The Allgemeine SS (General SS) was established in the autumn of 1934 to distinguish certain SS members from the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) and SS-Totenkopfverbände (Death's Head formations). Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The   (German for Protective Squadron), abbreviated (Runic) or SS (Latin), was a large security and military organization of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) in Germany. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... ...

Starting in 1939 units similar to the SS were formed in neighbouring countries, which were consolidated under the Leitstelle der germanischen SS (Directing Center of the Germanic SS) from 1940. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Germanic SS (Germanische-SS) was the collective name given to paramilitary groups which arose in conquered and subject nations of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1945 and which were modeled on designs of the German Schutzstaffel (SS). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Hierarchy

Uniforms of the SS Ordnertroops (Allgemeine SS)

The ranks of the Allgemeine SS, Waffen-SS, and SS-Totenkopfverbände were all traditionally based upon those of the SA. Thus there were distinctly separate hierarchical subdivisions of the SS. Therefore a Brigadeführer (Brigadier General) of the Allgemeine SS might only be ranked as a Rottenführer (Lance Corporal) in the Waffen-SS. If this same SS member were an architectural engineer, then the SS-Hauptämter (SS Main Offices) would issue a third rank of Sonderführer (Lead Technical Specialist). Accordingly, in 1944 the Allies began to separate all higher ranked SS and police officials (Höherer SS und Polizeiführer) bearing the Allgemeine rank of Brigadeführer or higher from regular POWs if captured. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (912x1120, 117 KB) Uniforms of the brownshirt, or the common SS. See also Image:Die Uniformen der SS-Verfügungstruppe. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (912x1120, 117 KB) Uniforms of the brownshirt, or the common SS. See also Image:Die Uniformen der SS-Verfügungstruppe. ... Uniforms of the SS Ordnertroops (Allgemeine SS) SS uniform or the Schutzstaffel uniform was one of the uniforms that was worn during Nazi Germany by the military and other ranking individuals. ... The Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a paramilitary rank system used by the German SS, to differentiate the group from the German military, German state, and the Nazi Party. ... For the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof, see Tradition (song). ... The seal of SA SA propaganda poster. ... Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... SS-Rottenführer insignia An SS-Rottenführer of the Waffen-SS Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. ... Lance Corporal (LCpl or L/Cpl) is a military rank used by some elements of the British, Commonwealth, and U.S. armed forces. ... An architectural engineer applies the skills of many engineering disciplines to the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and renovation of buildings while paying attention to their impacts on the surrounding environment. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A representation of the changes in territory controlled by Allies and Axis powers over the course of the war. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

Early Years

The SS was created on April 4, 1925 and subordinated to the SA on November 1, 1926. It was thus a subunit of the SA and the NSDAP. It was considered to be an elite organization by both party members and among the general population. is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: , or NSDAP, commonly, the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. ...

The main task of the SS was the personal protection of the Führer of the Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler. As early as the winter of 1925 the SS consisted of approximately 1,000 members, but of this number there were barely 200 active members. Heinrich Himmler tried to separate the SS from the SA, and SA leaders generally had no authority over SS personnel from 1927 onwards. Himmler began to systematically develop and expand the SS. Many racketeers, habitual criminals, former members of the Freikorps, and Germans disappointed with the Weimar Republic began to join the SS. Nazi propaganda poster. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; 7 October 1900–23 May 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... The designation of Freikorps (German for Free Corps, i. ... Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first)  - 1933 Adolf Hitler (last) Legislature Reichstag...

By December 1929, the number of active members had grown to 1,000. The SS grew so fast that on 29 January 1930, Himmler could announce to his former mentor Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA, that: "The Schutzstaffel is growing, and will probably number 2,000 by the end of this quarter."^[1] From that point on the SS would be considered, therefore, de facto independent. By December of that same year, the SS had a membership of 2,727. Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Himmler now looked to another source for recruits to the SS: the SA. Many former members of Röhm's Frontbann joined the SS. In 1926 it had been specified that the SS had to absolutely subordinate itself to the SA and with that every arbitrary action of the SS was prevented. With local recruitment, the SS members were obligated to owe loyalty to the respective SA leader. However, by this time numerous Unterführer of the SA had already gone over to Himmler's SS. Hitler assisted Himmler in his first great victory over the SA, by decreeing on November 7, 1930: "The task of the SS is first the practice of the police service within the party. No SA leader is entitled to give instructions to the SS!" The term Frontbann refers to a reorganized and renamed version of the Sturmabteilung or SA. It translates directly into Front Band. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ...

This order split the two organizations from each other, and confirmed thereby the de jure independence of the SS from the SA. Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Formation and Service

After the so-called Machtergreifung by the National Socialists, the SS began to expand into a massive organization: By March 1933 it included over 52,000 registered members. By December, 1933 the SS had increased to over 204,000 members and Himmler ordered a temporary freeze on recruitment. Himmler ordered that, "no one else is taken on, from the end of 1933 to the end of 1935, who is not suited for the SS." Machtergreifung is a German word meaning seizure of power. ...

Also in the winter 1933/34, Himmler became Chief of the Political Police (Politische Polizei) for the whole of Germany. He would eventually subordinate this organisation, along with the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) to the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt or simply RSHA) and place Reinhard Heydrich at its head. Chief of Police is the title typically given to the head of a police department, particularly in the United States and Canada. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. ... Reinhard Heydrich - the first director of RSHA The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office), was a subordinate organization of the SS created by Heinrich Himmler on September 22, 1939, through the merger of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, or Security Agency), the Gestapo (Secret State Police) and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police). ... Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo, SD and Kripo Nazi police agencies) and Reich governor of Bohemia and Moravia. ...

On June 30, 1934 the power of the SS was further cemented when it participated in the decapitating of the SA during the Night of the Long Knives. They either killed or arrested every major leader in the SA - above all Ernst Röhm. is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Night of the Long Knives (German: Nacht der langen Messer) or Operation Hummingbird, took place in Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when at least eighty-five people, mostly in the Storm Division (SA) (German: Sturmabteilung), were murdered by the Nazi regime. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In August 1934, Himmler received permission from Hitler to form a new organisation from the SS Sonderkommandos and the Politischen Bereitschaften, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). This was be a standing armed force, which in war was to be subordinate to the Armed Forces, or Wehrmacht, but remained under Himmler's control in times of peace and under Hitler's personal control regardless. According to this restructure, the SS housed three different subordinate commands: The SS-Verfügungstruppe (combat support force) (short: SS-VT) was created in 1934 from the merger of various Nazi and right-wing paramilitary formations. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...

1. the Allgemeine-SS,
2. the SS-Verfügungstruppe
3. the SS-Totenkopfverbände

By December 1935 approximately 60,000 SS members had been purged from the SS. Himmler's "house cleaning" effectively ended the careers of those who were deemed to be opportunists, alcoholics, homosexuals or of uncertain racial status. The SS-Verfügungstruppe (combat support force) (short: SS-VT) was created in 1934 from the merger of various Nazi and right-wing paramilitary formations. ... ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ...

During this period the SS was reorganized, with the creation of the Allgemeine SS as a result. The new organisation grew quickly achieving peak membership in 1938, with 485,000 members. At that time, of the 13,867 active SS-Führer only 1,144 or 8.3% did not belong to the NSDAP. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A second decree from Hitler on May 18, 1939 merged the Totenkopfverbände into the Allgemeinen-SS, adding 50,000 new members to the organisation. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

By August 1939 there were 485,000 members of the Allgemeine SS (including 180,000 men in the so-called "Reserve-Standarten"). Approximately 170,000 were called up for service in the Wehrmacht and 35,000 others into the Waffen-SS. Only the 100,000 full-time SS leaders in the main offices had been exempted from the military service. Here the actual history of the Allgemeine-SS ends, since the war would ensure that the Waffen-SS would completely eclipse the Allgemeine-SS, both in size and importance. But the main offices of the Allgemeine SS, which were originally only staff departments of the SS main office (the so-called Reichsführung-SS) responsible for the coordinating the day-to-day operations of the Allgemeine SS, were officially responsible for the members of the Waffen-SS also in the war years. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Military service is service in an army or other military organisation, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). ...

Towards the end of the war in 1945 the Gesamt-SS had over 840,000 members. From these 48,500 were members of the Allgemeine SS. Much of the remainder was comprised of 18,000 officers, 52,000 NCOs, and 600,000 enlisted members of the Waffen-SS and 130,000 police. SS membership numbers were formally lent to the members of the Waffen-SS of all ranks, while SS membership was also automatically lent to police officers.

References

Heinz Höhne (also Hoehne) is a German journalist who specializes in Nazi and intelligence history. ...

Resources

1. Mark C. Yerger: The Allgemeine-SS (ISBN 0-7643-0145-4)
2. Andrew Mollo: A Pictorial History of the SS, 1923-1945 (ISBN 0-7128-2174-0)
3. Robin Lumsden: The Allgemeine-SS, Vol. 266 (ISBN 1-85532-358-3)
4. Heinz Hoehne: Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf (ISBN 3-89350-549-0)
5. Felix Steiner: Die Armee der Geächteten (ISBN 3-920722-10-8)
6. Gordon Williamson: Die Waffen-SS 1933-1945. Ein Handbuch (ISBN 3-85492-706-1)
7. Gordon Williamson: Die SS - Hitlers Instrument der Macht. Die Geschichte der SS von der Schutzstaffel bis zur Waffen-SS (ISBN 3-7043-6037-6)
8. Hilde Kammer/Elisabeth Bartsch: Jugendlexikon Nationalsozialismus. Begriffe aus der Zeit der Gewaltherrschaft 1933-1945 (ISBN 3-499-16288-1)