The SS Dirlewanger Brigade : the history of the Black Hunters

The Dirlewanger Brigade was an anti-partisan unit of the Nazi army, reporting directly to Heinrich Himmler. The members of the brigade were released prisoners—including men who had been convicted of burglary, assault, murder, and rape—who were believed to have the skills necessary for hunting down and capturing partisan fighters in their camps in the forests of the Eastern Front. Under the leadership of Oscar Dirlewanger, a convicted rapist, this was the group used for its special “talents” to help put down the Jewish uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, killing an estimated 35,000 men, women, and children in one day. Based on the archives from Germany, Poland, and Russia, __The SS Dirlewanger Brigade__ offers an unprecedented look at one of the darkest chapters of World War II.

"An important look at the singularity of Nazi barbarism." —L'Humanité

The Dirlewanger Brigade was an anti-partisan unit of the Nazi army, reporting directly to Heinrich Himmler. The first members of the brigade were mostly poachers who were released from prisons and concentration camps and who were believed to have the skills necessary for hunting down and capturing partisan fighters in their camps in the forests of the Eastern Front. Their numbers were soon increased by others who were eager for a way out of imprisonment—including men who had been convicted of burglary, assault, murder, and rape.

Under the leadership of Oskar Dirlewanger, a convicted rapist and alcoholic, they could do as they pleased: there were no repercussions for even their worst behavior. This was the group used for its special “talents” to help put down the Jewish uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, killing an estimated 35,000 men, women, and children in a single day. Even by Nazi standards, the brigade was considered unduly violent and an investigation of its activities was opened. The Nazi hierarchy was eager to distance itself from the behavior of the brigade and eventually exiled many of the members to Belarus. Based on the archives from Germany, Poland, and Russia, The SS Dirlewanger Brigade offers an unprecedented look at one of the darkest chapters of World War II.

Details The History Of The Dirlewanger Brigade, An Anti-partisan Unit Of The Nazi Army Tasked With Capturing Partisan Fighters, And Recounts The Atrocities The Brigade Executed And The Repercussions Of Its Actions. Introduction: The Dirlewanger Moment -- The History Of A Brigade -- From Berlin To Lublin -- Belarus, February 1942-july 1944 -- From Warsaw To Cottbus, August 1944-may 1945 -- The Dirlewanger Case -- War As Horizon -- Militancy As Substitution -- Marginality And Tenacity -- Consent And Constraint -- A Charismatic Bandit Leader? -- Between Orgy And Brutality -- Resistance And Desertion In The Dirlewanger Division -- Poachers In The Polis -- Between Function And Symbol -- Wild Men In The Polis? -- Wild Men And Warriors -- A Hunters' War? -- Quarry And Spoils -- The Origins Of Violence -- A New War? -- Warsaw: An Urban Jungle For The Black Hunters? -- Slovakia: Between Anti-partisan Action And The Front -- From Budapest To Cottbus: When Hunters Became Prey -- Post-war -- The Death Of Oskar Dirlewanger -- The Black Hunters In The German Courts: Gone To Ground -- In The Margins Of Memory. Christian Ingrao ; Translated From The French By Phoebe Green. Includes Bibliographical References.