Oskar Dirlewanger

The Infamous War Criminal and His SS Sonderkommando

Soraya Kuklińska

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Miscellaneous
01 March 2026

Biography: historical, political & military; True war & combat stories; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; The Holocaust; Second World War

Through the utilization of source material from a dozen archives in four countries, author Soraya Kuklinska has produced the definitive biography of Nazi war criminal Oskar Dirlewanger.

Oskar Dirlewanger is one of the most reviled war criminals in history. A tall, gaunt, ghoulish-looking man, he commanded a penal unit of the Waffen-SS.

The Sonderkommando ""Dirlewanger"" grew from a company of men previously jailed for poaching into a formation of thousands, the majority of whom were former concentration camp inmates.

Ranks comprised a diverse array of convicted persons, ranging from soldiers who committed minor breaches of discipline, to political prisoners, to foreign prisoners of war, to eventually even murderers and rapists.

Dr. Soraya Kuklinska has studied Dirlewanger for longer and in more critical detail than any other historian. This includes images, 100 of which are included in this book.

The work answers the decades-old questions about Dirlewanger's character and personality, his life, and his death.

Further, the book provides new insight into who the men who served under him were, and how they conducted themselves on campaign.

AUTHOR: Dr. Soraya Kuklinska received her Ph. D in history from Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz in 2019. She is a full-time, professional historian at the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw and the Pilecki Institute. She lives in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

SELLING POINTS: .

Biography and Unit History Both a biography of Oskar Dirlewanger and a history of the SS Sonderkommando Dirlewanger .

Fresh Sources Utilizes new source material from twelve archives in four countries .

Expert Author Dr. Soraya Kuklinska holds a Ph. D in history and is a full time, professional historian at Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw. .

Photos Includes a hundred photographs, many of which are quite rare.

100 colour and b/w photographs

By: Soraya Kuklińska
Imprint: Miscellaneous
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 1.080kg
ISBN: 9780764369889
ISBN 10: 0764369881
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 01 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dr. Soraya Kuklińska received her PhD in history from Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz in 2019. She is a full-time, professional historian at the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw and the Pilecki Institute. She lives in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Reviews for Oskar Dirlewanger: The Infamous War Criminal and His SS Sonderkommando

With her new book, Professor Soraya Kuklinska has written the definitive biography of one of the Third Reich's most notorious war criminals, SS Colonel Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger...Using a large amount of untapped original source material...she has delved into the private life and personal experiences of the commander of the eponymous Sonderkommando in a way that has brought him to life like no other."" -- Douglas E. Nash Sr., author of ""The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944""