The Dirlewanger Brigade is associated with its commander, Oskar Dirlewanger, a sadist called the most evil man in the SS.[1] After receiving the Iron Cross first and second class while serving in the Army of Württemberg during World War I, Dirlewanger joined the Freikorps and took part in the crushing of the German Revolution of 1918–19. He joined the Nazi Party in 1923. After graduation from Citizens' University, Dirlewanger worked at a bank and a knitwear factory.