Dirlewanger Brigade - Himmler's Convict Legion

Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Credits: Rana; US National Archives; Bundesarchiv.
Thumbnail: Wehrmacht 39

[@jakemarzano2298]

You know something's wrong when the SS says you need to take it down a notch.

[@thegunslinger1363]

A bunch of unscrupulous, sadistic, angry, vindictive, and bitter men. Given weapons and sent to conduct operations in civilian areas. What could possibly go wrong....

[@Krezo200]

@UCIXnNfm_9vYVuDQ6c2aSjSg why

[@brandonquezada9523]

What did George do bro?

[@aylmer666]

You know the Ustase’s Jacinovac camp was bad when even the Nazi concentration camp officials who came and visited were shocked by its awful conditions.

[@CS-zn6pp]

@@thegunslinger1363 did it "go wrong" or did it go down exactly as expected. Deploying this lot of psychopaths to an area had easily foreseeable outcomes so I would guess any deployment would be an informed decision.

[@Ulvetann]

Wounded 12 times and still surviving WWII. -Even Hell didn't want this person.

[@j0nnyism]

The devil was probably worried about losing his job

[@twks123]

Those people will only go to the 19th level of hell, the deepest level of hell even deeper than the 18th level, surpassing all religious and gods governing, with their souls tortured in the 19th level of hell in the way even worse than the worst way possible, and this torture lasting forever beyond infinity, beyond extreme, and beyond the end of the universe.

[@twks123]

@@j0nnyism Those people will only go to the 19th level of hell, the deepest level of hell even deeper than the 18th level, surpassing all religious and gods governing, with their souls tortured in the 19th level of hell in the way even worse than the worst way possible, and this torture lasting forever beyond infinity, beyond extreme, and beyond the end of the universe.

[@HorstEwald]

@@twks123 you posted cringe my guy

[@Jim-de4dj]

@@twks123 So not as bad as living in America then?

[@StanStacks]

If you were to describe Dirlewanger to me without me knowing know what he looks like, my mental image of him would be exactly how he looked in real life. Never has a face fit a description of a person so perfectly.

[@hensoakira]

He look like a lost grandad of hitler, how ironic.

[@j.m.d.a1496]

He looks gorgeous

[@baumkuchen6543]

"Middle aged child molester"

[@hellepost1439]

Paul Scäfer, Hartmut Hopp, Augusto Pinochet. COLONIA DIGNIDAD ☠️☠️☠️☠️

[@sethr6962]

Physiognomy is real lol

[@aliray1165]

Himmler: “send in the dirlewanger brigade” SS: “now steady on old chap”

[@countalucard3405]

Lmao

[@heinrichvonhagen2226]

You know a story is bad when the happy ending is "And he was supposedly beaten to death".

[@em1osmurf]

in another Dr Felton story, many SS officers and guards mysteriously ended up shot dead when concentration camps were liberated by americans. not investigated either.

[@mesolithicman164]

The karmaic law in action.

[@thegreenbird795]

@@em1osmurf all's well that ends well......

[@rascallyrabbit717]

@@em1osmurf oh well

[@leonrothier6638]

What do you mean? He tripped on a pistol and shot himself in the back of the head five times.

[@davidf.4886]

“People talk sometimes of a bestial cruelty, but that's a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel. The tiger only tears and gnaws, that's all he can do. He would never think of nailing people by the ears, even if he were able to do it.” Dostoyevsky

[@mathiasweiss7559]

He was wrong. Just look at a cat playing with a living mouse or an orca with an half dead seal. The whole planet kills for fun.

[@DEVS_VLTIMA]

@@davidf.4886 animals are driven by a higher transcendental purpose to master the space around them, humans used to be like this, now we stumble around a disgusting materialistic and consumerist “culture” devoid of purpose or meaning

[@yannick245]

Cats kill and torture for fun.

[@nonnobissolum]

@@davidf.4886 Get a grip. We get it. You're a cat fan. Fact is....I've seen plenty in my 60 years of life to suggest that we are as naive about the innocence of the animal kingdom as we are about our own capacity for animalistic behavior, and/or ability to overcome such impulses. And Dostoyevsky had no way of knowing what lions and tigers and bears oh my would do with opposable thumbs and any kind of capacity for creativity or existential downtime/angst.

[@nonnobissolum]

@@davidf.4886 🤣 I don't think that's the point.

[@Willysmb44]

Imagine being in a unit where SS troops would talk about you behind your back, calling your unit a bunch of psychos. I can't even imagine that

[@olekcholewa8171]

Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger, the commander of SS and Police in German-occupied Poland who was a war criminal himself and killed thousends of poeple, said that "if this bunch of pigs won't leave his territory in 2 weeks, he will arrest Dirlewanger in person".

[@aIex1337]

Amazing documentary, Dr. Felton. My Great Grandfather, Karl, born 1921 was sent to this unit in 1943. He was a regular Wehrmacht Heer (Army) soldier sent to the unit due to dissenting remarks. He's still alive to this day and almost never referenced his time in this Brigade, as opposed to his Regular Army service. He's currently 102.

[@danmorgan3685]

Just imagine being a guy convicted of poaching and roped into this unit. Then things just keep getting worse.

[@ahappypikachu9753]

Could you imagine?! You’re guilty of killing some game out of season to feed your family, get caught, and now you spend all your time with the nations biggest criminal-sadists and Psycho’s.

[@Nick-qm7qc]

'Hey guys is it cool if I just go back to prison?'

[@warrenmilford1329]

Yea, you'd find that a lot of those initial 300 odd poachers, that initially formed the unit, were probably generally law abiding citizens, and as stated above, were only poaching to feed their families during hard times. I'm sure they probably would have made an effective partisan hunting unit, if used in that capacity. However, to then have thousands of serious criminal psychos added to their ranks, and be used to butcher civilians, must have been horrendous for them.

[@pflernak]

@@warrenmilford1329 I wonder how many of those initial 300 poachers survived half way into the war

[@fistinyourface7053]

At first it was composed of poachers since they knew how to move in the woods. Later on they started to draft every criminal available.

[@jamesgorman2442]

The Russian movie “come and see”, shows the actions of this unit in the film. Makes Schindler‘s list look like a Disney film

[@fordprefect80]

Yeah watched it a few weeks back. Compelling and quite confronting.

[@sergeyk6782]

@@fordprefect80 my grandpa survived such an action.

[@captainsergeant]

When I first watched that movie I just assumed it was an extreme exaggeration due to the over the top actions of the German soldiers. I now know this was not the case.

[@torycsummers7328]

Yes ive seen it. And yes i agree. Its a rather disturbing movie.

[@hugo2242]

I thought schindlers list was a disney film?

[@stevecooper2541]

The SS-SONDERKOMMANDO 'DIRLEWANGER' A MEMOIR was written by a man who was sentenced to two years in prison for poaching in 1939 at the age of 19. He was one of the original 75 recruits when the kommando was formed in 1940 and remained with the unit until the end of the war. He was released from POW camp in 1946 and lived until 2006. A very well written and very interesting story.

[@f4ust85]

I cant believe these men didnt get handed over to the Soviets (or Slovaks, Poles...) the first day after the war (the way all the Vlasov guys or Cossacs did for far less). They were of no value in terms of intelligence and were literally the most brutal war criminals of the entire war who murdered thousands of people in Belarus, Ukraine, Poland or Slovakia, all over the east...

[@BadBoy-bt6lb]

The bastard was lucky to live to old age.

[@StanObirek]

During Warsaw Uprising Polish fighters were short of ammunition, had to aim well before firing, as a result Dirlewanger's brigade suffered unusually high proportion of dead to wounded. A legion of cowards good against defenceless women and children. This short movie makes them look almost like angels.

[@MrFrenchteacher1]

Dr Dirlewanger won numerous gallantry medals for exceptional courage in close combat. The Polish soldiers who murdered him while he was a defensless prisoner were great heroes, no doubt about that, or were they?

[@MrReiniC]

@@MrFrenchteacher1 short answer. Yes. Those Polish soldiers did a good job.

[@peterschmidt4341]

@@MrReiniC no they did not.

[@Mark-vq5dz]

It certainly doesn't do their wickedness justice for me.....and yet another reason justifying the wiping out of the evil group that was the Nazis. Also it makes those daft buggers who like to dress up as SS and reenact look even more pathetic

[@joperamod5760]

@@Mark-vq5dz why?

[@Betterifitsfree]

"Died of mysterious circumstances" more like; beaten so freaking bad they couldn't tell who it was except by his shoe size.

[@matthewlok3020]

But little wonder if that turned out to be true

[@dave_h_8742]

Oh dear, what a shame, never mind 😉

[@F40PH-2CAT]

@@matthewlok3020 its accepted as the most likely outcome. He was too infamous to hide.

[@marcinswoboda7993]

do not jump to conclusions, he fell from stairs, several times

[@wach9191]

He has weird body tho, slim with big head.

[@machstem6390]

Imagine getting a complaint from the SS about barbarism.

[@chadgoose7886]

@@l337pwnage dilate

[@E-E.ADVENTUREGEARS]

@@Sercer25 SS MEANS SUPER STEALTH

[@fmwr1397]

There's nothing to imagine if you're not a sheep who believes in the Hollywood caricature of the SS.

[@jaykay616]

How bad this dude can be.........

[@johnh.tuomala4379]

Even as Nazis go, that bunch must have been the worst of the worst.

[@braeduin]

The brigade's last action was against the Soviets - Me: Oh good Many of them surrendered to the Americans - Me: Damnit Dirlewanger died in mysterious circumstances, perhaps beaten to death by Polish soldiers - Me: Oh good

[@SuperChuckRaney]

I wonder if anyone researched how many unit members went BACK to jail, after the war, by committing new civilian crimes?

[@lookbovine]

Why add the Me:’s? Anyone being beaten to death should not be welcome news. There’s karma others may experience and then karma for wishing ill.

[@braeduin]

@@lookbovine Yes, it's very noble and high minded of you to pass judgement on my comment while sitting there comfortably behind your computer screen in 2021. Of course you're going to reply to me about rule of law and civilized behaviour, all of which I totally agree with. However, I added the "me's" as a reflection of my emotional response to those historical events which were completely out of my control and happened long before I was born . I felt a certain satisfaction in the way that this particular individual met his fate - especially at the hands of Polish soldiers who likely knew or were related to his victims, and who had suffered great hardships and endured some of the most brutal actions of the Second World War. Of course the right things would have been to go through due process and to have given this criminal a fair trail. However, I am a mere human and my emotional sense of justice reacted the way it did.

[@johnh.tuomala4379]

@Jo SM If in fact Dirlewanger did die of a 'heart attack" (as did Milosevic, decades later), you can bet that far more likely than not that "heart attack" was induced by human fists. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

[@KGWyzel]

If they were captured by American forces, then they were likely put on trial in Nuremberg.

[@xander9564]

"One must be amazed, when one learns of the inner nature of man, that the number of criminals is so small." -- Dr. Wilhelm Stekel

[@EroticOnion23]

Not really, humans & apes are social animals, the real crazies like those in this brigade would have definitely been kicked out of the community in prehistoric times, and genetically selected out. A few seems to have slipped through though...Psychotic, sadistic behavior is very prevalent though in war-like societies (Germanic, Japanese, Samoan, etc.) due to, well, the more peaceful ones being the first off killed in wars...it all boils down to natural selection...

[@johnstafford6810]

I imagine that Himmler also saw this unit as an opportunity to empty the prisons and rid the state of as many of these criminals as possible .

[@luchko3936]

@Greg Htma yup

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

@George Lynch Dixon Did the Nazi propaganda claimed Patton's 4th Armor were just like that; mafias, Irish gangs and hitmen released from Chicago jails on promise of full pardon if they survived the war?

[@Carandini]

@@thanakonpraepanich4284 They made the same claims about US Airborne since they shaved their heads (which was what the Germans did to convicts). The 4th Armored was dubbed 'Roosevelt's Butchers' by the German press and said to be dregs culled from America's prisons.

[@Warsie]

@Greg Htma But political prisoners in GULAG weren't let out as much or at all lmao

[@Warsie]

@Greg Htma The people let out of prisons and given commands were political prisoners like communists and other radicals who won. Of course they'll free their comrades lmao

[@Trek001]

You know a man is dark when even the SS go "Now steady on"

[@stansfieldmcelroy]

@@knuthamsun6106 oh knut, bad form old boy

[@nickmitsialis]

@George Washington You saw that picture of Oskar Dirlewanger...it's like his face has been 'withered' by the evil inside of him. I know people say 'don't judge a book by it's cover, but just looking at him, you know he's bad news.

[@JAG8691]

Dirlewanger doesn't deserve to be called a Man.

[@andrewcox6980]

@@knuthamsun6106 if you look up the definition of terrorism, you'll see it means ruling through fear. He in fact was a terrorist enforcer, working for one of the most murderous terrorist regimes in history.

[@floridaman0219]

​​ @Johannes Blume The death’s head was used by a Hussar cavalry regiment and the black Brunswickers long before the SS

[@jeffblacky]

my grand uncle was attached to these guys in 43 , after he had problems in his prior unit for drunk on duty. He did 8 months before returning to his unit before 1944. He was captured in late 1944 and did not return until 1950. His old unit was the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division , Flak Battalion 4 as a gunner.

[@olekcholewa8171]

Damn

[@renatorodriguez834]

I am hospitalized trying to recover from Covid for 3 weeks so far and your videos help me a lot to deal with this. Thank you Dr. Felton.

[@ingridlinbohm7682]

I hope you get better soon. God bless you.

[@C00lGuyWithHats]

You alive?

[@markhammar3977]

You got this, good luck.

[@youngimperialistmkii]

"Beaten to death by Polish solders" A great ending to a horrible story.

[@tapset]

It's safe to say he had it coming

[@yadayadayadayadayadayada777]

Nevermind all the POW after war that had to die in polish death camps eh.

[@youngimperialistmkii]

@@yadayadayadayadayadayada777 What are you talking about?

[@elrondhubbard7059]

@@youngimperialistmkii He's trying to 'whatabout' Nazi crimes to deflect away from them, because he's a fan I suppose.

[@enigma_7772]

He wasn’t beaten to death.

[@j-dub618]

If Mark Felton didn't exist, the historical community would have to invent him.

[@eagleone5456]

Yeah, I dont believe we could.

[@MrBrookcantdance]

Good god the brown tongueing on this channel makes me cringe. Sad sad bastards.

[@Harmony_FM]

@@MrBrookcantdance the only sad & pathetic display I’m seeing is your lack of appreciation.

[@fasthracing]

@@MrBrookcantdance I fully agree with you.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Dr. Felton wasn't born "They assembled him out of dead Professors and G.I.'s at OSC."

[@ronniecoleman2342]

Atilla the Hun: We are the most ruthless soldiers in history. Dirlewanger: Hold my beer.

[@thiaguinhooitodois2211]

Wifey hears the intro music and asks “watching ww2 history again?” Lol

[@soyboyhunter2022]

yes i am 😎

[@morphkogan8627]

@@soyboyhunter2022 i love soy

[@j0nnyism]

The music is perfectly chosen. It’s almost as if it’s preparing us to fight against the Wehrmacht

[@markhammar3977]

That's my ring tone when she calls me, she has the imperial March from star wars as mine bahaha.

[@aubs400]

An atrocious man and unit, but important for this story to be told and known, not least as a warning of what human beings are capable of. As always, thank you, Dr. Felton, for your brilliant insight and work!

[@RonJohn63]

The problem with your comment is that these people were heinous criminals *before* the war.

[@kadecase7470]

@@RonJohn63 It could be argued that he’s talking about the people who authorized such a unit to be created in the first place.

[@n7warhound885]

You’d thinking this unit would be more widely known and talked about. The act of murdering 500 kids by hand. Can’t even picture that scene

[@IMAN-od8jv]

@@n7warhound885 really terrible

[@qaz120120]

To be frank, he contributed a lot the german army. Take his achievements into perspective and the 'crimes' are negligable.

[@andrewdurand339]

Dirlewanger's Brigade sounds like the typical Imperial Japanese Army platoon in WWII.

[@jowaksh6627]

That's really not an accurate comparison to the average Japanese platoon. The Japanese had more theatres of war than just Naiking

[@Rayman1971]

@@jowaksh6627 In each theater, the Japanese were still very sadistic..

[@andrewdurand339]

@@jowaksh6627 The Empire of Japan, from 1931 to 45, killed more than either Nazi Germany or the Stalinist USSR by some estimates. Not only did many die directly at the hands of the Japanese through brutality and enslavement, many also died indirectly through starvation and/or disease caused by Japan's wars of aggression and Japan's economic exploitation.

[@SomeoneFromBeijing]

@@jowaksh6627 There are many more war crimes than the Nanking Massacre. Unit 731, for instance, was notorious for their tortures and human experiments. Many smaller scale massacres also happened in China (including the Japanese-occupied Taiwan and Manchuria), Myanmar, Japanese-occupied Korea, Pacific islands, and Southeast Asia. There's also the "Three Alls Policy"-- "kill all, burn all, loot all". Millions of Chinese CIVILIANS were raped, mordered, or harmed by the Japanese forces. And many POWs were murdered for fun or in killing "trainings" or even killing competitions. So yes, this is an incredibly accurate description.

[@NemoBlank]

Funny how Germans readily admit the truth but modern Japanese think that WW2 started with them being attacked if they know what it was at all. Guess you won't see Sony Pictures making any realistic war films about Japanese soldiers.

[@keithpace6597]

I can't believe it took so long for Mark to get to Dirlewanger. This is one of the most bazaar corps in the whole of WW2.

[@jussim.konttinen4981]

This unit was never a full division. Peak strength 4000 men. Finland's demobilized army had 12,000 men in Western Lapland. Erik Heinrichs commanded 100,000 men. Franz Böhme had about 200,000 men in Norway.

[@themobseat]

bizarre?

[@karstenseterbakken3617]

nope

[@coimbralaw]

*Bizarre, nincompoop.

[@2randomblackmen]

Just saying, the Home Army also caused this Unit heavy casualties during the Warsaw Uprising. I believe the number was 315% Casualty Rate from when the Uprising started (where it had about 850 men total) to when they got 2500 more Military convicts during the beginning of the uprising, and they lost over 2730 men during the three months of fighting. So, once they fought Poles that could fight back, they got their asses handed to them.

[@nikolakaravida9670]

Exactly that. The Dirlewanger brigade literally lost every engagement against actual soldiers, Poles and Soviets.

[@karstenseterbakken3617]

Last time i looked up the uprising then the poles completely lost that struggle

[@lepusistlich6930]

@@karstenseterbakken3617 They lost but still managed to kill many Dirlewanger's soldiers. I don't understand how this is supposed to be mutually exclusive.

[@karstenseterbakken3617]

@@lepusistlich6930 where is the real proof that they managed to smoke so much of them?

[@jancyraniak4739]

@@karstenseterbakken3617 Seems that in 2 sources, stars to get past algorythms: 1) Mats Olson, Chris Webb, & Carmelo Lisciotto, Oskar Dir***anger Ho***aust Education & Archive Research Team. 2) Gordon Williamson, Stephen Andrew (20 March 2012), The Wa**en-*S: 24. to 38. Divisions, & Volunteer Legions Osprey Publishing 2004, pp. 16, 36. ISBN 1-78096-577-X. Took me literally 60 seconds to find it using Google. Maybe you could try it one day?

[@renard6012]

"History doesn't repeat if you censor it." KZbin, probably.

[@DriftedVisionMan]

Could be said of almost anywhere on the internet sadly

[@99somerville]

You ain’t kidding.

[@119jle]

Could you imagine if we ever had media that was unbiased that you could believe and trust in?

[@dennisg6963]

Wow what a thought. Also I think KZbin is already run by the actually fascists...

[@Addystiffler]

A false statement obviously

[@wazkangz955]

You know, most of the time I always look forward towards Mark’s history lessons, but while horrific, shying away from history does no one any good.

[@vortigan9068]

fax i would teach my kids this stuff ngl

[@neilwilson5785]

We need to see, so that we can understand. It can be hard to watch sometimes.

[@alansturgess1324]

Nor do all the wokes and PC prawns who want to rewrite it.

[@dakoderii4221]

Seems to be repeating itself.

[@davecoffey977]

China doing same thing now when will people learn from past

[@AtomicFire1972]

The Dirlewanger Brigade may have started out as a penal unit, but by 1944 any scumbag or thug who impressed Dirlewanger was recruited. The Dirlewanger Brigade also had Red Army deserters in their ranks by late war. They also used Soviet equipment either captured or bought into the unit by deserters, including T34 tanks. These deserters were just as brutal and ruthless as the violent convicts from the Reich proper, or the RONA volunteers. Not that most "loyal" Soviet troops were any better. Life in the Red Army was harsh and brutal, thus producing soldiers who act like animals when cut loss. These kind of men were prefect for the likes of Oskar Dirlewanger and his merry band of cutthroats.

[@jacksteel1539]

ah yes the average Soviet deserter was just as bad as the worst of the Nazi's that killed 100'000s of civilians, I love hearing bullshit like this. I bet your source is "trust me bro" despite the fact there is 0 proof the Soviet soldiers deserted to these guys late in the war when they were heavily winning to join soldiers that hated the Soviets and had just killed 100'000s of Soviet Civilians...

[@harveywallbanger3123]

That was Bronislaw Kaminski's "Kaminski Brigade" you're thinking of - it was composed of equally chaotic evil men like the Dirlewanger Bridage, but they were also all turncoats (and led by a notorious turncoat in Kaminski) and thus suffered even worse from indiscipline. It appeared that most of them had deserted and joined solely to loot, and many tried to desert BACK to the Russians when confronted with German discipline, so if I recall correctly Himmler eventually had Kaminski shot and the whole brigade dispersed.

[@reinharddenenkral]

he was true hero

[@TheTeodorsoldierabvb]

Ah yes, I love how you seemlessly equate the Red Army soldiers to Dirlewanger, while its your government that recruited SS officers post-war. Typical american :D

[@upperechelon5692]

​@TheTeodorsoldierabvb Israel and the USSR also recruited ex high ranking nazis too but by all means have fun continuing to get your ass kicked in Ukraine by a bunch of our hand-me-down weaponry.

[@bubbarucks4535]

Again Mr. Felton another outstanding teaching lesson in our human history. I always enjoy how well narrated and in depth your studies are and personally think you are by far the best! Please keep up the great work and GOD bless!!

[@ficz9596]

You know it's serious when even the SS consider their actions brutal.

[@ericreckless541]

It seems fashionable these days to suggest the Nazi soldiers were just the same as the Brits, US, French etc. No they were not as Mark Felton demonstrates.

[@shanegraham9077]

I was shocked when they said they were too extreme. Something must have went wrong guys

[@spooderdoggy]

@@ericreckless541 Your taking Mark Felton out of context. I watch his videos all the time and don’t ever recall Dr. Felton equating SS troops to allies troops. He is simply stating the SS used some troops that were even more ruthless and lawless than themselves in general.🤔

[@APersonOnYouTubeX]

@@ericreckless541 the ‘nazis’ we’re the same as the allied troops They were the Wehrmacht, drafted or just participants (typically loyal to state and not Hitler)

[@jacquesstrapp3219]

@@ericreckless541 Suggesting that all German soldiers were the same as the Dirlewanger Brigade reveals astounding ignorance.

[@juanandresgomezortega7274]

"He died of strange circumstances, supposedly beaten to death by poles", that is not a strange nor a surprising way of dieing for that fellah

[@jonhunter8737]

Beaten to death by Poles, or with Poles??

[@BrownsTown]

By Poles with poles.

[@codrignher]

It is said that he has been recognized by Polish sentries, who had been earlier soldiers of a Home Army in Warsaw, thus veterans of Warsaw Uprising 1944.

[@paulrockatansky77]

Considering what his unit was responsible for in Warsaw in 1944, I hope his passing was slow and agonizing. Look up the massacres of the people of Wola and Ochota.

[@toddwebb7521]

Clearly fell down some stairs

[@dustinandtarynwolfe5540]

Even your subtitles are immaculately timed. Dr. Felton, I say this every time in different ways but you have the highest quality history channel hands down. I just keep finding things you do well that others pay no mind to. Once again, thanks for your dedication.

[@ericmcquiston9473]

You can’t get any worse than that, another outstanding video Mark ! Keep up the great work.

[@prebenjaeger]

The Soviet movie Come and See depicts the actions of the Dirlewanger brigade. At first you'd figure it was Soviet propaganda because surely not even the SS behaved like that, but then you read about Oskar Dirlewanger

[@Lillithowl]

And the director had to tone down some of what really happened because it was too brutal to show on film.

[@peterc.1419]

Why 'surely not'? Just because Thomas the SS treated Brits with respect and love does not mean they treated Slaves well. There is a reason the Germans are still disliked by Poles, Russians, and others in the east.

[@ColinH1973]

I have it on dvd. It's the same mentality as Oradour sur Glane.

[@manupainkiller]

@@peterc.1419 Right...and the poles and russians are in love with each other, right ? You will be surprised, how much they hate each other - far greater than both of them combined, for germans.

[@petedraper5185]

@@peterc.1419What on earth makes you think the SS treated the Brits with respect. You are obviously unaware that the SS murdered almost 100 men of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment at Dunkirk.

[@SnoopyDoofie]

9:14 Dirlewanger died at the age of 49, yet he looked like an 80 year old.

[@heretic192]

He was wounded several times in WW1, fought in Spain, was again wounded several times in Russia.. while also being an extreme alcoholic and most likely took some of those meth-pills as well. Not exactly the most healthy lifestyle if you'd ask me.

[@djmech3871]

@@heretic192 He was wounded 12 times. That evil bastard was lucky.

[@ismayonaiseaninstrumentno7105]

@@piotrekmajkowski5422 hold up we all know satan gonna be like: "Why you looking at me for? I ain't gonna deal with him!"

[@simunooi5306]

Wonder how many poor animals he abused growing up. He probably looked 49 when he was 12.

[@jaybee9269]

I think the word is “dissipated”, or perhaps it’s too mild for him.

[@NJSC_Railfan]

Dirlewanger makes Reinhard Heydrich look like a saint in comparison. And that says a lot.

[@Fernandaa2006]

And Otto Moll makes Dirlewanger look like a saint in Comparision...

[@EliteBadFrog]

@@Fernandaa2006 and Josef Mengele

[@paparoach007]

@@EliteBadFrog and Boris Johnson

[@Prizrak131]

​@@paparoach007 And Kamala Harris

[@mariusblazejowsky7230]

Mark You deserve a medal of honor for this movie..thank You so much for it and for History Lessons for everyone..

[@maverick4177]

You know you have created a monster when even the SS are disturbed by their actions!

[@TheRealSpeedWolf]

Indeed as that part with the daycare where they use their bayonet and the butt of their rifle had my jaw dropped in utter shock and disgust. Unfortunately human being such as that still exists today and this is why it is very important to never censor such things or dumb it down. Because in doing so give the appearance that it was not as bad as people say it was, that gives the rise to far-right racist ideas till this day under the illusion that you're protecting your own nation and your own race. If history was told in its truest form such racist attitudes and ideas or ideology wouldn't have a leg to stand on under the disguise of freedom of expression.

[@ballisticdan9135]

@@TheRealSpeedWolf Great comment.

[@scrull81]

I don't know what's worse.. the industrialised "cold" killing of people by the SS (and others) or those guys, who even enjoyed it.

[@ballisticdan9135]

@@scrull81 Equally despicable.

[@suspicionofdeceit]

It’s bad when even the SS has to conduct an investigation.

[@isu3302]

I've seen people say that like the ss was bad Once you look into them many were just like the men fighting the the army People make such stupid things they make them look like beasts When in facts they lived regular lives, had kids and a good life Once you look at them you realise they're not much different from you or from me Now what they did in combat stays in combat whether they committed any war crimes or not its not up to us or to anyone to talk about its part of war humans will do it regardless or their ideology or motives

[@ericreckless541]

@@isu3302 Mark Felton's description of their horrifying war crimes suggests you are wrong or perhaps you dispute what Mark Felton says?

[@isu3302]

@@ericreckless541 yt deleted my comment

[@zzzolll]

@@isu3302 You for real? Did you just finish elementary school? Do you know what horrible things SS has done throughout the war? You sound incredibly stupid to say the least. Comparing those animals and their deeds to normal day people.... this has to be the most idiotic thing I've read here so far.

[@bacon1564]

@@zzzolll What's stupid is your comic book villain framing.

[@strive_for_peace]

My great-uncle served in this unit. The few times he told his experiences from that time still make me shiver. I am grateful that there is documentary like this because it confirms what my great-uncle said. It's strange because I only have good memories of him. He never made a secret of the fact that he had killed many people and that he was involved in the "purges" of the Polish civilian population and the Warsaw Ghetto. He came into the unit because he was sentenced to death. He always stressed his innocence and that the charge against him was a fatal mistake. Later he wrote down the circumstances. His childhood and joining the Dirlewanger Brigade are the only remaining pieces of paper. Everything that he had done and experienced in the unit, I only know from his stories. It's terrible what humans can do to humans.

[@GhostofMrP]

My grandpa and 2 of his brothers were in this unit and they loved it. Said everyone was really nice, and they had a great time. Maybe your great uncle was just a cry baby sissy

[@thomasnolan7931]

@@GhostofMrP Idk man, maybe your grandpa and great uncles were a bunch of sick fucks lmao.

[@deargodwhy9718]

​@@GhostofMrPL

[@jamesagnew929]

A sickening story, yet one that needs to be told. Unfortunately the lessons that need to be learned from these such accounts have been forgotten by too many.

[@tomhighway6465]

This is like the perfect ingredients for a evil storm.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

and it develops badly

[@Unc_Ted]

But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction-- Chemical X

[@ohisux9389]

?

[@bogrunberger]

I saw some videos about Dirlewanger and there were people cheering for him and wishing we had men like him to defend Europe writing in the comments.

[@Killertiller01]

@@bogrunberger Animals.

[@spenceramey406]

In the famous Soviet-era Belarus anti-war movie, 1985's "Come and See" by director Elem Klimov. The SS division that was depicted at the end of the film were based on this particular SS division.

[@flintsky7706]

Great and disturbing film.

[@av5958]

...were based on what soviet guerillas and soviet troops had made with the civil population in all occupied by them territories

[@cabbagectrl]

@@av5958 Keep spouting fantasy

[@hecunt3633]

@@av5958 The red army is an objectively evil communist organization!!!!i

[@RedStarRogue]

Although in the film there were clearly defected Russians in that squad helping them with the killing. I always assumed they were more based on the einsatzgruppen or the mentioned R.O.N.A.

[@MrFrenchteacher1]

‘A 2 week orgy of terror’ yet the war lasted several years. One of your best video Thank you very much

[@northwoodcompany8775]

Amazing ! The introduction at the beggining is astonishing

[@warrenmilford1329]

The SS and gestapo also thought at times, that the actions of the ustasha troops of their ally Croatia, were a bit beyond the pale as well. Especially in so called anti-partisan actions, which were basically the mass rape, looting, brutal torture and murder of civilians. Maybe you could do a video about this mob Mark.

[@MVProfits]

They were really bad. And since they were proud of their "work", there are photos of some of their awful deeds, contrary to the Dirlewanger Brigade.

[@warrenmilford1329]

@@MVProfits Yea, I've seen a few of those photos. Sickening. Some of them show some of the ustasha pricks, grinning at the camera, as they torture some poor bastard who is obviously screaming. They were obviously very proud of their 'work' as you say. I'd reckon they would have regretted having those photos in circulation, once Tito came to power.

[@z1ll4jr53]

@@warrenmilford1329 Don’t act like Tito and the commies and Serbian guerillas were even remotely better or different, please.

[@warrenmilford1329]

@@z1ll4jr53 I wasn't at all. My original comment was in relation to the videos particular content, of the SS being dismayed at Dirlewanger's actions, so I raised the point about their feelings of how the ustasha operated. I know of the atrocities from all sides in the Yugoslav theatre, and I definitely wasn't taking sides.

[@johnsmith-mq4eq]

Similar to the Red Army in Eastern Europe in 1944/5

[@Alex-cw3rz]

This unit was the inspiration for the SS soldiers in the war film Come and See, one of the best and most realistic war movies ever.

[@crimony3054]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYOupIJ-bbKshck

[@leonardomarta8562]

Amazing film . The burning barn scene Is one of the most disturbing and nightmarish scenes in movie history . But also i love that the movie says that revenge in never a good and satisfyng thing , even with people like those butchers .

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@leonardomarta8562 yep I totally agree, it's one of the most harrowing scenes ever. It's a movie that sticks with you

[@Creek_Hunter]

It was also described in Sven Hassel's books.

[@leonardomarta8562]

@@vegitoblue5000 They were similar and highly inspired by Dirlewanger Brigade, but were not the same Brigade .

[@bepis3966]

I'll add some details that Mark forgot to mention of Dirlewanger's life and legacy World War 1: He wasn't an ordinary infantryman but a machine gunner in the First World War. He was wounded 6 times. (You would think being wounded that many times would teach a mad lad to behave) He was promoted to a Leutnant to lead his own machine gunner company. At the end of World War 1, the German troops in his area were ordered to be sent to camps in Romania, by the Allieds. Dirlewanger ignored these orders and took his unit back to Germany. Inter-War years: Got a bullet to his head and survived during his service in the Freikorps. I also remember reading that he commanded an armored train to liberate a town from communists, but I only remember reading that story like twice while all the other stories of him have been repeated dozens of times, so I dunno about that. After the NSDAP rose to power he was praised as a savior of a town and got an honorary status in the said town. (Could this be related to the armored train adventures?) Took part in the Spanish Civil War. World War 2: I don't think Mark missed much from this period. I skipped through the video a bit but I didn't find if Mark mentioned that Dirlewanger's tactics lead to his unit ending up with 300% casualty rate. Post War: Dirlewanger has been rumored to have been recruited to the French Foreign Legion and fought in the First Indochina War. It's rumored that there were still three veterans of the Dirlewanger brigade living in Germany in the 2010s. "Dirlewanger", a Swedish music group was formed in 1986. The Azov Battalion either has a unit or at least fights alongside a unit called "Dirlewanger skinheads" in the current Donbas War. Finnish internet: Hikkykostajat (hikikomori avengers) gave Oskar Dirlewanger the title of 'hikkykostaja' (a/the hikikomori avenger) for tormenting normies and his neglect of social norms/morals. Hikkykostajat are an unorganized group of radicalized Finnish hikikomoris who take revenge on society by the means of vandalism. Many of the stories of vandalism they share are most likely just make-believe. The oldest Dirlewanger memes made by hikikomori avengers seem to be from 2017. The term 'hikkykostaja' (a/the hikikomori avenger) can refer to one of them, Oskar Dirlewanger, or really any person behind a case of vandalism of normie property, this makes it possible to read their stories as if Dirlewanger keeps coming back from the dead just to shitpost on a Finnish imageboard and torment innocent people with petty vandalism. Known ways of hikkykostaja's taking revenge on the society include: Living on welfare. Losing mental health from lack of socializing, drug use, and being mad at society all the time, which in turn means more welfare money for being a sicko. Dropping a frozen sheet of urine through a normies apartment door's mail hatch. Wiping one's bottom onto a public bathroom's toilet seat after defecating. Leaving poisoned bits of sausage near paths where people walk their dogs. Scratching paint off cars or deflating their tires. Spilling a bucket of fecal/paint/urine mixture (I think this tactic was once used on a social welfare office by a hikky who wasn't happy with the amount of welfare he got.) Western internet: Hearts of Iron 4 The New order fans seem to have started "memeing" about Dirlewanger around 2018, among many other insane extremists and war criminals that were included in the mod. In 2019 a thread about Dirlewanger was posted on 4chan's 'History and Humanities' board and judging by people's reactions this was the first time many of them heard about him. This most likely lead to many people searching for more info about Dirlewanger which lead them to find the Finnish meme images of Dirlewanger which just added to his absurdity. The thread mentioned above, lead to more Dirlewanger threads being posted on the 'History and Humanities' and 'Television and Film' boards throughout 2019 and 2020. Dirlewanger threads are being made less consistently now, but there still are nearly daily threads about him on 'History and Humanities'. The 'Television and Film' threads of Dirlewanger usually began with an image of Dirlewanger in his civilian attire when he was captured and a green text portraying a cheesy cop movie-style scene where Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler takes the role of the stereotypical police chief with lines such as ">Turn over your badge and your gun... and your other gun", ">Your latest stunt in Warsaw got Fuhrer breathing down my neck.", or ">You're a loose cannon Dirlewanger, but damn you're effective.".

[@MrSpitfireMustang]

Another outstanding effort Mark. Thank you.

[@dieterkaiser367]

😂 😂 😂

[@Jarod-te2bi]

The word evil fits this legion perfectly there’s no other word pure evil.

[@shaunbritton939]

Interesting how ppl turn so evil like why what for do you treat your family the same all the questions no answers

[@irongeneral7861]

Mental illness. But as subjective as the word evil is, I agree completely

[@kamilpotato3764]

Read about Ukrainian nationalist and Wolyn Massacre.

[@kaboon3489]

@@kamilpotato3764 what about it? It doesn't change the fact that the nazis got a bunch of convicts to kill people.

[@tankacebo9128]

the word "Evil" can be applied to damn near every Nazi, these guys were something else, something much, much more sinister.

[@johnnybgoodeish]

Dirlewanger -that's what Skeletor looked like when he was a young man! :)

[@transeantus1719]

lol...soul less

[@paulfaber6227]

When you mentioned Skeletor, I thought you were talking about Nancy Pelosi.

[@connoroverall580]

She-Man & The Democrats of The Universe.

[@NastyCupid]

Imagine someone saying: "my granduncle fought in the Dirlewanger brigade, he won medals and was very bra.... oh wait"

[@franknezevic4385]

...brave. he bravely used his bayonet to stab innocent childred to death to save the bullets which he will later use to shoot Polish civilians, curageosly lit random villagers on fire and not to mention the time when he shot a person on fire as they tried to escape their burning home... oh wait

[@Definitelynotjewish]

Based If only.

[@franknezevic4385]

@Denis Ryakhovskiy lol yeah you get like so much xp when you stab them instead of shooting them (Joke)

[@MusMasi]

send them to warsaw

[@jillvalentinefan77]

*Draws 1911* What did you say ?

[@mitsos306ify]

One of your most interesting videos! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[@Willigula]

Dr..Felton just keeps cranking out stunning history programming. Yes, these are history programs and not just KZbin videos. He is the penultimate source for us now, as there is no more real History Channel. His content is much too detailed and deep, yet concise and effective for broadcast/cable television these days. Let’s all please support his work in whatever way that we can. Subscribe, share, contribute if you can. Thank you, Mark! … from all of us.

[@kidmohair8151]

may I suggest you look up the TimeGhost channel? Since 2014, when they started WW1 week by week, they have branched out to cover 20th C history in great detail, to the point that the tube of you regularly censors them for being...(ahem) "in violation of community standards", in other words using pictures of atrocities that are a little too graphic for the history sensitives out there, who think it is time to "move on", and dredging up these gruesome details is counterproductive....(sorry, got carried away there)...but do look them up, it is worth the time

[@AndyCutright]

@@GunnarMiller Close, but penultimate means second to ultimate in a series of things, the ultimate being the final element in that series. Neither term conveys any information about how that series is ordered, or whether the ultimate is the best or the worst of the series. Colloquially penultimate generally means second place, behind the first. 'Ultimate' is the appropriate term here.

[@daviswall3319]

Irregardlessary of the use of a word, I believe we all get the meaning. Mark Felton gets it and he is trustworthy with the facts and damned interesting if I might add and yes I made up the first word of this reply. Love your work Dr Felton.

[@malcolmjcullen]

@@AndyCutright Talk about splitting hairs!

[@FGH9G]

Oh God, this guy. This guy was apparently so evil that even the SS tried to have them removed. They even directly inspired the main bad guys from the movie Come and See (1985). And that method of burning villages was their PREFERRED method of reprisals. Absolutely sick.

[@1977Yakko]

I have that movie on Blu-Ray. It's... different but it's reputation as being a brutal portrayal of the war is deserved to be sure.

[@CringeModeActivated]

That was a great ending to the vid. Thank you for uploading such fascinating content. :)

[@gw5309]

A great scene from "Blazing Saddles" comes to mind: "Qualifications" "Rape, Murder, Robbery, Rape" "You said rape twice" "I like rape"

[@enlightenedone7141]

🤣🤣🤣

[@hellepost1439]

Paul Schäfer, Hartmut Hopp, Augusto Pinochet. COLONIA DIGNIDAD ☠️☠️☠️☠️

[@markchase5323]

What was painfully appalling to me was the epiphany that the actions of the Dirlewanger Brigade's psychopaths, sociopaths and criminals compares to the actions of many "honorable" Japanese servicemen, with the notable exception of cannibalism wasn't mentioned for the psychopaths. Did I miss something?

[@dalilaberenicepadillaloera5568]

Yes. Your missed the murderous firebombing of Tokyo and Dresden, where hundreds of thousands of women, children, and elderly were burned alive by the US Air Force and the British RAF. Only for the purpose of "demoralizing" the enemy into surrender.

[@markchase5323]

@@dalilaberenicepadillaloera5568 Blame that on the Japanese War staff as they were beaten militarily by the time the Allies took the islands where they operated those B-29s. Instead of acting in the best interest of the people of Japan they taught children to sharpen bamboo into spears and employed multiple form of suicidal warfare. They would not have bombed, if the Generals and Admirals had just quit fighting. The Emperor finally called halt to it after Little Boy and Fat Man. Some of the Officers still tried to stop the sensation of fighting by coup. The reason LeMay ordered the B-29s to low altitude fire bombing was two fold. War industries were intermixed and the B-29 was ineffective in making a difference at high altitude. Dresden was a complete military failure by the NAZIs to protest the civilian population of the city with any kind of adequate air raid defenses or air raid shelters. Goebbels pull a public relations coup by added an order of magnitude to the death toll and screaming the inhumanity of it. So, the V1 &V2 were used against civilian targets as was the Stuka with it's siren to add terror, causing the civilians to jam the roads to prevent the armies from being able to respond to the Blitz.

[@LtJoker1]

@@markchase5323 I love how Americans defend the use of atomic bombs. Since beginning of 1944 there were two factions in Japan - warmongers that backed their deeds with some wicked interpretation of Bushido Code and those that wanted to end the war with Allies. After the Fall of Saipan it was certain that Japan won't hold for long and even the Emperor wanted to surrender. The way to begin talks with Washington was through the last available officially neutral diplomatic channel in the person of Jakow Malik. The problem was that Stalin wanted badly to add Far East territories to USSR and West knew that. In February 1945 during Yalta Conference Japan's fate was sealed - Roosevelt promised Stalin these territories if USSR will agree to join the war effort on Pacific Theater in 3 months after the defeat of Germany. Through 1944 till Yalta Malik played the game with Japan, so they won't reach Allies diplomats in any way. If he allowed Japan to surrender that would meant the end of Stalin's plans for Far East conquer. One more thing - US intelligence gained knowledge of indifferences in Japanese government before Yalta. It was US Army top brass that convinced Truman that Japan won't surrender under no circumstances and the use of atomic bombs was necessary. In the late 1944 and beginning of 1945 Japan was already on it's knees due to really well performed marine blockade which completely cut off supply lines. There was no fuel, no ammo, no food, no medical supplies. By August of 1945 atomic bombings were for purely experimental purposes. Nothing else. The project itself was very expensive - how would you explain to the taxpayers what happened to the billions of dollars from the budget?

[@balrog262]

Not sure I believe that one.

[@matty6848]

@@dalilaberenicepadillaloera5568 unfortunately it was a necessary evil in order to end the war. Plus Germany had spent years bombing British cities which killed thousands of civilians including children. They sent incendiary bombs down on British cities with the full intent of setting the cities on fire trying too demoralise the British public. What Hitler didn’t count on is that would make the British even more determined, bred even more anger to get back at Nazi Germany and raze the country too the ground. There’s only one person too blame for German cities being bombed beyond recognition and that was Hitler. Even Churchill said the bombing of Dresden was a pure revenge attack, after what the Luftwaffe had done too big cities like London, Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Liverpool etc. after what they did would you just sit back and do nothing or would exact revenge, because I know what I’d do.

[@alexmason668]

I've been waiting for someone to cover the notorious Oskar Dirlewanger. Good job, Mark!

[@papawx3]

I've been waiting on someone to cover Harris and Lemay, but I guess that isn't going to happen any time soon.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

Simon Whistler (Today I Found Out) did this unit 4 months ago.

[@mgway4661]

@@papawx3 they will be covered in the War Against Humanity Sub series of World War Two

[@talsamChan]

This SS unit also featured in Soviet movie "Come and see"

[@mesolithicman164]

papawx3 Oh. Were Harris and Lemay on the side that started the war? Or were they doing what it took to finish the war?

[@ShamileII]

Another impressive anecdote from Mark Felton. I read about the Deliwanger brigade from a waffen ss history book....but as usual, Mark Felton brings it to life.

[@brandon7482]

Iam glad you liked my idea sir! Thank you for making the episode.

[@carloslennox]

I think this was the brigade portrayed in the famous Belarusian WW2 movie "Come and see"

[@jirkazalabak1514]

It would seem that way. We can see them herding the people into the church, setting it on fire, and then shooting anyone who tries to escape. I don´t think they were the only unit to do that though.

[@johntetzler1662]

yes, they even included his monkey. very much inspired by the mythos of the dirlewanger brigade.

[@zillsburyy1]

thats a low budget movie

[@sergeyk6782]

@@zillsburyy1 that's 1985 soviet movie ))) what budget expected ?)

[@averyretodo8159]

@@zillsburyy1 Silly, that's what makes soviet movies amazing. They made some good movies with the restrictions they had.

[@Lupinthe3rd.]

I remember watching about dierlwanger on biograhics and about this unit. There were even instances of necrophilia committed by some of its members that was mentioned. It shows how sick this unit and its leader where.

[@plartoota4584]

@Schlomo Baconberg you’re literally everywhere in the comments claiming this is “over the top” or “propaganda” you wanna just come out and say you’re a Nazi and save everyone some time?

[@plartoota4584]

@Schlomo Baconberg if you defend documented nazi actions and claim they are “propaganda” there’s a good chance you are one (meaning you agree with their ideology, not that you’re a card carrying member of the NSDAP, you moron) How many fights did I get into? Are you an actual child, basing merit off schoolyard fights? Seriously? And yes, this is the same brigade that beat 500 toddlers to death with the butts of their rifles, is it so hard to accept that some of them were necrophiliacs?

[@blahblahblahblah2837]

Now just think that those 700 men went on to have children after the war and now, with a taste for blood and rape, probably spread trauma to a new generation. Suddenly sadistic psychos like Fritzl make a bit more sense

[@Lupinthe3rd.]

@Schlomo Baconberg you forget these people are sociopaths psychopaths mentally deranged people and sexual sadists in a group of several thousand they raped children women and men it is by no stretch of the imagination that necrophilia would be something a few of thier members would do.

[@andyz.5431]

I heard they also turned villagers into lampshades and soap and washed their butts with it.

[@Crissy_the_wonder]

Although these accounts are horrible, it is vital they are remembered, or they will happen again (and they do happen). Reporting today and remembering yesteryear is so important. Great work Mark

[@josephmaurina3837]

Thanks for the knowledge on the issues you talked about.

[@BawlzOfuzz]

Shew that bit about the kids at the preschool hit me hard. I'm a dad and can't wait to hug my baby girl tonight.

[@dp-sr1fd]

On a different topic, assuming it was not a typo you spelled "show" as "shew" This is the correct way, but sadly you don't see it anymore.

[@williammorse8330]

hello and yes, children are more precious than we realize.... evil is real.... how many villages in the east did units like this wipe out?

[@dylanhaugen3739]

William Morse, ironically many holy books glorify men like this. Moses commanded his army to murder even male in the town of median, even the little boys and infants, along with any female who wasn't a Virgin, so pregnant woman were slaughtered on sight, only the virgin girls were sparred for Moses and his mens own use as breeding stock.

[@someguysomeone3543]

Just wait till you hear about the child death camps and Jasenovac by the Ustaše

[@someguysomeone3543]

@@williammorse8330 In Belarus alone at least 5000 villages and settlements were wiped out or were severely damaged.

[@Fearless_on_my_Breath]

Those poles must have taken out all of their anger on Dirlewanger. And thanks Sir for another great video on a topic unknown to many till today.

[@jevinliu4658]

Oh good thing you haven't heard of The New Order

[@Kalleri13]

That is proof that brutality is contageous. I do understand it. Uit really is amazing that this pandemic of violence coupé be stopped and that the germans survived as a nation. In the Good old days the defeated would just have been eradicated.

[@mordapl1641]

@@jevinliu4658 Dengist Dirlewanger

[@Fearless_on_my_Breath]

@@jevinliu4658 The game? Of course I have heard of it.

[@krazownik3139]

D I R E C T R U L E F R O M O R S K

[@anthonyjordan2922]

Excellent video. The exploits of the Dirlewanger Brigade brings to mind the Soviet movie Idi I Smotri (Come and See), an excellent albeit very harrowing and difficult movie to watch.

[@redsquare8256]

This is a fascinating video, I've always enjoyed your videos Mark. This is one of the few times where you are actively routing for military ineptitude for the unit.

[@shinkuroi9261]

Man, Felton is definitely one of the best content creators on the site tbh. Straight to the point, interesting information. Reliable as a hammer.

[@raygiordano1045]

Agreed, too many channels add a ton of filler, even Mark's intro is short.

[@Roller_Ghoster]

Even the SS thought them to be brutal. Who better to tell us this dark episode from WW2 than Dr Felton.

[@thegunslinger1363]

"If this is the best God can do. I am not impressed!" George Carlin

[@danapussyone]

The brigade is hard to track, and photos are very rare. There is one reasonable book on the unit based on captured records.

[@piersellis69]

Been waiting for this for ages

[@Ostenjager]

If ever there were a group of men who were prime candidates for some “woodchipper justice”...

[@ishitrealbad3039]

In war times i can forgive many things, but straight up rape and stabbing of children is just beyond anything i could tolerate. Those people should've been fed to a woodchipper alive....

[@nowords8097]

"the jerma treatment"

[@johnreynolds6369]

Mark, how about doing videos on “Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night” and “Operation Unthinkable”. I think very little is known about either among the general public, but both are hugely significant.

[@coimbralaw]

Nobody cares about your suggestions.

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job makes it easier for viewers to better understand what the orator is describing. Class A research project. Historians did an excellent job of differentiating truth from fiction. Devil's brigade for certain.

[@widukindgaladh949]

One of the reasons they performed well in battle was experience. They were a punishment battalion and therefore used as fodder in the battles and constantly sent to the front lines.

[@markgrehan3726]

You've got to imagine that if the Germans had won there would have been another night of the long knives.

[@kelzuya]

Facists always have to be at war with something. It's an ideology that eats itself eventually.

[@andyz.5431]

@@kelzuya Every ideology has to be at war with smth anytime, it's human nature.

[@ihatekid]

@@andyz.5431 this

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

Who will be on the 'You have outlived your usefulness' list in the victorious Nazi scenario?

[@philvigil6128]

@George Lynch Dixon con servative. Con. Against. Conservative. Resistive to change

[@zamiadams4343]

Ever since I read the book "The Cruel Hunters" by French Maclean i've been fascinated by this brigade, a real dark corner of the whole of WW2. Great video Mark!

[@arsenal-slr9552]

Checking it out!

[@zaved2008]

Felt good to hear the last line : Beaten to death by Polis Soldiers.

[@notme3686]

You do realize that Poland's army was especially cruel and ruthless to civilians, right?

[@Blizbor18]

@@notme3686 Cocaine's one hell of a drug, huh?

[@notme3686]

@@Blizbor18 if you say so. I guess you know nothing of the amount of non-bolshevik poles that had to flee the country from 1945 until around 1990. They've managed to pull themselves together over the last 30 years and become a country worth something but prior to that it was a hellhole. From 1900ish until 1938 they were terrible. From 1938 until 1945 they reversed polarity but still pretty bad. Americans are really bad at history. Propaganda has ruined its people's minds.

[@Blizbor18]

@@notme3686 First of all, I'm not an American - I'm Polish. Second - I'm very curious where did you learn about the supposed cruelty of polish soldiers towards civillians and in which conflicts? Do you have any sources to PROVE your claims? If you claim something YOU need to prove this, otherwise its just an empty statement. So lets hear the details...

[@notme3686]

@@Blizbor18 First, i don't need to explain anything to you. Second, I'm relying on experience from a group of friends that happened to be refugees from poland during the 80's

[@kuribayashi84]

I don't know who is more monstrous: Dirlewanger for doing all this horrible stuff, or Himmler looking at his exploits and being all like: "Eh, this man is useful."

[@ericjoniec914]

There's a great Polish movie it's about Deliwenger Division. 2013 "Taniec Smierci". Hope you can find it with Eng. Sub. Also " Warsaw 44".

[@unit4039]

The Deliwenger Division, is that the one with the great pastrami bagels?

[@obadiahsmith2345]

I'd rather have lox and capers over pastrami .

[@mikeoz4803]

Dirlewanger was on top of the nazi genocidal pyramid scrap heap. A monster in every facet. A convicted pedophile who was once arrested for having sex with a corpse. viva la Germans!

[@northfolk6991]

At least we're not speaking German...

[@yuppy1967]

@@mikeoz4803 that is a bunch of bull.

[@CyBirr]

This video made me ill. I can only imagine how unpleasant it was to research it. Thank you for keeping history alive.

[@mountplusBladeequals]

He didn’t even bring up the bad stuff, he kept it entirely kosher. The Dirlewanger bois were a menace to society. In the Warsaw school bit he mentioned, men in the brigade could be found swinging toddlers like clubs so as to smash their skulls against - whatever’s hard enough to crack a skull. Also in Warsaw, in a hospital, they shot their way in, bayoneted and shot all the wounded inside, and then gang raped and murdered something like 80 nurses. Sonderkommando Dirlewanger quite literally invented the “human minesweeper” - if they stumbled across a minefield during a partisan clearing operation, they’d go to the nearest village, round up dozens to hundreds of people, and march them across said minefield to clear a path. Dirlewanger himself had a penchant for shooting his guys for desertion (and/or for just being assholes). During their “anti-partisan” activities, they’d kill camps consisting of hundreds to thousands of people, but they’d only recover dozens to hundreds of rifles/pistols/weapons - i.e. most of the people they’d killed were unarmed. Don’t even get me started about the human lampshade rumors that started circling around the SS.

[@XrayxRich]

@@mountplusBladeequals - Sounds like the contemporary U.S. Democratic Party.

[@mountplusBladeequals]

@@XrayxRich uhhh, no? Not at all? There’s no moral, ethical, functional equivalence here (though the GOP’s formal greenlighting of pedophilia comes close).

[@Joanla1954]

Another educational video, thank you Mark!

[@Ground0-dn1cv]

The photo at 4:54 shows they were ill trained too. The guy centre of the photo holding the MP40 has his thumb over the open ejector port.I can see the bolt is turned upwards into the recess, so locked on safe, but neverthless someone familiar with an MP40 wouldn't instinctively put their thumb there.. You can learn a lot from a photo.

[@JessiContingenC]

Wow, good catch with the MP40. These guys weren’t held to much of a standard anyway, as they were essentially a roaming band of militarized highwaymen. Perhaps early on the original poachers who made up the unit could’ve been considered soldiers of some caliber, since they were organized poachers and not murderers or sadists, alongside two months of initial training, but that’s about it.

[@Artur_M.]

When I saw the notification I felt a mixture of joy that Mark Felton is spreading the knowledge about what the people of Belarus and Poland went through at the hands of those bastards and apprehension to click on it and hear about these atrocities once more. The exploits of this despicable unit during the Warsaw Uprising were described in gruesome details by Mathias Schenk. Just 18-years old at that time Wehrmacht soldier, conscripted from the part of Belgium incorporated into Reich, Schenk had the misfortune of being part of a detachment of the assault engineers (Sturmpioniere) assigned to help the Dierlewanger Brigade in urban fighting.

[@jasonmussett2129]

It makes the blood run cold. Schenk deserted and lived with a Polish family until after the war.

[@250sabre]

Even now after all these years the 500 children have no peace !! Such horrible deaths of children , makes me ill !!

[@jeffreyb8770]

Hindsight is 20/20. Without any resources to care for the children, they very likely would have died much more slowly from exposure to the elements, hunger, and disease. We forget that, *at the time, life was not precious, thousands of innocents died from B-17s dropping bombs on cities. If parents sacrificed their lives to save their children, that left the children to fend for themselves. Does that sound cruel? What do we think war is??

[@oliviersavard8676]

@@jeffreyb8770 are you seriously justifying the murder of 500 kids

[@molybdomancer195]

@@jeffreyb8770 so beating them to death is OK then? What sort of “men” could look a child in the face and then beat them to death?

[@Kaiserniv]

@@oliviersavard8676 we had already reached the point of the right to live or the right to death long ago. The fact that they exist gives me existential crisis. But still 500 dead children are 500 disturbed and dead souls that deserved to live happy lives

[@obelic71]

@@oliviersavard8676 he is not, we are judging those times with hindsight. Even in the Balcan wars in the 90's Children were slaughterd on the must sadistic ways possible by drunk soldiers. In war people become monsters and a human life is worth nothing.

[@peterbehringer63]

Great job....this is my second time around (now Feb. 2022) for this story by Mark about this vile figure in the Nazi war machine...so intrigued by the appearance and behavior of Dirlewanger that i and my writing team are considering including a character based loosely on him in a post-Apocalyptic adventure series set in modern-day Venezuela after everything goes "Mad Max" and new powerful warlords emerge for control of resources, people and territory. We see a creepy Dirlewanger-like character as a leader of a violent terror & shock squad for one of the new warlords....a unit that has to be reined in sometimes and kept on a short leash by its superiors..

[@marcosbradanovic9100]

That sounds cool

[@afrocentricalbion]

The recruitment process here reminds me of a scene in "Blazing Saddles", where they where recruiting criminals for some deleterious enterprise. The potential recruits are listing their "qualifications" and one man lists rape twice. When asked why, he says "I like rape". I believe he was willingly accepted.

[@johnsheetz6639]

Murder, rape,arson and rape,lol i know not a funny subject but for movie jokes it was gold!

[@EconomicsMate1]

1am here in Australia and no better way to go to bed then watch another great Mark Felton video. Keep it up mate. Love the work

[@leemichael2154]

Gday mate or rather gnight!

[@EconomicsMate1]

@@leemichael2154 haha whether its night or day, we always say Gday

[@leemichael2154]

@@EconomicsMate1 really? Well it's drinking time in Newcastle UK so gday mate! !

[@comsecone]

Always top shelf

[@sparky4878]

Hope you don’t have nightmares after this.

[@lordulberthellblaze6509]

A story long overdo for the honor of a Mark Felton production. Finally the wait is over. Thank you good sir.

[@torinjones3221]

This is like sticking all the naughty kids in one class and putting the worst one incharge

[@idontcareanymore2754]

& leaving them easy access to automatic weapons and explosives

[@GVGames1986]

I am reading a book detailing this lot right now, very interesting and not the only group of criminals used in war. I re-call reading about a similar British unit. Not sure if it was World War 1 or 2 as it was a while ago when I lacked historical knowledge. A lot of their quirks were very similar. They generally enjoyed hurting the enemy. Not simply dispatching them. As their badge shows. Grenades are very messy and very brutal and I'd wager this lot loved using them!

[@allen_p]

Absolutely horrific events that must be told to honor those lost.

[@offthemountains]

@George Washington Correct. Let's make sure we win next time.

[@friedrichs753]

@@offthemountains Why would you want to join this unit? It’s just a band of war criminals and mentally insane

[@teamcastro9187]

@@offthemountains Tell that to the EU

[@rexmundi3108]

"Mysterious circumstances" : when hanging really is too good for someone.

[@mountplusBladeequals]

He was probably beaten to death by Polish guards, there were fears for decades that he’d slipped out of Germany and had become a condottiere in far flung locales like Egypt.

[@mountplusBladeequals]

@Dilbert Doubloon no need to gild the lily on this one. If those Polish guards hadn’t kicked him to death, someone else would’ve. He only lived to see a prison cell (for like, a day) out of some fluke of history.

[@zosothezephead837]

Very professional, thank you!

[@cristianmicu]

this video remembers me with pleasure i might say, a series of books i read when i was young, by an author called sven hassel...