Sonderlehrgang z.b.V. "Oranienburg" (Special training course for special assignments "Oranienburg") was a

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

and

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's SS. It was assembled in early 1942 on the order of SS-

Obergruppenführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...

Hans Jüttner as a rival to the Heer's

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Regiment. Originally based at

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...

, the unit consisted of 100 experienced volunteers from the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

under the command of SS- Hauptsturmführer Pieter van Vessem. Their first operational mission ( Operation Osprey) was a proposed deployment to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

but this never transpired. In early 1943, five members of the unit were parachuted into

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to assist guerrilla opposition to the Allied occupation. Early in the summer of 1943, SS Sonderlehrgang Oranienburg moved to a purpose-built facility in nearby Friedenthal and was re-designated SS Sonderlehrgang zbV Friedenthal - the ‘zbV’ in the unit’s title stood for ''"zur besonderen Verwendung"'', i.e. it indicated special duties. At this time, the unit consisted of one full company under the command of SS-Hauptsturmführer van Vessem, as well as part of another company and a transport element. Comprising a total of 300 men, all personnel were members of the Waffen-SS, which included fifty Dutchmen and

Flemings Flemish people or Flemings ( ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Flemish Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. ''Flemish'' was historically a geographical term, as all inhabita ...

, with a few ethnic Germans from Hungary. Shortly after this, the unit came under the command of

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Standartenführer'' in the ''Waffen-SS'' during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including the removal from power ...

and was absorbed into SS-Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal in June 1943. In October/November the unit was renamed 502nd SS Jäger Battalion.

Development

*Sonderlehrgang z. b. V. „Oranienburg“ (18 April 1943 – 16 June 1943) *Sonderverband z. b. V. "Friedenthal" (16 June 1943 – 17 April 1944) *SS-Jäger-Bataillon 502 (17 April 1944 – 10 November 1944) *SS-Jagdverband Mitte (10 November 1944 – 8 Mai 1945) ** 150. SS-Panzer-Brigade (November 1944 - 25-28 December 1944) **Division Schwedt ''Kampfgruppe/Sperrverband Skorzeny'' (31 January 1945 – 3 March 1945)

References

*{{cite book , first=Terence , last=O'Reilly , title=Hitler's Irishmen , year=2008 , publisher=Mercier Press , isbn=978-1-85635-589-6 German World War II special forces