During its service in Greece , the division was involved in war crimes and atrocities against the civilian population , and had been under scrutiny by the Gestapo . In particular they were responsible for the Kleisoura massacre and the Distomo massacre ; the latter being one of the worst atrocities committed by the Waffen-SS during World War II . On June 10 , 1944 , for over two hours , troops of the division under the command of SS - '' Hauptsturmführer '' Fritz Lautenbach went door to door and massacred Greek civilians as part of a " retaliation measure " for a partisan attack upon the unit . A total of 214 men , women and children were killed in Distomo , a small village near Delphi . According to survivors , SS men " bayoneted babies in their cribs , stabbed pregnant women , and beheaded the village priest . " Elements of this division acting in retaliation , committed atrocities in the mountains of central Greece ( " Ρούμελη " ) during May and June 1944 that resulted in the destruction of Sperchiada and the massacre of 28 civilians in Ipati . The division later participated in Operation Kreuzotter ( 5 – 31 August 1944 ) , an attempt to eradicate ELAS bases from the same mountains which was a failure , but included the killing of 170 civilians and the partial or complete destruction of dozens of villages and cities
Distomo massacre
Distomo massacre
4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division