Reichsführer-SS was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. The ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a paramilitary rank system used by the SS to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, became the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel (SS). The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the
Definition
Reichsführer-SS was both a title and a rank. The title of Reichsführer was first created in 1926 by Joseph Berchtold. Joseph Berchtold ( March 6, 1897 &ndash August 23, 1962) a former stationery salesman succeeded Julius Schreck as Reichsführer Berchtold's predecessor, Julius Schreck, never referred to himself as Reichsführer but the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. Julius Schreck ( July 13, 1898 &ndash May 16, 1936) was an early Nazi Party member and also the first commander of the In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became Reichsführer-SS and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. This set the precedent for the Commanding General of the SS to be called Reichsführer-SS.
In 1934, Himmler's title became an actual rank after the Night of the Long Knives. The Night of the Long Knives (German) or " Operation Hummingbird " was a Purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July
From that point on, Reichsführer-SS became the highest rank of the SS and was considered the equivalent of a Generalfeldmarschall in the German Army. Field Marshal General, in German Generalfeldmarschall ( (usually translated simply as Field marshal, and sometimes written only as Feldmarschall
There was never more than one Reichesführer-SS simultaneously in the SS, with Himmler holding the rank as his personal title and rank from 1934 to 1945.
Office holders
In all, five people held the title of Reichsführer-SS during the twenty years of its existence. Three persons held the position as a title while two held the actual SS rank.
- Julius Schreck (1925–1926)
- Joseph Berchtold (1926–1927)
- Erhard Heiden (1927–1929)
- Heinrich Himmler (1929–1945)
- Karl Hanke (1945)
Karl Hanke, the last leader of the SS, was appointed to the position in April 1945, but not informed until early May. Julius Schreck ( July 13, 1898 &ndash May 16, 1936) was an early Nazi Party member and also the first commander of the Joseph Berchtold ( March 6, 1897 &ndash August 23, 1962) a former stationery salesman succeeded Julius Schreck as Reichsführer Erhard Heiden (b Weiler February 23, 1901 &ndash September 1933 was an early member of the Nazi Party and the third commander of the Schutzstaffel Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Karl August Hanke ( 24 August 1903 - 8 June 1945) was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party ( Nazi Party or Karl August Hanke ( 24 August 1903 - 8 June 1945) was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party ( Nazi Party or He was killed on June 8, 1945, while attempting to flee a Czech POW camp where he was being held. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar
Fiction references
The rank of Reichsführer-SS has also appeared in fiction with the following some of the more notable examples:
- In the Robert Harris novel Fatherland, set in a parallel history where Germany won the Second World War, Reinhard Heydrich is depicted as having been promoted to the rank of Reichsführer-SS, after Himmler was mysteriously killed in a plane crash in the 1950s. Fatherland is a bestselling 1992 thriller Novel by the English Writer and journalist Robert Harris, which doubles World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( 7 March 1904 &ndash 4 June 1942) was an SS - Obergruppenführer, chief While the novel dealt with Heydrich's assumption of the rank at some length, the HBO film adaptation gives little reference to this. In the film, the only indication of Heydrich as the Reichsführer-SS is a quick three-second shot of a non-speaking extra (intended to be Heydrich), seen wearing a grey SS uniform standing on a VIP platform with several German generals. SS uniform refers to the various uniforms worn by the units and departments of the Schutzstaffel (SS between 1925 and 1945
- The Star Trek episode "Patterns of Force" depicts an alien planet where a historian has recreated Nazi Germany in an attempt to form a benign fascist government marked by efficiency without sadism. Star Trek is a Science fiction Television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through " Patterns of Force " is a second season episode of the Science fiction Television program Star Trek The Original Series, and was Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers In the episode, during a speech given by John Gill, the Federation historian turned Führer, a top SS general is seen wearing the complete uniform and insignia of Reichsführer-SS. This character is not given a name in the episode, nor does he speak any dialogue.
- Himmler appears as Reichsführer-SS, visiting a conquered Britain in November 1941, in the Len Deighton alternate history novel SS-GB. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leonard Cyril Deighton (born February 18, 1929, Marylebone, London) is a British Historian, Cookery expert Alternate history or alternative history is a subgenre of Speculative fiction (or Science fiction) and Historical fiction SS-GB is an Alternate history novel by Len Deighton, set in a United Kingdom fictionally conquered and occupied by Germany during
- In Harry Turtledove's novel Colonization: Second Contact Himmler is depicted as succeeding Hitler as Fuhrer, and continuing to rule Nazi Germany in the 1960's. Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14 1949) is an American historian and novelist who has written Historical fiction, Fantasy, and Colonization is a trilogy of books written by Harry Turtledove.
- In another of Harry Turtledove's novels In the Presence of Mine Enemies, one of the antagonists is the Reichsführer-SS Lothar Prützmann, who attempts to overthrow the new Führer, Heinz Buckliger. In the Presence of Mine Enemies (2003 by Harry Turtledove is an Alternate history novel expanded from the eponymous short story
| Junior Rank Oberstgruppenführer |
SS rank Reichsführer-SS |
Senior Rank Der Führer |
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