36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS
The 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, better known SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger (often referred to as the Dirlewanger Brigade), was an infamous penal military unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Originally formed for anti-partisan duties, it eventually saw action against the Red Army near the end of the war.
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Oskar Dirlewanger
The history of the Dirlewanger Brigade is inextricably linked to the life of its commander, Oskar Dirlewanger. Born in 1895, Oskar Dirlewanger was arguably a skillful, fearless and ambitious psychopath. After winning the Iron Cross first and second class while serving in the Imperial German Army during World War I, Dirlewanger joined the Freikorps and took part in the vicious street fighting against communist insurgents. When the crisis was averted, he returned to university and obtained a PhD in political science. Joining the NSDAP in 1923, he was soon expelled and was forced to reapply and rejoin the formation.
After completing his PhD, Dirlewanger went on to hold a teaching job. In 1934, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a female minor. He lost his position and was forbidden from returning to teaching. After serving a two year jail sentence, Dirlewanger was released. Soon after, he was again accused of sexual assault and was thrown into a concentration camp. Desperate, Dirlewanger contacted Gottlob Berger, an old Freikorps comrade now working closely with Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer-SS. Despite the two convictions and the fact that Dirlewanger was an alcoholic, Berger secured his comrade's release and an appointment for him with the Legión Cóndor, a German volunteer unit fighting in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco's Falange. Dirlewanger fought bravely during this campaign, being wounded in combat three times.
Returning to Germany in 1939, Dirlewanger was granted admission to the Allgemeine SS and given the rank of SS-Untersturmführer. Berger realized that Dirlewanger could be kept in check only while on military duty, so he organized the creation of a military unit which would be used to rehabilitate convicts.
On June 15, 1940, the Wilddiebkommando Oranienburg (Poacher's Command Oranienburg) was formed. This unit was to be composed of criminals convicted of poaching. It was felt that poachers were in possession of skills which would make them excellent scouts and anti-partisan troops. By July 1940, the unit numbered 84 men.
Composition
Initially a unit of convicted poachers, it became over time composed of increasing numbers of common criminals. In contrast to those who served in the penal battalions (or the so called 999 battalions) for minor offences, the volunteers sent to the Dirlewanger were convicted of major crimes which would be considered criminal in civilian courts. While the theory was that service in the Dirlewanger would rehabilitate the criminals, it in fact provided them with the ability to continue committing criminal acts with no repercussions. The actions of the battalion was the subject of several complaints by high ranking Wehrmacht officers, but these went unnoticed or were ignored.
As the news spread of the new formation, hundreds of concentration camp prisoners applied for service with the unit. By September 1940, the formation numbered over 300 men. With the influx of criminals, the emphasis on poachers was now lost, and those convicted of other more severe crimes, including assault, burglary and rape joined the unit. Accordingly, the unit name was changed to Sonderkommando Dr. Dirlewanger (Special Command Dr. Dirlewanger). As the unit strength continued to grow, the unit was placed under the command of the SS-Totenkopfverbände (the formation responsible for the administration of the concentration camps) and it was redesignated SS-Sonderbatallion Dirlewanger.
In its final phase, Dirlewanger's men came to include, besides common criminals, increasing numbers of political prisoners, homosexuals, Gypsies (recruited from Dachau and Sachsenhausen concentration camps), and patients from psychiatric hospitals, as well as others considered unfit to serve in normal military units.
Operational history
Poland
In mid 1941, the Dirlewanger was assigned to anti-partisan duties in the General Government region in Poland, and was answerable only to Heinrich Himmler himself. In January 1942, the battalion was authorised to recruit from Russian and Ukrainian volunteers to rebuild its strength.
During the battalion's service in Poland, it was involved in numerous cases of corruption, rape, indiscriminate slaughter and looting. Desertion was also common. The General Government's Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger was disgusted with the behaviour of the Dirlewanger, and his complaints resulted in its transfer to Belarus in February 1942.
Belarus
In Belarus, it came under the command of Central Russia's Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer, Erich von dem Bach Zelewski. The Dirlewanger resumed anti-partisan duties in this area, working in cooperation with the Kaminski Brigade for the first time. Its conduct in the Soviet Union, rather than improving, worsened and atrocities were a daily occurrence. It is estimated that 200 villages were burned and 120,000 civilians were killed during the actions involving the Dirlewanger in Belarus 1942-1944. One of the villages, Khatyn, was later chosen by the Soviet authorities to represent the horrors of the German occupation.
On August 20, 1942, the expansion of the Dirlewanger to regimental size was authorized. Recruits were to come from more criminals, Eastern volunteers and military delinquents. The second battalion finally arrived in February 1943 and the regiment's strength reached 700 men, 300 of whom were Soviet citizens. The unit was now redesignated SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger. In May 1943, the ability to volunteer for service in the regiment was extended to all criminals and 500 men convicted of the most severe crimes were absorbed into the regiment. May and June saw the unit taking part in Operation Cottbus.
In August 1943, the creation of a third battalion was authorised. With its expansion, the Dirlewanger was allowed to display rank insignia and a unique collar patch. During this period, the regiment saw heavy fighting, and Dirlewanger himself led many assaults, winning several awards for bravery.
In November 1943, the regiment was committed to front line action with Army Group Centre in an attempt to halt the Red Army advance. The regiment, untrained and ill-equipped for actual combat, performed poorly and suffered heavy casualties. By the end of the year the Dirlewanger could muster only 259 men and large numbers of amnestied criminals were sent to rebuild the regiment.
By late February 1944, the regiment was back up to full strength. It was decided that Eastern volunteers would no longer be admitted to the regiment, as the Russians had proven particularly unreliable in frontline combat. Anti partisan operations continued until June 1944, when the Soviets launched Operation Bagration, aimed at the destruction of Army Group Centre. The Dirlewanger was caught up in the retreat and began falling back to Poland. Unusually, the regiment distinguished itself in several rearguard actions and reached Poland decimated but in good order.
Poland again
When the Armia Krajowa initiated the Warsaw Uprising on August 1, 1944, the Dirlewanger was sent into action as part of SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Reinfarth's Kampfgruppe alongside Bronislav Kaminski's Waffen-Sturm-Brigade RONA. During the battle, the Dirlewanger behaved atrociously, raping, looting and killing citizens of Warsaw regardless of whether they belonged to the Polish resistance or not, Dirlewanger himself encouraging their excesses. The unit's behavior was reportedly so bestial and indiscriminate that Himmler was forced to detail an attached battalion of SS military police for the sole purpose of ensuring the Dirlewanger's convicts did not turn their aggressions against their own leaders or nearby German units.[1] On August 5 to August 8, the regiment took part in the Wola massacre, the mass executions of at least 40,000 civilians in the Wola district of the city. While the regiment's actions were looked on with disdain by Bach Zelewski and the sector commander, Generalmajor Günter Rohr, Dirlewanger was recommended by Heinz Reinefarth for the Knight's Cross and the promotion to SS-Oberführer der Reserve. Besides engaging in mass murder, rape and pillage, the Dirlewanger fought hard against the insurgents and suffered extremely high losses in Warsaw. The regiment arriving in Warsaw numbered 881 men and officers; during the course of the two-month urban warfare battle it received reinforcements of some 2,500 soldiers and lost 2,733. Thus, casualties numbered 315% of the unit's initial strength.
By October 2, 1944, the Poles had surrendered and the depleted regiment spent the next month guarding the Vistula line. During this time, the regiment was upgraded to brigade status, and redesignated SS-Sonderbrigade Dirlewanger (SS Special Brigade Dirlewanger). In Early October, it was decided to upgrade the Dirlewanger again, this time to a Waffen-SS combat brigade. Accordingly, it was redesignated 2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, and soon reached its complement of 4,000 men.
Slovakia and Hungary
When the Slovak National Uprising began in late August 1944, the newly formed brigade was committed to action. The brutal actions of the brigade played a large part in putting down the rebellion, and by October 30 crisis was averted. With the outcome of the war no longer in doubt, large numbers of communist and socialist political prisoners began applying for the Dirlewanger in hope of defecting to the Soviets.[2] SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Schmedes, the disgraced former commander of the 4th SS Polizei Division was assigned to the Dirlewanger by Himmler as punishment for refusing to carry out orders. With his extensive combat experience, Schmedes became the unofficial advisor to Dirlewanger on frontline combat.
In December, the brigade was sent to the front in Hungary. While several newly formed battalions made up of communist and socialist volunteers fell apart, several other battalions fought well. During a month's fighting, the brigade suffered heavy casualties and was pulled back to Slovakia to refit and reorganize. During this time, the brigade continued its practice of looting, raping and killing, even though Slovakia was a country allied to Germany. Complaints soon began to flow in, and some disciplinary measures were introduced but these did little to halt the atrocities taking place.
Germany
In February 1945, plans were put in action to expand the brigade to divisional status, however before this could begin it was sent north to the Oder-Neisse line to attempt to halt the Soviet advance. On February 14, 1945, the brigade was redesignated 36.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. The next day, Oskar Dirlewanger was seriously wounded in combat for the twelfth time. He was sent to the rear and Schmedes immediately assumed command. Dirlewanger would not return to the division.
With its expansion to a division (4,000 men), the Dirlewanger had several Wehrmacht formations attached, including a Pionier and a heavy Panzerjäger component. When the final Soviet offensive began on April 16 1945, the division was pushed back to the northeast. Desertion became more and more common, and when Schmedes attempted to reorganize his division on April 25, he found it had virtually ceased to exist.
The situation was highly fluid, with men of the 73rd Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS lynching their commanding officer Ewald Ehlers (whose previous posting had been as the commandant of Dachau concentration camp). The small remnant of the division attempted to reach the Americans on the Elbe river. Schmedes and his staff managed to reach the Americans and surrendered on May 3, 1945, however only 700 men of the division survived the war.
After the war
At the end of the war, Dirlewanger was also captured by the western Allies. But on June 1, 1945, Polish soldiers, serving in the French occupation forces, took him to Altshausen jail. Over the next few days Dirlewanger was beaten and tortured. He died from injuries inflicted by the Polish guards around June 5, 1945.[3] Dirlewanger was buried on June 19, 1945, but the French Military suppressed the news at the time. Over the next 15 years many bogus sightings of Dirlewanger were made around the world. His body was exhumed in 1960 to prove that he was dead.
In 2009, Polish authorities claimed to have identified three survivors of Dirlewanger living in Germany and announced that they intend to bring the men to justice.[4]
Commanders
- SS-Oberführer der Reserve Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger (15 Jun 1940 - ? Apr 1945)
- SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Schmedes (? Apr 1945 - ? May 1945)
Orders of battle
- SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, August 1944
- Brigade Stab
- SS-Regiment 1
- SS Regiment 2
- Artillerie-Abteilung
- Füsilier-Kompanie
- Pioneer-Kompanie
- Nachrichtren-Kompanie
- 36.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS, March 1945
- Division Stab
- 72.Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS
- 73.Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS
- Panzer-Abteilung Stansdorf I
- Artillerie Abteilung 36
- Füsilier Kompanie 36
- 1244.(Heer) Grenadier-Regiment
- 687.(Heer) Pioneer-Brigade
- 681.(Heer) Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung
Sources
- MacLean, French L. - The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonder-Kommando Dirlewanger
- (German) Michaelis, Rolf - Das SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger: Ein Beispiel deutscher Besatzungspolitik in Weißrussland
References
- ^ Bell, J. Bowyer. Besieged: Seven Cities Under Siege. Philadelphia: Chilton, 1966. 89-91.
- ^ (German) Klausch, Hans-Peter - Antifaschisten in SS-Uniform: Schicksal und Widerstand der deutschen politischen KZ-Haftlinge, Zuchthaus- und Wehrmachtstrafgefangenen in der SS-Sonderformation Dirlewanger
- ^ Walter Stanoski Winter, Walter Winter, Struan Robertson: Winter Time: Memoirs of a German Sinto who Survived Auschwitz. 2004. Page 139. ISBN 1902806387.
- ^ Notorious SS unit 'traced', The Daily Telegraph, 17 Apr 2009
External links
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