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

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

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

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") 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 commissio ...

Hans Jüttner as a rival to the Heer's

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

Regiment. Originally based at

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

, the unit consisted of 100 experienced volunteers from the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

under the command of SS-

Hauptsturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Hstuf'') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organizations such as the SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Hauptsturmführer'' was a mid-level commander and had equivalent seniority to a ...

Pieter van Vessem Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 to ...

. Their first operational mission (

Operation Osprey Operation Osprey (''"Unternehmen Fischadler"'' in German) was a plan conceived by the German Foreign Ministry and Abwehr II. mid-1942. The plan was an enlargement of Operation Whale (''"Unternehmen Wal"'' in German). Planning took place in th ...

) was a proposed deployment to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

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 The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a Germanic peoples, Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Dutch language, Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. "''Flemish''" was historically ...

, 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-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

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

502nd SS Jäger Battalion SS-Jäger-Bataillon 502 (502nd SS Light Infantry Battalion) was a special forces unit of Nazi Germany from 1943-1944. Formed in June 1943, the unit was commanded by Otto Skorzeny and was based at Schloß (chateau) Friedenthal just north of Ber ...

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