Sonderabteilung (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Special Unit'') is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

word often used to refer to some special

German military The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

formations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. This term was similar to a detachment or

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

. Several of the formations were created as

penal military unit Penal military units, including penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may contain soldiers convicted of offenses under military law, persons enrolled ...

s composed of disgraced SS troops and criminals convicted of petty crimes.

List of sonderabteilungen (incomplete)

* Sonderabteilung Altreich * Sonderabteilung Hela *

Sonderabteilung Lola ''Sonderabteilung'' Lola (in Norway also known as ''Rinnanbanden'' (Rinnan gang) was an independent group under the German ''Sicherheitsdienst'' in Trondheim, KDS Drontheim Referat IV. The '' Sonderabteilung'' ("Special Unit") consisted of around ...

* Sonderabteilung Nachlässe * Sonderabteilung Reinhardt * Sonderabteilung Stralsund * Sonderabteilung U

List of sonderabteilungen (incomplete)

See also