>>724558310
That's a bit of a missconception. The actual unit was made up of poachers (those who poached with guns, the ones who killed animals with traps were not permitted to join) who were criminals, but not really what Popular history suggests. Their numbers were also fairly small, the unit started with around 250 Members and with how the poachers enjoyed special priviliges compared to the other members of the unit (promoted to offiger ranks) we can estimate there were around 500-700 Members max.
Later their unit was bolstered by foreigners, court martialed Soldiers from the Wehrmacht and political Prisoners (often communists) from concentration camps. The notion that they put took actual rapists and murderers from prison and and integrated them into the unit was propaganda by other Nazis who despised Dirlewanger for personal reason. Dirlewanger was the only noteable seasoned career criminal in the unit, the rest as already said were Poachers, political prisoners and court martialed Soldiers.
Another important fact to consider is that those were not officially part of the SS, at least legally speaking, hence why they were not allowed to wear SS uniforms and were outside of the SS jurdisdiction (Dirlewanger alone decided what to do with them). They were just put there either to be used as cannon fodder of only as temporary measure (for the court martialed soldiers of the Wehrmacht).
Most actual career criminals participated in other penal Battalions, mostly in the Wehrmacht because there they could be overseen by the Military police. The Dirlewanger unit on the other hand acted fairly independently, there was only one instance very early on were 6 members of the Sicherheitsdienst accompanied them.
