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Oskar Dirlewanger was a German military officer who was born on September 26, 1896. He was the founder and commander of the SS penal unit known as Dirlewanger during the Second World War.
He was closely linked to some of the most notorious crimes of the war when he was serving in Poland and Belarus. It must be noted that he also fought in the First World War, the post-World War I conflicts as well as the Spanish Civil War.
Oskar Dirlewanger has been described as a person who a few people could compete against in terms of cruelty and this is according to the historian known as Timothy Snyder.
Oskar Dirlewanger was born in Wurzberg and his father was a merchant. The childhood days of Oskar Dirlewanger were spent in Esslingen am Neckar when his family relocated there in 1906.
Oskar Dirlewanger had his education at the Esslinger Gymnasium and the Scheiztor-Oberrealschule . It must be noted that Oskar Dirlewanger completed his Abitur in 1913.
Oskar Dirlewanger joined the Wurttemberg Army on October 1, 1913 . He was serving as a machine Gunner in the konig Karl Grenadier Regiment 123. He was a one-year volunteer.
Oskar Dirlewanger fought on the Western Front of World War I and he took part in the invasion of Belgium by Germany. It must be noted that Oskar Dirlewanger received the Iron Cross 2nd class and 1st class after being wounded six times.
He became a Lieutenant after the war and he was in charge of a company on the Eastern Front in the south of Russia and Romania. The biographer, Knut Stang reveals that the war played a role in the latter life of Oskar Dirlewanger.
Oskar Dirlewanger was also considered to have amoral personality, had issues with alcoholism and had a sadistic sexual orientation.
Oskar Dirlewanger Cause of Death
He was arrested on June 1, 1945, near the town of Altshausen in Upper Swabia by French occupation zone authorities. He was then in civilian clothes using a false and wrong name.
He was then hiding in a remote hunting lodge. Oskar Dirlewanger was reported dead between June 5 or 7, 1945 in a prison camp and his death was attributed to ill-treatment.
There are other reports that indicate that he died from a heart attack.
Awards
Some of the awards of Oskar Dirlewanger include Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (28 August 1914) and 1st Class (13 July 1916), Wound Badge (1914) in Gold (30 April 1918), Spanish Cross of Military Merit (1939), Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (24 May 1942) and 1st Class (16 September 1942).
Others are Wound Badge (1939) in Gold (9 July 1943), German Cross in Gold (5 December 1943), Close Combat Clasp (19 March 1944), Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross (30 September 1944) and Bandit-warfare Badge in Silver (1944).
