NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Obergruppenführer

Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA. Translated as "Senior Group Leader", the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by members of the Oberste SA-Führerung (Supreme SA Command) and also by veteran commanders of certain SA-Gruppen (SA Groups). The rank of Obergruppenführer was considered senior to the older title of Gruppenführer. Obergruppenfuhrer Collar Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Obergruppenfuhrer Collar Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... SA General Collar Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... SA General Collar Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Nazi swastika symbol The National Socialist German Workers Party ( German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung (SA) were the first paramilitary rank system to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. ... SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. SA Rank Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of large numbers of SA units...

As an SS rank, Obergruppenführer was created due to the growth and expansion of the SS under Heinrich Himmler. Himmler was one of the first SS officers appointed to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, and held the rank while simultaneously serving as the Reichsführer-SS. At the time Himmler held the rank of Obergruppenführer, Reichsführer was simply a title and not yet an actual rank. Throughout the existence of the German SS, the organization maintained a unique set of ranks and insignia that differentiated it from other branches of the German military, German state, and the Nazi Party. ... For other uses of the abbreviation SS, see SS (disambiguation) The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. ... Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Himmler (October 7, 1900 - May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ...

In the early days of the SS, the rank of Obergruppenführer was occasionally used to make two SS leaders equal in seniority, so as to prevent a power struggle within the Nazi Party. Such was the case with Kurt Daluege, who commanded most of the SS in the Berlin region between 1930 and 1934. To avoid having the SS split into two separate entities, one based in Northern Germany and the other in Bavaria, Adolf Hitler promoted Daluege to the new rank of Obergruppenführer making him equal in rank to Himmler. The Nazi swastika symbol The National Socialist German Workers Party ( German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... Categories: Stub | 1897 births | 1946 deaths | Law enforcement in Germany | SS ... Berlin (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004); down from 4. ... With an area of 70,553 km² and 12. ... Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945), a German politician who was the founder of the Third Reich (1933-1945), is widely regarded as one of the most significant and reviled leaders in world history. ...

After the Night of the Long Knives, the SS and the SA became two completely separate organizations. The SA continued to use the rank of Obergruppenführer, but the title gained predominance mainly in the SS. With the Nazi Party in power, and the SS a state agency of Germany, SS-Obergruppenführer was considered the highest rank of the SS, with the exception of Himmler’s special rank of Reichsführer-SS. Within the Waffen-SS, the rank came to be considered the equivalent of a full General. The Night of the Long Knives (German, Nacht der langen Messer), also known as Reichsmordwoche or the Blood Purge, was a purge ordered by Adolf Hitler of potential political rivals (who have been said to want more socialism and less nationalism in the party)in the Sturmabteilung, or S.A... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... General is a military rank, in most nations the highest rank, although some nations have the higher rank of Field Marshal. ...

The rank would remain the highest SS-General rank until 1942, when the SS created the rank of SS-Oberstgruppenführer.

The rank of Obergruppenführer was held by some of the most notorious figures in the SS, with Reinhard Heydrich and Ernst Kaltenbrunner both claiming title to the rank. Karl Wolff was another holder of the rank and was the highest ranking SS officer who was taken alive by the Allies after the close of Second World War. SS-Obergruppenführer was also the standard rank for SS and Police Leaders as well as Division commanders of the Waffen-SS. Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Reinhardt, March 7, 1904 - June 4, 1942) was an Obergruppenführer in the Nazi German paramilitary corps - the SS led by Heinrich Himmler. ... General Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (October 4, 1903 - October 16, 1946) was a Nazi official. ... Karl Wolff (right) with Benito Mussolini Karl Wolff (May 13, 1900 - July 17, 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS. He held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. Wolff was born in Darmstadt, Germany and joined the German Army during World... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... SS and Police Leaders were senior Nazi Party officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to the Second World War. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ...

Categories: Nazi paramilitary ranks | SS SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. SA Rank Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of large numbers of SA units... Throughout the existence of the German SS, the organization maintained a unique set of ranks and insignia that differentiated it from other branches of the German military, German state, and the Nazi Party. ... SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. SA Rank Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of large numbers of SA units... The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung (SA) were the first paramilitary rank system to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. ... Stabschef Collar Insignia Stabschef was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was the senior most position of the Sturmabteilung. ...