The Brandenburg Regiment was a Special Operations element that was nominally part a of “Heer” (the German Army) under the Wehrmacht. It actually worked (somewhat exclusively) for the Abwehr (the German intelligence service) under Admiral Canaris. It was NOT an SS unit (though I’m sure there are occasions where they worked with the SS).
The Germans are conflicted in many aspects. The perception of anything akin to “National Pride” is considered “inappropriate” and suspect (I was at the HofBrau Haus in Munich when the subject of German history came up, I happened to say that Rommel, Von Manstein, etc were “Outstanding soldiers” some Germans aghast said “Dass darf man nicht sagen!” one should not say that!, when I asked why, the reply was the same . . .). A aery creative dynamic people with a self loathing streak (and we think our Liberals hate themselves!!) a mile long (or is it 1.7 Kilometers?).
