrocities in Poland and Russia during World War II. These memoirs were written by a former member of the unit from its formation in 1940 to the end of the war and took part in nearly all its operations. A first hand account of the brutal and barbaric methods used by Dirlewanger against partisans - methods that appalled even some SS commanders - are revealed here in this memoir. SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger" was originally manned by convicted poachers, however as the war progressed replacements were found by emptying prisons and filling the ranks with more hardened criminals. Here are the chilling recollections of a soldier in the SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger" during the Polish and Russian campaigns, the 1944 Warsaw uprising and the final battles near Berlin.

Voices of the Waffen SS

Author: Gerry Villani
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 035949689X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
The Waffen SS were Hitler's elite forces during WWII. They were the forces that were feared by the enemy and praised by their allies. During the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen SS was condemned as part of a criminal organization, however, the Nuremberg Trials exempted conscripts from that condemnation. On several occasions, the Waffen SS was criticized by Heer commanders for their reckless disregard for casualties while taking or holding objectives, however, the Waffen SS divisions eventually proved themselves as capable soldiers. The poor initial performance was mainly due to the emphasis on political indoctrination rather than proper military training before the war. Despite this, the experience gained from the Polish, French, and Balkan campaigns and the peculiarly egalitarian form of training soon turned Waffen SS units into elite formations. These are the stories of the men that once were part of this elite force, not to glorify the Nazi regime or crimes committed by them, but to give them a voice too.

Hitler's Bandit Hunters

Author: Philip W. Blood
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597974455
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 761

Book Description
In August 1942, Hitler directed all German state institutions to assist Heinrich Himmler, the chief of the SS and the German police, in eradicating armed resistance in the newly occupied territories of Eastern Europe and Russia. The directive for "combating banditry" (Bandenbekämpfung), became the third component of the Nazi regime's three-part strategy for German national security, with genocide (Endlösung der Judenfrage, or "the Final Solution of the Jewish Question") and slave labor (Erfassung, or "Registration of Persons to Hard Labor") being the better-known others. An original and thought-provoking work grounded in extensive research in German archives, Hitler's Bandit Hunters focuses on this counterinsurgency campaign, the anvil of Hitler's crusade for empire. Bandenbekämpfung portrayed insurgents as political and racial bandits, criminalized to a greater degree than enemies of the state; moreover, violence against them was not constrained by the prevailing laws of warfare. Philip Blood explains how German forces embraced the Bandenbekämpfung doctrine, demonstrating the equal culpability of both the SS police forces and the "heroic" Waffen-SS combat arm and shattering the contrived postwar distinctions between them. He challenges the traditional view of Himmler as an armchair general and bureaucrat, exposing him as the driving force behind one of the most successful security campaigns in history, and delves into the contentious issue of the complicity of ordinary German police, soldiers, and citizens, as well as the citizens of occupied territories, in these state-sponsored manhunts. This book provokes new debates on the Nazi terrorization of Europe, the blind acquiescence of many, and the courageous resistance of the few.

The SS

Author: Adrian Weale
Publisher: Abacus Software
ISBN: 9780349117522
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The definitive history of the SS by an acclaimed expert.

Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp

Author: Douglas E. Nash
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612003052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 413

Book Description
As the Allies were approaching the German frontier at the beginning of September 1944, the German Armed Forces responded with a variety of initiatives designed to regain the strategic initiative. While the "Wonder Weapons" such as the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 missile and the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter are widely recognized as being the most prominent of these initiatives upon which Germany pinned so much hope, the Volks-Grenadier Divisions (VGDs) are practically unknown. Often confused with the Volkssturm, the Home Guard militia, VGDs have suffered an undeserved reputation as second-rate formations, filled with young boys and old men suited to serve only as cannon fodder. This groundbreaking book, now reappearing as a new edition, shows that VGDs were actually conceived as a new, elite corps loyal to the National Socialist Party composed of men from all branches of Hitler's Wehrmacht and equipped with the finest ground combat weapons available. Whether fighting from defensive positions or spearheading offensives such as the Battle of the Bulge, VGDs initially gave a good account of themselves in battle. Using previously unpublished unit records, Allied intelligence and interrogation reports and above all interviews with survivors, the author has crafted an in-depth look at a late-war German infantry company, including many photographs from the veterans themselves. In this book we follow along with the men of the 272nd VGD's Fusilier Company from their first battles in the Huertgen Forest to their final defeat in the Harz Mountains. Along the way we learn the enormous potential of VGDs . . . and feel their soldiers' heartbreak at their failure. Among Douglas NashÕs previous works is HellÕs Gate: The Battle for the Cherkassy Pocket, January-February 1944, a work unsurpassed for insight into the other side of the hill in WWII.

The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen SS

Author: Wilhelm Tieke
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399003011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
The Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS was a formation with a very unique history. Its members volunteered and were spirited out of Finland to Germany under watchful Russian eyes. Unlike other legions from various countries, the battalion did not fight until the end of the war. In fact, upon its return home, its soldiers were immediately drafted into the Finnish army and fought against the Soviets. When Finland sued for peace, former Finnish SS-men fought against German troops as they retreated from Finland. The Battalion joined the SS-Wiking Division in January 1942 and fought in southern Russia and the Caucasus until its mission ended in April 1943. With its soldiers badly needed on the home front, it was recalled due to intense pressure from the Finnish government. The battalion served with great sacrifice and proved itself worthy of being a part of one of Germany’s elite divisions.

Strafbattalion

Author: Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

Book Description
The German Army’s Strafbattalions were infantry units made up largely of convicts, felons, malingerers, thugs and the criminally insanePreviously unpublished story of the unitsThe accounts of the most famous Strafbattalion units in combatA story of little-known Nazi units: Hitler’s ‘Dirty Dozens’ When war broke out in 1939, Hitler created Strafbattalion (Penal Battalion) units to deal with incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht as well as ‘subversives’. His order stated that any first-time convicted soldier could return to his unit after he had served a portion of his sentence in ‘…a special probation corps before the enemy’. Beginning in April 1941, convicted soldiers, even those sentenced to death, who had shown exceptional bravery or meritorious service could rejoin their original units; however, those in probation units were expected to undertake dangerous operations at the front. Refusal entailed enforcement of the original sentence. The soldiers who ‘won back an honourable place in the national community’ had done everything that was asked of them from suicidal advance teams, shock troops, and laying mines under fire. By 1945, over 50,000 Wehrmacht troops had served in punishment regiments. Strafbatallion: Hitler’s Penal Battalions examines the penal units, their combat history and order of battle.