Evil Hunters: The SS Dirlewanger Brigade
Publisher
:
Perrin
Parution date
:
EAN
:
9782262030674
Number of pages
:
284
Description
***10,000 copies sold in France; rights sold: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland***
Who are the hunted? Who the hunters? On the Eastern Front during World War II, German occupation forces were being hunted down by partisans. Hitler had an antipartisan unit organized to combat them. This is the story of that unit, the most violent of the Waffen-SS—the SS-Sturmbrigade “Dirlewanger.” The author, using the example of this vicious brigade, explores the concept of “the hunt” not only during the Second World War but also in the culture of all wars.
The Dirlewanger Brigade was an antipartisan unit of the Nazi army, reporting directly to Heinrich Himmler. The first members of the brigade were mostly poachers, released from prisons and concentration camps, 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 and included men who had been convicted of burglary, assault, murder, and rape. Under the leadership of Oscar Dirlewanger, a convicted rapist and alcoholic, they could do as they pleased: There were no repercussions for even their worst behavior, individually or as a group. This was the group used for its special “talents” to help put down the Jewish uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, raping, torturing, and killing an estimated 35,000 men, women, and children in one 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 archives from Germany, Poland, and Russia, Evil Hunters offers an unprecedented look at one of the darkest chapters of World War II.
Author
Christian Ingrao : Christian Ingrao is director of research at the Institute of History of Present Time. He teaches at the École Polytechnique and at END-Cachan.
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