The SS-Regiment Dirlewanger was formed in August 1944 when SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger was upgraded to a regiment. It took part in fighting the Polish Home Army in Warsaw and then the uprising in Slovakia.
It was upgraded to SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger in December 1944.

Known war crimes

It was guilty of numerous atrocities during the crushing of the Warsaw uprising, including taking part in what is known as the Wola massacre in the Wola district of Warsaw.

Now Dr. Dirlewanger was hardly a good boy. You can't say that. But he was a good soldier, and he had one big mistake that he didn't know when to stop drinking. (1)

SS-Oberfruppenführer Gottlob-Christian Berger during the Nuremberg Trials

My Führer, they are real low-lifes. (2)

SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein on SS-Regiment Dirlewanger during the fighting in Warsaw

Commanders

SS-Oberführer Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger (? Aug 1944 - ? Dec 1944)

Area of operations

Poland (Warsaw Uprising) (5 Aug 1944 - 15 Aug 1944)
Czechoslovakia (Slovakian Uprising) (16 Oct 1944 - 30 Oct 1944)

Holders of high awards

Holders of the German Cross in Gold (2)
- Dirlewanger, Dr. Oskar, 05.12.1943, SS-Obersturmbannführer, SS-Sonderbtl. Dirlewanger
- Weisse, Kurt, 17.09.1944, SS-Sturmbannführer, SS-Sonder-Rgt. Dirlewanger
Holders of the Knight's Cross (1)
- Dirlewanger, Oskar Dr. 30.09.1944 SS-Oberführer d.R. Kdr SS-Rgt Dirlewanger

Holders of other notable badges & decorations

See 36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS

Notable members

Oskar Dirlewanger (Infamous founder of the unit)

Soldiers from the Dirlewanger unit during the Warsaw uprising

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Soldiers from the Dirlewanger regiment entering Warsaw, marching on Chlodna Street, close to Hala Mirowska (Mirowska Markthalle), the ruins seen in the background belong to the Fire Brigade of Mirow District in Warsaw

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Footnotes

1. "Thanks God that's gone to the butcher: 2000 quotes from Hitler's 1000-year Reich" by French L. MacLean, page 23.
2. "Thanks God that's gone to the butcher: 2000 quotes from Hitler's 1000-year Reich" by French L. MacLean, page 64.

Sources used

Mark W.A. Axworthy - Axis Slovakia: Hitler's Slavic Wedge 1938-1945
Martin Dean - Collaboration in the Holocaust: Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941-44
Terry Goldsworthy - Valhalla's Warriors: A history of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front 1941-1945
Colin Heaton - German Anti-Partisan Warfare in Europe 1939-1945
Peter Hoffmann - Hitler's Personal Security: Protecting the Führer 1921-1945
Charles K. Kliment & Bretislav Nakládal - Germany's First Ally: Armed forces of the Slovak state 1939-1945
Bo Knarrström - Judiskt motstånd under andra världskriget
French L. MacLean - The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonder-Kommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit
French L. MacLean - "Thanks God that's gone to the butcher" 2000 quotes from Hitler's 1000-year Reich
Kurt Mehner - Die Waffen-SS und Polizei 1939-1945
James Pontolillo - Murderous Elite: The Waffen-SS and its complete record of war crimes
Eirik Veum & Geir Brenden - De som falt: Nordmenn drept i tysk krigstjeneste

Reference material on this unit

Christian Ingrao - The SS Dirlewanger Brigade: The History of the Black Hunters
Hans-Peter Klausch - Anti-faschisten in SS Uniform: Schicksal und Widerstand der deutschen politischen KZ-Haeftlingen, Zuchthaus-und Wehrmachtsgefangenen in der SS-Sonderformation Dirlewanger
French L. MacLean - The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonder-Kommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit
Rolf Michaelis (ed.) - The SS-Sonderkommando "Dirlewanger": A Memoir
Rolf Michaelis - Das SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger: Ein Beispiel deutscher Besatzungspolitik in Weißrussland
Rolf Michaelis - Die SS-Sturmbrigade „Dirlewanger“: Vom Warschauer Aufstand bis zum Kessel von Halbe (Winkelried-Verlag, Dresden 2006)