Dirlewanger's monkey

[Mike36]

Came across an interesting quote while reading,"The Siege of Budapest" by Krisztian Ungvary.An outstanding book by the way.I highly recommend it.

Dec5,1944 The Soviets had just broken thru the German and Hungarian front near Acsa and Friessner requested urgent reinfrocements from Guderian.The only units immediatly available were parts of the 24th Panzer Division and an SS brigade of convicts commanded by SS Brigadefuhrer Oskar Dirlewanger. Freissner notes:

When I reached Dirlewanger's staff I was met by a strange sight.The Brigadefuhrer,a not very appealing adventurer type,was sitting at his desk with a live monkey perched on his shoulder. The monkey was said to have accompanied him everywhere,including Poland.When I discovered that the staff was packing up I ordered them to stay on the spot.....The unit was,as suggested before,a wild bunch. One company---communists who were expected to "prove themselves" on the front---had just deserted to the enemy.


What is the story on this fellow Dirlewanger and his monkey?And please recommend some good books on the man and the unit.

Thanks

Mike

____________________________________________________________
RE LEE....It is well that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it

[Doktor Krollspell]

Hello Mike!

If you're interested in reading more on Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger and his unit, I recommend French L. MacLean's "The Cruel Hunters - SS Sonderkommando Dirlewanger. Hitler's most notorious Anti-Partisan Unit" (1998) from Schiffer Bools. It's probably the most extensive book written and puyblished in english on this bizarre unit and it's commander.

Book Description
This is a brutal story - but, from the safety of fifty years distance in time - it is an extremely compelling one. It is also an enduring lesson that a military unit, formed under an evil ideology, led by a social outcast and composed of vicious criminals, will sink to its lowest common denominator - hate. The Dirlewanger Battalion, also known as "Sonderkommando (special commando) Dirlewanger" was perhaps the least understood, but at the same time the most notorious German SS anti-partisan unit in World War II. German propaganda correspondents and wartime photographers did not follow them in action. And for good reason. Wherever the Dirlewanger unit - named for and led by Oskar Dirlewanger - operated, corruption and rape formed an every-day part of life and indiscriminate slaughter, beatings and looting were rife. Formed as a battalion of convicted poachers in 1940, the unit operated in Poland until 1942, guarding Jews in forced labor camps and making life miserable for Poles in Lublin and Cracow. From there Dirlewanger spent two years combating partisans in central Russia, giving no quarter and expecting none in return, during vicious fighting against an elusive foe in the midst of inhospitable swamps and dismal forests. In 1944 Dirlewanger savaged Warsaw during the Polish Uprising, before moving to Slovakia to crush another rebellion there. The end of the war saw the unit, which was now a division in size, fighting for its life south of Berlin against the Soviet Army. Medieval in their outlook on war and certainly not indicative of many German military formations, this unit none-the-less remains a reflection of a segment of mankind gone mad in the inferno of World War II on the eastern front. Size: 6" x 9" over 50 b/w photographs, maps, fully annotated

Source pic/quote: http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffe ... 0764304836


And I agree that Krisztian Ungvary's "The Siege of Budapest" is an outstanding book about this "unknown" siege and fierce city battle that lasted about 100 days in the Winter of 1945. Highly recommended indeed!


Regards,

Krollspell

[Doktor Krollspell]

Hello again Mike!

You can find a longer biographical article (in german) on Oskar Dirlewanger here...

http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.d ... tseite.htm


Regards,

Krollspell

[Michael Miller / ABR]

Just FYI, Dirlewanger never attained the rank of SS-Brigadeführer; his last promotion was to SS-Oberführer der Reserve in the Waffen-SS.

Here are a few notes on him.

Best,
~ Mike



Dr. phil.
Oskar Dirlewanger
SS-Oberführer d. R. der Waffen-SS


* 26.09.1895 in Würzburg / Franken.
+ 07.06.1945 in Altshausen / Kreis Saulgau / Württemberg (beaten to death in French captivity). Gravesite: The local cemetery in Altshausen.

NSDAP-Nr.: 1 098 716 (Joined 01.03.1932)
SS-Nr.: 357 267 (Joined 01.07.1940)

Promotions:
01.10.1913 Einjährig-Freiwilliger
27.07.1914 Unteroffizier
24.12.1914 Vizefeldwebel
14.04.1915 Leutnant d. R.
30.12.1918 Oberleutnant d. R. a. D.
02.08.1933 SA-Scharführer
04.08.1933 SA-Truppführer
09.11.1933 SA-Sturmführer
24.06.1940 SS-Mann (mit Wirkung vom 01.07.1940)
01.07.1940 SS-Obersturmführer d. R. der Waffen-SS
19.08.1940 SS-Hauptsturmführer d. R. der Waffen-SS (mit Wirkung vom 01.08.1940)
08.02.1942 SS-Sturmbannführer d. R. der Waffen-SS (mit Wirkung vom 09.11.1941)
12.05.1943 SS-Obersturmbannführer d. R. der Waffen-SS
19.03.1944 SS-Standartenführer d. R. der Waffen-SS
12.08.1944 SS-Oberführer d. R. der Waffen-SS (mit RDA vom 10.08.1944)

Decorations & Awards:
30.09.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as SS-Oberführer d. R. and Kdr. SS-Sturmbrigade “Dirlewanger” / Kampfgruppe Reinefarth / Kommandierender General des Raumes Warschau / Heeresgruppe Mitte,
Eastern Front (based on a recommendation dated 10.09.1944 and signed by Heinz Reinefarth; approved same date by Kom. Gen. Erich von dem Bach)
05.12.1943 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold as SS- Obersturmbannführer d. R. and Kdr. SS-Sonder-Bataillon Dirlewanger /
Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer Rußland-Mitte und Weißruthenien (based on a recommendation dated 15.08.1943 and signed by the HSSPF, Erich von dem Bach)
16.09.1942 1939 Spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse
24.05.1942 1939 Spange zum 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse
13.07.1916 1914 Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse
28.08.1914 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse
04.10.1915 Kgl. Württembergische Goldenes Tapferkeitsmedaille
10.11.1942 Tapferkeitsauszeichnung für Ostvölker I. Klasse in Silber mit Schwertern
09.10.1942 Tapferkeitsauszeichnung für Ostvölker II. Klasse in Silber mit Schwertern
19.03.1944 Nahkampfspange I. Stufe (Bronze)
00.00.1939 Deutsches Spanienkreuz in Silber mit Schwertern
00.00.1944 Bandenkampfabzeichen in Silber
00.06.1943 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
09.07.1943 Verwundetenabzeichen, 1939 in Gold
30.04.1918 Verwundetenabzeichen, 1918 in Schwarz
ca. 1934 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
00.00.194_ Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Bronze
00.00.19__ Ehrenwinkel für alte Kämpfer
00.00.1944 (?) Order of the War Victory Cross (Slovakia)
00.00.193_ Military Service Cross (Spain)
00.00.193_ Medalla de la Campaña de España

[Mike36]

Hey thanks Doktor & Michael for the info,

Am on page 133 now of the Siege of Budapest book.Outstanding reading.Have always been interested in the axis allies and am surprised to learn(from all the previous negative German accounts read)that at times these Hungarian troops were determined fighters.Even at this late date in the war.The author Ungvary is Hungarian I think and it is good to get that perspective.There are always two sides to every story.

It is interesting,even to this day, the bad blood between the Hungarians and Rumanians.Why is that? I have a friend whos father was a captain in the Hungarian army back during the war.He has his uniform.I have got to find out where this captain was back then and what he did.

Had forgotten all about it but believe I have the book,The Cruel Hunters.Will have to dig it out of storage.If its the same one,I bought it back in 1990 or so.

My best regards,

Mike

[Herr Bubikopf]

He (Dirlewanger) really may had have a monkey.
Here's picture from the "Chasteners ("Каратели"), 1980 by the author Ales Adamovich:

[Cott Tiger]

All sick, evil villains need a sidekick:

[Mike36]

Thankk you for the interesting picture Herr Bubikoph and welcome to feldgrau.

Mike

[Herr Bubikopf]

Two another books mentioned about Dirlewanger's monkey:
01. "500 Days: The War in Eastern Europe, 1944-1945" by Sean M. McAteer, page 212:

Most fiersesome of all off the trains in the Warsaw stockyards were the Dirlewanger and Kaminski brigades. The former was commanded by Oberst Doctor Oskar Dirlewanger, a sexual offender given a second chance with a penal unit. He traveled with his pet monkey on his shoulder and was frequently drunk.

02. "Valhalla's Warriors: A History of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front 1941-1945" by Terry Goldsworthy, page 76:

Dirlewanger and his unit were a military abnormality by any standards. During the defence of Hungary in 1944, Colonel-General Freissner noted the following when he visited Dirlewanger`s unit:
"When I reached Dirlewanger`s staff I was met by a strange sight. The Brigadeführer, a not very appealing adventurer type, was sitting at his desk with a live monkey perched on his shoulder. The monkey was said to have accompanied him everywhere, including Poland. When I discovered that the staff was packing up I ordered them to stay on the spot. The unit was, as suggested before, a wild bunch. One company, communists who were expected to prove themselves on the front, had just deserted to the enemy".

[sebastian]

All sick, evil villains need a sidekick:

haha,good 1

[Herr Bubikopf]

All sick, evil villains need a sidekick:

Another one...

The prosimian that is seen as the pet of a German SS Major (Sturmbannfuhrer) is called the Red Slender Loris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_see

[Herr Bubikopf]

And for the last time (is supposed to be Dirlewanger):
the picture from the book "The Khatyn Story" by Ales Adamovich, published in 1972.

...he later wrote one of his most recognized works, The Khatyn Story, and the screenplay for the film Come and See.

[Herr Bubikopf]

Incidentally, this is interesting:
The action (when German soldiers burn down the village) from the “Come and see” takes place in village called Perekhody.
Wiki says:

There is a town called Perekhody currently in Smolensk Oblast in Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_See
According to the book "Kalkulierte Morde" by Christian Gerlach:

The most infamous unit, however, was the Dirlewanger Battalion. It took part in 14 major operations between March 1942 and July 1943 and wiped out an especially large number of huge villages with all their inhabitants, including Borki (rayon Kirov), Zbyshin, Krasnitsa, Studenka, Kopazevichi, Pusichi, Makovje, Brizalovichi, Velikaja Garosha, Gorodez, Dory, Ikany, Zaglinoje, Velikije Prussy and Perekhody.

Consequently the Dirlewanger battalion really was in this village.

[Herr Bubikopf]

According to this site - http://www.chefduzen.de/index.php?topic ... _next=prev
(original article - "Dirlewangers SS-KZler" by Gerhard Zwerenz - https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artike ... kzler.html )
...at the time of Warsaw Uprising, Dirlewanger gives too much sugar to his monkey and the poor thing felt stuck up...

Happy New Year 2010, Friends!

[Herr Bubikopf]

I know that many high-ranking Nazis had Jewish mistresses: Rudolf Höss while commander at Auschwitz, Amon Goeth while commander at the Płaszów concentration camp… Oskar Dirlewanger makes no exceptions - he had a Jewish mistress in secret - a crime for an SS officer…

I got this information from the book “Khatyn; The punitive squads: the joy of the knife” by Ales Adamovich (1988):
Her name was Stasya and she was caught at Lublin during the nazi raid on Lublin streets (1941). Dirlewanger took her first as a servant and later - as his mistress. Also he took and five Jews, one of whom, the oldest – Lazar (Lazarus) was her own father. All five were professional cobblers who worked in his own cellar in Dirlewanger`s headquarters in Mogilev. They made first quality boots for him and he’s relatives.

Just as the situation with his monkey, he traveled with her everywhere – from Poland to Belorussia.

French McLean in his book “The Cruel Hunters” also states that Dirlewanger had a Jewish “girlfriend” in Lublin during his time there.

Does anybody know anything more about this mysterious woman, her fate…?