SS: Dallime mes rishikimesh

|picture_caption = [[Adolf Hitler]] inspects the [[1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler|Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]] on arrival at [[Klagenfurt]] in April 1938.

|formed = 1925

|dissolved = May 8, 1945

|superseding =

|minister2_pfo = [[Reichsführer-SS|Reichsführer]]

|chief1_name = [[Julius Schreck]]

|chief2_name = [[Joseph Berchtold]]

|chief3_name = [[Erhard Heiden]] Background

|chief4_name = [[Heinrich Himmler]]

|agency_type = [[Paramilitary]]

|parent_agency = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany|Nazi}} [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]]

}}

 

 

SS u formuan me 1925 si nje roje personale per ruajtjen e Adolf Hitler. Nen udheheqjen e [[Heinrich Himmler]] midis 1929 dhe 1945, SS-et u rriten nga nje formacion i vogel paraushtarak ne nje nga organizatat me te medha dhe me te fuqishme ne [[Nazi Germany|Rajhun e Trete]].<ref name = IMT_2284-PS>{{Citation

| contribution-url = http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/ssnur1.htm}}</ref>

 

The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the [[Führer]]'s "[[Praetorian Guard]]", the Nazi Party's "Protection Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men (both on the front lines and as political police), managed to exert as much political influence in the Third Reich as the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' (Germany's regular armed forces).

 

In contrast to the black-uniformed ''[[Allgemeine SS]]'' (the political wing of the SS), the ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' (the military wing) evolved into a second German army aside the ''Wehrmacht'' (the regular national armed forces) and operating in tandem with them; especially with the [[Heer (1935–1945)|Heer]] (German Army).

 

{{Main|Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel}}

The SS was distinguished from other branches of the German military, the National Socialist Party, and German state officials by its own rank structure, unit insignia, and uniforms. The all-black SS uniform was designed by ''SS-Oberführer'' Prof. [[Karl Diebitsch]] and graphic designer ''SS-Sturmhauptführer'' Walter Heck.<ref>Lumsden, Robin (2001). ''A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS'', [[Ian Allan Publishing|Ian Allan Publishing, Inc.]], p 53.</ref> These uniforms were rarely worn after the war began, however, as Himmler ordered that the all-black uniforms be turned in for use by others. They were sent east where they were used by native auxiliary police units and west to be used by Germanic-SS units such as the ones in Holland and Denmark.<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, p 56">Lumsden, Robin. ''A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS'', p 56.</ref> In place of the black uniform, SS men wore uniforms of dove-grey or Army field-grey with distinctive insignia. The uniforms were made by hundreds of clothing factories licensed by the [[Reichszeugmeisterei|RZM]], including [[Hugo Boss]], with some workers being prisoners of war forced into labor work.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/15/news/ls-22533|title=Clothier Made Nazi Uniforms|last=Givhan|first=Robin|date=1997-08-15|publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]]|accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref> Many were made in concentration camps. The SS also developed its own field uniforms. Initially these were similar to standard Wehrmacht wool uniforms but they also included reversible smocks and helmet covers printed with camouflage patterns with a brown/green "spring" side and a brown/brown "autumn" side. In 1944, the Waffen SS began using a universal camouflage uniform intended to replace the wool field uniform.

 

In contrast to the Imperial military tradition, promotions in the SS were based on the individual's commitment, effectiveness and political reliability, not class or education.<ref name="lumsden5253">{{cite book |last=Lumsden|first=Robin |title=Himmler's Black Order 1923-45|publisher=[[Sutton]] |year=1997 |pages=52-53|isbn=0750913967}}</ref> Consequently the [[SS-Junkerschulen|SS officer schools]] offered a military career option for those of modest social background, which was not usually possible in the Wehrmacht.<ref name="lumsden5253"/> The relationship between officers and soldiers was also less formal than in the regular armed forces.<ref name="lumsden5253"/> SS-officers were referred to as ''Führer'' ("leader"), not ''Offiziere'', which had class connotations.<ref name="lumsden5253"/> The military rank prefix ''Herr'' ("Sir") was forbidden, and all ranks were addressed simply by their title (for example, a SS private would address a SS [[Major general]] as ''Brigadeführer'', never ''Herr Brigadeführer'').<ref name="lumsden5253"/> Off duty, junior ranks would address their seniors either as''Kamerad'' ("Comrade") or ''Parteigenosse'' ("Party collegue"), depending on if both were members of the Nazi party.<ref name="lumsden5253"/>

 

{{Main|Ordnungspolizei}}

As the [[Nazi party]] monopolized political power in Germany, key government functions such as law enforcement were absorbed by the SS, while many SS organizations became de facto government agencies. To maintain the political power and security of the [[Nazi party]] (and later the nation), the SS established and ran the ''[[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]]'' (''Security service'') and took over the administration of ''[[Gestapo]]'' (''Secret state police''), ''[[Kriminalpolizei|Kripo]]'' (criminal investigative police), and the ''[[Ordnungspolizei|Orpo]]'' (regular uniformed police).<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, pp 80-84">Lumsden, Robin. ''A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS'', pp 80-84.</ref>

Moreover, legal jurisdiction over the SS and its members was taken away from the civilian courts and given to courts run by the SS itself. These actions effectively put the SS above the law.

 

Himmler, the leader of the SS, was a chief architect of the [[Final Solution]]. The SS ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' [[death squad]]s, formed by his deputy, Heydrich, murdered many civilian non-combatants, mostly [[Jew]]s, in the countries occupied by Germany during [[World War II]]. Himmler was responsible for establishing and operating [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] and [[extermination camps]] in which [[Holocaust|millions of inmates died]] of systematic mass gassing, shooting, hanging, inhumane treatment, overwork, malnutrition, or [[Nazi human experimentation|medical experiments]]. After the war, the judges of the [[Nuremberg Trials]] declared the SS and its sub-parts criminal organizations responsible for the implementation of racial policies of [[genocide]] and committing [[war crime]]s and [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]].

 

The group was first formed in 1923, as a company of the SA who were given the task of protecting senior leaders of the Nazi Party at rallies, speeches, and other public events. Commanded by [[Emil Maurice]], and known as the ''[[Stabswache]]'' (Staff Guard), the original group consisted of eight men and was modeled after the [[Erhardt Naval Brigade]], a violent ''[[Freikorps]]'' of the time.

 

After the failed 1923 ''[[Beer Hall Putsch|Putsch]]'' by the Nazi Party, the SA and the ''Stabswache'' were abolished, yet they returned in 1925. At that time, the ''Stabswache'' was reestablished as the 30-man "''Stosstrupp'' Adolf Hitler", given the task of providing personal protection for Hitler at Nazi Party functions and events. That same year, the ''Stosstrupp'' was expanded to a national level, and renamed successively the ''Sturmstaffel'' (storm squadron), then the ''Schutzkommando'' (protection command), and finally the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The new SS was delegated to be a protection company of various Nazi Party leaders throughout Germany. Hitler's personal SS protection unit was later enlarged to include combat units and after April 13, 1934, was known as the ''[[Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]'' (LSSAH).<ref name = "Cook, Stan & Bender, R. James 1994, pp 17, 19">Cook, Stan & Bender, R. James. ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'', R. James Bender Publishing, 1994, pp. 17, 19.</ref> After Germany mobilized in 1939, the combat units in the LSSAH were mobilized as well, leaving behind an honour guard battalion to protect Hitler. It is these SS troops that are seen at the [[Reich Chancellery]] and Hitler's Obersalzberg estate in his personal 8&nbsp;mm movies.

 

Between 1925 and 1929, the SS was considered merely a small ''Gruppe'' of the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and numbered no more than 1000 personnel; by 1929 that number was down to 280. On January 6, 1929, Hitler appointed Himmler as the leader of the SS, and by the end of 1932, the SS had 52,000 members. 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 [[Blackshirts|Italian Blackshirts]]. 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. The motto of the SS was ''"Treu, Tapfer, Gehorsam"'' (Loyal, Valiant, Obedient).<ref>[http://www.germaniainternational.com/images/RL-SSRegalia20.jpg SS Motto]</ref>

 

Heinrich Himmler, together with his right-hand man, [[Reinhard Heydrich]], consolidated the power of the organization. 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 the war began, the number of members rose to 250,000, and the ''Waffen-SS'' was formed in August 1940, expanding the earlier armed SS troops who had fought in Poland and France in 1939-40, to serve alongside the ''Wehrmacht'', Germany's regular armed forces. Himmler also received control of the ''Gestapo'' in 1934, and, that same year, Hitler had given the SS jurisdiction over all [[concentration camp]]s. In the wake of the [[20 July plot|plot against Hitler's life]] by a group of regular military generals in July 1944, the ''Führer'' came to distrust his regular military, putting ever more trust in the SS, particularly Himmler, who had acted against the plotters and their families. This attitude of Hitler's was further shown at the very end of the war, when he refused to station himself in the [[OKW]] bunker in Berlin, claiming that he did not 'trust the strength of army concrete', however the true reason was probably that he feared another generals' plot and so chose to stay in his own headquarters, surrounded by an apparently more loyal SS retinue.

 

Far from the united instrument of oppression that the SS would eventually become, in its first years of existence, the SS was in fact significantly divided into several factions both geographically within Germany as well as within the structure of the SS as a whole. In addition, prior to April 1934, the Gestapo was a civilian state police agency outside the control of SS leadership. In some cases, it came into direct conflict with the SS and even attempted to arrest some of its members.

 

<!--COMMENT: I have tried to put this into citation format. If there is another source besides Yergen, please state. If there is a specific portion of Yergen's book that is sourced, please state. (Source: Loyalty is my Honour: Personal Accounts of the Waffen SS, ''Allgemeine-SS'' by Mark Yerger)-->

 

{{main|Units and Commands of the Schutzstaffel}}

 

In early 1925, the future SS was a single, thirty-man company that was Hitler's personal bodyguard. In September, all local [[NSDAP]] offices were ordered to create body guard units of no more than ten men apiece. 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''.

 

* ''SS-Gau Sachsen''

 

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

* ''Abteilung'' I: Administration

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

 

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

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); the SS was still considered merely a sub-organization of the SA and answerable to the SA Chief of Staff.<ref name = Yerger/>

 

After the Nazi seizure of power, the mission of the SS expanded from the protection of the person of Adolf Hitler to the internal security of the Nazi regime.<ref name = IMT_2640-PS>

{{Citation

| place = Washington, DC 1946

| year = 1943

{{bquote|We shall unremittingly fulfill our task, the guaranty of the security of Germany from the interior, just as the Wehr-macht guarantees the safety, the honor, the greatness, and the peace of the Reich from the exterior. We shall take care that never again in Germany, the heart of Europe, will the Jewish-Bolshevistic revolution of subhumans be able to be kindled either from within or through emissaries from without. Without pity we shall be a merciless sword of justice for all those forces whose existence and activity we know, on the day of the slightest attempt, may it be today, may it be in decades or may it be in centuries.<ref name = IMT_1851-PS>{{Citation

| last = Himmler

By the autumn of 1933, Hitler's personal bodyguard (previously the [[1st SS Standarte]] located in Munich) had been called to Berlin to replace the Army Chancellery Guard as protectors of the Chancellor of Germany. In November 1933, the SS guard in Berlin became known as the ''Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler''. In April 1934, Himmler modified the name to ''[[Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]'' (LSSAH).<ref name = "Cook, Stan & Bender, R. James 1994, pp 17, 19"/> The LSSAH would later become the first division in the Order of Battle of the ''Waffen-SS''.

 

On April 20, 1934, (as a prelude to the Night of the Long Knives), Göring transferred the Gestapo to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outside Prussia; two days later Himmler named Heydrich the head of the Gestapo.<ref>Williams, Max. ''Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volumes 1''. 2001, p 61.</ref>

Following the [[Night of the Long Knives]], the SS again underwent a massive reorganization. The ''SS-Gruppen'' were renamed as ''[[SS-Oberabschnitt]]'', and the former SS Headquarters and command offices were reorganized into three and then eight ''SS-Hauptämter''. The ''SS-Hauptamt'' offices would eventually grow in number to twelve main offices by 1944. These offices remained unchanged in their names until the end of World War II and the fall of the SS.

 

The early ''Waffen-SS'' can trace its origins to 1934 in the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'': two ''Standarten'' (regiments) under retired general [[Paul Hausser]] armed and trained to Army standards, and held ready at the personal disposal of the Führer in peace or war. Hausser also established two ''Junkerschule'' for the training of SS officers.

 

Himmler was named the chief of all German police (nominally in that role subordinate to Interior Minister [[Wilhelm Frick]]) on June 17, 1936. He thereby assumed control of all of the German states' regular police forces and, nationalizing them, formed the ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' and the ''[[Kriminalpolizei]]''.<ref name="Williams, Max 2001, p 77">Williams, Max. ''Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volumes 1'', 2001, p 77.</ref> The Orpo, uniformed police, were placed under the command of SS ''Obergruppenführer'' [[Kurt Daluege]]. Further, the Gestapo and the Kripo or ''Kriminalpolizei'' (Criminal Police) were incorporated into the SiPo or ''[[Sicherheitspolizei]]'' (Security Police) and considered a complementary organisation to the SD or ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (Security Service).<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, pp 80-84"/> Reinhard Heydrich was head of the SiPo (made up of the Gestapo and Kripo) and SD.<ref name="Williams, Max 2001, p 77"/> Heinrich Müller, was chief of operations of the Gestapo. These events effectively placed all German police under the control of SS commanders. In September 1939, the security and police agencies of Nazi Germany (with the exception of the Orpo) were consolidated into the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), headed by Heydrich.<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, p 83">Lumsden, Robin. ''A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS'', p 83.</ref>

<br clear="all" />

 

By the outbreak of World War II, the SS had solidified into its final form. By this point, the term "SS" could be applied to two completely separate organizations, mainly the [[Allgemeine-SS]] and the [[Waffen-SS]]. The Allgemeine-SS also had control over a third SS branch, known as the [[Germanic-SS]], which was composed of SS groups formed in occupied territories and allied countries. In the last months of World War II, a fourth branch of the SS known as the "Auxiliary-SS" was formed from non-SS members conscripted to serve in Germany's concentration camps.

 

{{Main|SS and Police Leader}}

During the Second World War, the most powerful men in the SS were the [[SS and Police Leader]]s, divided into three levels: Regular Leaders, Higher Leaders, and Supreme Leaders. Such persons normally held the rank of ''SS-Gruppenführer'' or above and answered directly to 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-Yeoman Warriors overseeing Slavic serfs.

 

<!-- [[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Schilf-002-06, Polen, Ghetto Litzmannstadt, Bewohner crop.jpg|thumb|250px|Jews in the [[Litzmannstadt|Lodz ghetto]] wearing the [[Yellow badge|yellow star]] in 1940. <br><small>By [[August Frank memorandum|an order dated September 26, 1942]] from SS Lieutenant General (''[[Obergruppenführer]]'') [[August Frank]], an official of the [[SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt]], once these people were executed, their clothing would be salvaged and redistributed to "ethnic" Germans (''[[Volksdeutsche]]'') by way of an SS ''Volksdeutsche'' welfare office (''[[Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle]]''). Obergruppenführer Frank specifically directed that before redistribution of the "evacuated" Jews' clothing to Germans, care was to be taken to be sure the yellow star was removed and the pockets and linings searched for valuables.<small><ref name = Pohl_965-967>{{Citation

| last = Frank

* ''Hauptamt Reichskommissar für die Festigung Deutschen Volkstums'', RKFVD, Main Office of the Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood

 

{{Main|Allgemeine-SS}}

The ''Allgemeine-SS'' (the "General SS") refers to a non-combat branch of the SS. The ''Allgemeine-SS'' formations were divided into ''Standarten'', organized into larger formations known as ''Abschnitte'' and ''Oberabschnitte''. Many personnel served in other branches of the state government, [[Nazi Party]], and certain departments within the RSHA (e.g., the SD, Gestapo and Kripo). Members of the ''Allgemeine-SS'' were considered more or less reservists with many serving the German military, or the ''Waffen-SS''. For those who served in the ''Waffen-SS'', it was a standard practice to hold separate [[SS rank]]s for both the ''Allgemeine-SS'' and the ''Waffen-SS''.

 

<!-- [[Image:German pow 1943 by Soviet troops.JPG|right|thumb|250px|German prisoners being searched by Red Army soldiers. In the foreground, two dead German soldiers - the one on the right is an SS trooper.]] deleted image-->{{Main|Waffen-SS}}

The ''Waffen-SS'' were frontline combat troops trained to fight in Germany's battles during WWII. During the early campaigns against Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, military SS units were of regiment size and drawn from existing armed SS formations:

The ''Waffen-SS'' maintained several "[[Foreign Legion]]s" of personnel from conquered territories and countries allied to Germany. The majority wore a distinctive [[SS unit insignia|national collar patch]] and preceded their [[SS rank]] titles with the prefix ''Waffen'' instead of SS. Volunteers from Scandinavian countries filled the ranks of two divisions, the [[5th SS Panzer Division Wiking|5th "Wiking"]] and [[11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland|11th "Nordland."]] Belgian Flemings joined Dutchmen to form the [[23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland|"Nederland" Legion]], and their Walloon compatriots joined the [[28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien|Sturmbrigade "Wallonien"]].

 

 

The ''Indische Freiwilligen Infanterie Regiment 950'' (also known at various stages as the ''Indische Freiwilligen-Legion der Waffen-SS'', the ''Legion Freies Indien'', and ''Azad Hind Fauj'') was created in August 1942, chiefly from disaffected Indian soldiers of the [[British Indian Army]], captured by the [[Axis Powers|Axis]] in [[North Africa]]. 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]]. See also the [[Tiger Legion]] and the [[Indian National Army]].

 

{{Main|Germanic-SS}}

The [[Germanic-SS]] was an SS-modeled structure formed in occupied territories and allied countries. 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. Germanic-SS members wore the all-black SS uniforms favored by the pre-war German SS. After the war began, Himmler ordered the uniforms to be turned in and many were then sent west to be used by Germanic-SS units such as the ones in Holland and Denmark.<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, p 56"/> These groups had their own uniforms with a modification of [[SS rank]] titles and insignia. All Germanic-SS units answered to the SS headquarters in Germany.

 

The Auxiliary-SS (SS ''mannschaft'') 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]]''. Such personnel wore a distinctive twin swastika collar patch and served as camp guard and administrative personnel until the surrender of Germany.

 

There also exist very few records of the Auxiliary SS since, at the time of this group's creation, it was a foregone conclusion that Germany had lost the Second World War and the entire purpose of the Auxiliary SS was to serve in support roles while members of the SS proper escaped from allied forces. Thus, there was never a serious effort to properly train, equip, or maintain records on the Auxiliary SS.

 

Within the two main branches of the Allgemeine-SS and Waffen-SS, there further existed several branches and sub-branches some with overlapping duties while other SS commands had little to no contact with each other. In addition, by 1939 the SS had complete control over the German Police, with many police member serving as dual SS members.

 

{{Main|SS-Totenkopfverbände}}

The SS is closely associated with Nazi Germany's concentration camp system. After 1934, the running of Germany's [[Nazi concentration camps|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]]. Known as the "Death's Head Units", the SS-TV was first organized as several battalions, each based at one of Germany's major concentration camps, the oldest of which was at [[Dachau concentration camp|Dachau]]. In 1939, the ''Totenkopfverbände'' expanded into a military division with the establishment of the [[SS Division Totenkopf|''Totenkopf'' division]], which in 1940 would become a full division within the [[Waffen-SS]].

 

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. 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 crime]]s and [[Crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]].

 

{{Main|Sicherheitspolizei}}

In addition to running Germany's concentration camps, the SS is well known for establishing the police state of Nazi Germany and suppressing all resistance to Adolf Hitler through the use of security forces, such as, the [[Gestapo]].

[[Reinhard Heydrich]] is viewed as the mastermind behind the SS security forces and held the title of ''Chef des Sicherheitspolizei und SD'' until September 1939 when he became the overall supreme commander of the Reich Main Security Office.<ref name="Lumsden, Robin, p 83"/> [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Heinrich Müller]] became Gestapo Chief, [[Arthur Nebe]], chief of the Criminal Police (Kripo), and the two branches of SD were commanded by various SS officers such as [[Otto Ohlendorf]] and [[Walter Schellenberg]]. Heydrich was assassinated in 1942. His positions were taken over by [[Ernst Kaltenbrunner]] in January 1943, following a few short months of Heinrich Himmler personally running the RSHA while searching for Heydrich's replacement.<ref>Lumsden, Robin. ''A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS'', p 84.</ref>

 

{{Main|Einsatzgruppen}}

{{Wikisourcepar|Comprehensive report of Einsatzgruppe A up to 15 October 1941}}

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 commander was Heydrich. The first ''Einsatzgruppen'' were created in 1938 for use during the ''[[Anschluss]]'' of Austria and again in 1939 for the annexation of [[Czechoslovakia]]. 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.

 

The last ''Einsatzgruppen'' were disbanded in mid 1944 (although on paper some continued to exist until 1945) due to the retreating German forces on both fronts and the inability to carry on with further "in-the-field" extermination activities. Former ''Einsatzgruppen'' members were either folded into the ''Waffen-SS'' or took up roles in the more established Concentration Camps such as [[Auschwitz]].

 

Beginning in 1938, the SS enacted a procedure where offices and units of the SS could form smaller sub-units, known as ''Sonderkommandos'', to carry out special tasks and actions which might involve sending agents or troops into the field. The use of ''Sonderkommandos'' was very widespread, and according to former SS-Major [[Wilhelm Höttl]], not even the SS leadership knew how many ''Sonderkommandos'' were constantly being formed, disbanded, and reformed for various tasks.

 

The term "[[Sonderkommando]]" was ironically also used to describe the teams of Jewish prisoners who were forced to work in gas chambers and crematoria, receiving special privileges and above-average treatment, before then being gassed themselves. The obvious distinction was that these Jewish "special-action units" were not SS ''Sonderkommandos''; the term was simply applied to these obviously non-SS personnel due to the nature of the tasks which they performed.

 

{{main|SS and Police Courts}}

SS and police courts were special tribunals which were the only authority authorized to try SS personnel for crimes. The different SS and Police Courts were as follows:

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''. In such cases, the SS member in question was subject to regular ''Wehrmacht'' military law and could face charges before a standard military tribunal.

 

The original purpose of the SS, that of safeguarding the leadership of the Nazi Party ([[Adolf Hitler]]) continued until the very end of the group's existence. Hitler had used bodyguards for protection since the 1920s, and as the SS grew in size and importance, so too did Hitler's personnel protection unit. In all, there were two main SS groups most closely associated with protecting the life of Adolf Hitler.

 

 

Hitler also made use of regular military protection, especially when travelling into the field or to operational headquarters (such as the [[Wolf's Lair]]). Hitler always maintained an SS escort, however, and his security was mainly handled by the Leibstandarte and the RSD.

 

Another section of the SS consisted of special purpose units which assisted the main SS with a variety of tasks. The first such units were SS cavalry formations formed in the 1930s as part of the Allgemeine-SS (these units were entirely separate from the later Waffen-SS cavalry commands).

 

One of the more infamous SS special purpose corps were the SS medical units, composed mostly of doctors who became involved in both [[euthanasia]] and human experimentation. The SS also formed a special corps for women, since full SS membership was available only for men, as well as a scientific corps to conduct historical research into [[Nordic]]-[[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] origins.

 

The SS Cavalry Corps (German: ''Reiter-SS'') comprised several ''Reiterstandarten'' and ''Reiterabschnitte'', which were really [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] clubs to attract the German upper class and nobility into the SS. In the 1930s, the ''Reiter-SS'' was considered as a nucleus for a military branch of the SS, but this idea was phased out with the rise of the ''[[SS-Verfügungstruppe]]'' (later the ''Waffen-SS'').

 

By 1941, the ''Reiter-SS'' was little more than a social club. Most of the serious cavalry officers transferred to combat units in the ''Waffen-SS'' and the [[SS Cavalry Brigade]]. Between 1942 and 1945, the ''Reiter-SS'' effectively ceased to exist except on paper, with only a handful of members. During the Nuremberg Trials, when the Tribunal declared the SS to be a criminal organization, the ''Reiter-SS'' was expressly excluded, due to its insignificant involvement in other SS activities.

 

{{main|SS Medical Corps}}

 

The SS Medical Corps first appeared in the 1930s as small companies of SS personnel known as the ''Sanitätsstaffel''. After 1931, the SS formed a headquarters office known as ''Amt'' V, which was the central office for SS medical units.

 

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 most infamous member, Doctor [[Josef Mengele]], served as Head Medical Officer of Auschwitz and was responsible for the daily gas chamber selections of people as well as experiments at the camp.

 

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.

 

{{Main|Ahnenerbe}}

The Scientific Branch of the SS that was used to provide scientific and archeological proof of [[Aryan]] supremacy. Formed in 1935 by Himmler and [[Herman Wirth]], the society did not become part of the SS until 1939.

 

{{main|Austrian SS}}

The term "Austrian-SS" was never a recognized branch of the SS, but is often used to describe that portion of the SS membership from [[Austria]]. Both Germany and Austria contributed to a single SS and Austrian SS members were seen as regular SS personnel, in contrast to SS members from other countries which were grouped into either the Germanic-SS or the Foreign Legions of the Waffen-SS.

Austrian SS members served in every branch of the SS, including Concentration Camps, Einsatzgruppen, and the Security Services. One notable Austrian-SS member was [[Amon Göth]], immortalized in the film ''[[Schindler's List]]''. The fictional character of [[Hans Landa]], seen in the film ''[[Inglorious Basterds]]'' was also depicted as a member of the Austrian-SS.

 

To conduct upkeep, house-keeping, and the general maintenance of its many headquarters buildings both in Germany and in other occupied countries, the SS frequently hired civilian contract workers to perform such duties as [[maid]]s, [[mechanic|maintenance workers]], and general [[laborer]]s. The SS also occasionally employed civilian [[secretary|secretaries]], but more often used the female SS corps for these duties.

 

Several motion pictures have been the subject of local civilians working for the SS, such as ''A Woman at War'', staring [[Martha Plimpton]], and ''[[Black Book (film)|Black Book]]'', staring [[Christian Berkel]].

 

According to [[Simon Wiesenthal]], toward 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 and Italy, operating out of [[Buenos Aires]]. ODESSA allegedly helped [[Adolf Eichmann]], [[Josef Mengele]], [[Erich Priebke]], and many other war criminals find postwar refuge in [[Latin America]].

 

In the modern age, several [[neo-Nazi]] groups claim to be successor organizations to the SS. 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.

 

{{Nazism sidebar}}

* [[C.O.T.SS - Children of the SS]]

* [[Nazi gold]]

 

{{reflist|2}}

 

* Arenhövel, Verlag. ''Topography of Terror''. Berlin: Berliner Festspiele GmbH. (1989). ISBN 3-922912-25-7

* Browder, George C. ''Foundations of the Nazi Police State—The Formation of Sipo and SD'', University of Kentucky, Lexington, (1990). ISBN 0-8131-1697-X

* Reiner Merkel: ''Hans Kammler - Manager des Todes'', 2010 August von Goethe Literaturverlag, Frankfurt am Main, ISBN 978-3-8372-0817-7.

 

* [http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=65244 1938 Transfer list of SS personnel to Wehrmacht], forum.axishistory.com

* [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=63 Axis History Factbook - SS] Personal website from Sweden. {{en icon}}

{{Fascism}}

 

 

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