Desperate, Dirlewanger contacted Gottlob Berger, an old Freikorps comrade who worked closely with Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Berger secured his friend's release, after which he travelled to Spain to enlist in the Spanish Foreign Legion. He later transferred to the Condor Legion, a German unit which fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) for Franco's Falange Española.[2]