Oskar Dirlewanger
Encyclopedia
Oskar Paul Dirlewanger (26 September 1895, Würzburg
– 5 June 1945, Altshausen
) was a World War II
officer of the SS
who commanded the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, a penal battalion composed of German criminals. Together with the German SS-Brigade Kaminski
, the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger is regarded as one of the most notorious German military units due to its crimes against humanity, including mass murder of civilians in the Warsaw Uprising
.
officer in World War I
and won both the Iron Cross
2nd Class and the Iron Cross 1st Class. His military service was seen as exemplary by German authorities, as he was known for his considerable bravery in battle (having been wounded over ten times) and always led his troops from the front. During World War II, he was awarded a host of additional medals including the clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class, The Balkan Cross, and the German Cross in Gold. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1944.
After the end of World War I
, he joined different Freikorps
volunteer militias and fought in Ruhr
; Saxony
; and Upper Silesia
. Between his militant employment, he studied at the university in Frankfurt
and obtained a degree in political science
in 1922. The following year, he joined the NSDAP. His party number was #1,098,716 and, later, SS #357,267.
He held various jobs, which included working at a bank, a knit-wear factory, and as a teacher. In 1934, he was convicted of the rape
of a 13-year-old BDM
girl, illegal use of a government vehicle, and damaging said vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. For these crimes he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. Dirlewanger then lost his job, his doctor title and all military honors. He was also expelled from the NSDAP. Soon after his release, he was arrested again on similar charges. He was sent to the Welzheim
concentration camp, as was standard practice for deviant sexual offenders in Germany at the time; but he was released and reinstated as a Colonel in the General SS Reserve following the personal intervention of his friend, and later SS-Obergruppenführer
, Gottlob Berger
, the head of the SS-Hauptamt
(Central Command Office) and long-time personal friend of Heinrich Himmler
, with the stipulation that he intended to travel to Spain to fight in the Condor Legion
against the anti-Axis forces in the Spanish Civil War
.
Dirlewanger served with the Condor Legion
from 1936 to 1939 and was wounded three times. Both times he was considered a model soldier and was well thought of in military circles. Following further intervention on his behalf by his patron Berger, he successfully petitioned to have his case reconsidered in light of his service in Spain. Dirlewanger was reinstated into the Nazi party, albeit with a higher party number. His doctorate was also restored by the University of Frankfurt.
and received the rank of Obersturmführer
. He eventually became the commander of the so-called Dirlewanger Battalion, composed originally of a small group of former poachers along with soldiers of a more conventional background. It was believed that the excellent tracking and shooting skills of the poachers could be put to constructive use in the fight against Communist partisans.
The battalion was assigned to anti-partisan duties first in occupied Poland
(General Government
), where Dirlewanger had previously served as an SS-TV
commandant of an SS labor camp in Dzików
.
In February 1942, the battalion was reassigned for anti-partisan duties in Belarus
. Dirlewanger was known to lead his soldiers into combat personally which was unusual for someone of his rank; he was wounded many times in combat. Dirlewanger received the clasp to his Iron Cross 2nd Class on May 24, 1942, and that to his Iron Cross 1st Class on September 16, 1942, and received the German Cross
in Gold on December 5, 1943, in recognition of his regiment's successes during this time (such as Operation Cottbus
, the destruction of the partisan pseudo-state "Lake Pelik Autonomous Republic" and a claimed body count
of 14,000 partisans).
It is also known that Dirlewanger would use a poison known as strychnine
to be injected into Jewish women prisoners to watch them convulse to death in front of him and his officers for entertainment.
Dirlewanger's primary patron in the SS hierarchy was Obergruppenführer
Gottlob Berger
, who provided Himmler with a massive political boost by numerically increasing the Waffen-SS through his position as chief of the SS-Hauptamt
(SS Main Office). Following an order signed by Berger in 1940, every active SS member would wear the same uniform and carry the same paybook as the professional SS soldiers. The blurring of the line between the camp guards and the Gestapo
and the front-line soldiers pushed Himmler toward his ultimate goal, becoming the sole commander of Germany's armed forces. Given Berger's contribution to Himmler's ambitions, it is possible that Himmler allowed Berger a free hand. Both Berger and Himmler were enthusiastic about the incorporation into the Waffen-SS of the Kaminski Brigade, a unit made up of dedicated anti-Communists from lands that had been under Soviet rule. However, the brigade quickly proved to be almost completely militarily ineffective, and Bronislaw Kaminski
was summarily and secretly executed for incompetence and theft of "German government property" (the possessions of the Warsaw Poles) after his unit's unruly performance in Warsaw
in 1944, during which over 50% of the brigade deserted
after uniformly ignoring their objectives in order to loot whatever they could carry.
Dirlewanger's unit was employed in operations against partisans in the occupied Soviet Union
. Later, Dirlewanger's unit was used in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising
. In Wola massacre
in August 1944, Dirlewanger's unit slaughtered tens of thousands of non-combatant Polish civilians, while achieving little militarily.
Dirlewanger received his final promotion, to SS-Oberführer
der Reserve
, on August 15, 1944. On April 17, 1945, he was seriously injured in combat for the 12th time and sent to the rear.
jail. Dirlewanger was beaten and tortured over the next few days. He died from injuries inflicted by the Polish guards around June 5, 1945. This information was suppressed at the time, and many bogus sightings of him were made around the world, even though the French recorded that Dirlewanger was buried on June 19, 1945, leaving little doubt that he was dead.
Other rumors surfaced years later to suggest that he had escaped, including one story of Dirlewanger serving in the French Foreign Legion
, and later defecting to Egypt
to accept a commission in Gamal Abdel Nasser
's army. These were proven false when the department of public prosecution in Ravensburg arranged the exhumation of his corpse to confirm his identity in November 1960.
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
– 5 June 1945, Altshausen
Altshausen
Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality near Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany.- Geography :Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance...
) was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
officer of the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
who commanded the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, a penal battalion composed of German criminals. Together with the German SS-Brigade Kaminski
S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A.
S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A. was an anti-partisan formation composed of people from the so-called Lokot Autonomy territory in the Nazi Germany-occupied areas of Russia during World War II....
, the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger is regarded as one of the most notorious German military units due to its crimes against humanity, including mass murder of civilians in the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
.
Early life
Oskar Dirlewanger was an infantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and won both the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd Class and the Iron Cross 1st Class. His military service was seen as exemplary by German authorities, as he was known for his considerable bravery in battle (having been wounded over ten times) and always led his troops from the front. During World War II, he was awarded a host of additional medals including the clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd Class, The Balkan Cross, and the German Cross in Gold. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1944.
After the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he joined different Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
volunteer militias and fought in Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
; Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
; and Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. Between his militant employment, he studied at the university in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and obtained a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1922. The following year, he joined the NSDAP. His party number was #1,098,716 and, later, SS #357,267.
He held various jobs, which included working at a bank, a knit-wear factory, and as a teacher. In 1934, he was convicted of the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of a 13-year-old BDM
League of German Girls
The League of German Girls or League of German Maidens , was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany....
girl, illegal use of a government vehicle, and damaging said vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. For these crimes he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. Dirlewanger then lost his job, his doctor title and all military honors. He was also expelled from the NSDAP. Soon after his release, he was arrested again on similar charges. He was sent to the Welzheim
Welzheim
Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd....
concentration camp, as was standard practice for deviant sexual offenders in Germany at the time; but he was released and reinstated as a Colonel in the General SS Reserve following the personal intervention of his friend, and later SS-Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
, Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger was a German Nazi who held the rank of Obergruppenführer during World War II and was later convicted of war crimes.In 1939, he was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's main recruiting officer...
, the head of the SS-Hauptamt
SS-Hauptamt
The SS-Hauptamt was the central command office of the German Schutzstaffel in Nazi Germany until 1940.-Formation:...
(Central Command Office) and long-time personal friend of Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, with the stipulation that he intended to travel to Spain to fight in the Condor Legion
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
against the anti-Axis forces in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Dirlewanger served with the Condor Legion
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
from 1936 to 1939 and was wounded three times. Both times he was considered a model soldier and was well thought of in military circles. Following further intervention on his behalf by his patron Berger, he successfully petitioned to have his case reconsidered in light of his service in Spain. Dirlewanger was reinstated into the Nazi party, albeit with a higher party number. His doctorate was also restored by the University of Frankfurt.
World War II
At the beginning of the Second World War Dirlewanger volunteered for the Waffen-SSWaffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
and received the rank of Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
. He eventually became the commander of the so-called Dirlewanger Battalion, composed originally of a small group of former poachers along with soldiers of a more conventional background. It was believed that the excellent tracking and shooting skills of the poachers could be put to constructive use in the fight against Communist partisans.
The battalion was assigned to anti-partisan duties first in occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
), where Dirlewanger had previously served as an SS-TV
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
commandant of an SS labor camp in Dzików
Dzików
Dzików may refer to the following places in Poland:*Dzików, a district of the town of Tarnobrzeg, Subcarpathian Voivodeship *Dzików, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Dzików, Pomeranian Voivodeship...
.
In February 1942, the battalion was reassigned for anti-partisan duties in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Dirlewanger was known to lead his soldiers into combat personally which was unusual for someone of his rank; he was wounded many times in combat. Dirlewanger received the clasp to his Iron Cross 2nd Class on May 24, 1942, and that to his Iron Cross 1st Class on September 16, 1942, and received the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold on December 5, 1943, in recognition of his regiment's successes during this time (such as Operation Cottbus
Operation Cottbus
Operation Cottbus was an anti-partisan operation during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. The operation began on May 20, 1943 during the World War II occupation of northern Belarus in the areas of Begoml, Lepel and Ushachy...
, the destruction of the partisan pseudo-state "Lake Pelik Autonomous Republic" and a claimed body count
Body count
A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate.-Military use:...
of 14,000 partisans).
It is also known that Dirlewanger would use a poison known as strychnine
Strychnine
Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
to be injected into Jewish women prisoners to watch them convulse to death in front of him and his officers for entertainment.
Dirlewanger's primary patron in the SS hierarchy was Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger was a German Nazi who held the rank of Obergruppenführer during World War II and was later convicted of war crimes.In 1939, he was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's main recruiting officer...
, who provided Himmler with a massive political boost by numerically increasing the Waffen-SS through his position as chief of the SS-Hauptamt
SS-Hauptamt
The SS-Hauptamt was the central command office of the German Schutzstaffel in Nazi Germany until 1940.-Formation:...
(SS Main Office). Following an order signed by Berger in 1940, every active SS member would wear the same uniform and carry the same paybook as the professional SS soldiers. The blurring of the line between the camp guards and the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and the front-line soldiers pushed Himmler toward his ultimate goal, becoming the sole commander of Germany's armed forces. Given Berger's contribution to Himmler's ambitions, it is possible that Himmler allowed Berger a free hand. Both Berger and Himmler were enthusiastic about the incorporation into the Waffen-SS of the Kaminski Brigade, a unit made up of dedicated anti-Communists from lands that had been under Soviet rule. However, the brigade quickly proved to be almost completely militarily ineffective, and Bronislaw Kaminski
Bronislaw Kaminski
Bronislav Vladislavovich Kaminski was the commander of the S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A. , an anti-partisan formation made up of people from the so-called Lokot Autonomy territory in the Nazi Germany occupied areas of Russia, which was later...
was summarily and secretly executed for incompetence and theft of "German government property" (the possessions of the Warsaw Poles) after his unit's unruly performance in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1944, during which over 50% of the brigade deserted
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
after uniformly ignoring their objectives in order to loot whatever they could carry.
Dirlewanger's unit was employed in operations against partisans in the occupied Soviet Union
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
. Later, Dirlewanger's unit was used in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
. In Wola massacre
Wola massacre
The Wola massacre was the scene of the largest single massacre in the history of Poland. According to different sources, some 40,000 to 100,000 Polish civilians and POWs were killed by the German forces during their suppression of the Warsaw Uprising...
in August 1944, Dirlewanger's unit slaughtered tens of thousands of non-combatant Polish civilians, while achieving little militarily.
Dirlewanger received his final promotion, to SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
der Reserve
Reservist
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed...
, on August 15, 1944. On April 17, 1945, he was seriously injured in combat for the 12th time and sent to the rear.
Death
On June 1, 1945, French occupation forces used Polish soldiers in their service to forcibly bring him to the AltshausenAltshausen
Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality near Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany.- Geography :Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance...
jail. Dirlewanger was beaten and tortured over the next few days. He died from injuries inflicted by the Polish guards around June 5, 1945. This information was suppressed at the time, and many bogus sightings of him were made around the world, even though the French recorded that Dirlewanger was buried on June 19, 1945, leaving little doubt that he was dead.
Other rumors surfaced years later to suggest that he had escaped, including one story of Dirlewanger serving in the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, and later defecting to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to accept a commission in Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
's army. These were proven false when the department of public prosecution in Ravensburg arranged the exhumation of his corpse to confirm his identity in November 1960.
Sources
- MacLean, French L., The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonder-Kommando Dirlewanger, Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit