Schutzstaffel
Active	1923–1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Type	Paramilitary
Size	38 Divisions (1945)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Julius Schreck (1925–1926) Joseph Berchtold (1926–1927) Erhard Heiden (1927–1929) Heinrich Himmler (1929–1945) Karl Hanke (1945)

The Schutzstaffel  (help·info) (German for "Protective Squadron"), abbreviated SS- or (Runic)- was a major Nazi military organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. 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 A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status 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 The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to an elite force that served as the Führer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force with as much political influence as the regular German armed forces. The Praetorian Guard ( Latin: PRÆTORIANI was a special force of Guards used by Roman Emperors Before being appropriated Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 Built upon the Nazi racist ideology, the SS, under Heinrich Himmler's command, was primarily responsible for the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Nazis during the Second World War. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of 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

Initially smaller than the Ernst Röhm's Sturmabteilung (Storm Troopers abbreviated SA), the SS grew in size and power due to its exclusive loyalty to Hitler, as opposed to the SA, which was seen as semi-independent and a threat to Hitler's hegemony over the party. Ernst Julius Röhm, (Munich November 28, 1887 – July 2, 1934) was a German military officer and later the commander and co-founder The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers Under Himmler, the SS selected members according to the "Aryan" racist ideology. The master race ( German: die Herrenrasse) is a concept in Nazi Ideology, which holds that the Germanic and Nordic Developing elite police and military units such as the Waffen SS, Himmler also used the SS to develop an order of men claimed to be superior in racial purity and abilities than other Germans and national groups, the model for the Nazi vision of a "master race. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" " During the World War, SS units operated alongside the Army and in the final stages of the war, exercised dominance over the Army to eliminate perceived threats to Hitler's power while implementing his strategies despite the increasingly failing war effort.

The SS was responsible for the vast majority of war crimes perpetrated under the Nazi regime, including the Holocaust. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as As part of its race-centric functions, the SS oversaw the isolation and displacement of Jewish people from the populations of Germany and conquered territories, seizing their assets and imprisoning them in concentration camps and ghettos where they would be used as slave labor, pending extermination. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ An English Noun The English noun people has two distinct fields of application as a countable noun, a group of Humans In Chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given substance there is mixed with another substance A ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social legal or economic pressure Chosen to implement the Nazi "Final Solution" for Jews and other groups deemed "inferior," the SS carried out the enslavement, torture and killing of approximately twelve million people. The Final Solution ( Die Endlösung) was Nazi Germany 's plan and execution of its systematic Genocide against European Jewry during World Most victims were Jews and/or Slavs, but a significant number of victims included homosexuals, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, journalists, Communists and German civilians who were seen as threats to the regime. Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. Gypsy (sometimes spelled Gipsy, Gipsey) is a word used to name as a Blanket term, various unrelated ethnic groups or persons fitting the Gypsy Stereotypes Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Foreseeing Nazi defeat in the war, a significant number of SS personnel organized their escape to South American nations. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Many others were captured and prosecuted by Allied authorities at the Nuremberg Trials for war crimes, and absconding SS criminals were the targets of police forces in various Allied nations, post-war Germany, Austria and Israel. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

Contents 1 Background 2 History 2.1 Origins 2.2 Development 2.3 Postwar activity 2.4 Translation and naming 3 The SS before World War II 3.1 1925–1928 3.2 1929–1931 3.3 1931–1933 3.4 1933–1934 3.5 1934–1936 3.6 1936–1939 4 Austrian SS 5 The SS during World War II 5.1 SS and police leaders 5.2 SS offices 5.3 Allgemeine-SS 5.3.1 SS Cavalry Corps 5.3.2 Germanic-SS 5.3.3 Concentration camp service 5.3.4 Death squads 5.3.5 Order Police 5.3.6 SS Medical Corps 5.3.7 Auxiliary SS 5.3.8 Helferin Corps 5.4 Waffen-SS 5.5 Ahnenerbe SS 6 SS and police courts 6.1 Background 6.2 Court types 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

Background

The SS was established in 1925 as a personal guard unit for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ("Die Schutz-Staffel der NSDAP" [Shield Squadron of the NSDAP]). Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler between 1929 and 1945, the SS grew from a small paramilitary formation to become one of the largest and most powerful organizations in Nazi Germany. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status 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 The Nazis regarded the SS as an elite unit, the party's "Praetorian Guard," with all SS personnel (originally) selected on the principles of racial purity and unconditional loyalty to the Nazi Party. The Praetorian Guard ( Latin: PRÆTORIANI was a special force of Guards used by Roman Emperors Before being appropriated

In contrast to the black-uniformed Allgemeine-SS, the political wing of the SS, the military wing, the Waffen-SS evolved into a second German army within the Wehrmacht, operating in tandem with the regular German army, the Heer. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Waffen-SS gained a reputation for barbarity; its units helped wipe out resistance in both the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising, and perpetrated the Malmedy massacre near the Belgian town of Malmedy during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (German "Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto", Polish "Powstanie w getcie warszawskim") was the Jewish The Warsaw Uprising ( Powstanie Warszawskie) was a World War II struggle by the Polish Home Army ( Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw The Malmedy massacre refers to a War crime in which about 90 unarmed American prisoners of war were executed by their German captors Malmedy is a Municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains

The SS was distinguished from other branches of the German military, the Nazi party, and German state officials by its own rank structure, unit insignia, and uniforms. 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 SS unit insignia was a form of Uniform Insignia used by the German Schutzstaffel between the years of 1932 and 1945. SS uniform refers to the various uniforms worn by the units and departments of the Schutzstaffel (SS between 1925 and 1945 The all-black SS uniform was designed by SS-Oberführer Prof. Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck (graphic designer) and made by Hugo Boss, some workers being prisoners of war forced into labor. Hugo Boss AG is a Fashion house based in Metzingen, Germany, that specializes in high-end menswear apparel ^[1] (The SS also developed its own field uniforms, including the first widespread use of camouflage. )

As the Nazi party monopolized political power in Germany, key government functions such as law enforcement were absorbed into the SS, while many SS organizations became the de facto government agencies. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 To maintain the political power of the Nazi party, the SS was given authority to establish and run the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the security and intelligence service, and the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo), the secret police, effectively putting the SS above the law. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 The Sicherheitsdienst (SD Security Service was primarily the Intelligence service of the SS and the NSDAP. The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany

Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the SS, was the chief architect of the Final Solution. The Final Solution ( Die Endlösung) was Nazi Germany 's plan and execution of its systematic Genocide against European Jewry during World The SS Einsatzgruppen death squads, formed by Himmler, murdered many civilian non-combatants, mostly Jews, in the countries occupied by Germany during World War II. Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and A death squad is an armed Squad that kills civilians terrorists or guerillas PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ 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 Himmler was responsible for establishing and operating concentration camps and extermination camps in which millions of inmates died of systematic mass gassing, inhumane treatment, overwork, malnutrition, or medical experiments. See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazi human experimentation was a series of controversial medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners by the German Nazi regime in its Concentration After the war, the judges of the Nuremberg Trials declared part of the SS, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) a criminal organization responsible for the implementation of racial policies of genocide and committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after The Sicherheitsdienst (SD Security Service was primarily the Intelligence service of the SS and the NSDAP. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of

History

Origins

The group was first formed in 1923, as a company of the Sturmabteilung (SA), storm troopers, tasked with protecting senior leaders of the Nazi Party at rallies, speeches, and other public events. The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers Commanded by Emil Maurice, and known as the Stabswache (Staff Guard), they were nicknamed the "Brown Shirts" according to their dress. Emil Maurice ( January 19, 1897, Westermoor &ndash February 6, 1972, Munich) was an early member of the Nazi Party The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment. The original group consisted of eight men and was modeled after the Erhardt Naval Brigade, a violent Freikorps of the time. The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps ( Freikorps) group of around 6000 men formed by Captain ( Korvettenkapitän) The designation of Freikorps ( German for "Free Corps " was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of 18th century

After the failed 1923 Putsch by the Nazi Party, the SA and the Stabswache were abolished, yet they returned in 1925. The Beer Hall Putsch (also known as the Munich Putsch) was a failed Coup d'état that occurred between the evening of Thursday November 8 At that time, the Stabswache was reestablished as the Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler, tasked with the personal protection of Hitler at Nazi Party functions and events. That same year, the Stosstrupp was expanded to a national level, and renamed as the Schutzstaffel (SS). The new SS was delegated to be a protection company of various Nazi Party leaders throughout Germany.

Development

Between 1925 and 1929, the SS was considered merely a battalion of the SA and numbered no more than 280 personnel. On January 6, 1929, Adolf Hitler appointed Heinrich Himmler as the leader of the SS, and by the end of 1932, the SS had 52,000 members. Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. By the end of the next year, it had over 209,000 members. Himmler's expansion of the SS was based on models from other groups, such as the Knights Templar and the Italian Blackshirts. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order For other uses and meanings see Blackshirts (disambiguation. The Blackshirts ( Italian: camicie nere, According to SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS, Karl Wolff, it was also based on the model from the Society of Jesus of absolute obedience to the Pope. Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff ( May 13, 1900 &ndash July 17, 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order

Before 1932, the SS wore the same uniform as the SA, with the exception for a black tie and a black cap with a Totenkopf, skull and bones, ("death's head") symbol on it. Totenkopf (Plural Totenköpfe) is the German word for "skull" (literally "dead man's head" and is used to describe a military A cap is a form of Headgear. Caps have crowns that fit closer than Hats and have no brim or only a Visor. Totenkopf (Plural Totenköpfe) is the German word for "skull" (literally "dead man's head" and is used to describe a military Later, they adopted a black uniform, designed by Hugo Boss and then, just before the war, a dove-grey uniform. Hugo Boss AG is a Fashion house based in Metzingen, Germany, that specializes in high-end menswear apparel The Waffen ("armed") SS wore a field-grey (feldgrau) uniform similar to the regular army, or Reichsheer. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" See also Green This article is about notable Tints and shades of the Color Green. The German Army ( Deutsches Heer) was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army ( Reichsheer) or During the war, Waffen-SS units wore a wide range of camouflage uniforms (Platanenmuster, Telo Mimetico, Erbsenmuster etc. Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible Organism ), while their feldgrau uniforms became largely indistinguishable from those of the Heer, save for the insignia. In 1945, the SS adopted the Leibermuster disruptive pattern that inspired many forms of modern battle dress. Leibermuster was a six-color Military camouflage pattern developed by the Third Reich in February 1945 Battle Dress was the specific title of a military Uniform adopted by the British Army in the late 1930s and worn until the 1960s

Their motto was "Meine Ehre heißt Treue ("My honour is called loyalty. ") The SS rank system was unique in that it did not copy the terms used by the Wehrmacht's branches (army, airforce, navy), but instead used the ranks established by the post-WW I Freikorps and taken over by the SA. 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

Heinrich Himmler, together with his right-hand man, Reinhard Heydrich, consolidated the power of the organization. Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( 7 March 1904 &ndash 4 June 1942) was an SS - Obergruppenführer, chief In 1931, Himmler gave Heydrich the assignment to build an intelligence and security service inside the SS, which became the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). By the time World War II began, the number of members rose to 250,000, and the Waffen-SS was formed in December 1940, expanding the earlier armed SS troops who had fought in Poland and France in 1939-40, to serve as part of the Wehrmacht, Germany's regular armed forces. 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 The SS also received control of the Gestapo in 1934, and, that same year, Adolf Hitler had given the SS jurisdiction over all concentration camps. The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial

Postwar activity

According to Simon Wiesenthal, towards the end of World War II, a group of former SS officers went to Argentina and set up a Nazi fugitive network code-named ODESSA, (an acronym for Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, "Organization of the former SS members"), with ties in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the Vatican, operating out of Buenos Aires. Simon Wiesenthal ( Buczacz, December 31, 1908 &ndash Vienna, September 20, 2005) was an Austrian Jewish For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. ODESSA which stands for the German phrase O rganisation d er e hemaligen SS - A ngehörigen which in turn translates Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern ODESSA allegedly helped Adolf Eichmann, Josef Mengele, Erich Priebke, and many other war criminals find postwar refuge in Latin America. Dr Josef Mengele ( March 16, 1911 – February 7, 1979) was a German SS officer and a Physician in the Erich Priebke (born July 29, 1913 at Hennigsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany) was a Hauptsturmführer

It is estimated that out of roughly 70,000 members of the SS involved in crimes in German concentration camps, only between 1650 and 1700 were tried after the war^[2].

Argentinian citizen and water company worker Ricardo Klement was discovered to be Adolf Eichmann in the 1950s, by former Jewish Dachau worker Lothar Hermann, whose daughter, Sylvia, became romantically involved with Klaus Klement (born Klaus Eichmann in 1936 in Berlin). He was captured by the Israeli Secret Service, Mossad, in a suburb of Buenos Aires on May 11, 1960, and tried in Jerusalem on April 11, 1961, where he explicitly declared that he had abdicated his conscience in order to follow the Führerprinzip (the 'leader principle' or superior orders). The Mossad ( HaMossad leModi'in v'leTafkidim Meyuhadim) (המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים - Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Josef Mengele, disguised as a member of the regular German infantry was captured and released by the Allies, oblivious of who he was. Dr Josef Mengele ( March 16, 1911 – February 7, 1979) was a German SS officer and a Physician in the He was able to go and work in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1949 and to Altos, Paraguay, in 1959 where he was discovered by Nazi hunters. From the late 1960s on, he exercised his medical practice in Embu, a small city near São Paulo, Brazil, under the identity of Wolfgang Gerhard, where in 1979, he suffered a stroke while swimming and drowned.

The British writer Gitta Sereny (born in 1921 in Hungary), who conducted interviews with SS men, considers the story about ODESSA untrue and attributes the escape of notorious SS members to postwar chaos, an individual bishop in the Vatican, and the Vatican's inability to investigate the stories of those people who came requesting help. Gitta Sereny (born March 13 1921) is an Austrian -born British Biographer, Historian and journalist whose writing focuses mainly on

In the modern age, several neo-Nazi groups claim to be successor organizations to the SS. The term neo-Nazism refers to post- World War II Political movements Social movements and ideologies seeking to revive Nazism, There is no single group, however, that is recognized as a continuation of the SS, and most such present-day organizations are loosely organized with separate agendas.

Translation and naming

Upon the creation of the SS, the correct term was Schutzstaffeln der NSDAP. Schutzstaffeln is the plural form of Schutzstaffel, i. e. , "Protective Squadrons". The NSDAP is the abbreviation for Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or National Socialist German Workers' Party, the official name of the Nazi Party. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945

"S. S. " became the actual name of the organization after it became an independent organization within the Nazi party in 1934. References to Schutzstaffeln der NSDAP were not used after this time by the SS itself. At the Nuremberg Trials, the term Schutzstaffeln was used as a name for the entire organization. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after In the modern age, "S. S. " or simply "SS" has become the most accurate transliteration.

The SS before World War II

1925–1928

In early 1925, the SS was a single, eight-man company that was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. In September, all local NSDAP offices were ordered to create body guard units of no more than ten men apiece. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 By 1926, six SS-Gaus were established, supervising all such units in Germany. In turn, the SS-Gaus answered to the SS-Oberleitung, the headquarters unit. The SS-Oberleitung answered to the office of the SA Chief of Staff, clearly establishing the SS as a subordinate unit of the Sturmabteilung.

Between 1926 and 1928, the SS command Gaus were as follows:

• SS-Gau Berlin Brandenburg
• SS-Gau Franken
• SS-Gau Niederbayern
• SS-Gau Rheinland-Süd
• SS-Gau Sachsen

1929–1931

In 1929, the SS-Oberleitung was expanded and reorganized into the SS-Oberstab with five main offices, as listed below:

• Abteilung I: Administration
• Abteilung II: Personnel
• Abteilung III: Finance
• Abteilung IV: Security
• Abteilung V: Race

At the same time, the SS-Gaus were expanded into three SS-Oberführerbereiche as listed below

• SS-Oberführerbereiche Ost
• SS-Oberführerbereiche West
• SS-Oberführerbereiche Süd

Each SS-Oberführerbereiche contained several SS-Brigaden, which in turn were divided into regiment-sized SS-Standarten.

1931–1933

In 1931, as the SS began to increase its membership to over 100,000, the organization was again restructured beginning with the SS-Oberleitung, which was replaced by the SS-Amt, divided into five sections as follows:

• Section I: Headquarters Staff
• Section II: Personnel Office
• Section III: Administration Office
• Section IV: SS Reserves
• Section V: SS Medical Corps

In addition to the SS-Amt, the SS-Rasseamt (Race Office) and Sicherheitsdienst Amt (Office of the SD) were established as two separate offices on an equal footing with the Headquarters Office.

At the same time that the SS Headquarters was being reorganized, the SS-Oberführerbereichen were replaced with five SS-Gruppen, listed as follows:

• SS-Gruppen Nord
• SS-Gruppen Ost
• SS-Gruppen Süd
• SS-Gruppen Südost
• SS-Gruppen West

The lower levels of the SS remained unchanged between 1931 and 1933; however, it was during this time that the SS began to establish its independence from the Sturmabteilung (SA), which the SS was still considered merely a sub-organization and answerable to the SA Chief of Staff.

1933–1934

Following Adolf Hitler's assumption of power in Germany, the SS became regarded as a state organization and a branch of the established government. The Headquarters Staff, SD, and Race Office became full-time paid employees, as did the leaders of the SS-Gruppen and some of their command staffs. The rest of the SS were considered part-time volunteers, and in this concept the Allgemeine-SS came into being. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members

By the autumn of 1933, Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard (previously SS-Standarten 1 situated in Munich) had been called to Berlin to replace the Army Chancellery Guard as protectors of the Chancellor of Germany. By the start of 1934, the SS guard in Berlin had taken on the name of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), and would later become the first division in the Order of Battle of the Waffen-SS. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment.

1934–1936

Following the Night of the Long Knives, the SS again underwent a massive reorganization. The Night of the Long Knives (German) or " Operation Hummingbird " was a Purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July The SS-Gruppen were renamed as SS-Oberabschnitt, and the former SS Headquarters and command offices were reorganized into eight SS-Hauptämter. The SS-Hauptamt offices would eventually grow from 8 to 12 by 1944 and remained unchanged in their names until the end of World War II and the fall of the SS.

On April 20, 1934, (as a prelude to the Night of the Long Knives), the SS took control of the Gestapo, which had previously been a state office of Prussia. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The ( contraction of ge heime Sta ats' po' lizei: "Secret State Police" was the official Secret police of Nazi Germany The Gestapo was placed under the command of the new Sicherheitspolizei, which was a combined office of both the Gestapo and SD. The Sicherheitspolizei (security police often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security The Sicherheitspolizei would eventually become part of the much larger RSHA in 1939. The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS.

By mid-1934, the SS had taken control of all concentration camps from the SA, and a new organization, the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) had been established as the SS Concentration Camp Service. The original SS-TV was organized into six Wachtruppen at each of Germany's major concentration camps. The Wachtruppe were expanded in 1935 into Wachsturmbann and again in 1937 into three main SS-Totenkopfstandarten. This structure would remain unchanged until 1941, when a massive labor and death camp system in the occupied territories necessitated the concentration camps to be placed under the Waffen-SS into three main divisions of Labor Camps, Concentration Camps, and Death Camps. A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are engaged in Penal labor. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become

The early Waffen-SS can trace its origins to 1934 in the SS-Verfügungstruppe. Established as a military company of the SS, the Verfügungstruppe grew into three SS Divisions which would, along with the Leibstandarte, become part of the Waffen-SS in 1941.

1936–1939

In 1936, the SS absorbed all of Germany's regular police forces and formed the Ordnungspolizei and the Kriminalpolizei. The Ordnungspolizei (Orpo was the name for the uniformed Regular German Police force in existence during the period of Nazi Germany, notably is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the Police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland These two organizations would later be folded into the RSHA just prior to the start of World War II. The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS.

In 1939, from the existing Totenkopfverbände was formed the SS Division Totenkopf composed of former members of the Concentration Camp service. SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 The Totenkopf division would later become a division of the Waffen-SS.

Austrian SS

The Austrian branch of the SS developed in 1934 as a covert force to influence the Anschluss with Germany which would occur in 1938. The ( German: "link-up" also known as the, was the 1938 Annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi The early Austrian SS was led by Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Arthur Seyss-Inquart. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 &ndash 16 October 1946 was a senior Nazi official during World War II. Arthur Seyss-Inquart (in German Seyß-Inquart, born Arthur Zajtich (22 July 1892 - 16 October 1946 was a prominent lawyer and later Nazi official in pre- The Austrian SS was technically under the command of the German SS and Heinrich Himmler but acted independently concerning Austrian affairs.

Austrian SS men were organized under the same manner as the Allgemeine-SS but operated as an underground organization, in particular after 1936 when the Austrian government declared the SS an illegal organization. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Austrian SS used the same rank system as the regular SS, but rarely used uniforms or identifying insignia. Photographic evidence indicates that Austrian SS men typically would wear a swastika armband on civilian clothes, and then only at secret SS meetings.

After 1938, when Austria was annexed by Germany, the Austrian SS was completely incorporated into the regular SS. Most of the Austrian SS was folded into Oberabschnitt Donau with a new concentration camp at Mauthausen opened under the authority of the SS Death's Head units. Mauthausen Concentration Camp (known from the summer of 1940 as Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp) grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps

Cultural differences between Austrian and German SS men were present to the end of World War II, even though in theory the two countries contributed to a single SS. The issue was highlighted in 1943, when Austrian SS commanders were responsible for heavy losses in the first days of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and charged with negligence. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (German "Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto", Polish "Powstanie w getcie warszawskim") was the Jewish Jürgen Stroop, the Higher SS and Police Leader in Warsaw, overturned several courts martial sentences since it was believed that Austrian members of the SS might rebel against the German officers who passed the sentences. Jürgen Stroop, (born Josef Stroop, September 26, 1895 &ndash March 6, 1952) was a General of the SS and

A notable figure of the Austrian SS included Amon Göth, who was portrayed in the film Schindler's List by Ralph Fiennes. Amon Leopold Göth (11 December 1908 &ndash September 13 1946 was a Hauptsturmführer of the SS and was the commandant of the Nazi Concentration Schindler's List is a Biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. Göth had joined the Austrian SS in 1930 and was an underground member to 1938, after which he entered the Concentration Camp service.

The SS during World War II

The war helped Himmler transform his empire into undoubtedly the most powerful political and economic force in Nazi Germany, and by 1944, the SS had grown into a vast and complex organization. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. 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

SS and police leaders

Main article: SS and Police Leader

The most powerful men in the SS were the SS and Police Leaders, divided into three levels: Regular Leaders, Higher Leaders, and Supreme Leaders. SS and Police Leader (SS- und Polizeiführer was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to World War II SS and Police Leader (SS- und Polizeiführer was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to World War II Such persons normally held the rank of SS-Gruppenführer or above and answered directly to Heinrich Himmler in all matters pertaining to the SS in their area of responsibility. Thus, SS and Police Leaders bypassed all other chains of command. In Himmler's grand dream of the SS, the SS and Police Leaders were eventually to become SS-Governors of the Lebensraum which would be ruled by SS-Lords, protected by SS-Legions, and worked and lived in by SS-Peasant Warriors. ( German for " habitat " or literally "living space" served as a major motivation for Nazi Germany 's territorial aggression

SS offices

With the creation of the Waffen-SS in 1940, the SS organizational structure evolved into two distinctly different branches: the general SS (Allgemeine-SS) and military SS (Waffen-SS). The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" By 1944, all activities of the organization within and outside Germany were managed by twelve main offices:

• Hauptamt Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS (Personal Staff of the Reich Leader SS)
• SS Hauptamt (Main Administrative Office of the SS)
• SS Führungshauptamt (Administrative and Supply Department of the Allgemeine-SS and Waffen-SS)
• Hauptamt SS Gericht (Office of SS Legal Matters)
• SS Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt, RuSHA (SS Office of Race and Settlement)
• SS Personalhauptamt (SS Personnel Office)
• Reichssicherheitshauptamt RSHA (Reich Central Security Office)
• Hauptamt Ordnungspolizei (Office of the Order Police)
• Wirtschafts und Verwaltungshauptamt, WVHA (Economics and Administration Office)
• Hauptamt Dienststelle Heissmeyer (SS Education Office)
• Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, VOMI (Main Office for Ethnic Germans)
• Reichskommissariat für die Festigung des deutschen Volkstums (Reich Commissioner for Germanic Resettlement)

The Einsatzgruppen were under the overall command of the RSHA. was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 The SS-Hauptamt (translated as "SS Head Office" was the central command office of the German Schutzstaffel (SS The SS-Führungshauptamt (SS-FHA was the operational headquarters of the SS. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS. The Ordnungspolizei (Orpo was the name for the uniformed Regular German Police force in existence during the period of Nazi Germany, notably The SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt or WVHA (also SS-WVHA) was the Economics and Administrative Department of the SS. The Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle (commonly translated as the "Ethnic Germans' Welfare Office" or "Main Office for Ethnic Germans" was an SS institution Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS.

Allgemeine-SS

Main article: Allgemeine-SS

The Allgemeine-SS (the "General SS") refers to a non-combat branch of the SS. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members The Allgemeine-SS formations were divided into Standarten, organized into larger formations known as Abschnitte and Oberabschnitte. The Allgemeine-SS members were considered more or less reservists, and many Allgemeine-SS personnel served in other branches of the German military, the Nazi Party, or the Waffen-SS. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 For those who served in the Waffen-SS, it was a standard practice to hold separate SS ranks for both the Allgemeine-SS and the Waffen-SS. 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

SS Cavalry Corps

The SS Cavalry Corps (German: Reiter-SS) comprised several Reiterstandarten and Reiterabschnitte that were equestrian riding groups founded to attract the German upper class and nobility into the SS. For the Roman class see Equestrian (Roman Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving Horses This broad description Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld was a member before he married Queen Juliana of The Netherlands. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (29 June 1911 in Jena – 1 December 2004 in Utrecht) Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld born HSH Count Bernhard Leopold Friedrich Juliana (Juliana Emma Louise Marie Wilhelmina van Oranje-Nassau 30 April 1909 &ndash 20 March 2004) was Queen regnant of the The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In the 1930s, the SS Cavalry Corps was considered as a starting point for a military branch of the SS, but this idea was phased out with the rise of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, which would later become known as the Waffen-SS. The SS-Verfügungstruppe ( The Combat Support Force) (short SS-VT) were combat divisions of the SS, trained according to the German Army ( Wehrmacht

By 1941, the SS-Cavalry Corps was little more than a social club with most of the serious cavalry officers having transferred to combat units in the Waffen-SS. Between 1942 and 1945, the Reiter-SS effectively ceased to exist except on paper and only a handful of members. At the subsequent Nuremburg War Crimes Trial, when the SS was judged a criminal organization, the Tribunal made a special note that this distinction did not include members of the "Rider-SS" due to the Reiter-SS' having insignificant involvement with the activities contributed to the SS as a whole.

Germanic-SS

Main article: Germanic-SS

The Germanic-SS was an SS-modeled structure formed in occupied territories and allied countries. The Germanic SS ( Germanische-SS) was the collective name given to Paramilitary groups which arose in conquered and subject nations of Nazi Germany between The Germanic SS ( Germanische-SS) was the collective name given to Paramilitary groups which arose in conquered and subject nations of Nazi Germany between The main purpose of the Germanic-SS was enforcement of Nazi racial doctrine and anti-semitic policies. Denmark and Belgium were the two largest participants in the Germanic-SS program. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Germanic-SS members wore their own uniforms with a modification of SS rank titles and insignia. 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 All Germanic-SS units answered to the SS headquarters in Germany.

Concentration camp service

Main article: SS-Totenkopfverbände

After 1934, the running of Germany's concentration camps was placed under the total authority of the SS and an SS formation known as the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), under the command of Theodor Eicke. SS-Totenkopfverbände ( SS-TV) was a German Nazi formation of concentration camps guards SS-Totenkopfverbände ( SS-TV) was a German Nazi formation of concentration camps guards Theodor Eicke ( October 17 1892 &ndash February 26, 1943) was a Nazi official SS- Obergruppenführer, commander Known as the "Death's Head Units", the SS-TV was first organized as several regiments, each based at one of Germany's major concentration camps, the largest of which was at Dachau. Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the In 1938, the Totenkopfverbände expanded into a military division with the establishment of the Totenkopf division, which by 1941 would become a full division within the Waffen-SS. SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron"

In 1939, with the start of World War II, the Totenkopfverbände began a large expansion that eventually would develop into three branches covering each type of concentration camp the SS operated. By 1944, there existed three divisions of the SS-TV, those being the staffs of the concentration camps proper in Germany and Austria, the labor camp system in occupied territories, and the guards and staffs of the extermination camps in Poland that were involved in the Holocaust. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as

In 1942, for administrative reasons, the guard and administrative staff of all the concentration camps became full members of the Waffen-SS. In addition, to oversee the large administrative burden of an extensive labor camp system, the concentration camps were placed under the command of the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt (WVHA). The SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt or WVHA (also SS-WVHA) was the Economics and Administrative Department of the SS. Oswald Pohl commanded the WVHA, while Richard Glücks served as the Inspector of Concentration Camps. Oswald Pohl ( June 30 1892 - June 7 1951) was a Nazi official and member of the SS (with a rank of SS- Obergruppenführer The SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt or WVHA (also SS-WVHA) was the Economics and Administrative Department of the SS. Richard Glücks ( April 22, 1889 &ndash May 10, 1945) was a high-ranking Nazi official

By 1944, with the concentration camps fully integrated with the Waffen-SS and under the control of the WVHA, a standard practice developed to rotate SS members in and out of the camps, based on manpower needs and also to give assignments to wounded Waffen-SS officers and soldiers who could no longer serve in front-line combat duties. The SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt or WVHA (also SS-WVHA) was the Economics and Administrative Department of the SS. This rotation of personnel is the main argument that nearly the entire SS knew of the concentration camps, and what actions were committed within, making the entire organization liable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of

Death squads

Main article: Einsatzgruppen

The Einsatzgruppen were special units of the SS that were formed on an 'as-needed' basis under the authority of the Sicherheitspolizei and later the RSHA, whose Supreme Commander was Himmler. Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and The Sicherheitspolizei (security police often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS. The first Einsatzgruppen were created in 1938 for use during the Anschluss of Austria and again in 1939 for the annexation of Czechoslovakia. The ( German: "link-up" also known as the, was the 1938 Annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The original purpose of the Einsatzgruppen was to 'enter occupied areas, seize vital records, and neutralize potential threats'. In Austria and Czechoslovakia, the activities of the Einsatzgruppen were mainly limited to Nazification of local governments and assistance with the establishment of new concentration camps. In 1939, however, the Einsatzgruppen were reactivated and sent into Poland to exterminate the Polish elite, so that there would be no leadership to form a resistance to German occupation. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland In 1941, the Einsatzgruppen reached their height when they were sent into Russia to begin large-scale extermination and genocide of "undesirables" such as Jews, Gypsies, and communists. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

Order Police

In 1936, the SS absorbed the regular German police forces and incorporated all local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies into the Ordnungspolizei. The Ordnungspolizei (Orpo was the name for the uniformed Regular German Police force in existence during the period of Nazi Germany, notably SS-Oberstgruppenführer Adolf Von Assenbach became commander of the Ordnungspolizei (known as the Orpo), and Heinrich Himmler became Chief of the German Police. Oberstgruppenführer was (from 1942 to 1945) the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS By 1944, the Orpo had also absorbed minor law enforcement agencies such as the Postal Police, Railway Security Police, Water Protection Police, and even night watchmen who were considered state employees. The Ordnungspolizei had a separate system of Orpo ranks and it was possible for Orpo members to hold dual status in both the SS and the Orpo. The Ranks and insignia of the Ordnungspolizei developed in 1936 after the incorporation of Germany's regular police forces in the SS. In 1944, all Orpo Police Generals gained equivalent Waffen-SS rank so that they would be treated as military officers, instead of police officials, if captured by the Allies. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The Orpo also maintained a military division, considered part of the Waffen-SS as well as a number of Police Regiments which performed security duties under the authority of the RSHA. The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS.

SS Medical Corps

The first units of the SS Medical Corps began to appear in the 1930s. Within each SS-Sturmbann (battalion), there existed one company of SS personnel whose duty was to serve as medical support personnel to the rest of the SS battalion.

Known as the Sanitätsstaffel, these formations were originally small units under the command of local SS leaders. After 1931, however, the SS formed a headquarters office known as Amt V, which was the central office for SS medical units. At this same time, a special SS unit was formed known as the Röntgensturmbann SS-HA, or the Hauptamt X-Ray Battalion. This formation comprised 350 full time SS personnel who toured Germany offering X-ray diagnostics to any SS member. X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of Electromagnetic radiation. While the Röntgensturmbann was an independent office, the local Sanitätsstaffel were under dual command of both the SS Medical Office (Amt V), and the leaders of the various SS-Sturmbann and Standarten.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the SS was reorganized and an office of the SS Surgeon General was established. Commanding by an SS-Obergruppenführer, the SS Surgeon General was a member of the personal staff of the Reichsführer-SS, with the SS Medical Corps, as a whole, losing the status of a headquarters office. Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 This was an important development in changing the nature of service for members of the SS Medical Corps.

By 1935, the SS Medical Corps was considered an 'auxiliary duty', and all members of the medical corps were also attached to regular SS formations. To denote medical corps status, the SS authorized a serpent crest to be worn on the collar patches of SS unit insignia. SS unit insignia was a form of Uniform Insignia used by the German Schutzstaffel between the years of 1932 and 1945. Since SS Medical Corps members could now serve in any branch of the SS, this expansion allowed medical professionals to join every SS office and participate in a variety of duties.

Between 1935 and 1938, the SS Medical Corps began to serve a more sinister purpose, with SS doctors serving in concentration camps and engaging in a variety of human medical experiments. SS doctors were also called upon, in 1936, to assist with Germany's euthanasia program against the mentally disabled and physically handicapped. Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner

When World War II began in 1939, the SS Medical Corps extended itself in the Armed wing of the SS which would, by 1941, be known as the Waffen-SS. Waffen-SS doctors were highly trained both in medical skills and combat tactics with many such doctors receiving high combat awards.

It was also during World War II that SS doctors reached their height with human medical experiments, the most notorious of which occurred at Dachau concentration camp and Auschwitz. Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Such experiments ranged from vivisections, sterilization experiments, infectious disease research, freezing experiments, as well as many other excruciating medical procedures often performed without anesthetic. Sterilization (also spelled sterilisation) is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to reproduce. Anesthesia, or anaesthesia (see spelling differences; from Greek grc αν- an-, "without" and grc αἲσθησις This period of time also saw the work of one of the most notorious SS doctors in history, Doctor Josef Mengele, who served as Head Medical Officer of Auschwitz and was responsible for daily gas chamber selections as well as brutal experiments on human twins. Dr Josef Mengele ( March 16, 1911 – February 7, 1979) was a German SS officer and a Physician in the Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex.

In 1945, after the surrender of Germany, the SS was declared an illegal criminal organization by the Allies. SS doctors, in particular, were marked as war criminals due to the wide range of human medical experimentation which had been conducted during World War II as well as the role SS doctors had played in the gas chamber selections of the Holocaust. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Relatively few SS doctors, however, were ever brought to justice with such figures as Josef Mengele escaping to Argentina while still other SS doctors returned to civilian practice in Germany under assumed names or, in some cases, even their original identities. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics.

Auxiliary SS

The Auxiliary-SS (SS mannschaft or "wiking") was an organization that arose in 1945 as a last ditch effort to keep concentration camps running. Auxiliary-SS members were not considered regular SS personnel, but were conscripted members from other branches of the German military, the Nazi Party, and the Volkssturm. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 The Volkssturm (lit "Folkstorm" "People's" or "National Militia" Sturm lit Such personnel wore a distinctive twin swastika collar patch and served as camp guard and administrative personnel until the surrender of Germany.

Helferin Corps

The SS-Helferinnenkorps, translated literally as 'Women Helper Corps', comprised women volunteers who joined the SS as auxiliary personnel. Such personnel were not considered actual SS members, since SS membership was closed to women.

The Helferin Corps maintained a simple system of ranks, mainly SS-Helfer, SS-Oberhelfer, and SS-Haupthelfer. Members of the Helferin Corps were assigned to a wide variety of activities such as administrative staff, supply support personnel, and female guards at concentration camps.

Waffen-SS

Main article: Waffen-SS

The organization of Waffen-SS had three suborganizations:

• Hitler's personal bodyguard (German: Leibstandarte)
• The Death's-Head Battalions (German: Totenkopfverbände) that administered the concentration camps. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. SS-Totenkopfverbände ( SS-TV) was a German Nazi formation of concentration camps guards
• The Combat Support Force, (German: Verfügungstruppe Up to 39 divisions in World War II that served as elite combat troops alongside the regular army Wehrmacht. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The SS-Verfügungstruppe ( The Combat Support Force) (short SS-VT) were combat divisions of the SS, trained according to the German Army ( Wehrmacht Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 ^[3]

In 1941 the overall commander of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, announced that additional Waffen-SS Verfügungstruppe units would be raised from non-German foreign nationals. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. The goal was to acquire additional manpower from occupied nations. Some of these foreign legions included volunteers from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and the Netherlands.

The military component of the Waffen-SS was formed in 1940. Since the Waffen-SS was formally considered a branch of the German military, it was financed by the German government while remaining under the command of the SS headquarters. During WWII, the Waffen SS grew to 38 divisions, the most famous of which are Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), the SS Division Das Reich, the SS Division Totenkopf and the 12th SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment. The SS Division Das Reich (germ 2SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3

The Waffen-SS also maintained several "Foreign Legions" made up of personnel from conquered territories and countries allied to Germany. The majority of such personnel wore distinctive a national collar patch and preceded their SS rank titles with the prefix Waffen instead of SS. SS unit insignia was a form of Uniform Insignia used by the German Schutzstaffel between the years of 1932 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 The racial restrictions were relaxed for these soldiers to the extent that Ukrainian Slavs, Albanians from Kosovo, and Turkic Tatars' units were recruited. Ukrainians (Українці Ukrayintsi,) are an East Slavic Ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly— Citizens } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language The Turkic peoples are Eurasian peoples residing in northern central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups The Ukrainians and the Tatars had both suffered persecution under Stalin and their motive appeared to be hatred of Communism rather than belief in National Socialism. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based One year of Soviet occupation of Baltic countries at the beginning of World War II produced enough volunteers to form Estonian and Latvian SS formations. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. However, occupied countries as Greece, Lithuania and Poland never formed any Waffen-SS legions (in Greece, the Fascist organisation ESPO was creating one Greek division, but the plans were abandoned after its leader was assassinated). Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland For the American artist see ESPO (artist The ESPO ( Εθνικο-Σοσιαλιστική Πατριωτική Οργάνωσις

A similar formation was the Indische Freiwilligen Infanterie Regiment 950 (also known at various stages as the Indische Freiwilligen-Legion der Waffen-SS and Azad Hind Fauj. ) See also the Tiger Legion and Indian National Army. The Legion Freies Indien, or the Indische Legion, variously known as the Tiger Legion, the Free India Legion (in English the Azad Hind Legion The Indian National Army ( INA) or Azad Hind Fauj ( Hindi: आज़ाद हिन्द फ़ौज was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists

The Legion Freies Indien, or Indische Freiwilligen Infanterie Regiment 950 was created in August 1942, chiefly from disaffected Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army, captured by the Axis in North Africa. See Indian Army for the post-independence (and post- partition) army of the Republic of India. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Many, if not most, of the Indian volunteers who switched sides to fight with the German Army and against the British were strongly nationalistic supporters of the exiled, anti-British, former president of the Indian National Congress, Netaji (the Leader) Subhash Chandra Bose. Indian National Congress-I (also known as the Congress Party and abbreviated INC) is a major Political party in India. Subhas Chandra Bose (সুভাষ চন্দ্র বসু (born January 23, 1897; presumed to have died August 18, 1945

Ahnenerbe SS

Main article: Ahnenerbe

The Scientific Branch of the SS that was used to provide scientific and archeological proof of Aryan supremacy. The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German Think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History Aryan is an English word derived from the Sanskrit " Ārya " meaning "noble" or "honorable" The society had deep roots in both the Thule Society and the Vril Society. The Thule Society (Thule-Gesellschaft originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum 'Study Group for Germanic Antiquity' was a German Occultist The Coming Race (original title also reprinted as Vril The Power of the Coming Race, is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, first published Formed in 1935 by Himmler and Herman Wirth, the society did not become part of the SS until 1939. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Herman Wirth (alternatively referred to as Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch or Herman Felix Wirthor Herman n) ( 6 May 1885 Utrecht - 16 February

SS and police courts

Background

Situations arose early in the Nazi regime of SS activities coming into conflict with German law. The first recorded instances, of SS personnel charged with breaking the law through the performance of their duties, was in 1934 at the Dachau concentration camp, when the local town magistrate charged several SS guards with murder after several prisoners were executed without cause or trial. Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the

The SS response to the German legal establishment was to petition the Reich Ministry of Justice to pass an act that removed the SS, and all of its members, from the jurisdiction of the civilian courts. This effectively placed the SS 'above the law', and its members could break regular German law without fear of penalty.

For those SS personnel who committed acts that were illegal even by SS standards, the SS established a series of SS and Police Courts. The SS and Police Courts were the only authority that could try SS personnel for criminal behavior and were under the authority of the Hauptamt SS Gericht.

Court types

The different SS and Police Courts were as follows:

• SS- und Polizeigericht: Standard SS and Police Court for trial of SS officers and enlisted men accused of minor and somewhat serious crimes
• Feldgerichte: Waffen-SS Court for court martial of Waffen-SS military personnel accused of violating the military penal code of the German Armed Forces.
• Oberstes SS- und Polizeigericht: The Supreme SS and Police Court for trial of serious crimes and also any infraction committed by SS Generals.
• SS- und Polizeigericht z. b. V. : The Extraordinary SS and Police Court was a secret tribunal that was assembled to deal with highly sensitive issues which were desired to be kept secret even from the SS itself.

The one exception to the SS and Police Courts jurisdiction involved members of the Allgemeine-SS who were serving on active duty in the regular Wehrmacht. The Allgemeine SS (German for "General SS" literally "Universal SS" was the biggest SS branch in terms of members Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 In such cases, the SS member in question was subject to regular Wehrmacht military law and could face charges before a standard military tribunal.

See also

• List of SS personnel
• Das Schwarze Korps, the official newspaper of the SS
• ODESSA, the SS secret network
• SS ranks and insignia
• SS marschiert - March-song

Notes

References

Further reading

• Robert Lewis Koehl, 1989, "The SS A History 1919-1945", Tempus Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7524-2559-5
• Sven Hassel, 1969, "SS General", Corgi Books. Sven Hassel (born April 19, 1917) is a Danish -born Soldier and Writer who has written Pseudo - Autobiographical (Based on the authors World War II experiences. 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 The story takes place in the Russian front esp. during the siege of Stalingrad)

External links

• 1938 Transfer list of SS personnel to Wehrmacht
• Axis History Factbook - SS Personal website from Sweden. In English.
• The German SS/Waffen-SS in WWII German military history research site.
• The Norwegian SS Volunteers Website in English about the Norwegian SS volunteers serving under German command during WWII.
• Dywizje Waffen SS In Polish. Many graphics on units, insignia and maps.
• SS Views on the Solution to the Jewish Question from Das Schwarze Korps, No. 47, November 24, 1938.
• Testimonies of SS-Men Regarding Gassing from the Jewish Virtual Library
• The SS from Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression, Volume II Chapter XV, Criminality of Groups and Organizations from the Nuremberg Trial. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after

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