Brandenburgers

The Brandenburgers (German: Brandenburger) were members of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence and counter-espionage organ, the Abwehr. Members of this unit took part in seizing operationally important targets by way of sabotage and infiltration. Consisting of foreign German nationals working on behalf of the Third Reich, the unit's members often lived abroad, were proficient in foreign languages, and were familiar with the local culture and customs of the areas where they were deployed. The Brandenburg Division was generally subordinated to the army groups in individual commands and operated throughout Eastern Europe, in northern Africa, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and in the Caucasus. In the later course of the war, parts of the special unit were used in Bandenbekämpfung operations against partisans in Yugoslavia before the division was reclassified and merged into one of the Panzergrenadier divisions in the last months of the war. They committed various atrocities in the course of their operations.