The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit (Schiffer Military History) [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

French L. MacLean (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Military History | Publication Date: January 1, 1998

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

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.; First edition. edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764304836
• ISBN-13: 978-0764304835
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A detailed but ultimately unsatisfying history, December 13, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Cape Town , South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

MacLean has attempted a history of Dirlewanger's notorious SS unit . This is an ambitious project if only because former unit members are understandably reluctant to come forward with their story . Perhaps for that reason most of the book is taken up with a rather dry litany of combat strengths , casualty reports , SS member records etc . The author hints at 'incidents' but does not speculate further leaving the reader somewhat frustrated . There is little examination of the anti-partisan tactics used by Dirlewanger and surprisingly little attempt is made to analyse the man beyond the broadest generalisations . Whilst it is laudable to stick strictly to the facts the book could have benefitted from a more detailed account of the excesses during Warsaw Rising and some forensic analysis of Dirlewanger himself .There are many eye witness accounts of the unit's activities yet few were included in the book . Whilst I personally enjoyed the book the lay reader will find it a little too dry and will get the impression of microfiched archives transferred to paper with too little of the author's own comment .

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Cruel Hunters - Sondercommando Direlwanger, March 22, 2006

By 

Wann Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

In a word...disappointing. MacLean manages to confuse reams of irrelevant information regarding promotions and personal information of anonymous SS men as salient to the story. The translations from German to English are poorly done (they read in many cases as literal translations) and the few worthy anecdotes that a reader truly interested in Oskar Dirlewanger and his role in history will find could easily have been condensed into thirty pages. Pictures are somewhat interesting but nothing unique. Listings of SS personnel having served with Dirlewanger is of some value. Printed in China and looks it. At the price, I'd recommend that you take a pass.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little-known part of WW2, July 7, 2001

By 

Scott Swindle (Iraq) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

What happens when you organize criminal riff-raff into a military formation, then give them carte blanche to act as they please? The answer is in the book, and it's not pretty. SS Sonderkommando Dirlewanger was originally formed from convicted poachers, but eventually grew to include many who were convicted of various crimes or had fallen from grace. However, some men who were not criminals were also assigned to this unit.

"This Waffen-SS formation consisted not only of common criminals, but also disgraced army and SS officers, reduced in rank and now serving as privates. However, not all officers and non-commissioned officers were sent to the unit as punishment. Many had been previously assigned to the SS main headquarters and were transferred to the Sonderkommando to gain front-line combat experience and perhaps an award or two before returning to Berlin." The commander, Oskar Dirlewanger, was himself a sexual deviant, having had several episodes involving girls under 14 years of age. He was also monstrously cruel, and though designated as an anti-partisan unit, they spent a great deal of their time hunting (and killing) Jews.

The book is written in a severely factual style, rather dry actually, but is still very interesting nonetheless because of its subject matter. I found especially interesting the chapter on the Warsaw uprising and the Sonderkommano's role in crushing the Polish Home Army, as there does not seem to be much literature on that elsewhere.

Chapters are as follows: 1. A Monster is Born (Dirlewanger's early years, in and out of the SS, and his run-ins with authorities). 2. The Anti-Partisan Years, 1942. 3. The Anti-Partisan Years, 1943. 4. Farewell to Russia, 1944. 5. Warsaw. 6. The Monster Dies (Dirlewanger's summary execution). 7. Judgement at Nuremburg.