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For once Hans von Schroif was unable to maintain his steely self-control. The shock of recognition was clear to all. “Dirlewanger!” he gasped in stunned disbelief.

“Reporting for duty, Hauptsturmführer!” replied the skeletal SS-Obersturmführer in a strong Franconian accent.

Oskar Paul Dirlewanger hailed from Würzburg, a beautiful city in the region of Franconia, located in the northern tip of Bavaria. The legendary beauty of the city was in stark contrast to the ugly apparition which now stood before the assembled officers. His large, almost bulbous skull narrowed to a weak, pointed chin. His face carried Mansur scars and other gashes and cuts.

Even to those who were not familiar with the Waffen SS, SS-Obersturmführer Oskar Dirlewanger was an infamous name. Despite his official rehabilitation, his unsavoury reputation preceded him. There was no doubting his personal bravery, which was almost legendary. He had served as an infantry officer in World War I and had won both the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the Iron Cross 1st Class. His military service in the trenches had been viewed as exemplary and he was known for his considerable courage in battle; his damaged features testified to the fact that he had been wounded over ten times. He always led his troops from the front and the decorations covering his chest were proof of that.

After the end of the World War, Dirlewanger had floated around the different Freikorps volunteer militias and fought in the Ruhr, at Saxony. His path had often crossed with von Schroif and they had actually fought together in Upper Silesia. Dirlewanger was an intelligent man. Von Schroif was aware that he had studied at the university in Frankfurt and had obtained a degree in political science in 1922. Their politics were similar too; both men had joined the NSDAP in 1923. It was a source of frustration for von Schroif that Dirlewanger could boast slightly longer service in both. Dirlewanger’s party number was #1,098,716 and his later SS number was #357,267; beating von Schroif by roughly a thousand volunteers in each instance.

“Excuse me for one second, gentlemen,” said von Schroif, who almost staggered into the kitchen where he found the familiar figure of Leutnant Vogel, the aptly named Luftwaffe liaison officer.

“Is everything in order, Hauptsturmführer?”

“No, it is not,” said von Schroif, his eyes alighting on a bottle of schnapps. “Yours?”

“A gift from home,” said Vogel.

“As a rule, I do not drink schnapps, Leutnant,” said von Schroif, “but on this one occasion, would you be so kind as to spare me one glass?”

“Certainly,” said Vogel, picking up a glass and filling a generous measure. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, it’s Dirlewanger.”

“Is there still a problem? Hasn’t he been exonerated? He is a veteran after all,” enquired Vogel.

“Sure, that’s the official line, and it’s true that he has seen more combat against the Reds than any other veteran, including Sepp Deitrich himself. He seems to have a nose for action and has been everywhere. To my certain knowledge, Dirlewanger fought against the communist general strike in 1919, and I can testify that he has fought with the Freikorps in Backnang, Kornwestheim, Esslingen, Untertürkheim, Aalen, Schorndorf, Heidenheim, in the Ruhr at Dortmund, Essen in 1920 and in eastern Germany in 1920 and 1921. I am certain that Dirlewanger had served faithfully and loyally in Freikorps Epp, Freikorps Haas, Freikorps Sprösser and Freikorps Holz.”

“Then he sounds like the kind of man we need,” suggested Vogel, tactfully keeping his options open and waiting to see which way the wind would blow.

“No one needs this man,” said von Schroif.

“I understood Dirlewanger had combat experience with armour and had commanded an armoured car troop with some distinction?” continued Vogel.

“I can’t deny it. On his own initiative, he set up the Württemberg ‘Highway Watch’. It included many ex-members of Dirlewanger’s machine-gun company, the one he had commanded at the end of the war. Regrettably, they were augmented by my own A7V veterans and it was these proper men who first brought me the reports of ‘improper practices’ concerning our friend Dirlewanger.”

“Is he disloyal? To the party?” asked Vogel.

“I cannot even lay that charge at his door. There is no question that Dirlewanger has proved to be an active and dutiful servant in the fight against the Reds in Germany. His methods were… shall we say, robust.”

“So the rumours are true, Hauptsturmführer?” asked Vogel.

“I don’t deal in rumours,” retorted von Schroif. “After the Kapp revolt had been beaten, you will no doubt recall how the murdering bandits of the ‘Ruhr Red Army’ controlled large parts of the Ruhr area.”

“My knowledge is a little hazy. It was… er, a little before my time,” replied the young officer.

“Of course… I must be getting long in the tooth,” replied von Schroif before continuing with his explanation. “Anyway, what happened was that a regular army force, the Reichswehr-Brigade 13, under General Haas, and the Sprösser Volunteers were sent to combat the Reds. Unlike today, they were tempestuous times. Workers from Daimler-Benz in Untertürkheim intervened and tried to prevent the movement of these units by rail.”

“Is that when Dirlewanger’s men intervened?” asked Vogel.

“Yes, his armoured troop somewhat brutally intervened. This permitted the transport of the Reichswehr units, but rumours of bloodthirsty vengeance and ‘other acts’ followed in the wake of the unit. We have to accept that revenge is sometimes part of the experience of a soldier in the heat of battle, but with him there were always ‘other acts’. The same thing happened when they were deployed in Dortmund, then Iserlohn and then again in Essen.”

“Other acts?” queried Vogel.

“Bestial, debased acts,” replied von Schroif. “Dirlewanger and his men contributed fully to what has become known as the Reichswehr’s regime of ‘White Terror’. There was a massacre in Pelkum and ‘Dirlewanger’ armoured troop IV was involved.”

Vogel, who had no interest in politics, said nothing and expectantly waited as the tale unfolded.

“My unit was nearby and I remember the occasion vividly. On Easter Sunday 1921 Dirlewanger and his troops moved towards Sangershausen, which had been occupied by workers. Rather embarrassingly, an attack led by Dirlewanger failed and the workers succeeded in cutting off and capturing some of his men. The next day, after Dirlewanger had been reinforced during the night, the town was taken and, in response to rumours that Freikorps men had been executed, the Dirlewanger troop wreaked a typically barbaric and horribly violent revenge on the remaining workers, many of whom were horribly mutilated.”

“I recall something of a connection between the town and SS-Obersturmführer Dirlewanger,” offered Vogel. “I thought it was something positive?”

“You are right, to an extent. During this operation, Dirlewanger was grazed on the head by a gunshot. After the party gained power, Dirlewanger was celebrated as a ‘liberator’ from the Red revolutionaries, and a square in the town was named after him and he received the title of ‘honorary citizen’.”

“So was he in the Reichswehr?” asked Vogel, his interest now fully roused.

“No. Like me, there was no place for him. He was out in the wilderness and that’s where the problems began.”

“With the law?” enquired Vogel, sensing the downward curve of the tale.

“With the law… and with humanity.”