History of the General SS

In the early days of Nazism. Hitler was surrounded by the unwieldy SA. He realised the necessity of organising a more dedicated elite personal guard.This guard should not be large. but it had to consist of men of proven calibre of Nordic blood, and of good character.

They had to act as bodyguard and spearhead. They had to protect both himself and important members of his party while they travelled around Germany furthering the cause of Nazism.

In March 1923 the embryo SS consisted of just two men. Joseph Berchtold and Julius Schreck who called themselves the STABSWACHE (Staff Guard). Two months later a new unit the STOSSTRUPP ADOLF HITLER (Adolf Hitler Shock Troop) was formed and commanded by Joseph Berchtold.

After the abortive putsch of the 9th November 1923, in which a number of Nazis were killed. Hitler was imprisoned and the NSDAD banned.

Hitler, looking back on the period immediately after his release from Landsberg in December 1924, described the early days of the SS.

"Being convinced that there are always circumstances in which elite troops are called for, I created in 1922-23 the 'Adolf Hitler Shock Troops'. They were made up of men who were ready for revolution and knew that some day things would come to hard knocks. When I came out of Landsberg everything was broken up and scattered in sometimes rival bands. I told myself then that I needed a bodyguard. even a restricted one, but made up of men who would be enlisted without conditions,even to march against their own brothers, only twenty men to a city (on condition that one could count on them absolutely) rather than a dubious mass. It was Maurice, Schreck, and Heiden who formed in Munich the first group of toughs, and were thus the origin of the SS; but it was with Himmler that the SS became an extraordinary body of men, devoted to an ideal, loyal to death".

In April 1925. Hitler ordered his chauffeur and personal bodyguard Julius Schreck, to raise a new shock troop. A few weeks later it was named the SCHUTZSTAFFEL or Protection Squad or SS. The new SS was to be organised on a national basis. Each major city was called upon to provide one leader and ten of its best men.

When Heinrich Himmler was made Reichsfuhrer-SS with the rank of SS Oberfuhrer in January 1929, the SS was under the overall command of the SA and numbered less than 280 men. By 1930 the SS numbered 2727 men. In June 1932 when Bruening's decree banned the SA the SS had grown to 30,000 or approximately 10% of the SA. On the 30th January Hitler became Chancellor and the SS had secretly recruited 52,000 more members.

The assassination on June 30th 1934 of the Chief-of-Staff of the SA, Ernst Rohm, and the decree of the 26th July that recognised the part the SS had played in the purging of the SA and promoted it to the status of an independent organisation within the NSDAP, was the turning point in the struggle for supremacy over the SA.

Himmler set about implementing his theories of a racially and ideologically elite force and the SS entered its second phase of rapid expansion. By the outbreak of the second World War the ALLGEMEINE-SS (General SS) numbered some 240,000 part-time members who were kept in readiness in case of internal strife by a small regular staff. Members of the General SS were called up for service in the Armed Forces or Armed SS to such an extent that many General SS units survived in name only. Towards the end of the war the General SS barely exceeded 40,000 men, most of whom were staff and officials of the Reichsfuhrung-SS and the Main offices.

DER WERDEGANG ZUM SS-MANN - How one became an SS man

After establishing his SS suitability and fitness, a Hitler Youth became an SS-Bewerber (Applicant) at the age of 18. On the Reich's Party Day of the same year he was accepted as an SS-Anwarter (Candidate) and given an SS identity card. After a short probationary period he took the oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

As an SS Candidate, and during his first year's service, he was expected to win both the SA-Wehrabzeichen (SA Military Badge) and the Deutsche Reichsportabzeichen (Sports Badge in Bronze). At the age of 19 or 19+ depending on when his age group was called, he went into the Labour Service and then into the Armed Forces.

If after two years he decided not to remain in the Armed Forces as a noncommissioned officer candidate or as a regular, he returned to the SS, still as a candidate. Before final acceptance in the SS he was given special philosophical training, being thoroughly instructed in the principles of the SS, especially the marriage order and code of honour of the SS. On the 9th November, after his return from the Armed Forces, and subject to fulfilling all the special requirements, the SS candidate was finally accepted as an SS man.

On the 9th November he was given the right to wear the SS dagger, and vowed at this ceremony, that he and his relations would for ever observe the basic laws of the SS. From that day on it was his right and duty, as was law in the SS, to defend his honour, according to the code of honour of the Black Corps.

As an SS man he remained in the active General SS until he was 35 years of age, when upon application he was placed on the SS Reserve. When he was 45 years of age he passed into the Stammabteilung.

Andrew Mollo, "Uniforms of the SS", Volume 1, Allgemeine-SS 1923-1945, Historical Research Unit, 1968

Duane Pfister

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The Leadership of the NSDAP

The Political Leadership Hierarchy and The National Socialist German Workers Party-NSDAP

The Reichsleiter

The highest body of the Party was formed by the Reichsleitern, most of whom held at the same time leading State positions. Seventeen Ministers or Reichsleitern held office, their function included, amongst others, the following:

Police and Ministry of the Interior, Propaganda, Ministry of Armaments and War Production, The Press, Finance, Justice, State Labour Service, Education of Youth, Agriculture.

Each Reichsleiter was responsible to Hitler as President, Chancellor and Leader of the Nazi Party.

Beneath the Reichsleitung the Party was organised into Gaue, Kreise, Ortsgruppen, Zellen and Blocke.

The structure of the National Socialist Party was based on forty-two Gaue (Regions) which included thirty-two in Germany proper and ten in the annexed and occupied territories. An additional Gau - the 43rd - was created to encompass those German nationals living abroad in foreign countries. This was known as the Auslandsorganization (AO).

The Gauleiter

The Gau or Region was the original basic unit of the Nazi Party's geographical organisation as well as the largest unit in the local organisation of the Party membership.

Each Gau was headed by a Gauleiter who was appointed by, and if the need arose was removed, by Hitler. The Gau was created in the early years of the Party's history and corresponded roughly in extent with the Reichstag (German Parliament) electoral districts. It had therefore a traditional as well as a functional importance. This functional importance had been increased by war-time legislation which first gave the Gauleiter the responsibility (under the Central Government) for all matters concerning the mobilisation of labour and subsequently nominated Gaue as civil defence regions, over which the Gauleiter wielded a wide and varied authority (see the section on the National Militia - the Volkssturm).

Apart from these powers, the Gauleiter was a highranking Party official who was usually also the Reichsstatthalter for a Land, and moreover controlled the Gau Wirtschaftskammer (Economic Chamber) which coordinated and supervised every form of trade and industry in the Gau. These additional responsibilities, entrusted to the Gauleiter by legislation, greatly increased the power of the Party and marked a distinct step in the gradual displacement by the Party Gaue of the traditional Linder or administrative regions.

Affiliated formations and organisations such as the SA, the SS, the Hitler Youth movement etc. had their main regional offices at Gau level and acted in close concert with the Gauleiter's office. Each of the forty-two Gauleiters worked under the direction often Landesinspekteure, nine in Germany and one in Austria. Each inspector was charged with the responsibility for carrying out Party policy within the Gaue under his direction and with supervising the work of the Party representatives in State and Provincial legislatures. These officials controlled by the central officers of the Reichsinspection constituted the liaison between the Reichsleitung and the Gaue.

The Kreisleiter

Each Gau was divided into a number of Kreise or 'Circles', each headed by a Kreisleiter. The Kreisleiter was the lowest of the paid officials of the Party. He was directly responsible to his Gauleiter and who, on the recommendation of the Gauleiter, was nominated to this post by Hitler. The Kreisleiter's office was independent of the administrative machine and he had no direct control over the Landrat (Prefect or Head of a Distict) or the Oberburgermeister of the very large town or the Burgermeister of the smaller towns, although his influence was considerable.

The Ortsgruppenleiter

Beneath the Kreisleiter was the unpaid Ortsgruppenleiter or Local Group Leader appointed to the position by the Gauleiter on the nomination of the Kreisleiter.

Each Kreis consisted of a varying number of Ortsgruppen. The Ortsgruppenleiter had control over an Ortsgruppe with a population averaging approximately 40,000 and whose territory comprised one or several Communes or, in a town, a certain district. The Ortsgruppenleiter had an office of his own and controlled up to 3,000 Party members and the organization was designed to be small enough so that he could be personally acquainted with all the members.

Most of the affiliated organisations already referred to had their lowest level representation in the Ortsgruppe and often had their local office in the Ortsgruppenleiter's headquarters.

They were expected to co-operate with the Ortsgruppenleiter who, however, had no disciplinary jurisdiction over them.

The Ortsgruppen were the smallest units in the rural areas but were sub-divided in a large metropolitan centre into Street Cells and Blocks (Zellen und Blocke).

The Zellenleiter and Blockleiter

The Zellenleiter and the Blockleiter were Party officials of the lowest rank. The latter was responsible for forty to sixty households, whether or not they contained Party members;the former controlled four or five Blocke with the assistance of Social Welfare (NS-Volkswohlfahrt -NSV) and Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront -DAF) officials.

People living in the area controlled by a Zellenleiter were encouraged to consult him, rather than higher Party officials, on any personal or technical problems. The Blockleiter was appointed to keep an eye upon the activities and political attitudes of the families under his control and to keep a card index system, containing Haushaltskarten, providing detailed information about them. Regular reports were sent from the Blockleiter to the Zellenleiter who in turn reported to his Ortsgruppenleiter and so on up through the chain of political leadership. Any unrest was dealt with swiftly and at source. Small wonder therefore that the Party found it necessary to state on repeated occasions that the Blockleiter was not employed as a Party spy.

An accurate assessment of the total membership of the NSDAP is almost impossible. By December 1943 the Party claimed that their membership included some 6,500,000 male members and 85,800 full-time officials; however a reasonable estimate of the numbers of members towards the last year of the war would have been more in the region of 7,000,000. It should not be forgotten that whilst membership of the National Socialist Party was not compulsory for the average German there were considerable advantages to be enjoyed by being a Party member. For those Germans who sought advancement in public or professional fields, Party membership was a necessary qualification for all higher governmental and professional appointments.

Brian Leigh Davis, GERMAN UNIFORMS OF THE THIRD REICH 1933-1945, Arco Publishing, 1980

Introduction to Belt Buckles

Most of the regulations cited in the pages that follow deal primarily with the introduction of the buckle, the condition for wear, the nature of the belt, sometimes reference to type of metal construction and design, but rarely definitive information concerning manufacture or marking. Most of this latter information has been derived from observation and admitted conjecture. During my travels throughout Germany visiting some of the still existing firms, I found that manufacturing techniques, while usually consistent throughout the industry, varied as did the metals used, depending on the year of production.

The text relative to specific buckles is broken down into sub-sections dealing with military, political, civil and unidentified/prototype/points of interest. A code precedes each buckle for the purpose of continued identification. The structure of the code is as follows, reading from left to right: the first number at the left identifies which of the four sub-sections the buckle falls into, eg., 1- military, 2 - political, 3 - civil and 4 - miscellaneous. The second number (and possibly the third) represents the specific organization with the sub-section, eg., under military 1 - Army, 2 - Landwehr (alleged), 3 - Navy, 4 - Air Force. The number within the parentheses represents the pattern sequence within the specific organization. The number after the period represents the Reid reference number as found in German Belt Buckles 1919-1945. For a more detailed breakdown, refer to the index.

I do not wish to give the impression that this buckle coverage is the "be all and end all" on the subject, as there are other buckles that were produced for which we have no data, variations that are yet unencountered, information that has yet to be made available, etc. If you should have a pattern that is not described here, or information that might serve to further inform or correct, it would be greatly appreciated if you would provide it for future release. Any material provided will be credited.

I will remain consistent as with my previous references by not placing a current value on buckles. Values vary from one location to the next, and are subject to increases with inflation. I have indicated, however, the relative rarity of buckles in some 6 cases.

It becomes rather obvious that there is little or no discussion relative to reproductions. Except in obvious cases, I do not consider myself "expert" enough to provide a scholarly discourse on the subject. The best advice regarding this matter is to know your source, and "let your gut feeling be your guide."

BUCKLE MANUFACTURE

Belt buckles produced during the period 1933-1945 were not unique in concept, but were unique in many cases in the manner in which they were produced. The German states and some organizations had long used the belt buckle to partially identify the wearer with the organization or state to which he belonged. Hitler expanded considerably on this practice with virtually every military, political and civil organization given authorization to wear a uniquely designed buckle. This attention to detail where a uniform accouterment was concerned was not without purpose since it was Hitler's intent to use every device possible to further advance the recognition and cause of national socialism. Hitler's grasp of psychological motivational techniques was astounding. Considerable attention to detail went into each design, often with Hitler playing an active role. Buckle production and resultant sales, as with virtually every aspect of Nazi regalia, provided a much needed infusion of capital into the German economy which had been reeling under heavy unemployment and unchecked inflation. Lack of controls coupled with a relatively simple production technique gave rise to many "mom and pop" operations - those family operations that produced with a minimum of equipment and overhead, and serving either as a retail source or providing the finished work to a retailer. In 1933 the creation of the Reichszeugmeisterie (RZM) served to allow controls over the production of NSDAP uniform material. The headquarters of the RZM, located in Munich, assembled regulatory notices and distributed them in the weekly journal Mitte/ungsblatt der Reichszeugmeisterie. Specific details were provided as to the exact measurements, pattern design, metal construction, etc. Pattern pieces were produced and made available by the RZM by which the manufacturers could compare their finished products.

With the established firms, production was largely one of mass production where dies, presses and assemblers were brought into play. Smaller jobbers often had to resort to a greater degree of hand work, turning out fewer finished pieces in a long work day. As techniques improved and raw materials became more difficult to obtain as a result of the war effort, metals transitioned from the basic brass and iron, to aluminum to pot metal, and the presses later shared production with the injection molds. The drop forge and die technique was used until the end of the war. The following study in the buckle reverse gives some insight as to the degree of hand work and the changes that took place from 1933-1945.

J.R. Angolia: "Belt Buckles & Brocades of the Third Reich", 1982, R. James Bender Publishing

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Waffen-SS Rank Insignia

The Allgemeine-SS system of indicating rank by pips, bars and oakleaves was altered only slightly by the SS- Verfiigungstruppe (SS-VT) and later by the Waffen-SS, The right-hand collar insignia indicated unit, while the left indicated the rank of the wearer . The SS runes were eventually worn by all units of the Waffen-SS with the exception of the SS-Police Division, the SS-Totenkopf Division and non-German units. The Totenkopf (death's head) was worn by members of the SS-Totenkopf Division, its Ersatz units (replacements), the Inspectorate of the Concentration Camps and Totenkopf independent units (Insp. K. L. und TotenkopfSturmbanne).

The practice of the right-hand collar insignia indicating unit, while the left indicated rank was disregarded in three recorded instances. This occurred when the unit insignia appeared on the left as well as the right collar patch:

(a) Totenkopf ("Totenkopf" Division and other units) (b) Odalrune ("Prinz Eugen" Division) (c) SS runes (reason unknown at time of writing)

All Waffen-SS collar patches were black with the exception of early Italian units in the Waffen-SS. The Italian-SS initially wore red as the colour for their collar patches and other insignia. They were honoured with the colour black, however, when the Italian SS Legion became the 29th division of the Waffen-SS.

Early SS collar insignia for enlisted men and NCOs was initially piped in silver/black twisted cord but this piping was discontinued probably for reasons of economy. The collar patches of officers and some N COs, who were officer candidates, were trimmed in silver cord. SS Generals' collar insignia were also trimmed in silver cord.

In early 1942 the basic shape of the oak-leaves was altered. The leaves were now of a straighter style and the woven pips were in a slightly different position. The significance of the rank insignia was also effected as indicated in the following chart.

Rank To end of 1941 1942

SS-Oberfuhrer, 2 leaves

SS-Brigadefuhrer, 2 leaves, 1 pip

SS-Gruppenfuhrer, 3 leaves

SS-Obergruppenfuhrer, 3 leaves, 1 pip

SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer, ---

Rank 1942-1945

SS-Oberfuhrer, 2 leaves

SS-Brigadefuhrer, 3 leaves

SS-Gruppenfuhrer, 3 leaves, 1 pip

SS-Obergruppenfuhrer, 3 leaves, 2 pips

SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer, 2 leaves, 3 pips

Although the SS-VT and later the Waffen-SS retained the Allgemeine-SS collar rank insignia system, the tendency for closer association with members of the Wehrmacht's combat forces is evident in their shoulder straps. Originally, Waffen-SS shoulder straps were identical with those of the German Army and were worn on both shoulders. The only variation was that the straps of SS enlisted men and NCOs had a black underlay. Enlisted men's straps were piped in Waffenfarben and NCO's straps were trimmed with a 9mm wide aluminum (later cotton) border.

Straight silver cords were utilized for the ranks of Untersturmfuhrer to Hauptsturmfuhrer; entwined double silver cords for Sturmbannfiihrer to Oberfiihrer; and entwined gold/silver/gold cords for Brigadefuhrer to OberstgruppenfUhrer. Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler wore his special shoulder straps with 3 entwined silver cords on the black base with the addition of a silver 3-leaf insignia. The system was later altered for officers' ranks from Untersturmflihrer to Oberfuhrer by the addition of a black base under the Waffenfarben. The pips on shoulder straps were the same as those of the Army in colour (i. e. gold for SS-Obersturmfuhrer to SS-OberfUhrer and silver for SS-Gruppenfuhrer and above). They were later changed to silver for all ranks.

In 1940 the Waffen-SS adopted the circular rank insignia of the Army's Oberschutze. This insignia consisted of a star which was positioned on a black, circular backing and worn by the SS-Mann below his SS sleeve eagle. The title of SS-Mann was altered to SS-Staffelmann and in 1941changed to titles similar to those in the Army. . . . SS-Oberschutze, SS- Obergrenadier, SS-Oberkanonier, SS-Oberreiter, etc. The single chevron sleeve insignia of the Army Gefreiter was also adopted and worn by the SS-Sturmmann. The double chevron insignia of the Army Obergefreiter was adopted and worn by the SS-Rottenfuhrer rank. The Army's influence was also seen in the introduction of the silver lace around the NCO collar. The SS-StabsscharfUhrer (equivalent to Army's Hauptfeldwebel and Hauptwachtmeister), a senior NCO serving in the capacity of company Sergeant-Major, wore two 9mm wide silver strips above the sleeve cuff.

R.J. Bender and H.P. Taylor: "Uniforms, Organization and History of the Waffen-SS Vol. 1", 1969. R.James Bender Publishing

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