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{{Short description|Waffen-SS infantry division}}
{{Copy edit|date=June 2025}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Dirlewanger Brigade
| abbreviation =
| native_name = {{langx|de|36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS}}
| image = Dirlewanger Crossed Grenades symbol.svg
| image_size = 180
| caption = Division insignia
| dates = 1940–45
| country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch = {{flagicon|Schutzstaffel}} {{lang|de|[[Waffen-SS]]}}
| type = Infantry
| role = {{lang|de|[[Bandenbekämpfung]]}} (security warfare; literally "combating of bandits")
| size = [[Company (military unit)|Company]]<br />[[Battalion]]<br />[[Regiment]]<br />[[Brigade]]<br />[[Division (military)|Division]]
| command_structure =
| equipment =
| nickname = Black Hunters
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[German anti-partisan operations in World War II|Anti-partisan operations in Belarus]]
** [[Warsaw Uprising]]
** [[Slovak National Uprising]]
**[[Battle of Ipolysag]]
**[[Battle of Halbe]]
{{tree list/end}}
| notable_commanders = [[Oskar Dirlewanger]]
}}
The '''Dirlewanger Brigade''', also known as the '''''2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger''''' (19 December 1944),<ref name="Williamson" /> or the '''36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS''' ({{langx |de|36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS}}), or '''The Black Hunters''' ({{langx |de|Die schwarzen Jäger}}),<ref name=":0" /> was a unit of the ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' during [[World War II]]. The unit, named after its commander [[Oskar Dirlewanger]], consisted of convicted criminals, other prisoners, and some volunteers. Originally formed from convicted poachers in 1940 and first deployed for [[Axis anti-partisan operations in World War II|counter-insurgency]] duties against the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance movement]], the brigade saw service in [[German-occupied Europe|German-occupied Eastern Europe]], with an especially active role in the [[anti-partisan operations in Belarus]]. The unit is regarded as the most brutal and notorious Waffen-SS unit, with its soldiers described as "The ideal genocidal killers who neither gave nor expected quarter."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Finder |first1=Gabriel N. |author-link=Gabriel N. Finder |title=Justice Behind the Iron Curtain: Nazis on Trial in Communist Poland |last2=Prusin |first2=Alexander V. |author-link2=Alexander Prusin |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4875-2268-1 |pages=220 |language=en}}</ref> The unit is regarded as the most infamous Waffen-SS unit in Poland and Belarus,<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Snyder |title=Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Basic Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-465-00239-9 |pages=303 |language=en}}</ref> and was one of the worst military units in modern European history in terms of criminality and cruelty.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=dirlewanger+most+heinous+criminal+military+history+defeat+of+the+damned&pg=PR11 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-63624-211-8 |___location=Havertown, PA |pages=xi–xii |language=en |oclc=on1346537306}}</ref>
During its operations, the unit participated in the [[mass murder]] of civilians and committed other atrocities in German-occupied Eastern Europe. It gained a reputation among [[Wehrmacht]] and the Waffen-SS officers for its brutality. It epitomized the "anti-partisan activity on the Eastern front that emerged from the image of the hunt and the animalization of the enemy."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Westermann |first=Edward B. |title=Drunk on Genocide: Alcohol and Mass Murder in Nazi Germany |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5017-5421-0 |pages=79 |language=en}}</ref> The unit continuously committed sadistic acts of violence, torture, rape and murder, and enjoyed plundering wherever they went, even killing each other during looting.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewy |first=Guenter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDoqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=Perpetrators: The World of the Holocaust Killers |date=2017 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-066113-7 |___location=Oxford New York |pages=46}}</ref> Dirlewanger himself often beat and killed his own troops as well, especially when they displeased him.<ref name="Stein2">{{cite book |last=Stein |first=George H |url=https://archive.org/details/waffensshitlers00stei/page/268 |title=The Waffen SS |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=0-8014-9275-0 |pages=268}}</ref>
According to French historian [[Christian Ingrao]], Dirlewanger's unit committed the worst atrocities of the Second World War,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Queer in Europe During the Second World War |publisher=Council of Europe Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=978-92-871-8464-1 |editor-last=Schlagdenhauffen |editor-first=Régis |pages=32 |language=en}}</ref> while the American historian [[Timothy Snyder]] noted they committed more atrocities than any other{{clarify|any other what?|date=July 2025}}.<ref name=":1322">{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Snyder |title=Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Basic Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-465-00239-9 |pages=241 |language=en}}</ref> The unit killed at least 30,000<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bartrop |first1=Paul R. |author-link=Paul R. Bartrop |title=Perpetrating the Holocaust: Leaders, Enablers, and Collaborators |last2=Grimm |first2=Eve E. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4408-5896-3 |pages=75 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kay |first=Alex J. |author-link=Alex J. Kay |title=Empire of Destruction: A History of Nazi Mass Killing |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-300-26253-7 |pages=271 |language=en}}</ref> and possibly over 120,000 civilians in Belarus alone.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Гриневич |first1=Е.М. |url=http://db.narb.by/upload/Tragedyja_vesak1.pdf |title=Трагедия белорусских деревень 1941–1944: Документы и материалы |last2=Денисова |first2=Н.А. |last3=Кириллова |first3=Н.В. |last4=Селеменев |first4=В.Д. |publisher=Фонд «Историческая память» |year=2011 |isbn=9-785-9990-0014-9 |editor-last=Адамушко |editor-first=В.И. |pages=6, 411 |language=ru |trans-title=The Tragedy of Belarusian Villages 1941–1944: Documents and Materials |editor-last2=Баландин |editor-first2=В.В. |editor-last3=Дюков |editor-first3=А.Р. |editor-last4=Зельский |editor-first4=А.Г. |editor-last5=Селеменев |editor-first5=В.Д. |editor-last6=Скалабан |editor-first6=В.В.}}</ref> Several German commanders and officials attempted to remove Dirlewanger from command and to dissolve the unit, but powerful patrons within the Nazi apparatus protected Dirlewanger and intervened on his behalf. Amongst other actions, the unit took part in the [[destruction of Warsaw]] in late 1944 and in the [[Wola massacre]] of more than 50,000 of Warsaw's inhabitants in August 1944 during the [[Warsaw Uprising]] – as well as in the brutal suppression of the [[Slovak National Uprising]] of August to October 1944.
==Oskar Dirlewanger==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S73495, Oskar Dirlewanger.jpg|thumb|Oskar Dirlewanger in 1944|316x316px]]
{{Main|Oskar Dirlewanger}}
The eponymous Dirlewanger Brigade was led by [[World War I]] veteran and [[habitual offender]], Oskar Dirlewanger,<ref name=":1" /> considered{{by whom|date=July 2025}} an amoral violent [[alcoholic]] who was claimed to have possessed a [[Sexual sadism disorder|sadistic sexual fetish]] and a barbaric nature.<ref>{{cite book|first=Knut|last=Stang|date=2004|chapter=Oskar Dirlewanger: Protagonist der Terrorkriegsführung|editor-first=Klaus-Michael|editor-last=Mallmann|title=Karrieren der Gewalt: Nationalsozialistische Täterbiographien|publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|___location=Darmstadt, Germany|language=German|page=77|isbn=3-534-16654-X}}</ref>
After enlisting in the [[Imperial German Army|German Army]] as a machine gunner in 1913, Dirlewanger served in the [[XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps]] rising to the rank of ''[[Leutnant]]'' ([[lieutenant]]) and receiving the [[Iron Cross]] first and second class during WWI. He joined the ''[[Freikorps]]'' and took part in crushing the [[German Revolution of 1918–19]]. After graduating from [[Frankfurt]]'s [[Goethe University]] with a [[doctorate]] in political science in 1922, he worked at a bank and at a knitwear factory.<ref name="Wistrich"/> By 1923, he had joined the [[Nazi Party]]. In 1934, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor with whom he was sexually involved", and for stealing government property. The conviction led to him being expelled from the Nazi Party (but he was permitted to reapply for membership).<ref name="Stein" /> Soon after his release, Dirlewanger was rearrested for [[sexual assault]] and sent to a [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camp]] at [[Welzheim]]. In desperation, he contacted his old WWI comrade [[Gottlob Berger]] who was now a senior Nazi working closely with ''[[Reichsführer-SS]]'' [[Heinrich Himmler]]. Berger used his influence to help Dirlewanger join the [[Condor Legion]], a German unit which fought in the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939).<ref name="Stein" /><ref>{{cite book | last = Maguire | first = Peter H. | title = Law and War: International Law and American History, Revised Edition | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0qM8eRj3SCMC | year = 2013 | publisher = Columbia University Press | ___location = New York, New York | isbn = 978-0-231-51819-2|page =128 }}</ref>
On his return to Germany in 1939, Berger helped Dirlewanger join the ''[[Allgemeine SS]]'' (General SS) with the rank of SS-''[[Obersturmführer]]''. In mid-1940, after the [[invasion of Poland]], Berger arranged for Dirlewanger to command and train a military unit of convicted [[poachers]] for [[Bandenbekämpfung|partisan-hunting]] (''Bandenbekämpfung'').<ref name="Wistrich">{{cite book|last=Wistrich|first=Robert S|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PrYwT3eI3wcC&q=%22Dirlewanger%2C+Oskar+%281895%E2%80%931945%29%22&pg=PA43 |title=Who's Who of Nazi Germany: Dirlewanger, Oskar|publisher= Routledge|page=44|isbn=0-415-26038-8}}</ref><ref name="Stein">{{cite book|last=Stein|first= George H|year=1984|url=https://archive.org/details/waffensshitlers00stei/page/266 |title=The Waffen SS|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|pages= 266–268|isbn=0-8014-9275-0}}</ref>
==Composition==
In March 1940, [[Adolf Hitler]] received a letter from the wife of an [[Alter Kämpfer|Old Fighter]] party member, who revealed that her husband had been arrested and convicted for poaching in one of Germany's national forests. He had been caught hunting without a license or permit, a serious offense. The woman, in her desperate plea, begged Hitler to release her husband. She proposed that he be sent to the frontline to regain his honor, believing that such an act would allow him to redeem himself and restore the honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned by Douglas E. Nash (Ebook) - Read free for 30 days |url=https://www.everand.com/book/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Everand |pages=26–27 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Gottlob Berger]] revealed that the letter was the main basis for the unit's founding during his interrogation by the [[International Military Tribunal]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned by Douglas E. Nash (Ebook) - Read free for 30 days |url=https://www.everand.com/book/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Everand |page=27 |language=en}}</ref> He also stated that:<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned by Douglas E. Nash (Ebook) - Read free for 30 days |url=https://www.everand.com/book/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Everand |page=28 |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>The special Dirlewanger Brigade owes its existence to an order of Adolf Hitler given in 1940 while the campaign in the West was still going on. One day Himmler called me up and told me that Hitler had ordered all men convicted of poaching with firearms who were [currently] in prison were to be collected and formed into a special detachment. That Hitler should have such a somewhat unusual and far-fetched idea at all is due to the following reason: first of all, he himself didn't like hunting and had nothing but scorn for all hunters. Whenever he could ridicule them he did.</blockquote>After considering the request outlined in the letter—and influenced by his own views on poaching—Hitler decided to adopt the concept and transform it into an actual formation.<ref name=":16" /> On 23 March 1940, an advisor in the [[Reich Ministry of Justice|Ministry of Justice]] at the time, [[Franz Gürtner]] received a telephone call from Himmler's adjutant, SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' [[Karl Wolff]] informing them that Hitler had decided to give "suspended sentences to so-called 'honourable poachers' and, depending on their behaviour at the front, to pardon them". A confirmation of Hitler's order was sent specifying that the poachers should, where possible, be Bavarian and Austrian, not be guilty of crimes involving [[Trapping|trap setting]], and were to be enrolled in [[Schützenverein|marksmen's rifle corps]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|pages=98–99|last= Ingrao|first= Christian|title=The SS Dirlewanger Brigade – The History of the Black Hunters|year=2011|publisher= Skyhorse Publishing|isbn=978-1-62087-631-2}}</ref> The men were to combine their knowledge of hunting and [[woodcraft]] similar to traditional [[Jäger (infantry)|''Jäger'']] elite riflemen with the courage and initiative of those who willingly broke the law.
In late May 1940, Dirlewanger was sent to [[Oranienburg]] to take charge of 80 selected men convicted of poaching crimes who were temporarily released from their sentences. After two months of training, 55 men were selected with the rest sent back to prison. On 14 June 1940, the ''Wilddiebkommando Oranienburg'' ("Oranienburg Poacher's Unit") was formed as part of the ''Waffen-SS'' and is subordinated to the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf|SS-Totenkopf]]'s 5th Regiment.<ref name="Stein" /> Himmler made Dirlewanger its commander. The unit was sent to Poland where it was joined by four ''Waffen-SS'' NCOs selected for their previous disciplinary records and twenty other recruits. By September 1940, the formation numbered over 300 men. Dirlewanger was promoted to SS-''[[Obersturmführer]]'' by Himmler. With the influx of criminals, the emphasis on poachers was now lost, though many of the former poachers rose to NCO ranks to train the unit. Those convicted of other crimes, including the criminally insane<ref name="bloodlands242" /> and homosexuals,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Giles |first1=Geoffrey J. |author-link=Geoffrey J. Giles |title=The Routledge History of the Holocaust |date=2010 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-203-83744-3 |chapter=The Persecution of Gay Men and Lesbians During the Third Reich|pages=385–396}}</ref>{{rp|394}} also joined the unit.
From the beginning, the formation attracted criticism from both the Nazi Party and the SS for the idea that convicted criminals who were forbidden to carry arms, therefore then exempt from conscription in the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'', could be a part of the elite SS. A solution was found where it was proclaimed that the formation was not part of the SS, but under the control of the SS.<ref>{{cite book|last=Weale|first=Adrian|isbn=978-0-349-11752-2|title=The SS: A New History|publisher= Hachette UK|year= 2010}}</ref> Accordingly, the unit name was changed to ''Sonderkommando Dirlewanger'' ("Special Unit Dirlewanger"). In January 1942, to rebuild its strength, the unit was authorised to recruit [[Russia]]n and [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] volunteers. By February 1943, the number of men in the battalion doubled to 700 (half of them ''[[Volksdeutsche]]'').<ref name="Stein" /> It became a ''Waffen-SS'' unit again in late 1944. In May 1944, the 550 men (Turkestanis, Volga Tartars, Azerbaijanis, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajiks) from the [[Azerbaijani SS volunteer formations|''Ostmuselmanische SS-Regiment'']] were attached to the Dirlewanger Brigade.<ref>Rolf Michaelis Die SS-Sturmbrigade "Dirlewanger". Vom Warschauer Aufstand bis zum Kessel von Halbe. Band II. 1. Auflage. Verlag Rolf Michaelis, 2003, {{ISBN|3-930849-32-1}}</ref>
Although other ''[[Strafbataillon]]s'' were raised as the war proceeded and the need for further manpower grew, these [[penal military unit]]s were for those convicted of military offences, whereas the recruits sent to the unit were convicted of major crimes such as premeditated murder, rape, arson, and burglary. Dirlewanger provided them with an opportunity to commit atrocities on such a scale that it even raised complaints within the brutal SS.<ref name="Stein" /> Historian [[Martin Windrow]] described them as a "terrifying rabble" of "cut-throats, renegades, sadistic morons, and cashiered rejects from other units".<ref name="Windrow-Mason">{{cite book|last= Windrow, Francis K. Mason|first=Martin|title=The World's Greatest Military Leaders|publisher=Gramercy Books|isbn=978-0-517-16161-6|year= 2000|page=117}}</ref> Some Nazi officials romanticized the unit, viewing the men as "pure primitive German men" who were "resisting the law".<ref name="bloodlands242">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCP6WKJwVr8C&q=%22In+Belarus%2C+Dirlewanger+and+his+hunters+did+engage+partisans.%22&pg=PA242 | title=Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin | publisher=Basic Books | date=2 October 2012 | access-date=28 June 2013 | author=Timothy Snyder | author-link=Timothy Snyder | pages=241–242, 304 | isbn=978-0-465-03147-4 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Operational history==
{{Over-quotation|date=April 2025}}
{{Very long|small=left|date=April 2025}}
During the organization's time in the Soviet Union, the unit burned women and children alive, let packs of starved dogs feed on them, and injected Jewish women with [[strychnine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Basic Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-465-00239-9 |edition= |___location=New York |pages=246}}</ref><ref>Grunberger, Richard. ''The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933–1945''. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971; pp. 114–115.</ref> Transcripts of the [[Nuremberg trials]] show Soviet prosecutors frequently questioning defendants accused of war crimes on the Eastern Front about their knowledge of the Dirlewanger Brigade. [[Heinrich Himmler]] noted the brutality of ''Dirlewanger'', noting that "The tone in the regiment is, I may say, in many cases a medieval one with cudgels and such things. If anyone expresses doubts about winning the war he is likely to fall dead from the table."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maguire |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qM8eRj3SCMC&dq=Oskar+Dirlewanger&pg=PA128 |title=Law and War: International Law and American History |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780231146463 |pages=128 |language=en}}</ref>
The deputy commander, [[Kurt Weisse]], has been described as the soldier in ''Dirlewanger'' that came closest to matching Dirlewanger in "brutality, cruelty, and outright sadism", and if "there was anyone in the unit who matched the classic profile of a [[Psychopathy|psychopath]], it was he."<ref name=":152">{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=kurt+weisse+psychopath+Dirlewanger&pg=PA39 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-63624-211-8 |___location=Havertown, PA |pages=39 |language=en |oclc=on1346537306}}</ref>
Peter Buchner, who had been a part of the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]] noted the brutality of Dirlewanger and his men, stating:<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Heath |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MwetEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |title=Sex Under the Swastika: Erotica, Scandal and the Occult in Hitler's Third Reich |date=2023 |publisher=Pen and Sword History |isbn=978-1-5267-9145-0 |pages=85 |language=en}}</ref>{{blockquote|Dirlewanger, yes, he was definitely one of those mental cases, a man not at all sound of mind, quite insane in many respects. He was a man you could quite easily imagine standing at the edge of a mass burial pit, full of fresh corpses, masturbating over them. He enjoyed killing; to most of us soldiers killing was a job, a task we were expected to carry out in the course of our duty, to engage other soldiers in battle. We didn't revel in it like he did; he enjoyed the act of killing and almost all of those under his command were the same, they were a division of psychopaths who enjoyed raping men and women, girls and boys and even the elderly were not spared their sexual perversion, and when they had their fun, they then went on a rampage of murder and bingeing on alcohol.}}
Buchner further noted that Dirlewanger accepted practically any task given to them, ones that even the most battle-hardened soldiers could not do:{{blockquote|They were a law unto themselves and often given the worst tasks, because Dirlewanger was crazy enough to do anything he was ordered to do, without any hesitation or question – he would just go and do it. Hitler liked him for that reason. In Hitler's view Dirlewanger could do the jobs that even the most battle- hardened soldiers could not bring themselves to do.}}He ended his remembrance of the division by citing a story from a comrade of his that he had witnessed ''Dirlewanger'' men doing:{{blockquote|A shocked comrade told me they once raped a woman before wrapping her in barbed wire and roasting her alive over a fire, like a hog on a spit.}}
===Poland===
On 1 August 1940, the unit was formally transferred to the 5. SS-Totenkopf Regiment. One month later, the unit was retitled to ''Sonderkommando Dirlewanger.''<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Everand |page=35 |language=en}}</ref> On 1 September 1940, they were informed that they would not be sent to any frontlines but instead assigned to guard duties in the region of [[Lublin]] (site of a Nazi-established "Jew reservation" established under the [[Nisko Plan]]) in the [[General Government]] territory of [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied Poland]].<ref name="Stein" /><ref name=":8" /> The unit was reinforced with hundred of additional volunteers from Sachsenhausen which contained mixture of poachers, SS men or both element.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944?mode=standard#__search-menu_999783 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Everand |page=36 |language=en}}</ref> In September 1940, the unit now with the strength of approximately 280-300 men began their movement from Sachsenhausen to [[Lublin]] by railway take around 10–14 hours<ref name=":9" /> Upon arrival, the unit was subordinated to SS-''[[Brigadeführer]]'' [[Odilo Globocnik]], who served as the ''[[Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer]]-Ost's'' representative for Lublin. Even thought they received additional training, they were tasked with guarding the ghetto in Lublin, where they often abused the population.<ref name=":9" />
According to the historian, Matthew Cooper, "wherever the Dirlewanger unit operated, corruption and rape formed an every-day part of life and indiscriminate slaughter, beatings and [[looting]] were rife".<ref>{{cite book|first=Matthew|last= Cooper|title=The Nazi War Against Soviet Partisans, 1941–1944|page= 88}}</ref> Even within the brutal regime of the General Government concerns were raised about the unit's conduct. (HSSPF) [[Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger]] eventually demanded the quick removal of the unit from his territory or he would have the men arrested.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=wilhelm+kr%C3%BCger+criminals+dirlewanger+arrest&pg=PA9 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |publisher=Casemate |year=2023 |isbn=9781636242125 |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref>
The unit's crimes continued when it returned to Poland to help suppress the [[Warsaw Uprising]] in 1944. Crimes included the mass rape and murder of 15 Red Cross nurses and the killing of thousands of civilians. After troops entered a makeshift military hospital, they first killed the wounded with bayonets and rifle butts before gang-raping the women. The naked bleeding nurses were then taken outside, hanged by their feet and shot in their stomachs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/history-of-war/oskar-dirlewanger-the-ss-butcher-of-warsaw/|title=Oskar Dirlewanger: The SS Butcher of Warsaw|website=www.historyanswers.co.uk|date=16 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Overy |first=R. J. |title=Blood and ruins: the great imperial war, 1931-1945 |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-7139-9562-6 |___location=[London] UK |page=809 |oclc=1267476841}}</ref> The unit would carry out atrocities during the [[Wola massacre]] in which more than 40,000 Polish civilians were killed in reprisal on the orders of Himmler.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Windrow |first1=Martin |first2=Francis K. |last2=Mason|title=The World's Greatest Military Leaders| page=117| publisher=Gramercy | year=2000| isbn=0-517-16161-3}}</ref>
===Belarus===
The territory of the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (modern [[Belarus]]) was occupied in 1941 and formed part of ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]''. In this region, ''Dirlewanger'' came under the command of local HSSPF [[Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski]]. ''Dirlewanger'' gained the reputation of "exceeding all others", even amongst the SS, in "brutality and depravity".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richie |first=Alexandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_RoKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 |title=Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-374-28655-2 |pages=49 |language=en}}</ref> The unit resumed its so- called anti-partisan activities (''[[Bandenbekämpfung]]''). Dirlewanger's preferred method of operation was to gather civilians in a barn, set it on fire, and shoot at anyone who tried to escape; the victims of his unit numbered about 30,000.<ref name="bloodlands242"/> Some estimate around 200 villages were destroyed and around 120,000 were killed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tyson |first=Joseph Howard |title=The Surreal Reich |publisher=iUniverse |year=2010 |pages=434–436 |language=en}}</ref> Dirlewanger also had another tactic to determine which village would be targeted next. He would fly a light reconnaissance plane over any village suspected of harboring partisans. If the plane was hit by gunfire, he would mark the village's ___location on the map. Later, he would return to the ground and lead an attack, setting the targeted village on fire and killing all its inhabitants as usual.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater&q=By+August+7 |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=73}}</ref>
==
Not long after their arrival in Belarus, they soon found themselves in action. From 2 to 10 March 1942, the unit encountered a strong band of partisans northeast of [[Asipovichy|Osipovichi]]. They managed to rout the partisans and capture a large stockpile of weapons. On 12 March 1942, they were attacked once again but successfully defeated a large group of partisans near [[Cherykaw|Tscherwakow]]. They were later attacked by a larger group of partisans at [[Klichaw|Klicev]]. Dirlewanger then initiated an operation in the forest area southwest of [[Mogilev region|Mogilev]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater&q=By+August+7 |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=70}}</ref>
In April, the unit fell under the command of [[Police Regiment Centre|Police Regiment "Mitte"]] led by ''[[Oberst]] der [[Schutzpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Schutzpolizei]]'' Leo von Braunschweig. They were tasked with clearing the area near the [[Drut (river)|Drut]] and [[Berezina|Beresina]] Rivers. On 2 April 1942, along with Police Battalions 32 and 307, was sent to the northern area of the road connecting Mogilev and Bobrujsk for local anti-partisan operation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater&q=By+August+7 |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=70–71}}</ref> They launched an assault on the villages of Selleri and Lushiza, pushing the partisans into the treacherous swamplands north of Batsevichi.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/page/73/mode/1up?q=Dirlewanger&view=theater |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=71}}</ref>
Dirlewanger and his men had a little success in searching for partisan activity for the first ten days of May. Eventually, two days later, they burnt the village of Sucha under a suspicion of assisting the partisan.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=http://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=73–102}}</ref> On 24 May 1942, Dirlewanger was awarded the [[Clasp to the Iron Cross|Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class]]. On 28 May 1942, Dirlewanger was notified that a Ukrainian platoon with the strength of 60 men would be reporting to Dirlewanger's ''Sonderkommando''. From 29 May to 31 May 1942, They conducted a local partisan sweep. They burnt two villages and shot five partisans near Raswada.<ref name=":10" /> On early June 1942, They defeated a large group of partisan between the area of [[Orsha]] and Bastocholi. They would returned to Orsha and fought against a band of partisans. On 16 May 1942, Dirlewanger conducted a "punishment expedition" after receiving a report of the death of 17 German police officials, ambushed by partisans. The unit spent the rest of the month fighting in Orsha.<ref name=":10" />
At the beginning of July 1942, the ''Sonderkommando'' took part in an operation with the Wehrmacht in the district of [[Klichaw|Klicev]]. A battle occurred in the area of Wojenitschi and they successfully destroyed a partisan group. On 9 July 1942, Dirlewanger was wounded and would leave the unit and fly to Berlin on 19 July 1942. He eventually was awarded the [[Wound Badge|Wound badge in Gold]] on 12 July 1942. As a result of the battle, Dirlewanger lost a single soldier and six others were wounded.<ref name=":10" /> From 1 July to 12 August 1942, the unit took part in the [[Operation Adler]], an anti partisan sweep against a partisan group with a strength of up to five thousand partisans in the area of [[Babruysk]] district.
==== 1943 ====
On 26 January 1943, A proposal by Dirlewanger for the battalion's special collar insignia was approved by Himmler. This insignia silver-grey machine-embroidered crossed rifles above a horizontal stick grenade on black wool. The criteria for receiving this insignia were limited to those who had completed their rehabilitation sentence. Members such as Herbert Meyer were issued the insignia after being found rehabilitated. Officers in the battalion were not required to wear the insignia, as it was exclusive to enlisted men.
In March 1943, together with the [[Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118|''Schutzmannschaft'' Battalion 118]], carried out operations against partisans and civilians in the [[Smalyavichy District|Smalyavichy]] and [[Lahoysk District|Lahoysk]] districts.<ref>{{cite web | title=Так убивали людей | website=sb.by | date=2014-12-18 | url=http://www.sb.by/post/86662/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221072641/http://www.sb.by/post/86662/ | archive-date=2014-02-21 | url-status=dead | language=ru | access-date=2024-05-07}}</ref> On 22 March 1943, after receiving an alarm signal from the 1st Company of ''Schutzmannschaft'' Battalion 118, the Battalion's 1st Company was sent to reinforced the recently ambushed Platoons of the Battalion 118. Together, they made an offensive operation against the partisan that had ambushed the 1st Company's convoy. They entered and attacked [[Khatyn]]. The partisan who had taken shelter in the village turned the whole place into a defensive position. Due to strong resistance by the partisans, Dirlewanger's men used their mortars and heavy guns to suppress further resistance. As a result, 34 partisans were killed and the whole population of Khatyn was herded into a shed where they were burnt alive by the ''Schutzmannschaft'' Battalion 118's men with the assistance of Dirlewanger's troops.
[[Operation Cottbus]] began on 20 May 1943 as part of the German effort to suppress partisan activity in the [[Vitebsk region]]. The operation involved [[Ordnungspolizei|Police]], SS, and collaborationist units operating under the command of the [[Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski|''Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer'' (HSSPF) ''Russland-Mitte und Weißruthenien'']]. Among the participating forces was ''SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger''. On 28 May 1943, Dirlewanger and his unit took part in the operation and advanced toward a heavily fortified position at Hill 119.1, located 5 km west of Paliksee.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/page/140/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Dirlewanger |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=140}}</ref>
The operation was one of the largest anti-partisan campaigns conducted by the Germans in Belarus. At least 20,000 victims were killed, while German losses remained minimal, with fewer than 60 soldiers killed in action. Not everyone was impressed with Dirlewanger's actions. A civilian propaganda officer who toured the Operation Cottbus area reported witnessing horrific scenes—some partisans had been burned alive, and their charred remains were being eaten by roaming pigs.<ref name="MacLean 1998 141">{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/page/141/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Dirlewanger |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=141}}</ref> [[Wilhelm Kube]], the ''Generalkommissar of Generalbezirk Weißruthenien'', protested Dirlewanger's actions, raising his concerns through [[Alfred Rosenberg]] to Himmler. In response, Gottlob Berger dismissed the accusations as nonsense, insisting that Dirlewanger's battalion was not as described.<ref name="MacLean 1998 141"/>
In a post-war testimony, an anonymous member of the ''SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger'' recalled what he witnessed during an anti-partisan operation in Belarus:<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Hermann |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=133–134}}</ref><blockquote>During a march — and we had driven 200 km close to Smolensk — the villages were encircled. Nobody was allowed to leave or enter. The fields were searched and the people were sent back to the village. The next morning around 6:00 AM. all these people — it was a larger village with approximately 2,500 people — children, women, the elderly were pushed into four or five barns. Then Dirlewanger appeared with 10 men, officers, etc. and said: "Shoot them all immediately." In front of the barn, he positioned four SD-men with machine pistols. The barn was opened and Dirlewanger said, "Fire freely." Then there was indiscriminate shooting into the crowd of humans with the machine pistols, without distinction whether children, women, etc. were hit. It was a most horrendous action. The magazines were taken out, new ones were inserted. Then new aiming started. After that, the barn was closed again. The SD-men removed straw from the roofs and set the barns on fire. This was the most horrible spectacle which I have ever seen in my life. The barns were burning brightly. Nobody could escape until the barns fell down. Meanwhile, Dirlewanger and his staff positioned themselves with the Russian rapid fire guns about 50 meters away from the barn. Then from the barns some lightly wounded, some heavily wounded and others who had not yet been hit stormed out, burning all over their bodies. Now these bastards shot these people who tried to escape, with Dirlewanger in front, until there was nobody left. I have witnessed this example which I have described in at least four or five other cases. Each of these villages was leveled down to the ground.</blockquote>According to historian [[Timothy Snyder]]:
{{blockquote|As it inflicted its first fifteen thousand mortal casualties, the Special Commando Dirlewanger lost only ninety-two men—many of them, no doubt, to friendly fire and alcoholic accidents. A ratio such as that was possible only when the victims were unarmed civilians.<ref name="bloodlands242" />}}
In September 1942, the unit murdered 8,350 Jews in [[Baranovichi]] ghetto and then a further 389 people labelled "bandits" and 1,274 "bandit suspects".<ref name="bloodlands242" /> According to the historian, [[Martin Kitchen]], the unit "committed such shocking atrocities in the Soviet Union, in the pursuit of partisans, that even an SS court was called upon to investigate".<ref>Martin Kitchen, ''The Third Reich: Charisma and Community'', p. 267</ref> A witness reported ''Dirlewanger'' men roasting captured partisans alive and then throwing their bodies to a herd of hungry pigs.<ref name=":2" /> Women were raped and then kept as "sexual cattle", in which they would be traded amongst the men for "two bottles of vodka", with even children being raped and tortured to death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodak |first=Wojciech |date=2019-08-01 |title=Oskar Dirlewanger i SS Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger. Dirlewangerowcy - potwory na ulicach Warszawy 1944 [POWSTANIE WARSZAWSKIE] |url=https://i.pl/oskar-dirlewanger-i-ss-sturmbrigade-dirlewanger-dirlewangerowcy-potwory-na-ulicach-warszawy-1944-powstanie-warszawskie/ar/c15-12956342 |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=i.pl |language=pl}}</ref>
On 10 August 1943, the expansion of the battalion to regimental size was authorized by ''[[SS Führungshauptamt]]'' under [[Hans Jüttner]]. However, the order faced delays due to a shortage of soldiers to fill the newly planned regiment and a lack of weapons to equip them. To overcome this problem, Dirlewanger armed his troops with captured Soviet weapons stocks. The actual expansion of the unit into a regiment did not begin until May 1944, when two battalions were formed from the original 1st company and 2nd company. The formation of a third battalion was delayed due to a shortage of men and did not occur until August 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |pages=52–53 |language=en}}</ref> Recruits were to come from criminals, Eastern volunteers (''[[Osttruppen]]''), and military delinquents. On 19 February 1944, permission to take volunteers from concentration camps was granted by Himmler in order to fill the battalion before it could be expanded to a regiment. Over 700 men signed up as volunteers for the battalion, and most of them arrived in June 1944. Additionally, the battalion included 300 [[anti-communists]] from Soviet territory. In November 1943, the battalion went into action with [[Army Group Centre]] to halt the Soviet advance, and suffered extreme casualties due to ineptitude.
On late November, Dirlewanger was sent home to Germany in [[Esslingen am Neckar]] to recover from his 11th wound after a recent battle, where a bullet grazed across his right arm and chest. While Dirlewanger was absent, the battalion's adjutant, SS-''[[Hauptsturmführer]]'' Erwin Walser, took the position of acting battalion commander, while SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt Weisse assumed the role of adjutant, which he held until the end of the war. Dirlewanger received the [[German Cross]] in gold on 5 December 1943 in recognition of his earnestness, but by 30 December 1943, the unit consisted of only 259 men.
==== 1944 ====
In January 1944, Dirlewanger came back to Belarus to take the command back and put Walser in the position of Personnel Officer. Large numbers of amnestied criminals were sent to rebuild the battalion and by late February 1944, the battalion was back to full strength. It was decided that Eastern volunteers would no longer be admitted to the unit, as the Russians had proven to be particularly unreliable in combat. Until 24 April 1944, their communications relied on the attached Wehrmacht units available. This changed when a 16-man platoon was transferred to the regiment from the SS-administered [[Postschutz]] in Berlin. None of these transferred troops had a criminal record nor were assigned any probationary tasks.
On 26 June 1944, an attachment of German ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' artillerymen led by ''[[Hauptmann]] der [[Schutzpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Schutzpolizei]]'' Josef Steinhauer was assigned to the second battalion. Steinhauer was later appointed by Dirlewanger as the second battalion's commander.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |page=53 |language=en}}</ref> In March 1944, ''Hauptmann der Schutzpolizei'' Herbert Meyer volunteered to serve in the battalion and was assigned as the commander of the first company. Meyer had been convicted of petty theft and embezzlement in November 1942 and was sent to the Danzig-Matzkau prison. He later served as the commander of the first battalion in Warsaw in August 1944 and remained in this position until the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |page=57 |language=en}}</ref>
On 30 June 1944, the regiment reported a total strength of 17 officers and 954 men, including non-commissioned officers. This strength does not included the 769 upcoming volunteers from several concentration camps that would be sent to the ''SS-Ersatzkompanie Dirlewanger'' stationed in Minsk.
Anti-partisan operations continued until June 1944, when the Soviets launched [[Operation Bagration]], which was aimed at the destruction of the Army Group Centre. The unit was caught up in the retreat and began falling back to the town of [[Lida]]. Under the Kampfgruppe von Gottberg, the unit held their position against the Soviet so that the remaining retreating Germans have the time to fall back to safety.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> The regiment sustained heavy casualties during several [[rearguard]] actions and were detached from ''Kampfgruppe von Gottberg'' on 20 July 1944. At the same time, they were sent to East Prussia for reconstitution at the Arys training center in the town of [[Ełk|Lyck]]. The ''Sonderregiment'' arrived on 21 July 1944 and used their time to re-organised its regiment and received replacement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |pages=66–68 |language=en}}</ref> In late July 1944, Dirlewanger left the regiment and flew to Berlin to lobby Gottlob Berger for more troops and equipment. The command of the regiment was given temporarily to SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt Weisse. The command was returned to Dirlewanger when he flew back from Germany in August 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Everand |pages=69 |language=en}}</ref>
===Return to Poland===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R97906 Warschauer Aufstand, Straßenkampf, SS.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Members of the 2nd Battalion "Kampfgruppe Steinhauer" SS-Sonderregiment "Dirlewanger" in [[Śródmieście, Warsaw|central Warsaw]] in 1944.]]
[[File:Victims of Wola Massacre.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Polish civilians murdered in the [[Wola massacre]] in Warsaw, August 1944]]
[[File:Polish civilians murdered by German-SS-troops in Warsaw Uprising Warsaw August 1944.jpg|thumb|Photograph depicting Polish civilians murdered by SS forces during the [[Warsaw Uprising]] in the Wola district, August 1944]]
When the ''[[Armia Krajowa]]'' began the [[Warsaw Uprising]] on 1 August 1944, SS-Sonderregiment ''Dirlewanger'' was sent into action under the command of SS-''[[Sturmbannführer]]'' Kurt Weisse, as part of the ''[[Kampfgruppe]]'' formation led by SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' [[Heinz Reinefarth]]; once again serving alongside Bronislav Kaminski's militia (now named [[Russian People's Liberation Army|Waffen-''Sturmbrigade RONA'']]).<ref name="August 1944">Marcus Wendel (24 December 2010), [http://www.axishistory.com/component/content/article/119-germany-waffen-ss/germany-waffen-ss-divisions/1318-29-waffen-grenadier-division-der-ss-russische-nr-1?highlight=WyJyb25hIl0= 29. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (russische Nr. 1)] Axis History. Retrieved 30 June 2013.</ref>
On 3 August 1944, the regiment was informed to form a battalion-sized ''Kampfgruppen'' to support the suppression of the uprising. The first ''Kampfgruppe'' was formed out of the 1st Battalion and was named ''Kampfgruppe'' Meyer, with a strength of 356 men (excluding additional support troops). It was commanded by SS-''[[Obersturmführer]]'' Herbert Meyer, who had now been fully rehabilitated. The second ''Kampfgruppe'' was formed from the regiment's 2nd Battalion and was named ''Kampfgruppe'' Steinhauer, led by ''Hauptmann der Schupo'' Josef Steinhauer, with a strength of 350 men. They arrived on 6 August 1944, and both ''Kampfgruppen'' were placed under the command of Reinefarth.<ref name=":3" /> On 4 August 1944, ''Kampfgruppe'' Meyer departed for Warsaw by truck and arrived that night at the western outskirts of the city and stayed at Bernerowo Airfield. On the same day, Dirlewanger received a telegram directly from ''Reichsführer-SS'' Himmler which read:<blockquote>Although I am very satisfied with your actions, as I recently told you personally, I must express my dissatisfaction that, despite the instruction to proceed immediately to your regiment by airplane — which had been prepared for you — you still wasted time in Berlin. I am accustomed to quick and immediate obedience.</blockquote>Dirlewanger then traveled to East Prussia by car and reunited with a portion of his regiment, which had prepared to depart for Warsaw. Without further hesitation, Dirlewanger sought additional soldiers and equipment to reinforce his unit. This included attempts to gather men from military prisons and SS penal camps in locations such as Glatz ([[Kłodzko]]), [[Anklam]], [[Torgau]], [[Gdańsk|Danzig]]-Matzkau, and [[Dachau]], where Dirlewanger received an additional 2,400 men on September 24, 1944.
On 5 August 1944, under the leadership of Weisse, ''Kampfgruppe'' Meyer began their assault on the [[Wola]] district, advancing along the Litzmannstadt-Strasse, while the Posen Police Group advanced north of the street. The assault was delayed and continued into the night due to the street being heavily defended.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=127–128}}</ref>
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-696-0426-22, Warschauer Aufstand, Einmarsch von Waffen-SS.jpg|thumb|271x271px|Recently arrived troops from II. Battalion, 'Kampfgruppe Steinhauer,' that arrived on 7 August 1944. Note the lack of helmet usage, which was a common practice among Dirlewanger's troops.]]
On 6 August 1944, ''Kampfgruppe'' Steinhauer arrived in Warsaw and, along with ''Kampfgruppe'' Meyer, immediately began their attack to reach the [[Brühl Palace, Warsaw|Brühl Palace]].They eventually had advanced through Chlodna and Elektoralna streets.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=182}}</ref> On the evening of 7 August 1944, after receiving orders from Himmler to return to his regiment, Dirlewanger flew back from Germany and united the two ''Kampfgruppen'' to form ''Kampfgruppe'' Dirlewanger. By August 7 Dirlewanger had occupied the [[Saxon Garden]]s and had linked with other German troops on the [[Kierbedź Bridge|Kierbedzia Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=183}}</ref> The next day, they reached the palace and also captured the [[Theatre Square (Warsaw)|Theatre Square]]. During the assault, several [[Wola hospitals during the Warsaw Uprising|hospitals]] were burned down, except for [[Wola hospitals during the Warsaw Uprising|St. Stanisław Hospital]], which was later used as the regiment's headquarters.<ref name=":5" />
On 8 August 1944, SS-''[[Untersturmführer]]'' Max Schreiner, an experienced member of the regiment, led a group of troops in an assault on the [[Old Town Market Place, Warsaw|Market Hall]]. This decisive action led to the complete defeat of the retreating Polish insurgents. Schreiner's assault played a crucial role in the immediate capture of the Brühl Palace.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater&q=8+August |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=185–186}}</ref>
When most of its units—including headquarters, the heavy machine-gun company, heavy mortar company, and antitank gun platoon—finally arrived in Warsaw, the ''Sonderregiment'' submitted its first combat strength report on 8 August. It recorded 881 men present for duty, including 16 officers. This was three days after ''Kampfgruppe'' Meyer had begun fighting. After retaking the Brühl Palace and rescuing Warsaw battle commander ''[[Generalleutnant]]'' [[Reiner Stahel]], the regiment regrouped that evening as ''Kampfgruppe'' Dirlewanger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944?mode=standard#__search-menu_999783 |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Everand |page=71 |language=en}}</ref>
''Dirlewanger'', with the ''Waffen-Sturm-Brigade RONA'', are notorious for being the two units which committed the worst crimes during the Warsaw Uprising.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Lukas |first=Richard C. |url=https://archive.org/details/forgottenholocau0000luka/page/199 |title=Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation 1939–1944 |date=1986 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-1566-3 |pages=199}}</ref> ''Dirlewanger'' had a reputation for burying women and children alive.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sangster |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EnSFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |title=Göbbels, Himmler and Göring: The Unholy Trinity |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=9781527526402 |pages=271}}</ref> A witness reported "drunken soldiers practicing [[Caesarean section]]s with bayonets".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brzezinski |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Brzezinski |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbRTAkG44GgC&pg=PA350 |title=Isaac's Army: A Story of Courage and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland |publisher=[[Random House]] |year=2012 |isbn=9780679645306 |pages=350}}</ref>
During the massacres, ''Dirlewanger'' was notorious for plundering, with it being noted that:
{{blockquote|The desire to plunder . . . so great that they cut off fingers with a single blow, on which they noticed rings, so as not to waste time, they took out gold teeth with bayonets, and while plundering, out of greed, they killed each other.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Grochot |first=Arkadiusz |date=2019-06-21 |title=Bestie w ludzkiej skórze. To oni dopuścili się najpotworniejszych zbrodni w czasie powstania warszawskiego |url=https://ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl/2019/06/21/dirlewangerowcy-to-oni-dopuscili-sie-najpotworniejszych-zbrodni-w-czasie-powstania-warszawskiego/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=CiekawostkiHistoryczne.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref>}}
In what became known as the [[Wola massacre]], ''Dirlewanger'' personnel, along with police units under command of [[Heinz Reinefarth]], massacred [[Sub-district III of Wola (of Armia Krajowa)|Polish combatants]] along with civilian men, women and children, in the [[Wola|Wola District]] of [[Warsaw]]. However, the role of ''Dirlewanger'' in the Wola massacre itself may have been limited in the beginning days, and Dirlewanger may not have arrived himself until the 7th of August.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuberski |first=Hubert |date=2021-05-09 |title=Walki SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger o Wolę a egzekucje zbiorowe ludności cywilnej |journal=Dzieje Najnowsze |language=pl |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=137–176 |doi=10.12775/DN.2021.1.06 |issn=2451-1323|doi-access=free }}</ref> Up to 40,000 civilians were murdered in Wola in less than two weeks of August, including all hospital patients and staff.<ref name="Nowak/Kuźniak">{{cite web | url=http://analizyrynkowe.cal.pl/pliki_rozne/Moj_warszawski_szal.pdf | title=Mójwarszawski szał. Druga strona Powstania (My Warsaw madness. The other side of the Uprising) | publisher=Gazeta.pl | date=23 August 2004 | access-date=30 June 2013 | author=WŁodzimierz Nowak, Angelika Kuźniak | pages=5 of 8 | format=PDF file, direct download 171 KB | archive-date=27 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627070523/http://analizyrynkowe.cal.pl/pliki_rozne/Moj_warszawski_szal.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Dryszel">{{cite web | url=http://www.przeglad-tygodnik.pl/pl/artykul/masakra-woli | title=Masakra Woli (The Wola Massacre) | publisher=Tygodnik PRZEGLĄD weekly | website=Issue 31/2011. Archiwum | year=2011 | access-date=30 June 2013 | author=Andrzej Dryszel | archive-date=15 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915063434/http://www.przeglad-tygodnik.pl/pl/artykul/masakra-woli }}</ref> According to the historian [[Alex J. Kay]], ''Dirlewanger'' murdered some 12,500 people on 5 August.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kay |first=Alex J. |author-link=Alex J. Kay |title=Empire of Destruction: A History of Nazi Mass Killing |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-300-26253-7 |pages=276 |language=en}}</ref> ''Dirlewanger'' "burned prisoners alive with gasoline, impaled babies on bayonets and stuck them out of windows and hung women upside down from balconies".<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit |date=1998 |publisher=Schiffer Military History |isbn=978-0764304835 |pages=177 |language=en}}</ref> Polish nurses were repeatedly raped, and in some instances, hand grenades were inserted into their vaginas and detonated, while other times a "shouting and flute concerto" followed with the driving of women to the gallows.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brewing |first=Daniel |title=In the Shadow of Auschwitz: German Massacres Against Polish Civilians, 1939–1945 |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-80073-089-2 |pages=266 |language=en}}</ref>
Many otherwise unknown crimes committed by the unit at Wola were later revealed by Mathias Schenck, a Belgian national who was serving in the area as a German Army [[sapper]]. Regarding an incident in which hundreds of Polish children were murdered, Schenck stated:
{{blockquote|We blew up the doors, I think of a school. Children were standing in the hall and on the stairs. Lots of children. All with their small hands up. We looked at them for a few moments until Dirlewanger ran in. He ordered to kill them all. They shot them and then they were walking over their bodies and breaking their little heads with butt ends. Blood and brain matter streamed down the stairs. There is a memorial plaque in that place stating that 350 children were killed. I think there were many more, maybe 500.<ref name="Schenk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm|title=Warsaw Uprising: My Warsaw Madness|website=www.warsawuprising.com|access-date=22 December 2007|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821070515/http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm}}</ref> }}
Schenck noted the often mass rape of female civilians in cellars and basement, and noted an incident where the men of the brigade raided a cellar and noted the brutal death of a Polish girl:
{{blockquote|Every time, when we stormed the cellars and women were inside the Dirlewanger soldiers raped them. Many times a group raped the same woman, quickly, still holding weapons in their hands. Then after one of the fights, I was standing shaking by the wall and couldn't calm my nerves. Dirlewanger soldiers burst in. One of them took a woman. She was pretty. She wasn't screaming. Then he was raping her, pushing her head strongly against the table, holding a bayonet in the other hand. First he cut open her blouse. Then one cut from stomach to throat. Blood gushed.<ref name="Schenk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm|title=Warsaw Uprising: My Warsaw Madness|website=www.warsawuprising.com|access-date=22 December 2007|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821070515/http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm}}</ref>}}The regiment arrived in Warsaw with only 865 enlisted personnel and 16 officers but it soon received 2,500 replacements. These included 1,900 German convicts from the SS military camp at Danzig-Matzkau. Extremely high casualties were inflicted on the unit during fighting in Warsaw by the Polish resistance.<ref name="HEART">Mats Olson, Chris Webb, & Carmelo Lisciotto, [http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/einsatz/dirlewanger.html Oskar Dirlewanger] Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. Retrieved 30 June 2013.</ref> During the course of the two-month [[urban warfare]] Dirlewanger's regiment lost 2,733 men, 315% of the unit's initial strength.<ref name="Williamson">Gordon Williamson, Stephen Andrew (20 March 2012), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iLBgcEfMDWQC&dq=SS-Sturmbrigade+%22Dirlewanger%22&pg=PA36 The Waffen-SS: 24. to 38. Divisions, & Volunteer Legions]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}'' Osprey Publishing 2004, pp. 16, 36. {{ISBN|1-78096-577-X}}.</ref> While some of the regiment's actions were criticized by Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski (who after the war described them as "a herd of pigs") and the sector commander, ''[[Generalmajor]]'' [[Günter Rohr]], Dirlewanger was promoted to SS-''[[Oberführer|Oberführer der Reserve]]'' on 12 August 1944 and was recommended for the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]] on 30 September 1944 by Reinefarth.<ref>Andrew Borowiec, ''Destroy Warsaw!: Hitler's Punishment, Stalin's Revenge'', p. 101</ref> He actually received the medal on 16 October 1944 at a reception hall of the [[Wawel Castle|Wawel Royal Castle]] in Krakow and it was presented by [[Hans Frank]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/page/201 |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit |date=1998 |publisher=Schiffer Military History |isbn=978-0764304835 |pages=201 |language=en}}</ref> In gratitude for the presentation of the award, Dirlewanger wrote to Hitler's SS Adjutant, ''Hauptsturmführer'' [[Otto Günsche]], three weeks later and told him:
{{Blockquote|text=[Y]ou know as well as I do that I received this high award for the soldierly
achievements of my regiment, among other things. With this, the last unwelcome voices from "higher places" about my unit should have faded away! My men have achieved superhuman things in this fight to the death and destruction and have earned themselves a place in the honor book of the German soldier by their sweat, blood, and heroic sacrificial commitment!}}
During one fierce fight on 6 August 1944, Dirlewanger's men used civilians as body shields:
{{blockquote|Dirlewanger's men spread out along the square and with armor support, rooted out several insurgent positions. Then the Sonderkommando attempted to advance further using a shield of Polish women and children in front of them — but the Poles fired anyway and drove the Germans back.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit |date=1998 |publisher=Schiffer Military History |isbn=978-0764304835 |pages=182 |language=en}}</ref>}}
By 3 October 1944, the remaining Polish insurgents had surrendered and the remnants of the regiment spent the next month guarding the line along the [[Vistula]]. During this time, the regiment was unofficially referred as a "brigade" in the message traffic.
The journalist and history writer [[Nigel Cawthorne]] noted how ''Dirlewanger'' committed worse atrocities than the Kaminski Brigade, and how they enjoyed committing them:
{{blockquote|Encouraged by their commander SS-''Oberführer'' Oskar Dirlewanger, who told them to take no prisoners, the Dirlewanger troops looted, gang-raped women and children, played 'bayonet catch' with live babies and tortured captives by hacking off their arms, dousing them with petrol and setting them alight to run flaming down the street. The soldiers' behaviour was so bad that even Himmler became alarmed. He ordered a battalion of SS military policemen to stand by, in case the Dirlewanger troops turned on their own leaders or on nearby German units.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cawthorne |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Cawthorne |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofsshitlers0000cawt |title=The Story of the SS: Hitler's Infamous Legions of Death |publisher=Chartwell Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7858-2714-6 |___location=New York |pages=180 |language=en}}</ref>}}
===Slovakia===
The regiment played a large part in putting down the rebellion by 30 October.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=wilhelm+kr%C3%BCger+criminals+dirlewanger+arrest&pg=PA9 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023-10-15 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-63624-212-5 |pages=48 |language=en}}</ref> The unit was still considered understrength even after grown into a four-battalion force, prompting Dirlewanger to seek additional manpower.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=200}}</ref> Before their departure from Warsaw, the strength of the unit was approximately less than 4500 men after receiving the nearly 2000 probationary troops from Wehrmacht prison, detention facilities and punishment cells.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=wilhelm+kr%C3%BCger+criminals+dirlewanger+arrest&pg=PA9 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023-10-15 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-63624-212-5 |page=33 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=wilhelm+kr%C3%BCger+criminals+dirlewanger+arrest&pg=PA9 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023-10-15 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-63624-212-5 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref>
On 7 October, Dirlewanger toured several concentration camps in search of recruits for his understrength unit. During his visit to the [[Flossenbürg concentration camp|Flossenbürg Concentration Camp]], he met with the camp's commandant, SS-''[[Sturmbannführer]]'' Egon Zill. Zill proposed an idea to Dirlewanger: to recruit [[Holocaust victim|Communist and Socialist prisoners]] into his ranks.<ref name=":6" /> SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' [[Richard Glücks|Richard Glück]] and SS-''[[Standartenführer]]'' [[Hermann Pister]] also had advised Dirlewanger to try form a unit consisting of former political opponent of the Nazi Party. Dirlewanger wrote a letter to Himmler, requesting approval for the idea of recruiting [[political prisoner]]s into his unit. On 15 October 1944, Himmler approved the request.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=202}}</ref>
With the [[Slovak National Uprising]] still ongoing, the regiment was deployed to Slovakia. On 10 October 1944, they began its rail movement toward Slovakia and reach Nitra by 12 October. On 16 October 1944, elements of the regiment were strafed and bombed by several [[Lavochkin La-5|LaGG-5]] planes belonging to the Slovakian Air Force near the train station at [[Diviaky nad Nitricou|Diviaky]]. On the same day, Dirlewanger received his long-awaited [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross|Knight's Cross]] in Krakow.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |page=201}}</ref> On 18 October 1944, the regiment launched an assault to capture the area near [[Ostrá (Veľká Fatra)|Ostro Mountain]]. Two days later, they renewed the attack but made little to no progress against the determined defenders. On 25 October, the regiment finally succeeded in capturing the towns of [[Ružomberok|Biely Potok]] and [[Necpaly]] after intense fighting. Between 27 and 30 October, the regiment continued its operations, engaging in relentless combat against Slovakian partisans in the surrounding areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=French L. |url=https://archive.org/details/cruelhuntersssso0000macl/mode/1up?view=theater |title=The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's most notorious anti-partisan unit |date=1998 |publisher=Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7643-0483-5 |pages=200–201}}</ref> By 30 October, [[Banská Bystrica]] had been fully taken, and the resistance had been completely crushed, allowing the regiment to continue their formation in the town of [[Revúca]]. As part of their usual anti-partisan duties, the regiment proceeded to eliminate any remaining small elements of partisans who had fled into the surrounding areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Douglas E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLfSEAAAQBAJ&dq=dirlewanger+most+heinous+criminal+military+history+defeat+of+the+damned&pg=PR11 |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023-10-15 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-63624-212-5 |pages=31 |language=en}}</ref>
By November 1944, the command structure of the regiment's infantry unit are as below:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Position
!Name
!Rank
|-
|Commander
|Oskar Dirlewanger
|SS-''Oberführer''
|-
|SS-Sturmregiment-1
|Kurt Weisse
|SS-''Sturmbannführer''
|-
|1. Battalion
|Herbert Meyer
|SS-''Obersturmführer''
|-
|2. Battalion
|Josef Steinhauer
|''Major der Schupo''
|-
|3. Battalion
|Siegfried Pollack
|SS-''Untersturmführer''
|-
|SS-Sturmregiment-2
|Erich Buchmann
|SS-''Obersturmbannführer''
|-
|1. Battalion
|Wilhelm Stegmann
|SS-''Obersturmführer''
|-
|2. Battalion
|Ewald Ehlers
|SS-''Hauptsturmführer''
|-
|3. Battalion
|Kurt Nitzkowski (acting commander)
|''Oberleutnant''
|-
|Mixed Battalion
|Walter Ehlers
|SS-''Hauptsturmführer''
|}
With the outcome of the war no longer in doubt, large numbers of communist and socialist political prisoners began applying to join the unit in the hopes of defecting to the Soviets.<ref>{{in lang|de}} Klausch, Hans-Peter – ''Antifaschisten in SS-Uniform: Schicksal und Widerstand der deutschen politischen KZ-Haftlinge, Zuchthaus- und Wehrmachtstrafgefangenen in der SS-Sonderformation Dirlewanger''</ref>
On 3 November 1944, the [[SS Main Economic and Administrative Office]] had issued quotas to all primary [[concentration camps]] for the suitable selection of political prisoners. The quota for political prisoner volunteers, that totalled up to 1910 men are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Concentration camp
!Quota
|-
|Auschwitz
|400
|-
|Buchenwald
|150
|-
|Dachau
|300
|-
|Flossenbürg
|45
|-
|Gross-Rosen
|30
|-
|Mauthausen
|10
|-
|Neuengamme
|130
|-
|Ravensbrück
|80
|-
|Sachsenhausen
|750
|-
|Stutthof
|15
|}
The recruitment process underwent for first two weeks of November. Only 770 volunteers from all of the camps are accepted as recruited. To make up the missing 1,140 men, Dirlewanger recruited a mix of asocial elements and career criminals, bringing the total number of recruits to the targeted 1,910. The political prisoners received their training in either [[Kraków|Krakow]] or [[Mošovce]].
=== Hungary ===
In December, the regiment was sent to the front in Hungary. While fighting there, two battalions made up of communist and socialist volunteers fell apart. During a month of fighting, the regiment suffered many casualties and was pulled back to Slovakia to refit and reorganize.
On 14 December 1944, Soviet forces advancing from [[Hont, Hungary|Hont]] launched an assault and surrounded the town of [[Ipolyság]], eventually capturing it. At the time, the town was defended by only 60 lightly armed men from the 3rd Company of the Mixed Battalion which has been subordinated to SS-Sturmregiment-2. The next day, on 15 December 1944, the two battalions {{--}} 2./SS-Sturmregiment-2 and 3./SS-Sturmregiment-2 {{--}} were positioned in the hills south of Ipolyság. On the morning of the following day, an artillery barrage was directed at their position by Soviet forces. Soon after, a dozen tanks began attacking the 2nd Battalion, but then shifted their assault toward the 3rd Battalion's position. Suddenly, almost every soldier from every company jumped from their trenches and threw their weapons away. This was a mass desertion that had been planned in November. The two battalions' leadership were left dumbfounded by what had just happened and it was decided that the two battalions were to retreat to the area between [[Bernecebaráti]] and [[Kemence]]. Almost over 700 men defected to the red army during the battle, most of them political prisoners recruited by Dirlewanger in November.
In the morning of 15 December 1944, shortly after the battle had begun, ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Johannes Frießner|Johannes Friessner]], the commander-in-chief of the Army Group South and Dirlewanger's superior, decided to visit Dirlewanger's Command Post in Palást. He was unimpressed. He described Dirlewanger as "a not very appealing adventurer type," sitting calmly behind his desk with a pet monkey on his shoulder. When questioned about the current situation, Dirlewanger did not know where the front line was, nor was he aware of the status of Buchmann's operation. Dirlewanger's adjutant, Kurt Weisse made a better impression with his acknowledgement about the frontline and the current situation.
That same morning, Buchmann's command post was positioned east of Dolné Turovce. To his west, Steinhauer's battalion launched a counterattack to recapture Ipolyság. Meanwhile, to the east, Meyer's battalion and Pioneer Battalion 114 provided suppressing fire against Soviet positions at [[Magas-hegy|Magash]] and Somos to support Steinhauer's advance. At the same time, 3./SS-Sturmregiment-1, Polack's battalion, was redeploying to a new position along the Margarethe Line. The main brigade command post was located farther back at [[Horné Turovce]], where all the brigade staff were stationed, including Dirlewanger and Weisse.
That evening, a single T-34 tank with several Soviet soldiers riding on it {{--}} possibly a reconnaissance team {{--}} was spotted at Steinhauer's left flank, moving directly toward [[Kistur]], where Buchmann's command post was located. However, it was halted by defensive fire from the 2nd and 4th Companies of the Mixed Battalion, which had been stationed near Kistur in reserve to support Sturmregiment-2. Following the engagement, the two companies successfully blocked the tank's advance and drove off the accompanying infantry with concentrated fire. The tank, under increasing pressure, was forced to retreat.
The counterattack failed to materialize when Soviet forces launched a larger-scale assault from Ipolyság that same afternoon. The renewed offensive forced Steinhauer to retreat eastward toward [[Homáti]]. Meyer's battalion, along with the remnants of Pioneer Battalion 114, was also forced to withdraw far from their original positions. Buchmann's command post was heavily overrun, prompting its relocation to a new position south of Slatina.
In unclear circumstances, SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Harald Momm, commander of the 5th Company, 2nd Battalion, SS-Sturmregiment-2, found himself at the banks of the [[Kistompa River]]. There, he gathered retreating troops and formed a Kampfgruppe, which came to be known as ''Kampfgruppe Momm''. Utilizing the regiment's field gun, the ad hoc unit managed to hold off the advancing Soviet tanks.
From 18 to 21 December, Soviet forces continued to gain ground steadily. Momm's position was eventually overrun, forcing his Kampfgruppe to retreat. The Soviet advance pushed dangerously close to Dirlewanger's main headquarters in Deménd. In response, Meyer's and Polack's battalions launched a counterattack, but it failed to achieve any significant results. During this period, Ehlers was reassigned from his role as a battalion commander to take command of SS-Sturmregiment-2, replacing Buchmann, who was in turn appointed to lead SS-Sturmregiment-1. On 19 December 1944, the ''SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger'' was officially titled as ''2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger.'' The brigade continued fighting throughout the entire month and was eventually withdrawn from the frontline on 31 December 1944. It spent the following month stationed in [[Bratislava]].
===Germany===
By 2 January 1945, after the disastrous battle of Ipolysag, the 2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger had only the remaining combat strength of 2,489 men. On 2 February 1945, orders were given to the Sturmbrigade to be entrain for the [[Oder-Neisse line|Oder front]]. After moving through [[Dresden]], the brigade arrived at their new assembly point in [[Guben]] and their assembly completed by 12 February 1945. On 14 February 1945, the brigade was committed to battle against the incoming Red Army and was renamed the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.<ref name="Williamson" /> With its expansion to a division of 4,000 men, regular army units were attached to the formation, a [[Grenadier]] regiment, a ''[[Combat engineer|Pionier]]'' brigade, and a ''[[Panzerjäger]]'' battalion. Individual ''Sturmpionier'' [[demolition]] engineers had already been attached to the force during the fighting in Warsaw. The next day, Dirlewanger was seriously wounded in combat for the twelfth time during the counterattack to recapture the town of Sommerfeld. He was sent to the rear and Schmedes took command; Dirlewanger would not return to the division.
[[File:Convoy halbe 1.jpg|thumb|353x353px|Abandoned vehicle at Halbe in April 1945]]
The division was pushed back to the northeast when the final Soviet offensive began on 16 April 1945. Desertion became more and more common, and when Schmedes attempted to reorganize the division on 25 April, he found that it had virtually ceased to exist. On 28 April 1945, SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Ewald Ehlers, who now command the 73rd Waffen Grenadier Regiment was severely wounded and lost an arm during the battle in Halbe, according SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' [[Harald Momm]] who commanded the II.battalion in Ehlers's regiment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Everand |pages=122 and 513 |language=en}}</ref> On 1 May 1945, the Soviets wiped out all that was left of the unit in the [[Halbe pocket]]. Only a small remnant of the division managed an escape attempt to reach the [[US Army]] lines on the [[Elbe river]]. SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Kurt Weisse led a large group of around 400 men escaping from Halbe Pocket. He was later put in British captivity and escaped on 5 March 1946; his later fate is unknown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Everand |page=517 |language=en}}</ref> Schmedes and his staff (excluding Kurt Weisse) were taken prisoner in Soviet captivity. Schmedes was not charged with any crime and discharged shortly due to poor health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |url=https://www.everand.com/read/665981858/The-Defeat-of-the-Damned-The-Destruction-of-the-Dirlewanger-Brigade-at-the-Battle-of-Ipolysag-December-1944 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Everand |page=518 |language=en}}</ref> Only about 700 men of the division survived the war. In June 1945, Dirlewanger was captured by French forces in Germany and died in their custody by 8 June, allegedly beaten to death by Polish soldiers in [[Altshausen]].<ref>Walter Stanoski Winter, Walter Winter, Struan Robertson: [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNZgQWtvUdIC&dq=dirlewanger+polish+tortured&pg=PA139 ''Winter Time: Memoirs of a German Sinto who Survived Auschwitz'']. 2004. p. 139. {{ISBN|978-1-902806-38-9}}.</ref><ref name=kuberski>{{cite journal|url= https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/145303/edition/116922/content |author=Kuberski, Hubert |title=The finale of a war criminal's existence: mysteries surrounding Oskar Dirlewanger's death – Studia z Dziejów Rosji i Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej |journal=Studia Z Dziejów Rosji I Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej |date=March 2020 |volume=54 |issue=3 |page=225 |doi=10.12775/SDR.2019.EN4.08 |s2cid=216260243 |access-date=23 February 2022|doi-access=free }}, pp. 233-236, 248-251</ref>
== Orders of battle ==
'''SS Assault Brigade ''Dirlewanger'' (19 December 1944)'''
* Brigade staff
* SS-Assault Regiment 1
* SS-Assault Regiment 2
* Mixed-Battalion
* SS-Artillery Battalion Dirlewanger
* SS-Heavy Mörser Company
* Fusilier company
* Engineer company
* SS-Medical Company
* Signals company
'''36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (March 1945)'''
* Division staff
* 72nd Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS
* 73rd Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS
* 1244th Volksgrenadier Regiment
* 36th Artillery Battalion
* 36th Fusilier Company
* Panzer Battalion Stansdorf 1
* 687th Engineer Brigade (''[[German Army (1935–1945)|Heer]]'')
* 681st Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion (''Heer'')
== Designation history ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Date
!Title
|-
|14 June 1940 - 1 July 1940
|Wilddiebkommando Oranienberg
|-
|1 July 1940 - 2 November 1942
|SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger
|-
|2 November 1942 - 1 May 1944
|SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger
|-
|1 May 1944 - 19 December 1944
|SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger
|-
|19 December 1944 - 14 February 1945
|2.SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger
|-
|14 February 1945 - 1 May 1945
|36. Waffen Grenadier Division der SS
|}
==Legacy==
The cross-grenades emblem of the division is still used by [[Neo-Nazis]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/crossed-grenades|title=Crossed Grenades|website=Anti-Defamation League}}</ref> such as the ''Wolfsbrigade 44''.
A Swedish neo-Nazi rock band named "Dirlewanger" rose to infamy in the 1990s as they reportedly were one of the Swedish neo-Nazi scene's most popular groups.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://expo.se/nyhet/heroes-rumsren-nazirock/ | title=Heroes – Rumsren nazirock | date=16 April 2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dn.se/arkiv/inrikes/dn-special-fran-knapp-lekstuga-till-nazi-industri-penninghungriga-affarsrorelser-breder-ut-sig-med/ | title=DN-SPECIAL: Från knäpp lekstuga till nazi-industri. Penninghungriga affärsrörelser breder ut sig med invandrarhatande tidningar och rå raststmusik som hyllar vit makt | date=26 November 1995 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/310891-Dirlewanger-2 | title=Dirlewanger (2) | website=[[Discogs]] }}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of military units named after people]]
* [[List of Waffen-SS units]]
* [[Ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS]]
==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Nash |first1=Douglas E. Sr. |title=The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944 |date=2023 |publisher=Casemate Publishers|___location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-1-63624-211-8}}
* {{in lang|de}} Michaelis, Rolf – ''Das SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger: Ein Beispiel deutscher Besatzungspolitik in Weißrussland''
* {{cite journal|url= https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/145303/edition/116922/content |author=Kuberski, Hubert |title=The finale of a war criminal's existence: mysteries surrounding Oskar Dirlewanger's death – Studia z Dziejów Rosji i Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej |journal=Studia Z Dziejów Rosji I Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej |date=March 2020 |volume=54 |issue=3 |page=225 |doi=10.12775/SDR.2019.EN4.08 |s2cid=216260243 |access-date=23 February 2022|doi-access=free }}
==External links==
* [http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm A witness account of a German Sturmpionier soldier] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821070515/http://www.warsawuprising.com/witness/schenk.htm |date=21 August 2019 }} from the Warsaw Uprising.com.
* [http://zapisyterroru.pl/dlibra/results?action=AdvancedSearchAction&type=-3&search_attid1=62&search_value1=Wola+%2744+%E2%80%93+ludob%C3%B3jstwo+w+Warszawie&pageFrom=indexsearch&p=0 Testimonies concerning activity of Division during Wola massacre]
{{SS Brigades}}
{{SS Divisions}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirlewanger Brigade}}
[[Category:Infantry divisions of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1940]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Nazi war crimes in Belarus]]
[[Category:Nazi war crimes in Poland]]
[[Category:Penal military units]]
[[Category:Warsaw Uprising German forces]]
[[Category:War crimes of the Waffen-SS]]
[[Category:Sexual violence in Europe during World War II]]
[[Category:Torture in Germany]]
[[Category:Child sexual abuse during World War II]]
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