36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS was formed Feb 1945 when SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger was upgraded to a division.

When SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger was upgraded to a division a number of Heer units were attached to the unit: Pionier-Brigade 687, Grenadier-Regiment 1244, Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 681 and Panzer Abteilung Stahnsdorf I. Grenadier-Regiment 1244 was made up a mix of men from various sources, about half of them were students from NCO schools and a about a quarter came from the Volkssturm.

The number of desertions increased rapidly and together with the massive Red Army offensive this meant that the unit was no longer a functioning unit by the middle of April though small elements continued to fight. The remaining elements of the unit disbanded south of Magdeburg and attempted to reach the western Allies.

Nicknames

Dirlewanger (Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger was its founder and commander)

Holders of other notable badges & decorations (SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger/SS-Regiment Dirlewanger/SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger/36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS)
Holders of the Anti-Partisan Badge in Silver (3)
  Feiertag, Heinz, ??, SS-Obersturmführer, 36. Waffen-Gren.Div. der SS
  Walser, Erwin, May 1944, SS-Hauptsturmführer, Sonder-Kommando "Dirlewanger"
  Zimmermann, Paul, ??, SS-Untersturmführer, 36. Waffen-Gren.Div. der SS
Holders of the Anti-Partisan Badge in Bronze (5)
  Blessau, Werner, ??, SS-Hauptsturmführer, i.d. 36. Waffen-Gren.Div. der SS
  Ingruber, Egyd, ??, SS-Obersturmführer, SS-Sonder-Btl. "Dirlewanger"
  Schreiner, Max, ??, SS-Untersturmführer, 36. Waffen-Gren.Div. der SS
  Stöweno, Rudolf, ??, SS-Hauptsturmführer, SS-Sonder-Btl. "Dirlewanger"
  Weisse, Kurt, 00.00.1944, SS-Obersturmbannführer, SS-Sonderbataillon "Dirlewanger"

Order of battle (20 Feb 1945)

Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 72

Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 73

SS-Artillerie Abteilung 36

SS-Füsilier Kompanie 36

SS-Nachrichten Kompanie 36

Pionier-Brigade 687 (Heer)

  2 x Battalion

Grenadier-Regiment 1244 (Heer)

  2 x Battalion

Schwere-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 681 (Heer)

  2 x Company with 88mm anti-tank guns

Panzer Abteilung Stahnsdorf I (Heer)

  Staff Company

  2 x Assault Gun Company (15 Sturmgeschütz III)

Officers serving in the Einsatzgruppen and Concentration Camps
Concentration Camps 7
Einsatzgruppen 1
(includes officers serving in the Einsatzgruppen or Concentration Camps either prior to or after service in this unit)

Insignia

A collar insignia with crossed rifles and a hand grenade was authorized.

Photo © N & T Global Trading

Soldiers from the Dirlewanger unit (at the time a regiment) during the Warsaw uprising wearing the special collar tabs

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

Footnotes

1. Regular Waffen-SS soldiers attached to the unit.

2. Concentration camp inmates excluding poachers but including political prisoners as well as regular criminals.

3. Regular Heer soldiers attached to the unit after it was designated a division.

Published sources used

John R. Angolia - Cloth insignia of the SS

Georges M. Croisier - Waffen-SS (PDF)

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

Thomas L. Jentz - Panzertruppen Vol 2: 1943-1945

Dr. K-G Klietmann - Die Waffen-SS: eine Dokumentation

French L. MacLean - The Cruel Hunters: SS-Sonder-Kommando Dirlewanger Hitler's Most Notorious Anti-Partisan Unit

George F. Nafziger - The German order of battle: Waffen SS and other units in World War II

Marc J. Rikmenspoel - Waffen-SS Encyclopedia

George H. Stein - The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939-1945

Frank Thayer - SS Foreign volunteer collar insignia and their reproductions (in The Military Advisor, Vol 4 No 2)

Gordon Williamson - German Security and Police Soldier 1939-45

Gordon Williamson - The Waffen-SS: 24. to 38. Divisions and Volunteer Legions

Mark C. Yerger - Waffen-SS Commanders: The Army, corps and divisional leaders of a legend (2 vol)

Reference material on this unit

Christian Ingrao - Les chasseurs noirs: La brigade Dirlewanger (Perrin, Paris 2006)

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 - 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)

Rolf Michaelis - Dirlewanger