Führer’s “Dirty Dozen”

Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-97906 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-97906 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

During WWII, Adolf Hitler had his own version of the “Dirty Dozen,”  an SS division that consisted of psychopaths, murderers, and rapists. To top it off, the division was led by a child molester.

Officially known as the 36th Waffen SS Grenadier Division, Oskar Dirlewanger commanded it. Their original goal was to fight the resistance fighters in Poland. Over time, the division was used as a weapon of terror against both enemy soldiers and civilians.

The division was accused of rape, mass murder, and poisonings. They are believed to have injected Jews with strychnine and then watched as they died in agonizing pain.

The group was formed initially with poachers so that the military could make use of their skills in the wild to track guerrilla fighters. Their reward, if they survived, was a full pardon for their crimes including being reinstated as citizens of Germany. Fifty-five men were willing to take on the job.

It was dangerous work and Dirlewanger was prone to executing his men for any infraction, so they ran short of conscripts. Men with all sorts of criminal backgrounds were then recruited.

Dirlewanger in 1944. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S73495 / Anton Ahrens / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Dirlewanger in 1944. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S73495 / Anton Ahrens / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

In the regular army, criminals were banned from using weapons. However, that restriction was lifted for the 36th. The division swelled to several hundred criminals including murderers, rapists, and men who had been declared criminally insane.

Possibly their most famous mission was to put down the Warsaw Uprising. It resulted in the Wola Massacre where 40,000 civilians were murdered in two weeks. The men of the 36th attacked everyone including hospital staff and patients. They killed 500 children they found in one building. A soldier later said that he had overheard Dirlewanger tell his men to conserve ammunition by killing the children with rifle butts and bayonets.

The 36th sustained a 315 percent casualty rate in the uprising. They started with 800 men and lost 2,700 including reinforcements.

Dirlewanger survived and received an Iron Cross for his work. At the time of the uprising, the 36th was a regiment and were rewarded by being upgraded to a division and increased to 4,000 men.

As time went by, desertion became a real problem. More and more men were leaving, and the division was not holding up well.

Soldiers tentatively identified as members of the SS-Sturmbrigade “Dirlewanger” in central Warsaw in 1944. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-97906 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Soldiers tentatively identified as members of the SS-Sturmbrigade “Dirlewanger” in central Warsaw in 1944. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-97906 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

On May 1, 1945, the Red Army almost wiped out the 36th in the Halbe Pocket. Fritz Schmedes had assumed command after Dirlewanger had been injured. He led the remaining men to the US Army and surrendered on May 3.

“The Dirty Dozen”  is a movie starring Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson. It is about twelve American convicted murderers who are given a mission to assassinate Nazi leaders on the eve of D-Day.

The plan begins to unravel when one of the men is killed while they are parachuting into France. The remaining men manage to capture the Nazi officers and trap them in a bomb shelter. After a firefight with a group of guards, only one of the dozen is left alive, although the team did manage to assassinate their targets.

The sole survivor has all charges against him dropped.

Based on a book by E.M. Nathanson, the movie won an Oscar for best effects. John Cassavetes was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Best Sound and Best Film Editing were the other categories the movie was nominated in.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE