The SS Dirlewanger Brigade: The History of the Black Hunters

No nonsense book about a unique, albeit dispicable unit in WW2.

This is the third book that I have read on Oskar Dirlewanger and perhaps the most through in attempting to look into his mind. The research into his academic background and activities prior to the WWII show he was very active in the early days of the Nazis rise to power, and this is something not well documented in prior writings. And in this regard the book is extremely effective in showing the progression from political theory to State sanctioned violence. The Direwanger Brigade was an SS Unit of misfits who otherwise would not meet the standards of elitism and arrogance that were characteristic of the SS. Yet the Dirlewanger Brigade represented the SS better than any other Unit in their mechanical execution of mission which was simply to exterminate perceived enemies of the Reich, be they political or racial.The barbaric conduct of these beasts defies comprehension, and at times clearly so brutal as to make other SS Units and Regular German troops uncomfortable! My only complaints center on the lack of photos, and the brevity of the book. The end was sudden and did not give enough detail. The lack of photos denied those who have never seen a photo of Dirlewanger an opportunity to stare into a photo of the devil, because he was Satan personified. And reminds me of political operatives I have met and seen in contemporary American politics.

The Eastern Front has always captivated me, the sheer brutality and hatred on both sides, two warped ideologies battling each other and all the unfortunate civilians trapped between them. There is not much material available on the Dirlewanger Brigade so when I saw this it caught my eye. Overall, I found this to be an extremely difficult read. Nothing to do with comprehension simply I found the material to be extremely dry and it never held my attention for more than a few pages at a time. It's also more of psychological study of the Brigade rather than a straight history. Don't get me wrong, it is a very well written book, but I like my history more linear and more personal. There are also no pictures/maps, which was a disappointment. When reading about specific individuals/units I like to put faces with the names/words. I should have listened to the other reviewers such as Stephen Campbell. He is absolutely correct when he says "This book is short and was probably written as a Doctoral thesis. The author tried to write it with a sociological/psychological slant rather than a straight history of the unit.". While the book certainly does touch on the history its primary focus is the sociological/psychological aspects of how the Brigade was formed (from poachers, to criminals and finally even communists), it's motivations and its actions. If you enjoy reading Doctoral Thesis then you may find this book extremely interesting, personally I didn't.

There are few books that can equal the depth of research information and manner that the author is able to present it!!!!!!!The author presents the broad spectrum of events, Historical,Political,Economic, Military, in Europe that created the circumstances that then led to the organization of this gang of military cowards, criminals, convicts that then was allowed to commit such acts of terror, torture, and indiscriminate killing.The atrocities committed are described , in the sweeping Historical Context and Perspective that is unmatched by any other author.In this Grand Study, the author explains events , advancements, in War, from Russo-Japan War, WW 1, and the social economic extremes until outbreak of WW2.The author pieces together chronologically thru extensive EFFORT, scattered reports , records, and any other information, into a complete study the evolving process of the War from the differing Military, Political Economic and Personalities aspects , the author manages to combine these differing factors together , from Historical overview down to tactics involved in precise detail.The First Section of the book covers the Operations the Dirlewanger Brigade participated in, Section 4 covers tactics of the Brigade in Warsaw, usually tank supported , without any special weapons such as robot tanks or what the Germans called Goliaths.The Brigades last actions, from Divisional Reports , are recounted, at Ipolysag, and finally near Berlin in the Halbe Pocket where most of the Brigade was wiped out, The Ipolysag episode , was the Brigades Combat Debut taking place 50 miles N of Budapest in December 1944. The events do not appear in any detail in other Eastern Front accounts, and is just one example of the detailed information the author takes the time to include and explain. Ipolysag or Sahy on the Ipel River is located 50 miles N or Budapest , in Slovakia, the terrain described as hilly , valleys , forested, rivers and canals ,was a KEY Strategic position during the battle to surround Budapest. The Soviet 6th Guards Army took Ipolysag after Dirlewanger , who could not control the military rejects under his command disappeared, and the Battalion ordered to hold the area sent one company placed in a skirmish line that did not stop the Russians The study revolves around the course of History and Historical events , and how those events combined into a War of extremes of criminal acts of killing that continued to escalate into organization of such Brigades.

The authors attempted to tell the story of the WWII German SS unit that was originally made up of convicted poachers and hunters, with the goal of hunting down enemy partisan units. Mostly what they did was ramble. They would say that the unit was barbaric, then never give an example of any events that pointed to their viciousness. Even when citing items seized in any given operation, the specifics about those items were never listed. They did give a fair background of the unit's leader, Oskar Dirlewanger, but any specifics about the unit or its actions were sorely lacking. I expected to learn so much about this unit, such as day-to-day life, but learned next to nothing.

Gruesome, but necessary read.

Not an easy subject to find reading matter on, this man and his actions are so reviled it is almost taboo just to say his name.Child sex pervert, ex convict, utterly cruel and heartless, Oscar Dirlewanger is like very few others in the nazi ranks, even in the highest ranks of the SS this man caused horror and revulsion at his methods, even to people such as Reinhard Heidrich who is widely regarded as the most dangerous and evil nazi out of the entire bunch, named The Man With The Iron Heart by Hitler and remebered as The Butcher of Prague, the mere idea that the man who came up with The Final Solution could be horrified at the actions of another man alone speaks volumes of Dirlewangers methods.Killing became a pure competition to see who can kill the most unarmed civilians in a day and the numbers he attained is simply mind numbing.I know we should never judge a book by its cover (yes pun intended) but look at Dirlewangers face, look into those eyes and tell me that is not the face of a total creep!Anyone such as myself who has researched WW2 in the depths I have over 30 plus years, understands that despite their atrocious label, not all members of the SS were as brutal and evil as many believe, not to defend the actions of the SS of course, I am not a neo-nazi, just a guy interested in military history.Some of the worst war crimes committed by the Germans were at the hands of SS regiments such as Das Reich (Oradour), Leibstandarte (Wormhout) and of course the utterly evil Totenkopf who ran the camps but I would bet that the vast majority of the hideous things people think of when hearing of the Schutz Staffel was actually undertaken by Oscar Dirlewanger and his Black Hunters.Feared like no other Einsatzgruppen in the Eastern Front this man met a horrible but deserved fate yet sadly cheated the hangman.I know its a cliche but this guy was literally Satan in the flesh, it is genuinely hard to comprehend the mind of a man who can do what he did yet sleep like an innocent baby at night.Some hard reading for many but for those with a deeper interest in the actions of the SS and particularly the Einsatzgruppen this book is a must.Very highly recommended.

If you are interested in military aspects, this book is not very helpful. It is great however, if you are interested in anthropology and psychology. It deals with the reasons behind the violence, how the unit saw itself, how others saw it, and how this Brigade developed its peculiar “ personality”. It is a good work, trying to establish a relationship between war and hunting. Good perspective on violence.

There are some really engaging concepts in this book, a new exploration of an old theme. The inherent drive within humans to hunt and to be hunted appears in this most unobvious phase of history. Very good insights.

Looking forward to reading. It's a quality product at an excellent price