Himmler's Black Order: A History of the SS, 1923-45

I

A HISTORY OF THE SS, 1 923-45 ROBIN

LUMSDEN

SUTTON PUBL lSI! lNG

Fir~t publto;hed m 1997 in rhe United Ktngdom Sutton Publishmg L1mited · Phoenix Mill f hrupp · Stroud · Gloucesrershirc · GLS 2BU

Th1 paperback cdnion fir~r published

10

hy

CONTENTS

2005

Copyright © Robin Lumsden, 1997

All righrs resc.-vcd. No parr of thts publication may be reproduced, !>cored m a retncval -;ysr..:m, or rran~mitrcd, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, phnrocopying, rewtdmg or orherwi~c, without rhe prior permission of rhe publisher and copyri(;!ht holder. BrilJ<;h J ihrary Cataloguing in Publicntion Data A catalogue rc~.:ord for rhis book is available from the Brtmh I ihran·

ISBN 0 7509 4050 6

..

Introduction

VII

1.

0RlG1NS AND EARLY D EVELOPMENT

2.

TH E ALLGEMEINE-5S General Organisation of th e Allgemeine-55 55 Duties a nd Conditio n of Service The Racia l Elite Guardians of the Sta re The Ind ustrial Empire The 55 Society oble Ancestors The Next Generation The Germanic-55 Symbolism and Regalia of the Black Order

3. TH E WAfFEN-SS

f) pe!)el trl I 0/13 pt ~a bon. T> pe errm~ anJ origination by utton Publt ... htng limired. Primed and bound

tn

19

19 45 64 79

100 108 11 5 126 134 142

171 L7 L

Origins and Orga nisation of th e Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS at War Waffen-55 Uniforms

184 214

Epilogue

267

Bibliogra ph y

281

In de'=

284

Great Bntatn by

J.H. Hayne<; & Co. 1 td, Sp.Hkford

v

INTRODUCTION The

h~c.1mc

~~ t<;

borh the has1s and rhc msrrumcnr oi h1s ~rrength. At the height of his influence, H immler \·vas ChJCf of Polil.e, Reich ~1imster o f the l ntl ranr. ·"' 1'-SDA P R eic.:h~leiter, ,1 ~!cmlH· r of the R cich~taA, Rc1ch Com· mlo;stom•r tor the Consolidation ()( Ger manism. Commander-in·Chief of rhc Home Arm). Chu~f of ~ t iiltary Armament .1nd Commander of Army Grca1p<, on the Rhme and \ istula. In effect, hl' and his !>S ~.onrrollcd all torces, military, paramilitan and pollee. on the German home from dunng rhc Secnnd \X'orld \X'ar. Yet, w1th hts cripplin~ fascmatton for gl'nealog\, medle,·alism and Gcrmamc lore. the Retcho;fuhrer· S exerc..,ed coral control mer a Juggernaut "h11.h he regarded not .1~ .1 pohu~.1l vc.:hide bur 3'> a racial Order. So far as llimmler was concerned, rhe SS was first ,1nd torcmost a mul ri·national fam1ly, a nord11. dJn whith "ould eventually unite the C.ermantc people<. of ~. urope ~o rhar tht'~ would n~"er agam wmc mto mutu.tl confltct. H immlcr plnnned rha r after t he \ icrorious condu!.ion of the war, rha r lasr great war nf .:"\termination 10 which rhe SS wou ld pro'e lt~elf through the Jt: h icvcmcnr~ of its own bank·held unit~, he and his successors would hulld up the Order .1nd produce the leaders ro Jireu indu.;rr~, agnculture, politics and the .11.:uvmes of rhe mmd m a new pagan Europe, policed and gu,udcd by rhe SS. ~or has parr, Adolf Hitler was content to .tllm\ hi' lm al folhw.er'o; fancte<, tree retn, ''nt:e he ne\ er needed m threaten "ould·hl' uuubkm.tkl·r'> "ith .111~ thing
one of the hcsr known, )Ct ltasr under~rood. organisations in history. To most people, it was s1mply a brutal arm nf rhe N.1z1 '>tate wh1ch had ~ubjugatwn b) terror ,,., it., ' olt: purpo~c . Consequently, 11 \\Ill for~·H·r he equated with concenrrarion camps, rorture and mao;s extermination, and on that basic; is fated w be almost universal!) loathed and dcte'>ted for generations to come. Yet this dark side is onl} pan of th~ S <,ton. The "hole saga is considerabh more ~omple"\ and, 10 many \vays , almo't dehc'> behd. In ten years. the S gre\\ from a -.mall. unpaid bodyguard for .1. mmor pohuct.ln to .1 force which dominated the ractal, cultur.tl ;1nd profec;,tonal c;pheres of the mo<;t powerful empt rc m.1inl.wd Europe h.t., e'er -.ccn . \ II tlll' domestic poliCe agenc1es of the occupied territories were controlled by the and a network of monopolistic bus1nco;s enterprio;es ga' e the organisation\ hundreds of factoriec, di rect access to their own r.l\\ matcrtals, labour and internal markets. People in all walks of life, from farmers and c;oldier'i to acndemics and member~ of rhe a ri-.rucracy, flocked ro join rhc SS lor thetr own sclfi-;h en&;. \ r the centre was H immler, a rurhlco;sh amhntous 1dealisr. From the dJ) he rook comm:.1nd. H immler \\ilS the SS and the SS tl immler. The orgamsarion's progress bec,une b<.lund up wit h the career of irs Reich~fuh rer. '' ho obtained one imporranr posr afrcr ,lnother unnl hy 1945 he had concentrated more prl\\ er m lw; pcr<.on rhan an~ orher nun c'\..-cpt I i itler. \XIht>r~,·er H immk·r sccurl"d .1 positton, he rook the SS "'Hh htm . The ~

VII

~IMMLER'S

knowledg<.· rha[ the all-powerful Reichsfi.ihrer wal> lurkmg around as a son of bogeyman wal> usuall y enough ro ensure that Hider recet,ed only fawning adulauon from all but rhe strongest wtlled. As a result, Himmler's person:~! hopes and dreams for the SS however unreali ric, were permitted ro sha~ the devdnpmenr of the enrire organjsarion. In writing this book, I hope to clear up some misconception~ and show that the SS had many more facets than those generally known. Wirhtn Germany itself during the Third Reich, rhe SS held a unique position. It was feared, Yl't it was also genuinely

BLACK ORDER respecrecl artd, in ,nmc C:•l'C'• i."\'cn rC'\ ~··~·d. SS memhcrshtp was somerhtng tt, he: htghh valued, and che carefull)' Jc,rgned ur11torms and accourrcmcnts intended to ,~r rhc nc\\ elite apart bc~.-ame lOStant '>[;."\[US symtmJ\ lll rhe emerging empire. f he exm:mc:l) rowcrful influence of badges and rcgalta should nt'H.'r be forgotrcn when trying w \cck 41nc,wers to che often-a)ked question of wh} orJ1n,an, law-a hiding cititcns happily subscribed ro w·hac i) now generally regarded a<; ,1 murderous organ1sarion. Robin Lumsdtm Camzeyhi/1. March 1997

1. ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT f'hc origins of the SS are linked inexmcabl~ wirh the evenrs and afrermarh of the First World War. Thi) epic conflicr had a profound effect upon Adolf Hicler, who. afrer years of .timles.; drifting in Vienna and Munich, suddenly found his rrue vocarion fighting on the western front. From the vcr) beginning the German army. unlike rhat of Great BrirJin, actively encouraged iniriati'e on the pare of ire; COs and pnvare soldrers, su Gefreirer Hider was more chan accusromed ro maktng front-line decisions in his 'depurv officer' capacity. As a trench messenger. he conc;rantly ran the gaunrler of Hritish and french machine guns. receiving the Bav.:man Md1t.H~ l.ross of .\tcrit 3rd (.lass and a Rt"gimcntal Citation for Braverr in the Face of the Enemy. H e was wounded rwic.e, gas'ied, temporarily blinded and emerged w1rh the fron Cross 1 t Class, an unusually high decoration for an enlisted man anJ t)ne which he wore proud ly until the day of hi death. Once the sta lemate <Jf rrench warfare had -.et in, Germany was quick to reali e rhc porenrwJ Of JcvcJoping elite UOitS of handpicked infantrymen ro act as assault parnes and trench raiders. Earl> in 1915 MaJor Eugen Kaslow, a ptoneer officer, was tasked with ('valuating experimental steel helmets, body armour and a new light cannon. To do so, he formed a small assault detachment which came to be known 35 t;rurmabredung Ka<.low. Under his leadership and that of hts s uc~c ..sor, Hauptmann Willi Rohr, the

VIII

]

turmabreilung evolved new tactics co break inro an enemy rrench system. Combat operations in rhe Vosges mountains rhat anrumn ... u~gc~ccd rhar these ideas were oumJ .tnd. in Janu.u~ 19 16, ~Htrmabreilung Rohr was duly transferred ro Verdun. At rhar rime, the derachmenr comprised rhree-nun reams ~.-ailed Sro'istruppe, or -.hod. troop'>, whose method of Jtt.1ck mvolved stormmg a trench m fh10k. 'I he fin.r of the trio was armed with a sharpened enrrenchmg rool and a shteld made trom a machine gun mounting. I Ie wa!> folJCiwecl by rhe second man carrying havl'rsacks full of shun-fused stick grenades, and the third oldicr armed with a knife, ba) oner or club The rossrruppe rechntque proved so c;ucccsc;ful that a number of Sturmkomp~mtc, or as aulr companies. were soon formed and attached ro division on a permanent basis. By 19 18, most German armtes on the wesrern front had expanded units kn1Jwn as Srurmba ratllone or assault h;Ht;lltom. each comprismg an HQ company. four as5ault companies, an mfantrr artillery compan} armed \vith rhe 37 mm SturmkJnone, a malhtne gun company, a light trench mortar detachment and a flamethrower detachment. The storm troops, ac; the) became l..nown ro their Bmish ad\ersanes, were accorded rhe status uf romanril heroes by the German popular pre)!>. Unlike o rdinary infanrrymen, the~ spent lirrle nme skulking in filthy crenlhes. ln)tead, rhey attacked -.uddenly rhen returned w ha e w1th the tne\ ttable each~ of

HIMMlER ' S BlACK OROfR

leaJer hip tn hts ~.ltlonal Sou a li-.t Party, and the re~imenred or~anis.mon and miliraq termmology l:lter used hy rhe NSDAP was directly carried OH'r from m members· arnn sen a1..e. The term~ Sto'> and were to rake on .m cnrirel) ne\\ stgnificance in rhc poHwar er•l. In • ovember 1918, Germany faced dtsa!>tcr. The war had been lost, the Kai-,er had abdtc;ued and the ~overnmenr had collapsed. 1 he armed forces were. in etfect, disbanded, and groups of demobtltsed leftWin~ soldiers wnh no prospects roamed the streets calltng for a Bol'ihe' ik upri'iing like rhar which had just taken hold in Ru~sia. The countr) "a~ also under extreme pressure from the ci\ titan partacist re\oluuonaneo;, and Polish insurgcnrs threatened ro tmadc Silt:!>aa and the eastern Baltic territorieo; of the Reich. To meet these challenges, new ad hoc Freikorps unit!> were hastily lonncd by rightwing rroop'> \\ ho found them::.clve!> anxtous to defend thear f-atherland .:tnd irs m1dirional 'alues. bur were wirhour a proper .umr tn which to do 50. su~h groups traced thctr ance try to the Freiwilligenkorps, or volunteer corps, which had been mustered in umcs of em" in Germany c;ince the ,\1iddle Age,. Still in pos~e.,c;ion of their "artime unitorms, weapon:. and transport, the~ banded together ro follow local heroe or well-known militar\" personalnies. The usual method of recruitment was simpl} for an exofficer ro circulate literature or display poster<; im·iring former soldters to attend at a specified location on a given date and join hts Freikorps. In many cases thousand" turned up. eager ro enlist '' hether for pa) mcnr or nor. As well as the promise of awon. a btg arrractton was the fact rhar discipline in the Fretkorp was 'ef) Ia' in companson to rh,\t

prisoners. Ratd-. ''en: reported not onl~ at home but also m the front-lane new.,papt:r'>, one of whach was e'ven called Der Stosstmpp and ~.-arricd a regular section headed ·sro.,o,rruppgctst'. or Shock Troop Spirit. Tht:'>C select ~oldicr!> employed a v:Htety of emorave tide<;, indudtng Sturmtruppc (as .tulr troops), Jagdkommando (hunting groups ) and Parrouillcnrruppe (raiding partie~ ) . all of which \\ere tolerated by the Htgh Command. Offtcially, o;pecial insignt•l for the storm troops wac; frowned upon, but man) \arictie.; of locallr adopted badges were worn. T hest: t ypically featured ba~ oncts, hand grenades and -.reel helmets. The mO'>t popular badge taken up b~ the Stosstruppe, howe\er, was the Totenkopf or death's head, a o,kull over crossed bones, wht<.h was initiall) worn b) per onncl of the Jrd Guard Resen•e Pioneer Regirncnr. an all-volunteer unit created ro operate the new flamethrowers. The Totcnkopf becarne representative of a de"il mar-care attitude 10 rhc face of consranr danger and high ca..,ualries. Just as the 'itorm troops were the best rhc arm) could offer. so the new elite formation!> of the emerging German Air Arm were the flight<. of fast fighter<; which escorted and protected un\\ ield} bombers and reconnaa :.ance aircraft. The fighter<; were somcttmes grouped together as aerial l>hock. rroopo; for rhe purpose of attacking ground targets. but because of their primary role the~ were given the mle of protection squadron~ or Schurzsraffeln, 5chusta., for c;horr. Prominenr Schusra members induded Iiermann Goring and Eduard Rmer ,·on Schleich, the so-called Black Knight, who later commanded rhc SS-Fiieger turmbann. Hider drew on h1s ,·aluable First \lorld War expenences long after the end oi hostilities. In the early days of the ~az1 movement, he constdercd that a fronr-Jine combat posting during 1914-113 was an essential prerequtstte for an~ posttion ot

2

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

F!ea\.OI))S IIOOIJS mMooKh, 2 INJy 1919. This ptcture was token by Henuich Holfmonn, later Hader'spersonal pho!ogtopheJ, Olld shows to good effect the deeth's head emblem po1n1ed on !he Iron! of !he ormo01ed cor.

public blllldtngs and became a matn'itay of rhe Ia" unnl the) were dto;solved tn 1919, at least on paper, by rhc Trenty of Versaille<;, which laid down rhe conditions for rhe semng up of the Retchswehr, the recon<;tiruted :.1nd much-reduced army of the \X'eunar Republic. Those hctkorp'> men who were not accepted back inro rhc new army tended to drift inro right-wing paramilitar)" groups such as the Stahlhelm and R eichskrieg<>flagge of rhe nationalists, the Jungdeut ~.her Orden and the Organisatton R ossbach. uch men included H immler himself, and the future SS Generals Kurt Daluege, ·Sepp" Dtctrtch, Remhard Herdnch, Frtedrich-Wilhelm Krliger, Karl Wolif and Udo von \XImr<;ch, Jmong many other . In .~II. dunng th~ penoJ 1919-20. there

ot the tmperial army. Offtccrs were commonly referred to br their forenames and enlisted men saluted only those officers whom rhe} personally respected or admired. The troop!> paid little attention to formal instructions issued by the weak provisional government and gave their loyal£) rotall~ to their Freikorps commander, whom rher referred ro a<; their Fuhrer, or leader. To these destitute soldtcr , unm and comrades became homes and families. rhc state was in desperate need of trained military men to assert contro l and the-;e Freikorps freebooters provided the experienced manpower ar jusr the righr time. Dedtcared above all to preventing German\ becoming a Bolshevtk regime, they <;mashed nuts, kept order in the '>treets. protected

3

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

\\cr,· '>omc 1 '0 indmdual l"re1korp!> units in l''l!>tencc. Lnmprt~.in~ more than -o,ooo men. They ~re.ueJ the1r own range of medal,, badge<; and 10~1gma, and prominent .1mong rhe ... t· were the o;waHika of the Ehrhardt Bn~,1dc and the Jearh 's head, borrowed from the imperial -.wrm rroops. The folio\\ ing tred,orpo, arc knm'.n to hav~ used the Torenkopf on their lwlmt."t!> .md veh1de . . :

1ncorpor..ucd into Rc1ch'>\\ehr Infantry Regumm ·1- .mJ \rrillcn Reg1mem 42. lc l Frctknrps C,errh

( ommanded b) I cumam Gerth herween .\prtl and June 1919. thlc; formarion numbered 625 men and ".t!> absorbed inro Rt>ILh!lwchr lnfantr) Rc.:J!imem 40. 1f)

A \ ctcrc.~n .. rnrm rroop rrenLh morrar untt, Ullll!>Ually led IH an NCO, FeiJwebcl Hcu~chkel.

tal rretkorps Briissow Commanded by I curnam Han!' Bru::.sow between Jnnuorr and April 19 J9, rh1s unit had n srrength of l ,200 men and

I:Her

hecame 4.

Reichswchr

(g)

lnbnrq

Re~1mcm

FreuUI/Iigen Detachmelll un11 Schaurotb ,\ small number of ex-storm rroops who banded IC>~ethcr under their former commanding officer. M.1jor \011 '>~h.wroth.

(h) ltserne DtUisum

One of the most famous of all the Fred,orps. this bngade-srrengrh unit under Major Bischoff earned our e\.ren ive raid::. in rhe Baltic area between '\lo,•emher l 918 and February I920. The following month It was disbanded. togNhcr wirh the r rhhardr Brigade, tor n::. parricip:nion 111 the right1sr Kapp Putsch in Kerlin. i[<; \eterans were welcomed into the SS a few years later.

Uecau<;e of tt~ .w;octanon wtrh these un1rs, rht death's head, Jlrt."ad~· a warrime badge of d:~ring anJ ~elf-<;a~:nftce, nO\\ became a symbol of tr.tdition::lllc;m, antr-libcralism and ann Bohhevl'im, an 1cleal totem for the emhr~ unte Nazt elne. In De<.:cmhcr 191 S, Adolf Hitln was d1scharged (rf>m rhc militaq hospital ar Pasewall.. ncar temn where he had bec:n recm ~:ring from a g;t<;<;ing. Ht> volunteered for guard dut) ,lf ,l prt!>oner-of-war camp at 1 raun~tein. hut O)' January 19 I 9 its last innure had left. At a loos~ end, and still in uniform, ll irlc-r made his way ro Munich and joined rhe Bavari<m heikorps ...vhich had been formed b\ the w.u hl·ro Franz Riner von Epp to liberate the Cit~ trom its new Marxtst government. Thi' tt dtd with much hlouJ-.hcd. '!arionah<;r ~roup were c;pnnf!mg up all over Germ.ln), With rhe objecnve of nddtng rhe country ot rhe 'No\'ember Traitors' who had hrou!tht the dts~racc ot the dictated pt>.t~r:. anJ nl the commumo;t.,, whose first lovalry wa to Russ1a. Nation.tlt!>ts came from t'\'l'ry bel of ~oc1ety. and .u rhc lower end of

l') Sub-umt~ of the Ftseme Dwtston, 111

pnrricular: Beuthener Selbstschutz-Kompnnic fre1willigen J3ancrie Zencni Preiwilligen J:igerkurps Goldingen Kurlnndisches Tnfanrcrie-Regimenr 0'>tpreuc;sic;chc.. Jagerkorps Sclb~hchutt Bataillon Kegerhoff Selbc;rschutz Bataillon Generalfeldmarschall ,·on Hindenburg ~dbsrschurt Ober
"vJmenwer(er Detadunent J-/euschkcl

hetkorps £rlungen Thts barralaon-size unit exl'>tcd from April ro June 1919, and was commanded hy Gcner.~lmaJnr Engelh,trdt. It was

4

ORIGINS AND EARLY DlVHOPMENT

24 ~ebruan I '1211, .mr,H.rcd ne.uly 2,000 people. I he.: "tr:\\JrJs on thl!> aul>piCIOU'o m:ca ..inn, when rhe )..SO.\P programme was I.11J Jm, n. were a quad of Ze1tfreiwilligen or rempor, armed '' ith pistol<. and clad in the field-grer of the ~lumch Reichswehr ro which they wen~ attached. Sud1 -.upporrers m1ght Y.ell haH been sympathcttL, but the) certJinly had no und~ tng loyalt} to the new mov~menr. So, towards the end of J920. a permanent and regular Nazi formarion called rhe Saalschutz, or Hall Guard, was ser up co prorect speakers at N)DJ\P g;uhering::.. The ~aalc;churz wns l>horr-liwd, however. for It W"as expanded and c.:on .. olid:ucd into a fresh body, the !)rurmabrcdung, or SA, during 1921. This "'L'' the \\Ork of Rohm and an ex-naval Lcurnant, llans-Uinch Khnrzsch, who crc~ued the '>A as a new freikorps to hammer the Red, and fend otf opponents at political mt:etJr'tg,. Wherea<, the Saalschm7 had been designed ro defend, rhe SA was ro attack. Yet while rhe SA was affiliated ro rhe party. ir Jid nor 101t1alh come under Hider's personal authOnt). tor tts memhers had lmle respect ior 1he finCl)!>C of ~oltrico;. II rook it orders from It~ own Fuhrer, rhc ~elf-appointed ( ommander-in-Chief Obersrleutnant Hermann "-riehel, who thought thar, 'the best rhing politicUitcd 111 .1 pnched hattie wtrh the communists who controlled the wwn. The 800 \A men presenr, almosr the entire mcrnh~:r~h1p of the Srurmahteilung. succeeded 1n hrc.lkin~ the hold of rhe Red Front on Coourg, and press coverage of rhe incident ervcd to make Hider's name known to a wtder publtc. The f1m nanonal rail) uf rhe >JSDAP was hdJ on lR j,1nuan I 923, when some 6,000

rhc \[unich social scale wa:. Anton Dr<: \lc:r\ um. German \X'urkers' ParrY, . one pf \\ ho!>e mccrm~' HHicr arrended .ts ;t mtlttln nb ...er\'l·r on ll September 1919. It "' ils .1 grouptng \\ hiLh hroughr together raci'>t lntdlcdu;tf... ro fighr, b\ means of argument, \lJn.t'>t tnfluence and ·je\vtsh infilrranon· tmo rhe \'.Ork111g cia.,-.. They tound the .Jew!> pr1111... tpallr rc,pomiblc for popular Red rl'\ ,,Junon, cttlllg rhc facr that all rhe leader~ ol rhe lefric;r movement, Karl Liebknecht, Rosa luxemburg, Kul't Eisner and the re::.r, were Jewish. l lirler found that Drexler's tdea~ par;\lleled his own. H e joined rhc parry and, through his forceful personality and power!> of oraron, '1rtually took it mer from the out,er. changtn~ it~ name to the N;wonal \m.. t.llt<>r German Workcn' Part) {N.ttlon.ti-.Mialistische Deur:.chc Arbcirerparrct or NSDAPl and gl\ tog It a n.niona Ii sr11.. , a 1111-Sem rru.:, ;1 nrt-c.l p1t.1lt 'tiL pm~rammc \\here, hitlu~rro. tt had pu~sc~<,cd nnh a ..·ague ..cr of ideals. Huler\ speeches soon found a loud echo in lhe r.1nk-. of rhe Freikorps. and rheir untrs pro.. JJed rhe new .Naz1 Fi.ihrer \\ 1th hts f1rst large tollowtngs . llauptmann trn5t Rohm, von Epp's ad,uranr, who also headed his O\\O Rcteh~krtcgs!Llggc Freikorps, enr Hirlt'r an wce~'iant flood of officers, NCOs and 1nen. Taking n leaf from the communist~' hook, llitlcr began ro hire lorries and had rhem filled wirh parry members, who drove noisil~ through rhe <;treer.-. 10 meeting~. The Ji(krcnce w.1s that while the COIIIttiunt~h wore a curious assorrmcnr of dres~. the :-.Jazis, mo~r uf them ex-soldiers, sat bolt upnght, wore smart Freikorps uniform~ and 'ccmcd tht· "er) ep1tome of law Jlld order retn.,r,ucd. fhe~ were im antlhl} chcereJ "' rhl) pas~ed. I !itler\ main aim ar rhis qage wa:. to replaLe rhe part} ·s small d1scussion group~ \\ rrh maso, meetings, and rhe frrst of the~e. ar tht: I <:!>t:.aal of tht· ~1umch Hofhduh.lU!> on

5

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER

Order 'Pour le Merite'. However, he was by nature laty and self-indulgent. The true driving force behind the SA remained Rohm, who conttnucd co use his army and Freikorp connectionc; to <;upply the SA with arms. So, in spite of Goring's appointment, the SA in 1923 wac; far from being submissive. Its independence, upheld by rhe former leaders of the Freikorps, compelled H itler to set up a small troop of men . from outside the SA, which would be entirely devoted ro him. It was in this atmosphere that the S was born. In March 1923, Hitler ordered the formation of a Munich-based bodyguard known as the Stabswache, comprising twelve old comrades who swore an oath of loyalty co him per onally and owed no allegiance to the leaders of the Freikorps or SA. T wo months later, using the Stablowache as cadre, the 100-man Stosstrupp Adolf Hitl er was created and fully kirced out with militarystyle uniforms and rwo rrucks. The Stossrrupp quickly adopted the death ·s head as irs distinctl\'e emblem, and was led by Hauptmann J ulius Schreck and Leumanr Josef Berchtold, both veterans of rhe Ehrhardt Brigade. Its headquarters were located in rhe Torbriiu public house, and there met rhe first members of Hitler's bodyguard, who were destined ro r emain faithful to him ar all times and follow his way up the political ladder. They included 'Sepp' Dietrich, Ulrich Graf, Rud olf H ess, Emil Maurice, Juliu chaub and Christian Weber. Hitler quickly recognised that rhc volatile siruarion of 1923 was a transient thing, and he resolved ro rake full advanrage of ir. He reckoned rhat his SA and irs Freikorps allies might ar Ia 1 be strong enough ro eize power in Bavaria and, with luck, march from Munich on Berlin for a final triumph. Similar coups had taken place with varying degrees of success ebewhere in Germany ince 1918, and rhe fascists under Mu olini had just swept ro power in Italy after a march on

Hermonn Goring os Commonder·m{href of the SA, 1923. Note the Ehrhardt Brigade steel helmet with swostiko. and the Order 'Pour le Merire' at the ne
newly recruited SA men paraded before Hitler, who presented sta ndards to the first four full SA regiments, entitled 'Mi.inchen', 'Mi.inchen II', 'Niirnbcrg' and 'Landshut'. There were sufficient 'olunreers dunng the next month alone to form a fifth regiment, and, tn an e::fforr to control better the rapidly growing organisation, Hitler appointed a ne\\ man of poli t ics, thl' former air ace ll auptmann Hermann Goring, to lead it. Goring brought with him the prestige of a great wartime hero, the last commander of the von Richthofen .,quadron, victor of twenty-two aerial dog-frghrs and holder of Germany's highest gallantry decoration, rhc

6

ORIGINS AND EARlY DEVElOPMENT

SA men, rn on assortment of military and civ1T10n clothing, muster at Oberwiesenleld priO! to aMending the lobour Day porode in Munich on 1May 1923. Such even~ usual~ ended in srreet fighting between Nazis ond communis~. hence the dishibution of rifles.

The Stosstrupp Hiller leaving lor 'German Ooy' in Bayreuth, 2September 1923. Josef Berchtold stands leaning on the cob, beside von Solomon and Ulrich Grof. Julius Schreck, with goggles, is seoted at the leh of the front row.

7

HIMMLB'S BLACK ORDER

Rome. At the beg111r11ng of 1\:ovember, the 15,000 men ot the A were pur on full alert and a suitable upportunirr suddenly arose on the 8rh of the month. Th at day, the three mosr powerful men in Bavar ia, Prime Minister von Kahr, lol.al army commander Lossow and police chief cisser, attended ::1 political meeting in rhe ~lunich Burgerbraukel1cr where the> could be handily seized by a strongarrn c;quad. lhe Reichskriegsflagge Freikorps was ha\'lllg a ·social' in the Augustiner beer cellar when its commander, Rohm, was ordered in his SA capacity to seiz.e the Reichswehr Mi nistry o n the Leopoldsrrasse. H i~ troops immediately set off, led b~ a younj! former army officer cadet,

Hetnnch Hrmmler, who carried an impenal w;tr Oa~, the banner of the unrr which bore irs name. 11ean'' hile, armed A men surrounded rhe Burgerhr~ukdlcr and Hitler had \'On Kahr, Lossow and cisser arrested and bundled into a side room. The} managed to e~capc, however, and sped off to or~anise rcsrstance ro the 1 azi put!>ch. On the morning of 9 ovember, the main force of the SA under Rohm was besieged in the War Minisrry by regular army units summoned by Lossow. Hitler and Goring organised a relief column of 2,000 SA men and, accompanied by the former General Erich I udendorff, marched through the streets of Munich. They r.111 into the first

Agroup of the Reichsknegsflogge fretkorps behind rhe Bovorion WOf Ministry on 9 November 1923 from left to r~ht in lhe foreground ore: Wei
8

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

arre<.t fled w other German stares where Bavarran IJ.\\ <.'ould nor rouch them. Refugee .. from ~ lunrch '>Ct up pcrmnal clandestine ·A units under the n:unc hontbanne, with m.era 11 cnmrnl bl'ing nc:rc1:.cd by Ludendorff .llld hi\ deput), t\llll•rt ,·on Grafe. The larg..:sr was Frontbann l\:ord, centred around Berlm and commanded h) 1-..urr Daluege. I lrtlcr, cooped up 111 Jarl "rth hts bodyguardc; pennrn~ \1t•m J....uupf, realised rhar an armed •n,urrect•on agarm.t a governmem wh1ch enJoyed the lo) air) of horh the polrcc .1nd the army would be doomed. Henceforth, he determined to emplor only legal methode; in hie; '>truggle for power. On hrs relea:.e from Landsberg prrson on 20 December 1924, Hrcler began to rcbu1ld his part), .tnd 111 I ebruary 1925 the ~SOAP "as reconstitlllcd and the SA reacti\ a red. I !nlcr the polrrician now categorrcall~ forbade the SA lO bear arm~ or function .1s any sort of prr\ ate army. Its purpose was solely to cle.u the ~rn:ets of his pol1ric.al enemies, a role hotl\· contested b} Rohm, who envisaged the SA a'> a dtiten army "' hich could bolster and ultimately supersede the Reichs\\ ehr. The di\Jgrccment between rhe t\\o became 'o bmer rhar Rohm e\entuall} re:.rgned from the parr~ .tnd qurt German~ for a military ad\l'>er\ po't rn Bo!J,•ia. 1-hs JOb as Chief of Staff of the SA fell to the former Freikorp~ leader J'ranz Felix Pfeffer von Salomon, but the latter failed to enjoy Hitler's confidence .tml Rdhm was duly reinstated in a stronger po.. rrwn than c\'er. In Aprrl 191 '· llrtlcr formed a new bodyguard commanded b) SchreLk. <;ch.tub and hi!> other Sto!> rrupp fa\ourrre .... The guard, which LJme under the auspices of the SA High Cornm.md, WJ!> known firsr as the Schutzkmnm;lndu. then the Srurmsraffel. hut on 9 No\'cmbcr, probabl} at the "uggcstion of Goring, ir adopted the old fighter '>quadran tide of Sc.:hutt... r.:lffd, \\ h1ch wa!> not ~ubJt:Ct ro any of the go' ern mental prohibitions and

._ordon ol cr,:.n\ police on the l Utl\\ rg Bnd~e. hur hnl'.. hed them . Jrenlhlll~ rhe tlag with hi' blood. 1 he rartered arrefact '' ac; raprdh g,lfhereJ up and sprnted a\\ <.1 \, to he prou'h prc,en·cd ac; the famed BlutbhM, or Blood B.mner. [ Trrler had locked hr' left Mm '' 1th the rrghr of hr . . dose confid.1nt, ~bx hwm \Oil ~dlt•ubner-Richter, and "hen the lattn fell m "hKh mrghr orher" r'e ha'e kdled llirler. Somehm\, Grat -.unl\ed lt. )1\.tecn ~azis Ia~ dead .tnJ tht• re'>t dr~pcr,cu or were captun:u, bur rhe Sros~rrupp had tulfilled it'> prim.nv Jury IIi tier's life ".1~ prc.,en•ed. The frnng Out'>idc the 1-eldherrnh.tllc finally ended rhe t.'r;l of the l-rerkorp-., which had -starred, fnc.:· ~car ... hdorc to rhc da}. "rth the revolution of I 918. The rime lor fighnng men had now passed. ~r' 111~ \\ <1) ro the poline~ans. The re\t:r'>l' c.:·xpericnced at the \lunrch put,ch and llitlcr's -.uh~equenr rmpmonrnem, far from harmmg the cau'ie of the part'} and irs leader, mere!} '>en ed to get them hc.:tter kno\\ n. 'tet there were still plent~ ol trouhlt:'> ahead. I ollmvrng the putsch, the ;\;<;DAP wa., banned and the SA and Stos~rrupp dr....,olvcd. Tho.....: '\'azr leadtr'\ "ho m,tnJ.ged to ,nord

9

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

HIMMlER 'S BLACK ORDER

.-.own. Applteanr., h.1d to he berween 25 and 3) yt>ars ot age, have t\\ o !>ponsors. be regt tered with the police as residents of at lea<>t hH' ,·ear~· ')tanding. and be sober, dtscipltned. srrong and health). Habitual drunkard.., .tnd gcw,1p-monger were nor to be admmcd. The rc;t on for all thto; was simple. Hitler and his followers were beginning to rra,·el our~ide Bavaria in their tireless camp:ugning to mcrease the membership of the N50AP. r hey were now venruring imo areas where Nazi allegidncc wa local, rather rhan ro Hider himself. The Fi.ihrer needed a sma ll, hand-picked bodyguard on which he could rely where,er he went. The new SS had its first opportunity to distinguish itself at Chemnirz m ·axony at the end of the year. It wa!) a hold dcctsion ro hold a public meeting in rh1' Red territory, bur Hitler's audacious stroke prO\ ed ro be JU'ittfted. In anricipation of trouble, Schreck gathered fifty S men from <...hemnttz, Dresden, Plauen and Zw1ckdu. The~ had 10 face ome several hundred ~.-oumcr-dcmonstrators armed wtth iron bar) and J..nivc:). The ~ taught them '>UCh a le on in c;rreer fighting thar Hitler's meettngs in th.lt region were henceforrh conducted almost without opposition. In April 1926, Schreck wa nominated personal bodn~uard and chauffeur to the Fuhrer, and .Josef Berchtold re-emerged ro take o'er command of the SS, which then numbered about I ,000 men. On the second anniversary <>f the Munich putsch, rhe existence of the S had been officially proclaimed in a ceremony outside the r eldherrnhnlle, and 111 rhe spnng of 1926 no less than :.evenry-five Schutzstaffeln were formed right across rhe counrr~·. A new SSOberleirung wa<; created and Berchtold ildorred rhe c;elf-c;ryled ririe of Reichsfuhrer der . On 4 jul~. tn age turc >mbolising his mtenrion rhar the ~ should become the true guardian of l"a7i values, Hitler solemnly handed over the Blurfahne from the ~lumch

Men of ltle newly formed SS p~oodly dJSploy on NSOAP feldzeidten Olltle end of 1925 Note ltle wild 'ltlliety of dl~. pcrlicub~ ltle strooge cops with massive eagle insignia, ond the assorted belt bu
wa-, not idenrified wirh any of rhe Freikorps rrndttions. The 'Schuwaaffel der NSDA P' ~oon commonly came to be known as the S. hom the !>tart. it was laid down that the 55, unlike the A, should never become a masc; org.1nts:mon . In September 1925, <,chreck c;ent a circular to all regional groups of rhc '\1\D.\P a kmg thl·m to form a local boJ)guard, the !>trcngth of which was to he fl'ed at one leader and ten men. This was rhe beginning of the ~o-called ·Zehnerstaffeln' or Group-, of Ten. 1'\or JU
10

rub~h

tnro dlttr safekeeptng and .tpp<>llltl•J f,tl.:nh Grimmtngcr from the ~luntch dct.h:hmenr ro b~ offic1al bearer of the Blurfahnc Jt ::~11 subsequent special parr' rllual!.. 'I et de.,pire rhe exren•aon or Jto, number!> and theoretical prestige, the S!> r~ma111ed a limited organisation subordinated w the <;:\. \'\' hen ,·on Salomon attempted to .l bo,urh rhc ss completely in ~larch 1n-. Ber.:htold rc,igned and was replaced by hi!> Jeput), Erhard Heiden, who rn.1nagcd to rc.:rottn 1ts partial autonom~·. However, the SA J..~.·p1 a jealous eye on SS expansion and local S \ commanders consistently used the SS under tlwtr ~.-ontrol for rhe mo~r demeaning task-., !)UI.h .1'> Jio;trihuting propaganda lcatlcts and recruiting subscribers to the parn newsp.1per, the \'olkischer Beobachter. By the l'IIJ of 1918. morale in the SS was at an alltlml' lo" .111d membership had fallen ro 2SO. On h j.1nuaq 1929, a dejected H eiden rc<,tgned his rirular position as Reichstiihrer der s~ 111 favour of his timid young deput}. Hetnrtch Himmler. The SA leader hip were w~.k-a-hoop. Tim colourles!t nonentity po~cd lltth.• threat and was just the man to ~;nmrnand rhe and to ensure its conrinued \llhordtnation ro the SA. They were 1n for .:1 rude awakening. I here was absolurely no sign of I Jimmler'c; future grearne.,!> 111 1919. The new 55 leader W pale, mild-mannered and prim, with spe~.t.lcleo; and prematurely reced1ng h:11r. Born on - October 1900, he was a member of the beH Bavarian .,ociery and was named .lftcr hi<; guJfa tha, Prince Heinrich o( B.w:.uia, ro "hom his schoolma'iter father Wt World War "ith ~nthus ia sm, and reported for duty a!> .m officer cadet wirh the II th B.lVarian Infantry Regiment m Janu.lr~ 19IS. How~ver, he was senr w rhe from ll~">t .n rhL momcnr when the arm1sttce wa ... s1gned .mJ never sa\v acrton, <;omethmg he always regretted. On 1- Decemb~r 191 ~. Himmler

wac; dic;chargcd from the Mil\\ but ht• rct.uncd hts milnar~ connecnons b~ joinin~ th<.· Oberl.tnd 1-reikorp., in 1919. He gained an agn~.:ultural degree tn 1922. then ecured cmplo) mcnr as a technical assistant with a ferrtlt!)er company, onh to see his salarr lo~e halt tts \alue to inflatton tn a !>mgle month. In Augu-;r I 923, Himmlcr became a member of the i':SDAP ::md rwo months later enrolled in Rohm's Reichskriegsflagge and participated in the Munich putsch, an act which cost him hi-; joh. After the dissolution of the parry, he rook it upon him~elf to reorganise the NSD.\P in Lower Bavaria in preparation for the elections of 1914. He spent much of his time nding around the countryside on an old motorcycle. indoctrinating the locals. I ltmmler )OOn became well known tn l"a1i ctrcles tor h1s energ\, enthusiasm and organising abilit), and on 12. ~larch 1925 he \\a~ ummoned by llitlcr who appointed him G;tuleiter in Lower BaYaria. He was one of the ftr t to JOIO rhe SS at the end of the year, and in 1926 became responsible for :-..:azi propaganda throughout Germany, direcrl) under Hnler'!. order!.. Once he had become rhe l·i.ihrer's dtrcct partner, Himmler per!.isred 111 putting torward hi., notion that the S should become an d1tt~ force within the part}, .llld one '' hich would be totally devoted to Hitler. At :.l rime when the SA was becoming increa ingly rebellious, the notion appealed and so I lirler approved Himmlcr·~ >uc~.ession to He1den 3'> Reu.:hsfiihrer der SS. In April 1919, Himmler persuaded H1tlcr "ould be .Keepred for rhe SS, based primarily upon thctr ,·o lunrar~ discipline. There were none ot the ractal -,tandards imposed on later recrutt-., bur rhc l'arl) SS men had to demonstrat~: their ";llingncss ro be read) for am 'acrit1cto, in individual rather rh:lll ~roup

II

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVElOPMENT

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

Protected by SS men, NSOAP Treasure~ franz Xa'le' S
he a mas'> org.lnl~ B.1varian fnend~ were II\ mg 111 the lap of luxury ''hile rhetr lOmrade., 1n the inner cities were stan mg. Rohm tned to take charge of rhe c;•ruauon, bur the SA leader., m Berlin. under A Olx·rfuhrcr \X'a lther ~rennes. rebelled. On I Apnl 19 3 I, Kurt Daluege. now in charge of

action. Ar that time, rccru1t1o were hahle to purcha-.e their own uniforms, which could lO'>t up ro 40 m~trks, an enormous expense for an unemployed man, and that factor ;:done was enough to deter many. However, htgh per'ional !>tandards had a great appeal to ex-~oldier., and ) oung nationalists, and \'<.'tcram ot the I re1korps abo \'Oiunreered in large numbers. g) the begmning of 1930. the SS haJ again grown to 1.000 men, \\ h1ch \\Orned \On alomon. Yet it \\a!> <.till rechntt:all~ .,uhordmated to rhe SA lligh Command, de!>plte H ttler's instruction rhar no <;A oHrcer wa~ authorised ro gr\'e orders ro the S. during the1r day-ro-da} dunes. \\ hereas the !:> grew stcadil~, the S-\ exploded complerclv. Irs sole purpose was to

12

tht \\ 111 Berlin . .Jiared Hirler rhat all rhe l'krhn \ \ h.td taken -.•de-, for renne~ .1gauht hun. Tht next da,·, Stennt.'s' men ~hased G.lllkltcr Got>hheb. our of his office and rook n\ cr the prem•se-. of his newspaper, Der \n~ri(J. The reYolr spread throughout the wholl· ui n.-,rrhern Germany. rhe SA Generals 111 B1 andenhurg, Hesse, ik~1a, Pomer;wla .tnd \lecklenburg supported Srennec;, and f hrler\ fall "a.., '' 1del) prophesied. However, the upri-.ing lacked organisation and money ..llld died as quickly as It had been born. (,firing rook a grip of the situation, purging the S.\ of Stennes' supporters and reorg.tms•ng the SA throughout the north. llirler •c;c;ucd his puhlic congrarularions ro rhe Ut·lllll '\S, which alone had remained loyal to Gnt•bhds and him during the crisis. Th e denmon of the S to their Fuhrer had been dcmon-.tratt.'J 10 deeds as well as \\ ords. In recognition, Hider appointed l limmler 'e~unt\ ch1ef for rhc ~SOAP headquarter~. the Brown House in ~lunich, on 15 Januan 193.2. In t·ffelt, he wac; now head of rhe part)

'Sepp' Dietrich in 1930. OS Shllldolrenfiiver ond heod of the ss in Uppe! Bovono He weoss 011 rnp~essive orroy of decorotions, lll(luding the Bovon011 Mi fOiy Men! Cross With Crown ond Swo((ls, the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes the Silesian Eagle and the Tonk Botrle Badge IIIS!ituted on 13 July 1921. The Iotter was awarded to the 100 ar so 5UTVIVing combat veterans of the First World Wor GeiiTlOll Paozer C01ps, which in men~rety hod comprised a totol of on~ twenty A7V ronks and some captured British armoured veh1
polic~.

I hr \~ ncl\\ grew steadily wnhin the m.unx. of :1 r:tpidly expanding A and KSDAP. Himmler kept busy, changing and rcdungmg h1., un1t Jesign:mons to keep up with the cl.tborate tables of organ isation be1ng constructed br Rohm and his sraff. ~­ memberc;hip multiplied five tim es during 1932, from I 0,000 to 50,000, and around 900 olficers were commissioned. The SS Sturmt h.1d scarcely been numbered when rlwn numbers had ro be reassigned ro new \tandarren. Weak SS companie<; became C\'Cn "~.:aker SS regiment!>, and thirty !>mall !:> rl'gimenrc; became tiny SS brigades. The h11g.1de sptem was then abandoned ~ltogt•thcr and light, purely admmisrrauve, unit'> knm' n a!> Oberfiihrer-Ab!>chnme were inrerpo-.ed betwet•n ahout forty Standarren and the Re~ehsfuhrcr-SS. By now. the polincal '>trug~le in Germany had taken nn the tnrm

of a Cl\ d war. fhc Communist Parry and .,cr up armed militias and the SA and S<; re~ponded. The Bruning gmernment ordered the d1sh.1ndmg of paramilirarie., and the proh1b1tion of political uniforms, bur it then colbpsed and the 'Cabiner of Barons' set up under Franz \On Papen lifted the ban. Th1rrcen members of rhe SS were killed 1n 19 H and <,e\'eral hundredo; "ounded dunng '>OCiah'>t~

13

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

Julius Sdue
Hitler on the ele
14

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

th e LeibstanJarte-SS 'Adolf H1rl e r', the Fi.ihrer's close bodyguard, and rh e SSVerfugungstruppe or SS- VT, bar racked troop at the special disposal of the new azi regime. Anoth e r new branch of SS volunteers, the Wachverbande, was recruited to guard rhe concentration camps and later became known as the Dearh's Head Unit , or Totenkopfverbande (55-TV), because of their distinctive collar insignia . While the SS was consolidating irs position and controlling irs membership and recruit ment by a constant purging process, the brown-shirred SA began to throw its weight about noisily. Denied a position in the state to which it felt entitled, the SA talked of a 'Second Revolution' which would sweep away the bourgeois in the party and the reactionaries in the Reichswehr. Among the SS, rhe SA leaders became known as 'Fieischschnitten' or 'beef steaks', because they were brown on the outside but red on the inside. Rohm. who now commanded a force over forty times rhe size of the regular arm y and which included SA cavalry regiments, SA naval battalions and SA air squadrons, Jemanded the formation of a people's army in which the SA would simply replace the Reichswehr. Rohm, of course, would be Commander-in-Chief. The army Generals called upon Hitler tO intervene and the Fuhrer could not refuse their request. Ever since November 1918, the Reichswehr had been the very incarnation of conrinuity in the state, which had been maintained despite defeat, revolution and civil war. H ider knew he would never achieve supreme power withour the backing of the military, and so decided that the SA would have to be cut down to size. The danger it posed was just too great - nor simply the threat of a putsch but the ever-presenr disorder created by the very men who should have been setting an example of good order. Their incessant brawling, drinking, violence and

street harries with rhe Red From. The whole scenario was lapped up by the SS Old Guard, and their catch-phrase, ·Die Kampfzeit war die beste Zeit' ('The fighting days were the best') was frequently repeated as a form of boast ro young SS men well inro rhe T hird Reich period. As the crucial 1933 elections approached, it suited the Nazis ro create the impression rhar Germany was on the verge of Jnarchy and that they had the solutions . Order would be restored under H itler. Deals were done with big business. Jobs would be guara nteed for all. Nor s u rprisingly, the NSDAP won a significant electoral victor y and o n 30 January the old Generalfeldmarschall Paul von H indenburg, Reich President and a sort of 'Ersatz Kaiser' since 1925, entrusted I Iirler with the post of Chancellor and the responsibility of forming a government. On 28 February, less than a month after the assumption of power, the Reichstag building was razed ro the ground by fire and rhe communists were blamed . The next day, H irler issued a decree 'For the Protection of People and Scare', givi ng police powers to the SA and SS . Firearms were issued to 25,000 SA and 15,000 SS acting as H ilfspolizei or auxiliary policemen, and left-wing opponent began to be arrested and herded inro makeshift prisons and camps . Soon, 27,000 people were being held in protective custody. In March, Himmler became Police President of Munich and opened the first concenrracion cam p, or Konzentrationslager (K L), at Dachau, as a roughly organised labour camp in which to 'concentrate' persons who were deemed to be a danger ro t he state but had not been legally sentenced to prison by a court of law. Othe r camps were soon established at Sachsenhausen outside Berlin and at Buchenwald near Weimar. Meanwhile, a number of company-s ized SS detachmenrs were being armed and put on a fu ll -time paid footing, growing to become

15

HIMMLER S BLACK ORDER

ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

Ss-Gruppenl~et 'Sepp' Oiellich J1 cOfl'lersotion W1ri1 W iftrelm Bnkkner, Hiller's chief odjutont, ot the end oll933. lllelli
SS men prepore to set fue to ocollection of plo
16

opporruntt) to settle If) )Cores \\.tth old enemies, such as the former Bavarian Prime Minister von Kahr, Hider's adversar) during the ~tuntch putsch, who was now found dead 1r1 a peat bog wtth hts head smashed in. At least 300 \'ictims patd with their ll\es for their opposition to th e SS in rhi., bloody purge, \\ hich came ro be known as the ':\ight of the Long Kni,·ec;'. The SA suffered a loss of power and influence from which it ne\'er full) recovered. The new head of the SA, Vikror Lutze, Police President of H an no' er, had an abilit) to get on Wtth the arm) and SS '' hich ''
trrc-.punstble con\'crsation, to J) nothing of Ro seized the

17

HI MMLER ' S BlACK

OROE~

THL ~'i Rot L Of HO'\Ol.:R

Dit·d ltd.j0 '.12. ~() -.6.JI

7.1Ul 15.~.31

3.9.31 5. I 0. 1 I

9.J t. n 11. 11.31 19. 1.32 4.2 ..32 29 2.32 X . 4.~2

20.6.32 26.6 ..U 24.7.32 24.7. 32

Edmund Behnke Adolf Hoh Heul7 Gursche Edgar rein bach J leinrich Grobe Karl Vob1s Erich G:mhe KJrl Radke Marrin Marrens Arnold Guse Friu Beubler Henry Koben Ludw•g hisch Kurr Hilmer Friedrich Bnra\,ski Herberr Ztmmermann 1-ric:drich Karpinski

un;r

DieJ

111/6 2/l!'l) s11 llr J/lli/7 2/l Lir l/U20 1/l/2 s lll/40 4/Ul/40 2/1/2 'i 3/1/14 111/28 1/Jll/7 6/ll/20 8/T/30

2.8.32

7.9.31 -.9.32 21.10. 32 22.10.12 1.2.33 ,.2.33 12.2.33 15.2.33 20.2 ..33 28.2.33 28.2.33 I.-.33 3.5., ~ 30.6.33 28.8.33

4/IV/5

Umt

J-ri{t '11.:hulz josef Lass t\ ugusr Assmann .Johann Cyrank.1 Augu~t Pfaff Leopold Paifrarh Friedrich chrciber Paul B~::rk Fra tl'l M i.i tier Kun von dcr he I<> ef Blcc;cr Eduard Felsen tegfried Gurhling 1-rtrt Kr
2/111/42 31111/t I 1/11/38 1/1/28

611130 1/11/15

21l/20 1/1/26 2/IV/5 1(1/6 4/li/2 1/li/6 3/l V/26

-lllr

lll/49 5/ll/3

411/25

It is noreworrhv rhat eleven (1.e. 33 per cent) of these men were ktllcd Jficr rhc ~azis bad acruallr come to power. On 30 ~l:l) 1938, the> all rccciH~d po thumous awards of the Blood Order, rhe htghe<.t decoration of the NSDAP.

and file of A mernber wa!> reduced from 4 million ro just O\.er I millton of the better clements, ond they were stripped of their arms. On 20 July 1914, in thanks for irs acrwns dunng rhe Rohm pursch, Hitler declared the 100,000-mung SS an independent formation of rhe NSDA P and removed it completely from SA conrrol. Its position of ascendancy was now assured and ir enrered a periud of conc;oltd,ttton m which 1t developed a new command srrucrurc under Himmler, whose rank ac; Reichsfuhrerfor rhe first nme actually meanr whar ir implied and made him d1rectlr o;ubordmare ro Hider. 1 le tmmedtare l~ '>hed orne 60,000 55 men wbo had been recruited ar a rime when rhe SS was cnmpenng fo r mcmhcrs with the A, bur who

d1d nor now conform to rhe SS image of dita m. The Leibsrandarte. S -VT and S -TV dc,·cloped rheir srnrus ac; se,.,arare milir' SS, the b.u~ l..bone of the orgamsarion. heg.1n ro he kno'' n as the t\llgrmeinc- , or General 5 , to di ringuish it from rhe armed branche!>. During rhese early }Cars. rhtrr~ -three SS men were killed in trcct fighting ..virh Hitler' polltl\.al opponent~, and were dul~ recorded on rhe ~ Fhrcnrafel, or Roll of Honour. In effect, rhey became SS mart} rs. Their names, untts and dares of death are sho" n in the rahle abU\e.

18

2. THE ALLGEMEINE·SS ~-Ober(uhrerbererch West S -Bngadc Rheinland-Nord, With 4 Srandarten/ 10 Srurme s -Bngade Rhcmland- ud . With 4 ~r:tnd:trten/ 9 Sturmc 55-Brigade Sudhannover-Braunschweig, wirh 3 Stnndartcrt/8 ~rurme SS-Bng;1de He:;sen-Nassau, warh 3 Standancn/ 9 Srurmc S -Brigade Thuringen, wirh 2 Standarren/7 Srurmc

GENERAL ORGANISATION OF THE ALLGEMEINE·

ss

D u ri n~ rhc penod 1926-2M, the Sl>bnlettung in M\micb ran twelve local SS \ t;tffl·ln . •tnd oversaw six SS-Gau, as follow!>:

\\.(,au Berlin-Brandenburg, wirh 2 Sraffl•ltl ':> G.tu l·rankcn, with 5 Sraffeln 5'\·Gau Ntederbayccn, wirh 3 raffcln -G.1u Oherhayern, wirh 4 Sraffeln _ ·Gau Rheinland-Sud, wirh - Staffdn .(,,lU ~a~..hsen. w1rh 4 Sraffeln

~- Obcrfiihrerl>ewch

Siid S-Bri~ad~ Baden-Wtinremberg. w1rh 1 randarre/.J Srurme S · Brigad~ Franken. with 1 StanJarte/.3 Srurme ~-Bngaclt· Niedcrbaycrn, with J Standarrc/3 rurmc 55-Brigade Oberbayern-Sud, wnh 3 Srandanen/R rurme 5- Bngade Osrerretch, with 1 Srandartc/3 ti_irmc

In rhcon , each party Gau should have had an ss.(,.l u bur, in fact, only these si'\: were • ~tu.•ll y ~ct up, and man> of rheir Sraffeln dl It d1recd} with the OberleJtung. A large munba of early {affdn wen.· very shon-lived. lh I n9-30 . an SS-Oberstab had 'u pcr.,cdcd rhe Obcrleirung, and it \\a split tn to hve dimncr dtvisions, namely:

\btcalung J AdminiStration -\ hr ~alung II - Personnel \ brcalung IIJ Finance \l'lretlung IV - ecumy \breilung V - Race

Agaio, in theM). eveq part} Gau was ~upposed ro have an SS·B rigade, each compri~in~ several Standarren, in rurn made up of around five rurme. Since there were ar rhi time thirty C.aue, rhe 55 was obviouslv spread very thinl> around rhe counrry. Mo t units '"·ere wdl under their 'paper' strengths. Once Himmlcr had raken control of rhe SS, rh111gs mo,·ed apace. Between 1931 and 1933, rhe whole c;rrucrure was alrered again and .1gain to cope w1rh rhc tm:reasmg admmisrrarivc and manpower demand placed on rhc c; command. Two new dcparrmenrs, the SD·Amr and Rasseamr,

l111 dcr rhe Oberstab were three SS· O herhihrer, who ran their own areas, 01 Oberfuhrerbereiche, a'> follows:

SS Ol>('r(iihrerbere;ch Ost )S Bngadr Berlin-Brandenburg. With ~ <;IJ ndarren/7 rurme ~ '-~·Brigade Schlesien, with 4 tandarren/6 '-1111rme S~- Bngade Osrpreussen, with 2 Srandarten/6 Srurme

19

HIMMlER ' S BLACK ORDER

THE AllGEMEINE SS

.---.2Uolf ~lt(ec:.. ~6ujtn 6~:Yflbuc.

~ufoan nub ~{~betung

bet

E5E5

66 Gtanbaden.....,

6G Gtnrmbannl!.,; GGGtii~

Struc1t11e ond orgonisotlOO of !tie SS, 1933. This loble decrli shows rhe suboldinollOn of Hmmlel os 'Reith~.fuhrer SS', ro the SA 'Chef des Stobes', Ernst Rohm. (Reptoduced from ()e UnifomJIJfl vnd Ab1eKhen der 5A, 55 usw. pubWled by Koij &Co., Bellin, 1933.)

were l'..,t;lhlr<.hed ro overo;ee -.ecurity and ra<.:iul matrer<,. A thml, the SS-Amt, was the largc~t of JJI and wac; divided into fi\e sc:<.:trons, namely:

v -

I II Ill IV

'ret dc:..,pin: these inrernal arrangements, the SS of 1933 was sull very much subordmate to the \A and m Srnhschcf or Chief of Staff, Ernst Rohm. The \S command srrucrure was in no wa} an independent one, and the mo<>t senior \\ leader were Jll attached ro the SA Suprcn1<.· ( ommand, the Oberste SA~uhr ung. Untrl tht• SS became a separate clement rn Jul} 1934. H1mmler ranked merel} a~ an )\-Obergruppcnfiihrer who held the po-.t. nut rhc rank, ot Reach~fuhrer der S. H e \\J'>, therefore. on ;an equal footrng with an) of the other ~) or SA generals and, rhcorctiL.llh at lea-.t, cn10) ed no privileged po~ition. Indeed, hi-. l.1<.:k of front-lrne

Statf Office Pcr)onnel >\dmini•matron Re'ierve. . ,\ l ed~<.:al

Ar rhe next le\el, the Oberfuhrerbererche were replaced b} fi\'e SS-Gruppen. \'iz. Nord. 0'>t, udosr. \X'c-.t and Si.id, <.:ontaining bft~ eighr Stand;lrtc:n.

20

complete!~ . Himmler's elevation ro the newly crctlted r;lllk of R eich~fiihrer-SS. or RfSS, whrch ~ct him above nl l other... , suddcnl) m.1de him untouchable. )o tar .1.., the armed SS units were concerned, llrmmler \\JS soon Reichsfi.ihrer 111 11.1mc onl}. for the Lc•bstandarte, SS-VT and S- r \ came ro be n:garded nor as berng in the otfiLial employ of the parry bur a~ puhliL ..,en a<.:ec, of the Reich. on the model of rhe .lrm). fher r e'penses were charged ro rhe ~t.Hl', and thl· Rcu:h hnancc ~lrnrster, I utt Graf S~hwcrin ,·on Krosagk. mamtained hi., rmparraalat) rn rhe allocation of national

experrcnce during the First World War led ro lm beang dc~pased by many of the old ~.:,lmpat~.!llcrs.

who looked upon him as a tigurc of fun who had weasled hi'> way to rhc rop. The leader of S-Gruppe O~t. for cx.unple, ~S-Gruppenfiihrer 1\.urr Daluege of Srennc<:. put.,ch fame, had by 1934 acqurn:d wmrJerable powers with Goring's p.uronage and felt himself ro be c;o srrong that he rctu~ed to deJI \\Jth an~one hut Hatler Jnd IHihm .•md <.:errainly nor wirh 'rhat Ba' arran d111:k(n-brceder H immler·. He was b} no nh·ans unique in his attitude. The fall of Rohm. howe\·er, altered the snuanon

21

HIMMLER'S BLACk ORDER

lunJ, 10 till .umcd !>~ b' con.,1srenrl) rdu!>tng I l1mml~r\ otfers of honor.H} 5 rank. In conrrasr. the All~ememe-~~ alwars retained irs politi~al '>taru-; a~ an independent (,liedcnmg, or organtsation, of the ~SOAP .1nd 1r wa-. never mamratned by the sr.1re. Irs e'pt<me!> "ere paid soleh· from parry fund~ and It\ finances \\ere ulnmarely con trolled by rhe Reichsschrraror. However, chwarz, a veteran of rhe ~v1unich pur ch, wa also very close to Himmler, who made him the highest ranking General Officer in the whole SS. second on the -;cnioriry lisr only to rhe Retchsfiihrer htm:.df. Consequent!}, the parry ne\.'er acruall> exerct~ed any dose independent supen is ion O\'er :\ llgemeine-S funds . 1 hrough htc; ~ontacrs w1rh big hu iness and his murual hack- cratching exerciSe!> with hwarz . Htmmler ensured that the Jlgeme1ne-SS gor any cash it needed. often ,\t the e'pt'nse of other part} branchc-. :.uch ,1, the :'\SKK and :'\SFK. So the Allgememe5, unlike rhe mtlirar~ side of rhe organisation, remairlc-d totally under rhe Re1chsflihrer's control until 1945, immunefrom out~idc: rare interference. H immlcr's po~1t10n ar the rop of the Allgemeine-S hierarch\ was, therefore, unchallenged and his power unbridled by any porentiul finnnctal constrainrs. As a resulr, rhc htghe r

lc\·d .. of the Allgenwtne- S o rgantsation centred .tround him per onally. Dunng rhe autumn of 1934, H1mmler qtu~kh went about the busmess of once J~am rc-or~amsing hts high '-ommand srrucrure. Tht> Rc1chsfuhrung- S was set up as the supreme :luthon[), comprising rwo srafts. the Kommando t.1b RfSS, which was an execunve .tdministrath•e staff at H1mmler's pcr'>onal headquarters, and the Pt:rsonlicher ~t.tb Rf ~. a much larger and more loosely organised hod" t:onsisring of a numher of advtsory officials including the heads of rhe main departments and cerra in other '>pccial offices . The fre~h administrative burdens later 1mposed by rh e war made it necessary 10 creare .1 much larger and mort: comple:-. command structu re than had sufficed during peacetime. Br 1942, subject to l limmler's conrrolltng authomy and mat of the Re ich~flihrung-SS, the day-ro-d::ty work of d1rewng, organising and administering the SS ''all carried out by the eight main departments. or Haupramrcr, listed belO\\ . each ot "hich IS dul} covered in rurn. In addition, there were a numher of minor offices and department-, not of l lauptamt l>tJ [lJ!), The funcrion!. of the various Hauptamter were '-ominually adapted ro meet new cxi~encics and by far the greater part of their work during the 1939-4.5 penod concerned

Till S HAIJI'TAMTFR

Hauptamt Personlichcr \rah RfS~ S Haupramr SS Fuhrungsh.lllptamt Re1chssicherheirshauptamr S Winschafts- und Ver\\altung>hauptamr ) Rasse- und Siecllung)hauptamr 7. Hauprarnt S Genchr H. SS Per..on:llhauptamt

I. 2.. 3. 4. 5. 6.

-

Himmler'; Personal Staff ~. Central Office SS Operational HQ Retch Central Securit~ Offtce S Econom1c and Adminisrratjve Department Race and \t:rtlemenr Deparrment - SS l egal Deparrment - SS Pcr<,onncl Deparrmem

THE AllGEMEINf·SS

Rf\~ J

'>tah

ma1n office:' :H 8 Pr101· Albre'-ht-~tr.w.c. Berlm. Its m~mbt:r> \\Crt: designated ·i.P.Sr.' (on the Personal Staff) .lnd were ... ubordmated directly to Himmler. A' more and mort' high-ranktng people 10 tde .tnd ourstde the . S sought ro g.ttn I Iimmler's ear, rhe Per:.onal taff became the focu~ of 1nfluence m the SS command. lr con i~tcd of:

the nurm n c.tll) supenor \X'affen -S and thl' cxedlfHl n ut pnliq in the occupted rerrtrura· -.. There were ulttmarch J good man) nverlapptng and confltcrmg 1nrcre £'> <1~ tC!!·•rJ ., th~· t r '.mous duties and jurmltction'>. ~' 194 ), thl' H,wpramr S) stem had become a \. I U .tnd co mple' net\\.ork of intertwining hurtJ IIlrptrif ot competition between them, whidt I limmler actively encouraged, ensured rhar t' \~·rything dealt with by each d~..·}>:trr nH:. nr '' <J<; recorded, checked anJ J11uble checked to ;tvoid error. If anorher 11au('!r.lmt had an intereo;r. tt too would rnord. d1e'-k and double check. The result \\oh rhc most detatled srsrem of manual files ever ~om piled, nor juc;t on rhe S. orgamsation but I)Jl every asp1..·ct of hf~ m the Th1rJ Re1ch. fht \\ Per'>onalhauptamt alone housed 150 nullwn mdt vidual documents, and the lh·t~,.h.,.,tdH:rheirshauptamt e\·en maintamed ,c-, rcr and porennally mcnmmanng dossters t~n Tiith:r him<>clf and on all the other l'-:11i ll'Jdcrs. mustl~ compiled during the 1920s by thl· ,e~_ urit> police ot the Weimar Republit, "h m e hlec. were duly mherited b} the SS. rh,, Mtention rn detail and abilit} to come up with all sorrc; of information gave theIm pression of an all-seeing. all-knowing cnmm.md ~rrucrure whtch ensured rhar, righr 111\ unt d the ~.:.lpitul.ltion, the ReichsftihrungSS .1nd rhe ~ I lauptamrcr succes~fully rl\.111,1ged ro control and administer rhe vast urganharlon. That was not an msignificanr ~ hic ,en1ent, considering that, at its peak. the ss oper;Hcd across an area from rhe Channel t.. l.lllth ru the Black Sea and from me Arctic Cm.:lc to rhe ~ lediterranean. \\ ith a genera II~ hu,nle populauon. \ ~ rhe cnre of the Reichsfiihrung- S. the P('"onJI \taff of the Reich;fuhrer-S IPers_

h<1d

11'

l. The headc; <'f the <;S Hauptamter, who

were ex-officio members 2. . S officJ:tl
Beside> bemg an ad\'isory and co-ordmattng the Pers. <;tab was responsible for all btJc;ines) in which the Reichsfi.ihrer-SS "a ~.oncerned rhar did not come mro the provinc~ of an\' of the other SS Hauptamter. In addtrion, It liaised wirh government .1nd parry otfices and conrrolled ''anous financial and hu inec;s dealingc; on Htmmler'c; behalf. The Chtcf of the P~r>onal Staff wa~ SSObcq~ruppenfuhrcr Karl Wolff, who l>Crvcd as Himmler's adjutant from 1934. ln 1943, '\XI(IIfchen' wa~ abo appointed Supreme SS and Police Commander in italy. in effen military governor of the country, but he alwars reto1ined hts post as Chief of rhe Per on.ll Stoft and, wi th it, all the pnwers and di<;ciplinary preroganves of a Haupramrschef. vtuch of the administrative ·work Aencrared b} the Pers. Stab was processed through the Komrnandnstab RfSS v. hich operated durmg the war on :1 mobile h.1s1 under rhe tide l'eldkommandosrelle Rf , or Field Headquarters of the Reichsfiihrer-SS. It was b) rhen organised like a military HQ and accompanied Htmmler on his numerous tours of the uct:uptl'd tcrritorie _Together wuh hod~,

23

HIMMLER'S BLACK

:ur.1~.hcd

..,,.,. unn' 1ndudtng .1 '>lgr\;ll<> ...~.·dton. b,ltt,thon ,1nd .1 tl,tk dct.H.hmcm. thC" hldlwmm~ndo.,rellc C\cnru~ll\ numbered mer 3.000 men. lro; o;pe1..1al tram. ·Snndertug Hc:anr h."h •• h.1d fnurrt>en LJr nag.e .... \t '.UH'U' umc\, tht• follm\ m~ otfrct·' .1nd Jcp.Hrment' wert• p,trt of, or drnuh -.uborJm;.ucJ ru. tlw Pcr.,onlr~o.hu ~t.lb Rf~~ and the\ ~1\c .l .~cnerJ l ,Jca ol cht e:-.rent ol It'> mrerc-.t'> .1nd tnfluencc-:

,m

I.

n.

<: ... ~.ort

l'rcsscstcllt' RjS\

( Pre~'>

Office ot the

RfSS)

puhli~o.itY

ll.mtJtl.l!Jtetltmg Aus-:.eiclnuml!.t'fl

\1>/r tlttlt;.:

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

ftt

k ulturellr fur~ (lnm,r.:

)l.'ltWn l<'r lultur.lll{c't'.HLh Tha., 'cdron "a~ ~.on .. crtu:d "Hh thl' lllrtqu,utan .tnd .trdtJeoluga~o.ll .l'ped' uf (,,•rl11,111 hi . . tor~. lr L'llniUrJgeJ l"\(ll'd1£10n'o, l':\\:J\ .uann' .1nJ re.scaro.h ru 'uppnrt with .t~.tual htsrorical nr .udl.leolu~t~o.ll l'\ldetll.c rhe ~azt .11..-. .:tnd

Tht-; oftice handled Hammler'c; personal pre.,, r~:l,\lHII1' ,1nd .11!>o ,t{h i.,cJ him rcgardang offu.:ial ~~ publicwons ;lnd 1

ORDE~

1111d

C>rdc'z ( \I Jill "'el..twn tor \\\.lrd~ .1nJ l>l'I.Ur:ttlml'>) Thao; m.1m secnon adnsed the Rt \ on all awards oi order(.. medals and decorauon~ to S'-1 men. t Du•n.st)trllc• ·Vi<'ri,zhrest>l,m' 1 0tii~~· ior the ~our )car Pl.tn ) I h·~ \\3!> a llilr!>un offt(e ben\ecn thl· Rb'-1 and the e.. onornic Four )ear Pl.1n 11r1dcr Gonn~. to Je:-al \\It h tltm~ J~pe~ot... ot the Pl.111 '' h~eh touched upon ~~ inrcrc..·'t" .1nd acti' itics. 4. Abtt!tltmg Wtrtschcl{tftdJe H1l(r ()ecrion tor Ft.onomrc r\s.'\iSt;ll1t:e) Th" -.et.taon prO\, idc-d finauc..~inl and odwr ,, .,'iiswn(c ro \~ men who had .,utfcrc:J materaJI lms during the period nf tlw c;rruggle tor power. lc also loaned mone) w ",~ otfan·r, ro enable 1hem ro purLh;l't: rtl'll" of unrtnrm .1 ml ~:qtupmcnt .1nJ, 111 -.omr ~,.,,scs, hquidarcJ Jebt!> an..:urred b\ <:,~ members. Kulturrejerat C ulrural Oif11.e1 Th" \\.h rc)purhthlt• fnr the Jar~rron ot thl· LUitUr;ll ,1~o.ll\ lfiC" oi the )..,, m..;l\lding tht \Jurdl.wJ Vtrl.lg publ1,hm~ hou.,c .1nd rhc porc.:el.lin ''orks at Allach.

~.:haldrcn.

lrl aJJrrinn, the tnllcl\\ ing o,pc~.Jal posts Me ex,1mplt' o! tht.• t) pc-.. o;ubnrdm.ucd Jarectly w I ttmmlcr. 1 how nfi•cer' mentioned held tht (lOst'i 1n ] 'o/44: \ S RtdJtt r lwm l 1t•rs. \t.lh R(..,,\ \~ I eg;ll Olh"\.'r un tlw O.,t,tff otthc RfSS) ~\ \r.1nJnrrenfuhrcr I lor.. r Bender. Dealr wllh .111 legal and dts(iplanan matter:. tuming w Himmh.•r for .1 personal dl'CI'>IOII. ' R eu·hs<~r~t ~S tmd Puk,ei !Chief ~S and Pnlicc \ledicnl Officer) SS-Ohergruppcnh.ihrer Prof. Or Ernst Robert GrJwrtt. He w.ts rcspon-.ible lor the ~t:m:r:ll 'llpcrnsiiHl ot .lll rlw medical '~:n ll.."l''> of th~ \S md policl.'. fur m~..·JicJl rc-.carl.:'h and traaning, and tor rhc control and dastnbuuon of medrcal 'uppheo; anJ equapmeru. l. I ht•( J anmeldt'wesell /Jetm l'ers. t,lb Rf\\ I( hrcl of <.ommunrcarions on th~ t.ltf uf the Rf\Sl \5 OhcrAruppcnhilm•r Ernst Sach~. Hi... I.

?4

and the <;S (,cncht (Legal Depanment) were detached and themselves raised to Haupramr tatm, becoming rhe SS Personalhauptamt and the Hauptamt Gericht. rn add~t~on . two further H.lUptamter wen: created, namely the 5 fuhrungshauptamt and the SS Wart!>chafts- und Verwalrungshauptatnt, b} raking certain responsibilines awa) from the S-HA. cveral orher functions of the S -HA were at o transferred or absorbed elsewhere, :.1n example being the supervision of S radio communications and signals which wa taken over by the Chief of Communications on rhe Per:.on licher Stah RfSS. The result of this reorgani ation wa thar rhe SS-H A lost eight of m thmecn offices. Ar one srroke it was comp letelr deprived of the commanding po ition it had pre\ iousl} enjoyed. The main importance rill arraching ro the SS-HA under its new chief, SS-Obergruppenfuhrer GottlobChri tlan Berger, was its responsibality for recruitment and rhe maintenance of records on non ·commi:,!>ioncd personnel. The subsequent reco\·e rr of the SS- HA during J 941-45 was almost ennrely due: to the continued expansion o( the \Vaffen-S and the exrens10n of the area of Allgemeine<; anflucncc into occupied territories. From 194 L, th~ Waffen· S increasingly recruited borh individua l Germanic volunteers and complete Germanac units from western Europe and candinavia. At the same time, ~fforts were.' made in Flanders, H olland, Norway and Denmark to raise native Allgemeine-55 fo rmations, the so-called Germanic-SS, ro assist in policing these counmes. The reflection of this was th e creation at the end of 1941 of rhe Gcrmamsche Leitsrelle, or Germanic Liaison Office, of the S<;-HA, whach looked after the welfare of all memhers of Germanic races who came wirhin the orbit of rhe . S. The5e tncluded foreign students at German unl\:ersiries, foreign workers in German factories, and non-German members of rhe

tunaion "as ro supervasc the whole field uf )tgnal., and communicanons an rhe S Httl pohct. 4, Rj\.., Pt'rs. Stllb Beauftragter (iir jagd zmd f01sttt esen (Representative for Hunrang .1nd I urem: on the Staff of rhe RfSS) S..,-Bragadefuhrer Hermann ,\ lu ller. \1uller was also Pre;;;ident of rhe Reich ( .1n1ne Society and Representative for S<.:nace Dogs (SS and Police) on the Pcrs. ~ranon of rhe central admin1c;tration ul till , the Personalarnt (Personnel Office)

25

HIMMLER ' S BLACK OROEP. Yehtcles. a \\ttl a~ the mamcenance and repair (li -.rocks. The <)<;. }-JIA personnel branch w,,., re pnn ihle for appotntments, rran!>fcrs and promottons, although 4ucsnons affecnng officer pcr.,onnel were handled in ~.oontunction with the S Personalhauptamt, of \\ htch rhe chtd of the SS-F H:\ personnel branch, ~S-Ohergruppenfuhrer Kurt 1\.nuhl.luch. "'' an ex-officio member. In :H.Idition, the • -Fi l A co-ordinated the tramtng of all S formation<; and conrrolled .1 large numhcr of training units, schools and camps, while Jts medical branch supervised SS hospitals. A Movement Control Officer at the 5- rHA was responsible for all matter!> and police, affecting the transport of the including rail, shippmg and air transport, and the S ·FHA Field Po t Deparnnenc comwlleJ Field post nffice!> and mail censorship. The SS-fi iA .II o 0\Cr aw a host of orher mi cellaneou) · actt\'ities, including militan geolog~, war archivt!<:. and denristr}'. The Reich sic.:herhctt!>haupramr or RSHA, the Reich Cenrral ecunry Office, was set up m eprember 1939 to bring together the security poltce forces of both the party and the state, Ba:.cd at H Pnnz-Albrecht· rrasse, Berlin, It combmed in onc command structure the offa:e o( rhe party-run ~tcherhei rsdien~t or SO (the SS Security en•ice), anJ the stare run Sicherheit polw:i or Sipo (Security Polict;'), whtch itself comprised the Kripo (Crimm;tl Police ) and Gestapo (Po litical Police). 1\lrhough rhe RSilA was officially subordinated to Himmler, ir quickly becamc.the perc;onal empire of irs firs t chief. S Obcrgruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich. who used its v:t r resources of information and mcrimmaring do~sier a. bargainin~ counterc; "' ht<; power strugglec, with the other l'\a7t lcJJers until his a~Sa!> ination tn 1942. Hb iuccesc;or, , · Ohcrgruppenfiihrer Dr Ernst Kahenbrunner, a intstcr-looking indi' tdual and old guard Auc;rnan J-,;ati, wa-; far less ambtrious but !>ttll became one of rhc most

\ll~t'rnC'ine·SS proper. I ht' .t~pt'Lt ot the "ork ot rhe S~ HA sreadilv expanded during the war ,1nti hroughr \\ ith ir a numher of allied duttc!> and functions, including rhe semng up ni public exhibmons geared rowards the promotion of C.t!rman culture tn "'e~rcrn Luwpe. In addition to these prirn;H) Loncerns, the SS Haupramt also kept ::1 general w,uchtng brief over propaganda, publicatic)nS, educatton. sport and physical training for the whole SS and poltce. The S Oper.ntonal Headquarters or Hihrungshnuptamt (SS-FHA J, under 5 · Obergruppenfuhrer ! laos ji.ittner1 was located at 188 K::11serallee, Bcrlin-Wilmersdorf. It grew from the Operanons Deparrmenr of the )'I Hauptamr. becoming a separate entt~ in Auguc;r 1940, and developed inro rhe btggest of all the S Hauptamte r, wirh 3 staff of 40,000 in 1944. The reason for its rapid growth was the expansion of the Waffen- , whrch 1mpo cJ a colossal administrari'e burJen on the command for which there had bc:c.-n no parallel before the "ar. Howe,·er, '' hde the greater operational needs of the Waffen- ~ made the administr.ttion ol that branch by far the mosr imporranc funcnon ot the S ·FHA. the l;mer was never tnrenJeJ to he the headquarter~ ~old} ot rhe Waffen-~S. lt was, in face, the Opcr.ltJOnJI I iQ of the Gcsamr-SS, or whole 55, anJ tncluded as o ne of its departments rhe Allgemeine-55 Headquarters (Kommandoamr dcr Allgemctnen-SS) under SS-Gruppenii.ihrer Leo Petri, which was responsible for the LOnrrol and operational deployment of the t\llgemeine·SS as well as its general adrninisrr::mon . o;uppltes, tratntng and mobilisation. \II SS unus \>\"htch wert! nor under the racti~.o::tl command of rhe Wehrm..tchr in rhe field were enri relr subordmated to rhe S -FHA for both operational and administrative purpoc;es. It organised the pa~ menr of wages and che suppl~ of equipment, armc;, ammunition anJ

26

THE AtLGEMEINE ·SS

r ·:trcJ men •n the Third Reich. The RSHA , a' re~ p o n,•ble for hoth domesric anJ orct~n incelligcnce o perauon~. esptonage and .\Junter·c~ pmnagc. combattmg pulmcal and ommon 1,,\\ crtme, and soundmg our pubhc OpliiHlO on the "azi regime. ihc ',C., \X' mschatrs und Ven\.11 · tung,h.lu pta mr or SS-WVHA. the C.,S 1 ._ ,,no nll~ and Administrath·c Dcparrmcnr, wa tormt'd 10 1942. Based at 126-35 Unrer d~:n Eichen, Berlin-LJchterfelde, It wac; heaJl'd l1\ l.,'l - Obcr~rupp~nliihrer Osv.ald Pohl and dc.llt prtmanly with the concenrmrion c::tmp '"'tt m and the tinancial administration of the :-.S. It <."onrrollcd a large number of S lth:fu,mal and .lgricultural undertakings. or~a u• ..,c.: J rhc 'to -house' manufacture vf 'up p hc~ .1nti C4lnpmenr for use, .~nd ~:trric d o ur SC., housing and construction progr..1 mmes. rlw \\ R .1s~e- und 'iiedlung haupramt or t on 30 l..:nuan 193 5, ha\·ing grown from the S Race ..1nd Scrtlcmenr Office set up .n the enJ ul I 'I) 1 under S Obergruppenfuhrcr Rt.:hJrd W:llther Darre. It wa~ subsequently o.OllllnJnJt'J by Gunrher Pancke, who l::trer hc:(.tme ~cnior SS and Police Commander m b) Rtchard Denmark, and finally t hiJchrandt, and had iro; officc5 at 24 I ledl.'mann!>tr.tssc.-, ~crlin. Ru SI IA looked .lttcr the ideolog•cal and racial puriry of all S nwm ht'r'>. It was the aurhomy for all matter) u t ~t m·ology, and issued lineage; cc:ruficatc!> .1110 ma rnage permtts within the S . In Hld Jtton, It \\as re~ponsible for executing rhe po lt~.o \ ot ~ettltng SS men, especial!) e'"t n Jcerncn, as colonists in the conquered ca'>tcrn terntories, and rhuc; translated mw Jlr.tll!Le rhe 'Blood and Soil' theories of Darre and rhc orher SS racial teacher~ . T he H;luptamt SS Gerichr or HA SS <•l· rt~.o ht, the SS Legal Department, siruatcd :tr I I "arl stras e. vlunich. admtni!>tcrcd che

dhctpl in.uy <;1Jc of the peo;;tal code of laws m which memher of the S and polu. c were 'UOJC~t. It contro lled the S unJ Poilu• Genchte ( \~ and Po!Jce Courts) m the lar~cr rown., ol (,erman~ an<.l the o~cupied cuuntne!t, and thl· Strafn>llzugslager der SS unJ PoltLCJ (SS and Police Penal Camps) Jbo came under iro; JUnc;dtcnon. The der>arrmenr wa headed h)' 5·Gruppcnfithrer Paul )chJrfe unnl his Jcath in 1942, when he was succecdl'd h) S-Obergruppenfiihrer Fra01 Ureithaupt. The Haupramr SS Gericht wa<> an C'C ten'lion of the older S Gericht, an office whkh carrieJ our <>n behalf of the Reich,fiihrer- 5 invt•srigations within rhe ranks of rhe S inro disciplina11 offences and infringements of the S coJe of honour. It prepared ;tnd r>ro!>ecutcJ cases and was re-;pon~ibk· for the rcmi!>!lion or reprieve of !>enrenccs. In addition, as supreme authont~ within rhe S on matters of law an<.l dt!>Ctpltne, H WJ' rhe channel of liaison between the S anJ ..1ll orher legal bodies ut rhc 'tate and parry. Per..onalhauptamr, or SS Personnel The Department, was ba!>ed at 98-9 \VII mer Jorfersrr,l:.se, lkrltn-Cha dorten burg and co-ordinated rhe work of the personnel branches of the various Hauptamter. It wnt. rhc ultimate aurhori cy responstble for all quesrionc; of S<; pcr onncl. but its primary concern was with officers, as the SS Hauptamt retained records concerning NCO<: and other ranks. The SS Personalhauptamr h::td two main offices. one for officer personnel ::tnd the other for officer replac!.'mcnt~. and it regularly produced and updated rhc S entomy I ist, or Dicnsraltersliste. which n:cordcd detads of C\' er~ serving ~~ officer. The S Per nnalhaupt..tmt was commanded by S· Obergruppenfuhrer Walter Schmitt until I Y42, and thereafter br S -Obergruppcnfuhrer \ (axuntlt;ln von 1-krff. In additic)ll 10 thc re~ul::tr SS Hauptiimter,

27

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER rhere \\cr~ a number ot orhcr .,mallcr otftces and departments whtch had their pla~e!) tn tht' S command '>trucrure. The Hauptstcllc dt·r llauptamr Ordnung!.pohtet wa;, a department rcprc::.enting the untformed Cl\ II pollee ar Ht mmlcr"s headquarter'>. It ,td\'t<.t'd the Retchsfuhrer nn all matters concerntng the OrJnung'\pohzci. The Haupramt Dienst relic I feissmeyer. an office attached ro the "taff of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer August llet<>smeyer in his capacity as the Scntnr !>) anJ Poltcc Commander for rhc Berlin Distrtct, was responsible for rhe ~upervision of tht? Nationalpolirische Er1.iehungsanstalren (1\: PF A or Napolas), the National Polirical Fducattonal lnsnrures 5ct up ro tram the future Gcrmamc elite. The Stabshauptamt dcr Reichskommissar fur dte femgung des dl'Ut'\chen Volksrums. or liauptamt RKF, I lunrnler's <;tJft HQ in his capacity a~ Rc~eb CommissiOner for the Consolidation of Germanism, was ba ed ;H 142-3 Kurfurstcndamm, Berlin and commJnded by ar 29 Kcith!>tras~e, lkrl111 .tnd led hy Obcrgruppenfi1hrer Werner Loren1. In contrast to the Hauptamt RKF, us matn tuncrton was the organised return to the Reich uf the de.,cendanrc; of older generatiOn'> of German colont'>t'> ,wd serrlers in Ru<;sia and sourh-east Europe. On J le\'cl immediately below rhe Tlauptamter "ere the Obcrabschnitre (Oa I or Regton,, the bases of Allgemeine-SS tc:rritonal organi.,auon. lniriallr there '' cn

fi, e Oberahsc.;hnmt, t11rmcd tn I') H from thl c'Mtng <;<; Cruppen. B~ 1944, their number h.Hl n'~ n to c;e, en teen \\ irhin Germany proper and eJch corresponded almoq exacd~ to J \\lehrkrets or \ltlttary Di.,trtct. I he <;~ Reg1ons \verc gent:rally known b~ geograpbtLal names. but it was al!>o cu-,tom:tn tn refer to them by the Roman numeral alloLatcd to the corresponding Wchr!...rcts. Each Oberabschnirt was commanded by an S<;-Ohergruppcnftihrer, Gruppenli.ihrer or Brigadefuhrer dcstgnated ruhrer des Oberabs~:hnittes (F.Oa.). He \\as usually abo llimmlcr's representative ar rhe mtllr:1ry headquarters of the local \'fehrkreis .-uH.I, in Jddition, held the post of Hohere SSund Poli7etfiihrer or HSSPf. the Senior Sand Police Commander in the Rc~tion. In rhe fe\'.. ca-,es \\here rhe HSSPf was not the hthrc:r ol the corre,pnnding Oberabschnirt ir wa<> be ause rhe l.mer, though filling some other active appointment, wa-, Jlkm ed m reram rhe rirular le:1dcr htp of tht• Oa. on per-.onal ~round s. l-or example, during the war, Obergruppenfuhrer Augusr Heissmeycr found him.,c If appomted H SPf tor Oberabschnin prec as the nummal Fuhrer of that Region. ·<;epp' Dtctrich, \Vas tuJiy committed wirh rhe \XJffen· Son the barrletront. Direcrly o;ubordtnated ro rhe F.Oa. or llSSPf was the StabsfUhrer der AllgemetnenS~ (AIIgemetnc-SS Chief of taffl who w:.11. rc~p(lll!>ible ro him fur rhe general conduct and control of rhe Allgemeine-55 within rhe Oa. The Regional Headquarters was sraffed primarily h) I Ja uptamtltcher Fuhrtr (full t11ne otf1cer I together wirh a nt1rnber of ~ebentlmrltLh (put-nmc) or Ehrenamrlich (honorar~) offu.. ialo;. The tull-rimers included rhc Letter der Verwaltung or Ven\altun~sfuhrer IAdminisrrati\C Offic..er), the Oberahc.\.hnmsarzt l~ledical Officer). the Oberabc;chntmausbildungsfuhrer (Training Othcer), rht: O~erah ...chnmspersonalchet ( Pcrsonnd Otfi~.ot't l and the

28

TH£ AllGEM£1NE·SS

Or~laotlon of th cL L

ALLGEMEINE

11

)!IIKiutr Gild orgamsotion of the A.llgeme1oe-SS, 1944. TillS toble W>wslhe tvPKol breakdown of tn~ W1rhin on Allgemem~SS Oberobschnm, using ObeiObS
·a .. hrichtenflihrer (S ignals Officer). J>.utltmcr' were generally below rhe rank of ttarmhannfUh rer and were not paid for their -:.-n1t..:cs. I he sevcnrccn SS Oberabschnitte uu.ucJ w1thm Germany were named Jnd numbered a-. follow::.:

Ol't'r,71Jsd'l11t t

HQ

\lpt·niJnd Dnn,tu

Salzburg Wien Dresden Arolscn-Waldcck 'lurnbcrg Braunschweig

llbt • ulda \\err;l .\btn ~fmt'

Nordost :-.Jord!>cC Osrsee Rhein-We.. rmar!...

Konigsbe-rg Hamburg X Sterrin II Wie::.baden XH ~prcc Berlin IU uJ ,\11i.inchen v11 Si.idost Breslau Vlll udwe<.t Stuttgart V Wa rrhe Pollen '{X I \X'eicho,cl Danzig XX West Du eldort \1 There were no S Oberabc;chnmc LOrrespondmg to Wehrkretse number-. XIV. XV, '\VI .tnd XI'<.

\~ehrkrets

XVlll XVtr

IV

IX XIII XI

29

THE AllGEMEINE-55

HIMMlER 'S BlACK ORDER

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Czechoslovakia Norway Holland Poland Baltic States Ukraine

Of these six, onlr O a . Bo hmen-Mahr en. which included the Sudetenland, existed long enough to develop an organisation strictly comparable to the Oberabschnine inside Germany. Oa. Nord and Nordwesr co-

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ordinatcd police operations and those of rhc relatively small contingents of Germanic-55 in Flanders, Holland, Norwa y and Denmark, while Oa. Osr, Ostland and Ukraine directed the miscellaneous security and anti-guerrilla forces in their respective areas. Each SS Oberabschni£t in turn comprised a n average of three Abschnirte or Districts, again distinguished by Roman numerals. They were also referred ro by the names of the areas which they covered or by the locarion of their headquarter . The Abschnitt commander or Fuhrer des Abschnittes (F.Ab. ) was generally an officer of the rank of SSOberfiihrer or Standarrenfuhrer. The first seven Abschniue covered the entire Reich, and the eighth was for Austria. The nimh and

so

\IX \'U 'X XU

ln addition to these, there were six foreign Oberabschnitte which evoked during the war, as listed below:

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in 1932, along with Srandarren with numbers in the upper forties. The Districts then grew com mensurate with rhe expansion of the SS, and by 1944 the following Abschnitre were listed :

IX

X

XI

xu Absclmrtt District \lo.

XI11

I II

XV XVI

I1l IV

v VI \'II

XIV

M u nchen!Lands hu tllngolstad t Dresden/Chemnirz/Pla uen Berlin-Sreglirz H annover/Braunschweig/Celle/ Gottingen Duisberg/Di.isseldorf/Essen/Koln Breslau/Frankensrein/Giogau Konigsberg/I nsterburg/EI bing

xvn XVTIT XlX XX XXI

31

Linz Wiirzburg/Ni.irnberglAnsbach/ Schweinfurr Stuttgarr!fubingen/Ulrn Koblenz!Trier/Darmsradtf Wiesbaden/Bingen Frankfurt (Oder)/Senfrenberg Stetrin/KoslirliSchneidemi.ihl Oldenburg/Cuxhaven!Bremen Hamburg-Alrona/Ha mbu.rg-Harbu.rg Dessau/Magdcburg/Stassfurr Mi.insrer/Detmold/Bielefeld/Buer Halle (Saale)/Leipzig/Wittenberg Karlsruhe Kicl/ Flensburg Hirschberg/Mahrisch-Schonbergl J agerndorfffroppau

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXV II XX\1111 XX IX XXX XXXI XXX II XXX III XXXIV XXXV

Allensrein/~lemei/Zichenau

XXXVI XXXVII XXXVIII XXXIX XXXX XXXXJ XXXXII XX XIII XXXXJV XXXXV

Berltn-Wilmer<>dorf/Neurupptn/ l:.bcr:,walde/Pot dam Oppeln/Beuthen/Karrowirz Dortmund/Bochum!Hagen Da nzig/Zoppo~1arienwerder/ :-.1 arienburgf.'Jeustadt!EI hi ng Wcimar/Gotha/Gera/,\1einingen/ Erfurt BayreurhtRegensburg/Bamberg Konstanz Frankfurt (Main)/Kassei/Giesscn Wicn/Krems/Znaim Augsburg/Lindau <;chwerin/Greifswald Sa a rbriicken/Ka isersla utern/ I lcidclberg G raz!Kiagen furr!Leoben

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

Salzburg/lnnsbruck Reichenherg/Traurenau/Brux/Aussig Karlshad/Eger/Asch Brunn/lglau/Prag Brombcrg!Tuchel Thorn/Kulm Gnesen/Posen Litzmannl>tadt/Kalisch/Leslau Gumbtnncn/~h:meVZichenau

trassburg/Colmar

It will he noted that the expansion of SS membership in a few towns and cities resulted in their being split between two Ab.,chnirte. The organisarion of the Allgemeine-55 in respect of formation below the level of the Abschnirte was on a more flexible unit, rather

thun terr itorial, basis. although each unit lt-.elf rtlared to, or was recruited irom, a p.un~..ul ar area. The t}'pical Abschnitt LOntrolled an average of three SS fuss t.lndarren, the equi"alent of foot or infanrr} rcgunenrs. As rhe name suggests, the ~tand ..urc: ''as the standard untt of rhe Allgemc:t ne-SS and had been firmlr c,rabli,hcd as such by J 930, long before the ~~ r~:~to nal system fully evolved. The earliest ~s sr.1ndarren were terribly under-sm:ngrh, and even in 1931 might comprise only 100 mt'n. 1\iumbers rose steadily, however, with ten new S Standarren being formed in 1933 nnd ·' furthe r fifty in 1934. By 1939, the wer,Jge Fuss-Srandarre comprised around l.UOO men, bur corresponding numbers fell ro around 1.600 in 1941 and 400 in 1944 due to \llgcmeine-SS members being drafted into the \'<'ehrmachr and Waffen-SS. Each reg1rnenr was commanded br a Fuhrer des StandcHte'> (F.Sta. ), who was assisted by a small ~raff and part-time headquarters unit. Oept'nding on unir size, the regimental

commander could be an SS-Standartenfuhrer, Ober!>turmbannfi.ihrer or Sturmbannfi.lhrer. Br 1943, it wa!> common for two of rhe maller adJaCent Standarcen w be placed rogether under a single acting commander. randarrcn were numbered consecuti\'ely from I to 117. A select few also bore the names of celebrated S men who had died, been killed during the ·Kampfzeir', been assa!>)lllatcd and so on, and such 'honour titles' were similarly extended to a number of Srurme or companies within certain Standarten. For example, the 6th Sturm of the 6th Standarte was called 'Eduard Felsen' in memory of its member killed in rhe street disorder on the night of the Reichstag fi re, while the 90rh Standarre was awarded the ririe 'Franz Kut<;chera' after the latter, one of ir officers who ro e to command the security police and SD tn Poland. who was murdered by partisan on 1 February 1944. The table below lisr all of the r~ u - randarten wirh rheir regimental numbers and locations and, where apphcable, Standarte or Sturm honour titles.

\S It S'i- STANDARTEN 'i.tilnd.1rte No.

SS men ot Hombltg rolwoy station, c. 1934- 5. Both S1yles of deoth's heod ose be(lg worn on the cop donng 1M tronsittonol period. The runic co11m potch of !he moo otlhe left deoores his membership of rhe Letbstondorte, whde the olhers 01e hom the 48th Stondorte

32

Location

Standarte Honour Tille

Sturm Honour Title

I.

Mi.inchen

'Juliu!> chrcck'

2.. 3. 4. h,

Frankfurt (Main) Nurnberg Hamburg-Airona Luxemburg Berlin-Charlorrenburg

1. 'Karl Ostberg' 2. 'Casella' 5. 'I Icllinger' 10. 'Karl Laforce' 4. 'josef Ble er'

7.

Plauen

S.

Hirschberg Srcrrin

9.

'Friedrich chlegel'

33

6. 8. 9. 3. 6.

'Eduard Felsen' '0 kar Goll' 'Kurt von der Ahe' 'Paul Fressonke' 'Paul Teubner·

HIMMl£R'S BLACK OROH

"it,wdclrti' No. I 10. II.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. I S. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23.

24. 15.

26.

r.

28.

29. 30.

.H . ~,

-'-·

33. 34. 35. 36.

()("(] I /()It

Kaiserslautem Wien HannO\cr ruttg.lrt Gotha :'\euruppin Breslau Celie Konig!>berg Mi.insrer Du seldorf

Magdeburg chwerin

~tandcme

J-/(mow ltt/1!

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

turm 1lummr Title

.:t

·PIJnerra·

·12 3 44.

45. 46.

-t-. 48. 4
,0, ' Fritz Wcirzct·

I. 'Karl Vobis' ). 'Kurr Hilmer' 5. 'Werner Hannemann' 1 J. 'Friedrich chreiber'

'1-ricdrich Graf von der chulcnhurg'

60.

nL

62. 63 b4

oS. l. 'Henry Koherr· 9. 'l lano; Cyrnnka'

J. 'Fritz Borawsk1' 3. 'August Pfaff' II. ·Adolf H oh' 4. · rau~r· 12. '.Andreas Zinkl'

Landshut

tit~

6-. t•8. 69.

70. - 1.

-l. ).

74.

Heidelberg Dnrmc;tadt Weilheim Kassel Danzig l .tOl

s" '6

li ..

1. ·Garrhe" 3. 'f-nedrich Karpmsk&. 4. 'Arnold Gu,e' 5. •Leopold Pa ffra rh' 1. 'Paul Berek·

Lindau Bochum

Gra7 Koslin Kiel

''·

~Q,

Halle (Saale) Frankfurt (Odcr) Hamburg

38. 39. 40.

5"1.

52.

\X.

Bcurhcn Oldenburg E£Sen

r.

St1111d.1ttt No.

7'. -fi .

1"S.

-9. Mf).

1.

I. ·Radke' S. ·~Iartens·

34

...

82.

'·

l .ocattOII

Ba}reuth Berlin Frankenstein l:berswalde Oppeln Dresden jcna Leipzig Braun!>chweig Flensburg Gotringen Krcms Heide Landsberg (Warrhl') Li.ineburg Bamberg Mcinjngen Koln Dessau lnsterburg Allcnsrcin Karlsruhe Tubingen Berent Freiburg {Br. ) Bartenstein l:rfurt Regenshurg Hagen (Wesd.) Glogau Elbing Dermoid Ansbach Greifswald Berlin Salzburg chneidmiihl Wie baden Ulm Berlin Wiirzburg Bielefeld Gtessen

~tanclarte

Honour Tttle

turm Honour 1ttlc

4. 'Fnrz Schulz'

8. 'Gutsche' 1. 'Gerhard Landmann'

' eidci-Dirrmarsch'

.

2. 'Franz .'vtuller'

'Locpt'r

12. 'FritL Beubkr'

1. 'Ernst Ludwig'

8. ·Edmund Behnke'

2. 'Hans Purps·

35

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

Standarte No.

Locat1011

84.

Chcmnirz

85. 86. 8'7. 88. 89. 90. 91.

Saarbrucken Offenburg lnnsbruck Bremen Wien Klagenfurt Wittenberg lngolstadt Koblenz Leo ben Trautenau Bnix Eger .Mahrisch-Schonberg Znaim Reichenberg Saaz jagerndorf Aussig Troppau Memel Augsburg Brunn Prag Posen Hohensalza Kalmar Littmannstadt Kalisch Lcsslau Zichenau Bromberg Kanitz Pr. Stargard Graudenz Kulm Strasburg Strassburg Kolmar Scharley

92. 93. 94. 95.

96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 10 I. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 1 11. J12. 113. 114. 11.5. 1 16. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121.

122. 123. 124.

Sta7ldarh' Honour litlt'

THE ALLGEMEINE·$$

turm Honour Title

4. ·Grobe· 9. 'Steinbach· 11. 'Ludwig Frisch'

\t.md.1rte "Jo.

I ucatiu7l

1.2 '. • .26. 12. -.

..\letz ..\ larburg/Dra u 0-;lo

Sta11darte lio7lour T1tle

Sturm Honour Title

II wdl be noted rhar a few of rhe larger towns and cities had more than one Fuss-Srandarte.

'Holzweber' •Franz Kurschcra '

h "ell as rhe Fuss-Standarren, there were f\\Lnty-rhree Allgemeine-55 cavalry units of rt·gimental size, the Reirersrandarcen. Each comprised from five ro eight Reiterstu rme \C.w,tlry companies), a Sanitatsreiterstaffcl (me dical squad) and a Trompcrerkorps (trumpet corps). The Reiterstandarren were Ill ,·er conccnrrared in their HQ cirie , rhe liHnponenc companies usually being Jl,per.,ed among smaller towns of the ·\b,chnme. They were always basically

cercmon1al in function, wirh a distinctly c;nobbish outlook, and were seldom if ever used to ac;sic;t rhe Fuss-Srandartcn and police in domesric crowd control. The Inspector of SS Cavalry Training was the equestrian SSBrigadefuhrer Christian Weber, one of rhe Old Guard Sro<> trupp men and veteran of the Munich pursch. He set up the Main SS Cavalry chool, or SS-Hauprreirschule, in Muni ch which was commanded b) H ermann Fegelein until 1939. After rhe

Akettle-drummet of the Ss-K~ 10 Odober 1942 The drool Covel was mode hom "xk veNel wilh heovy alumirium wire emlxoidery, and ils design hod relllOIIled unc:honged since 1934.

36

37

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

Sc\.cral of the')e locations were former garw;on towns of 1mpenal cavalry regimenrs and, consequenrly, had excellent equestrian facilities. ~loreo,·er, many nationalist riding club'> were mcorporated imo the Allgemcine-SS 'lock. stock and barrel' during rhc 1930s, bringing with them the1r equestrian expertise. All th1s meant that the SS Reiterstandarten became the best cavalry formations in the Th1rd Reich, surpassing even those of the army so far as ceremonial was concerned. Each SS Standarte was composed of three active Sturmbannc or battalions, one Reserve· ~turmbann for men between the ages of thirty-five and forry-five, and a Musikzug o r marching band. A rurm bann was usually commanded by an SS-Sturmbannfi.ihrer, assisted by an adJutant. The full peacetime strength of a turmbann ranged from 500 ro 800 men and, a!> it was considered the basic tactical unit of the Allgemeine-55. it was planned thar the SS Srurmbann would be able to operate as an independent entity in rimes of strife or revolt. The three active Srurmbanne of a tandarte were numbered in Roman numerab from l to Ill, for example the rhird turmbann of the 41st Standarte wa · abbreviated ' III/41'. The ReserveSrurmbann was distinguished by the prefix 'Res.', in this ca!>e 'Rc ./41'. Eac h act ive turmbann was in turn compo cd of four ri.irme or companies, a Sani t ats taffel (medica l squad) and a Spielmannzug (fife-and-drum corps). Tn 1930, few SS Sturme expanded beyond the original Staffel Slle of seven to fifteen men. By the mid-1930s, however, the full peacetime strength of a Sturm was 120 ro 180 men, under an 5-Hauprsturmfi.ihrer, Obersturmfuhrer o r Unrersturmfi.ihrer. During wartime, one of the four Stiirme served locally as a Wachkompanie, o r Guard Company, protecting bridges, important buildings and so on. Another stood b} as a civil defence Alarmsturm, or Emergency

outbreak of\\ .tr, the majority of members of the Reirerstandanen were conscripted imo :1rmy cavaln· units. or tnto the ha til~ mustered -Toren kopfrcitersra nda rren for front-l1ne c;en.ice. In 1941, the laner amalgam,m~d to form the Waffen-SS Cavalry Brit!adc "' hich b} 1942 had expanded to become the S -Kavallerie-Division, named 'Fiori;1n Geyer' in 1944. All of these formations were commanded during the 'arious !>tages of their development by Fegelcin, whose en:r-strengrhening position in Nazi circles culminated in his marriage on 3 June 1944 to Gretl Braun, sister of Hjtlcr's mistress. Th e Allgemeine-55 Reitl'rSt.lndarren were numbered from 1 to 23, each number being prefixed by the letter ·R' ro distingui h them from the Fusstandanen. Their headquarrers were located as follows:

tandarte No. R.l

R.l R.3

RA R.S R.6 R.7 R.8 R.9 R.I O R.ll R. ll R.13 R. 14 R. l 5 R.l6 R.17 R.18 R.l9 R.20 R.2l R.22 R.23

HQ Iosterburg Danzig Treuburg H amburg Sterrin Dusseldorf Berlin Pdkum Bremen Arolsen Breslau Schwerin Frankfurt (~l:lm) Srurtgarr Mi.inchen Dresden Regcnsburg Wicn Graudenz Til it Hannover Posen Pirmasens

38

THE AllGfMfiNE·SS

AdeltKhmenl hom on SS Fuss·SIOOdcrte, p~eceded by ~~ bond ood rrod.rionol ~· 'Schellenboum•or 'Be~l!ee' stondold, c 1934.

numbered ten ro fifteen men and was used to patrol blocks of houses within cities and guard official buildings. Th e Schar itself cornpri ec.l two or three Rotten (files), the ::.mallc::.t unit:, of the Allgemeine-55 numbering about five men. Depending on rheir -;ize, Truppen and Scharen were comrnanJed by NCOs of the ranks between -1laupt~charfi.ihrer and Unrerscharfilhrer, wh1lc Rotten were led by experienced enlisted men known as Rottenfi.ihrer. In addinon to the regular SS infant!) and Ca\ airy units, there were a number of pcci.1list formations intended ro act in a supporr role. Each S Oberabschnirr was a-;<;tgned one Nachnchten rurmbann, or ignals Battalion, re">ponstble for SS communu:;Hion 10 the Region. These signals

Comp.ln), for use during air raids or ground .mal.':ks, and the remaining rwo were assigned tt• general patrol duties. A Reserve~rurmbann generally comprised rwo ReserveSrurme, numbered 'Res. I' and ' Re~ . 2', anJ a Rescrve-Saninitsstaffel. Wirhin each Srand.utc, the four Stiirme of Srurmbann I were numbered I, 2, 3 and 4. Those of Sturmbann II were numbered 5, 6, i and 8, while rho e ol Sturmbann III were numbered 9, 10, 11 .1nd 12. Thus the 1st Sturm of the 2nd Sturmbann of the 3rd Standarre, i.e. the 5th \turm 111 the 3rd randatte, would be rt:ferrec.l to '''tthm the Standartc as '5/11' and ourwith the ~randartc as '5/11/3'. Every rurm was divided into three or four Truppen (platoons), each composed ot three Cicharen {c;ections ). A Schar gener.lll:

39

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

battalJOm. were numbered consecutively from 1 to 19, in Arabic rather than Roman numerals, prefixed by the letter '1 a.'. Their headquarters were located as foUows:

Sturmbann No. HQ Na.l Na.2 a.3 Na.4 Na.5 Na.6 Na.7

~lunchcn

Stuttgart Arolsen Dusseldorf Braunschweig Hamburg Konigsberg Na.8 Berlin Na.9 Dresden Na.10 Breslau Na.ll Nurnberg Na.l2 Srerrin Wiesbaden • a.13 Na.14 Wien a.16 Danzig Na.l7 Posen Prag a.l9 No record!> remain of the locations of Nachrichtensturmbanne no 15 and 18. Pioniersrurmbanne or engineer battalions were again organic components of rhe Oberabschnirre, and were equtpped to carry our emergency construction work such as road and bridge repairs, and maintenance of public utilities including gas, electricity, water and rhc like. Each Pioniersrurmban n was numbered consecutively from I to 1 6, prefixed by the letters 'Pi.'. Their headquarters were located as follows:

I,(Os of rl1e SS.VT signals bottolioo 111 OctOOer 1935. AN wear the 'SS/Itgh!nlllg bolt' coiLv patch, which homo tislllllce looks like rlvee Sig-Rooes side by side, and tht blonk ruff hr!e sported by personnel of this unit mtillhe inllodudion of the 'SS+Iochridlrens1UIIllbonn' llrfe in 1937.

Pi.8 Pi.9 Pi.IO Pt. II Pt.l2 Pt.l3 Pt.l4 Pr.l5 Pt.l6

Berlin Ore den Brcslau Niirnberg Magdeburg 1-rankfurt (Main) Wicn

toured all rhe Allgemeine-55 Oberabschnitte, •ng our routine health checks on SS per onncl. lr utiltsed portable X-ray equipmenr nnd was primarily employed ro detect pulmonary diseases among factory workers who were also parr-time 55 members. The only unit of its kind in German), ir~ ervices could be summoned in ttmes of eprdemic by any of the NSDAP Gauleirers and it also co-operated with local officials of rhe German Labour Front. During the war, the Romgensrurmbann was absorbed inro the medtcal branch of the Waffen-5S. In addmon ro the Ronrgensrurmbann and rhe )anttarsstaffel attached to every )rurmbann, each Abschnttt contained at least one Sanirarssrurm or medical company. A ~o.arr}

~alzburg

Danzig

Sturmbann No. HQ Pi.l Pi.2 Pi.3 Pi.4 Pi.5 Pi.6 Pi.7

All SS.Unte~et reservist, denoted by the 'Reserve' cuff ntle, c. 1937.

40

Miinchen Stuttgart Arolsen Koln Harburg-Wilhelmsburg Stettin Konigsberg

The Rt>nrgen!>turmbann SS-HA, or SS Haupramr X-Ray Battalion, was formed by SS Ober-.rurmbannfuhrer Konrad Perwitzschky .md \\as later commanded b}' SS-Oberfuhrer Dr llans Holfelder, Profe!>sor of ,\1edicine at the UnJ\erstt} of frankfurt (:\latn ). It wmpmed around 350 full-rime S men and

41

HIMMlER S BlACK ORDER ~rour of -.e' era I <>w. h
\\as often termed a tmedH;al detachment). These umrc; were n:ferred ro hr rhe Roman numeral of rhe Abs~hn1t1 in which the~ were luc:ucd. The SS Kraftfahrstu rrne, or '-loror Tran.,port Comp.tnies, were composed of raffcln. ur squads, one Kraftfahr raffel being allocated ro each Ab~chnm. They were re pons1ble for rhe motorised rransport of SS pcn.onnel within the district. In addition, a rnororcycle company was at rhe dispoc;al of each Ober;\b chnirr commander to be used h>r relaying urgent despatches. Krafrfahrstiirme were numbered from I to 19, prl'fi , ed b> the lc::rter · K· The areas rhey co\'ercd tue lis red bdo'": large

Sturm,

~an1r.1tsabrcdung

~turm

k..l K.2

1-...3 "-.4 K s K.6

K.K.S k..9 "-·I () K. ll K.l2 K.J3 K.l4

No.

Area ~ hinchen/Aug~burg

Erfurt Berlin/ enftenberg Ham burg/Kiei/Bremen Diisseldorf!Buer/Dortmund Drc~den/Chemnit7 Konig~ berg

I inzl\~ien Breslau Stuttga rr/Karlsru he/Fre1 burg ,\-lagdeburg/H.annover Bambcrg/Schweinfurr/Ni.irnberg )chwerin/Sterrin Frankfurt (M ain)/Wieshaden/ Pirmasens K I' Graz/lnnsbruck "-.16 Danzig/Elbing K.lPosen!Lirzmannsradt "-.19 Asch/Reichenberg/Briinn '=o record rt'main of the locanon ol K raitfahr~turm no. I . The ltr t SS-FiiegersraHel, or S A1r "lquodron, \\ .ts formed in O<.:tohcr 1931 at \lunt<.:h. I! \\as JOmed by SS-Flicgersraffcl

'-urnherg-runh nine months later, and horh of rhec;e un1t' \\ere thereafter renamed SSFileger'>turmc: and cunsolid.ued inro an ~\­ Fhcglrsturmhann under Eduard Rmer \'Otl \chlc1ch, the famed ·slack Kmghr' of rhe First World \\ ;.tr. The S Atr Squadrons were rc)punc;ihlc: for n> mg Hirkr ;\nd other 51:1\lOr Nat.l per-;onalitic~ ;Hound Germany. and they remained acti\'e until absorhed br the Deutscher Lulrspon Verband ( OLV ), the forerunner of rhe Luftwaffe, in September 19B. Oberabschntrr each 19.35. hom commander could form a Streifendiensr, or P ~nrol 5er' 1ce. a-; and when required. rreifendicm.r unir~ were f.tirl) small and mobile and their member~ were specially ~elecred from among rhe most reliable SS men. They patrolled .ue.H remporaril~ our of bot•nds ro SS per<;Onncl .1nd policed the SS connngenrs at parr~ rallies. During the annual IJ November celebrauom in ~lunich. lor e'ample. only a few S men in possession of spedallr IS!>ued pa ~es \alid for the day c.:ouiJ enter rhe re!>tric.:ted ,ueas around the Fcldh~rrnhalle and Konigsplarz where H1rler and h1s hierarch> congregated. It was rhe Srreifendien'>t who checked rhe~c passe!> and cno;ured that nu unaurhon!>ed SS ·spec.:t.ltors' lipped rhrough. All members of a tretfe \VOrc ;l nickel-plated gorgcr bearing the legend '5 tre1fendicn!>t' while on duty. This uem of rcg.tlia "'as simdar to that which 1denrified rhe miht had \xen accorded a high pnonry br both the . A and SS, and 1ndeed rhe earliest l'a71 paramiluanes d1-,gui.,ed rhcir true idenri(! b~

42

THE AlLGfMEINE·SS c.tll111g rhemc;el\c, lurn- und Sport tthredungen, or G~ mna ... til o1nd port~ •n ... rrudors were rramed ar rhc ~A )porr s.. hool tn Hamm, We~tphaiHt, bur after rhc 1lLLUpar1on of C'zechoslo,·akia an \\ Rt.'idh.,porr,t:hulc \\as established .n Pr.tgut". 1£ dul~ r.m c.:uurses for Oberahschnirr sporr~ ••tfkcrs, and issued SS pin ~•cal tra1ning 11.tnuals for the reterence of :~II ~ pcr!>nnnel. !11 addiuon w rhe regular and spectahc;c SS nit'> . and the first-line reser\e nl thul.<: ll~ tw<:cn the age~ of rhirry-five and forry-five, l'tirk working in conjuncrion w•rh a ~r.1nd.utc and bearing rhe Ar.1b1c numeral of h~· l.nrer. As rhetr mlc ~ndiLatcJ, these 1dd1tional ~t'<.:t1nd-linc resen'JSt'> 'urpkmcnted the rel>r of the Allgemeine- ·s in the \J.rtous func.:rion~ "here nornul dut\' rcr~o nnel and first-line rescn·es might be o\erta,cd, as in rhc case of large n;Hiun,ll parade~ Jnd celebrations, 01' major dtl>.l!>terc,. fhe~ were readtlr distingUishable by the tacr that a reverse colour scheme was emplo) ed on their uniform imtgnta, i.e. a lighr-gre} h.1ckground ro collar parches and cufi mlcs With hlack or c,ilver numbers and s..:npr. ~or a 'hort ttmc, member!. of the tammJhttdungen alo;o \\ore hght grey rJrher than hl4tt:k border'> on thc1r armbands. SS Heltennncn, or female S Au,cl•ane:., were flr'ir recrUited in 1942 ro relie'e male SS

43

pcr..onnd \\ ho \\er~ more urgcml) needed ~n rhe trnm I>unng tht> ,.. .lr, German women ''ere ~ailed ro 'do tiH:Ir bit' 111 all ~pher~~ uf Ide, tnd tn rh1 ... rco;pccr rhe ~ wa-, no e\:t:t>pllon, lk'>plte Himmler'o; 'IC\\ th41t h1s ',lhutL!>tJitcl wa!> essenr1all) .111 ·order of (,t·rm.1n \len'. As more and more SS men \\c.:re cons<.r1pted, tht:ir '"ork places \\ere t.l ken mer b~ "omen. The de~•gnation Helfenn was used onl~ tor those who had been .1cccprcd as ~ members proper and tr,11ncd at 1 he Rcichs<;chule-SS at Ohcrehnheim 10 ~lsass, primaril) for the commun~e;nion~ branches of rhe Allgemcine<;S <1nd W,,ffen·SS. All other female auxiliaries engaged b} rhe S • i.e tho!.c who were nor full S members, \\ere termed 1-.ne~,hclfl•rinnen, or War Aoxdiarics. OnJ.on.lll), rhe SS Oherabschnirre \..Cre re~ponsiblc for recruiting s~ llclferinnen, but in ,\Ia~ 1944 that respons1bilit} "as tran.-.terred to the S · Haupramr. ~nrolmenr a ,1n S\ Il elfcnn w,t. radw and cinema w.h fnrh1dden, !>ln~e careful selection was necc.,.,.lr). Uo~c co-operanon wa~ maintained w1rh rhe Rel~h .. ,ugendflihrung and mosr of the recruiting \\a:. doiH." rhrough rhe Bund Dcur~cher Madel or BDM, the femah: equiV;\Ienr of rhe I Iitler Yomh. All women betw~·en thl· ages of eighteen and thirty-five were eligible to apply. Upon enrolment, the applicant w.1s lntl'rviewed br rhe ~emor ~~ and Polrce Commander of the Oberabschnitt in whiCh .:;he re .. ided, in the presence of rhe 1\D'vl Li<mon Off11.:t>r, and a medic,tl ~"\:aminanon rook place the same d.t). "'ext, the apph.l!H )lgned a sraremenr declaring char '>he had not oh-;en ed any signs of J'rc.:gn4tncy or .cnou<; tllne~s. as well as a 3t.uemenr o( her racial 5Uttahilin. mdi\1dual could be accepred until ·' thorough mvec;ug<1uon Into her famih background had heen ~omplt'tl·d b) the S~e..herheitsdiensr. The

'o

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

Rc•c.:h~schulc-~\ h.td rhc: task of tr.w••n~ rhc succ.:e:>sful ,lpplicant~ ·"' teleprinter operJtor'>. telephoni<;t<; and "irdc:o;~ operator-.. lnl;trucuon ",,, ,tl,o gl\ en in domc~UL scit:nLc.. '>O that SS HdfcrnH1t'll \\Ould bc L.lp.thle of assuming re!>ponsihdir~ fnr SS nur!>cnes and -.unilar c~t.thl,.,hmenr' 1t Jnd '"hen ncces<,ar~. Upon samf.Ktory compleuon nf rhe courc;e. rhe girls were presented with SS rune insignia to be worn on the lcf1 brea<;r of their uniform. ;1nd were ac.sagned 10 groupe; m the 'anouc; headquarter~ of the ~S in German). france, I uxembourg, Holland, Poland and Russia. During 194 ~ alone, 422 SS Helfl·rinnen were tramed at the Reich:>~chule. The srriu phrsic,tl. mental o1nd rac1:tl quJiification-. for enrr> into the SS meant rhnt not all who desired to do so could become member'>. Howe\'er, .1lmost an\C>ne who wtshed, for public or pm .lte reasons, to stanJ well With thl' new dire and 1.vho could afford to pa~ tor the privilcge were allowed rn hecome Fordernde ,\ l arglieder (I· \I ), or Pnrron ~lemhers. The F~l organi .. ation developed ,1, a fund-mising hour during rhc mid- 192()!,, "ith Hider him~df holding FM memberc.htp no. 1. All Arpn (rl!rman of hoth sexes were clagtblc to join, nnJ 1 SDAP membership wa'> nor a neces.,arv qualification. When lc.:~u:> d from bankers, 1ndusrrial1'>t'>, bustncmcn .1nd -.hopkeept>" '>trengthencd the eLonomic base oi the SS, and .tt the ~amt· time the conracr.. 'ecured in Gt·rm.1n c;ociety enlarged ':.~ influence. 1 he I ~ ~ mernhers tht•m '. In effect, the Hvl organi~:H1nn hecame .1 !>Ort ot 'old bo\'<.' net\.., or!..' through \\ hi~.:h members could

'cLllrt:

busine.-.,

THE AllGfMEINE·SS

1..ltals.

promot11m

or

emplo~menr, and 111 the Timd Reich \trluJII)

replaccJ the ourhl\\ cd ',ocietr of Freemason'>. By 19 3 S, there were 500,000 Forderndc ~htgllcdcr and there were proh;lhly over I million an 1943. Til\' practice of appointing selened member., of rhe go' crnment or amport,lllt public figures to h1gh rank 1n the ~ , :.\') Fhrenfuhr~r or Honorary Officers, ''as a natural cxtens1on of the F\tl organisation. \Vhile these appomtmenr had no funcnonal signif•uln~.:e, rhcy bought tor the \ e'en more exrremel) influentJ,ll had taken the SS o.uh in return for the nght ro wear the presug•ou~ black untform, !>uJdl·nl~ tound rhem~;t>h es bound co obey Himmlcr 1n terms of rhe SS di'ictphnc code. llw medium '' h~eh unated all the~e facero; of tht> SS organ1~.1t1on, and kept them an touch with each orhcr, was rhe SS-Pre'>'>e. A magazine enttrled Die Sc/JIItz.sta((d ''a puhll~hed as earl~ JS December 1926, hut it wa., hurt lived anJ It ''as not until 193 5 th.u the R eiLhsfi.ihrun~-S began ro puhl •.,h a weeki~ nt!w paper called Da.s Schrt 1ar:.:c· Korps or 'The Black Cor[)c;'. Ser up on 1-teydnc.:h's initiative and d~recred b) ~­ ~tandartenfuhrcr Gunter d'Aiqucn, descendant of a Huguenot famil~. 1t was pnnred by the ~SDAP publishing hou!:>e of Eher \ 'erlng. Mumch, a nd had Its ediron.1l offices at 88 Zimmerr,trasse, Berlin. By 1939. circulation had rc;1ched 500,000 copie . Dcu Scbu•arze Korps wa!:> a '\harpl> written paper... ery neopagan, .10d speci.1liscd in the expoc;ure of those rhe Reichsfiihrung·SS ~o.on.,idered -.odal mi!>crc.:Jnt'> whom rhe courr' could nor reach. Ir w,l., rhe only organ ol the German pre<,s '' hich was nor censored nnd, although ngorously orthodox at rhc ideological level, wa-. .11-.o the onh newspaper that g.n e an} indic~H1on of h.H tng a cnttcal or nonconformist spirit. h om it~ very first ic.sue, the ong1n:1l1t\ of D,ls :,,hu•urze K.orfJ£ \\'.lS

44

cmph.l,l'>cd by It'> aggres~•\·eneso; ro the rt•st of (,ocbbd~ · pre~!>. 1t rook !ttdes against leaders nt the t'\SDAP. attacked mini:;rers of ,tJte ,uch ,t., Alfred Ro.,enberg, \\ho had heen -.horr--..~hted enough ro -.hun ll munler'~ Ptkr'> of honor:H) )$ rank, ,1 nJ denounn·d tn.1dcqua~ies in the admini:>tration. Pri\ ate cnterpnsc and initiati,·e were fa\'Oured h~ the p.tper because they atded progrec;<;, p.trltLu Llrl} in wartime. After I ~19, tht· pubhu~ mg of S~ and police mtlHaq heroes h~o...lme an increasmgly important feature, c'pect,llly when d'Alquen was m.1de ('olllmander of the S War Correspondenrs· Rq~1mcnt and ~ urt Eggers rook over the papl'r. A-. the war progressed and rhe nt:ed ~re\\ tor all sections of the reg11ne ro he '>een to :1ct as one, the old critici<:.ms of the txi..'C'>Se~ of the parr) leaders d1sappeared. By I" ·H. Das SchwM~e Korps and irs c;tster pap1.·r fo r Patron ~vlemhcr'i, rhe FM/easchrift, had degenerated from li,elv and umrrmerc;ia l pubiiLation., to propaganda ~ht>et<> expounding the exploits of Waffen-SS ...old 1erc; on the battlefront. In this wa), the path of the SS-Presse paralleled thar of tlw Entire~ organasanon.

SS DUTIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

SS men goording Hille! dunng ospee
the men an ltte centre spo1ts collar patches· the others ore stiU piobolionory membels

political hierarchy, far le<>c; rhat of rhe Fuhrer h1msclf, whose protection after 193 3 was the responsibilir> uf rhe l e1bsranclarrc-SS ·Adolf Hitler' alone. Neverthclc!>~. even in later \'ears the primary 55 duty of guarding H1tler. \~a., still srressed, the OrgJni'>Jtion.,huch der NSDAP declaring 10 1937: ' It tS the funtl.lmenta l and most noble task ot the )5 to be..· Lt>ncerned with the safen· of the Fuhrer'. After the ad\ ent of the l etbstand<~rte, whose members worked ful l-rime ro a rota system and accompanied I litler on his JOUrney' throughout rhc Retch, the parr·rime ~~ men who had originall> been recruated on ::t lol..'nl basis to protecr Hnler during hi-. trips around Germ;ul\ found that a~pl·t.·r of their

The first and foremost dut) oi the ennrc S orgam!>a tion W:l'i the:: protection of Adolf H1rler; at least rhnt was the official line. In 1931. after Hitler had lost rhe presidenua l t:lecrion to 'on H tndenburg, H1mmlcr described the SS .1c, 'Des fiihrcr~ urcigcmtc, crlesene Gnrde', the f-uhrer's most personal, ,eJected guards. I Iowe\'er, \\hale it is rrue ro '>JY thar the earltest rosstrupp and SS men in the 1921h were indeed dm;:ctl) employed only as H itler \ bodyguards and rhen as 'Redner~chutz' ro prorect other leading N<111 orator , the vast majority of the Allgemcme'-l~ 111 the 1930s and 1940s never even t:.llll~ mto rhe close proxmuf) of members of rhe

45

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

SS.Stondortenfiihrer Jurrus Schreck ofter roceMng the Golden Party Bodge ot the end of 1933. Of pnrticulor interest ore rhe eorty pottem collor patches ond the Sports Eagle of !he Notional Motor and~~ Travel Orgonisotion, the Iotter being worn below lhe n'bbon bor. Schreck wos on expert driver, and frequen*f chauffeured Hitier 01oond Gelmony in h~ open-topped Meicedes tourer ot Sj)eeds in excess of 100 mph. (&-founder of lhe Stosstrupp Ado~ Hirler, Schre
46

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

work taken from them. Consequently. it was decided that as of l933 the main day-to-day func tion of these highly disciplined .\llgemeine-SS volunreers would be to holster thl! regime by supporting the police in mainta ining publi<.: orJer, especially !>ince ~ome of the police themselves were politically unre liable. Their immediate success as Hdfspolizei during the mass arrests of com munists and other dissidents after th e r'\azi assumption of power led to the rapid expa nsion of the 55 organisation and rhe for mation of dozens of new Allgemeine-55 Sra ndarten trained and equipped to combat any internal uprising or counter-revolution which might take place within Germany. It was planned that, in such an event, the Allgemeine-55 Fus -5randarten and Stammabte!lungen would act as police reinforcements m conjunction with the heavily armed SSVerfiigungsrruppe and SS-Torenkopfverbande, whi le the Nachrichrensturrnbanne, Pionier-.rur mbanne and Krafrfahrsriirme of the Allgemeine-$$ would rake over the operation of the post office and national radio network, public utilities and public rra nsporr, respectively. Consequently, thro ughout 1934 particular emphasis was placed on the recruitment of personnel for these specialist SS support units. H owever, the anticipated civil unrest never came about, and internal parry rivalries were c rushed du ring the 'Night of the Long Knives'. As a result, the police duties of the Allgemeine-55 befor e the ou tbreak of the war were generally restricted to overseeing crowd conrrol at SOAP r all ies and other celebrations, including national holidays and sta te visits of foreign dignitaries. After 1939, members of the Allgemeine-$$ w ho had not been called up for military service rook a more active police support role. They were frequently lecrured on t he work of the police and the SO, and in many c ities special SS Wachkompanie and

SS men hning the route for oporode of B!kkeberg in 1935, during the annual harvest feslivol <elebrolions.

Alarmstiirme were derailed to protect facrorie<;, bridges, roads and other strategic point and assist the Luftschurz or Civil Defence during air raids. On the borders of the Reich, SS men worked as Auxiliar y Fronrier Personnel. or Hi I fsgrenzangesrellte (HIGA ), in conjunction with the Customs Service. Others helped with the harvest, supervised foreign labourers and engaged in welfare work among the families and dependants of deceased SS servicemen. During 1944-5, the cadres of the Allgemeine55 spread throughout Germany were trained to co-ordinate rhe short-lived guerrilla campaign which took place against Allied occupation troops. The Allgemeine-55 unit which normally mustered for training purposes was rhe Trupp or, in more populous districts, the Sturm. Larger musters of the SS were possible only in exceptional circumstances. There were periodic ga therings of the Standarren and occasional conferences of Abschnitte officers, when speeches and propaganda displays helped to foster corporate spirit and preserve SS ideology, bur the vast majority of meetings usually rook place on a local basis, once or twice a week in the evening or at the weekend . They gave those attending a feeling of 'belonging' and importance which made a

47

HIMMLER ' S BLACK OROER

tho<>c of dao;tipltn t> .tnd lugh personal l>t.tnJarJ!., but alTer 19 n raci.1l and politic:~ I attriburcc; became tncreasingl) imponanl. Whosoever posse!\'>ed the requisite qualitic~. whate\er h1!> background, cia!>~ or education. could find a place in the SS. The first ~S men. the:: former members of the hl'ikorp., \\ hn had fought against communist rcvolution:me'> and Allied occupation troops after the fir'it World War, were follo~wJ h) an assortment ot unemployed bboun:ro,, farmer<;. disillusioned teachers, white-collar workers ami ex-officers, all of whom went intu the \S dunng rhe lare 1920c; and early 1930s with 1Hl aim other than to better their current dJffJCult existence. The turning puinr so far as 'iS recruiring w:1s concerned was the spring of 1933. which I limmler called 'the rime of the great influx and flood ride of all those opportunists 'vvishing to join the parry ;lttd m various organisations'. After I II tier's appointment as Chancellor on 30 j anuary thar year. everyone ~uddenly wanted to join rhe SS and there was a rush ar the recruiting offices. Himmler mainrained his StJndarJs hv immediately clo~ing ranks and insrinning a \'lgorous weeding-oul process among thol>c: ill ready admitted. l.k tween 19 B and 193 S 110,000 S~ otticers anJ men were <. "pelled from the organasntion because of pett> criminal cou\ ictton~, homosexuality, alcoholism, poor health, inadequate ph}''iique, questionable racial or political backgrounJc; or simple lack of commitment. The: rel>ult was an Allgemeine-55 numbering a hour 1 I 0,000 only 0.4 per ~cnr of \\hom were now unt'mployed, which did acwall)• cons titute th~ ~litt' which H irnmler rcqu1red. l t w.t., incvirnble, hecausc: ot this polu.;y, thnt the ordinary ~S units were scattered widely 1hroughout Germany. Concentration would have meant a lowering of :.tandards. As a rcsulr, the organisation was -prcs all the rural districts ol the Reich, so much .!>O that Him mlcr cnulJ

wekomc break trom the humdrum o( thci• daily lives working in the fields and factonc~ ot rhe Reich. In '-Ummer, there were rourc n1arches, parade and field drill, and 1nanoeuvres. Tn winrer, rhe routine activit) of the Allgemeine-55 comprised instruction in military matrers, indoor shooting, spcciali~l and technical traJnJng, lecrurcs on propaganda, political topics and Germanic culture, and ralks on the general history and work of the SS and NSDAP. Ar parry rallies and assemblies the SS always rook a prominent role, and 1n processions had rbe place of honour at rhe end of the parade. The g reat reduc£ion in rhe numbt:r <>I active parr-time personnel which resulted from the war and the1r remporary enlisrmenr in rhe Wehrmachr and Waffen-SS considerably reduced the day-ro-day actiVIties of the Allgemeine-SS . Even amung the members still a t home 111 reserved occupations, long working huur!. and additional war service drastically cut down attendance at company parades. By 1943, it had become tht: rule tO find SS :--JCOs in c:ommand of Stiirme and even Sturmhanne. and for dury parades to he confined to one or rwo hours per week. UnJer such circumstances, musters were frequenrl} .mended by only a do?.cn or fewer members. and rhe local Allgemeine-55 administration was run hy ~everely wounded men and rho'>e temporarily returned ro acrive duty from the Stammabreilungen. Nevertheless, so far as Himmler was concerned, the Allgemeine-$$ was the original anti "real' S~, and he continued issuing orders auned at reinforcing it well into 194 5. From the day he rook ch.uge of the <;S in 1929, Himmler set hamself the task of creating an arisrocrac: within the Nazi party, an elite which he later called his ·Deutsche Manncrorden' or Order of German Manhood. The qualification~ on which he tniti<~ll} hased his policy of sc:k\"tion were

48

THE ALLGEM£1Nf· SS

proudh ho;t-.1 111 19.16: ·~ton~ \S Truppcn .ue re~.ruarcd

\frcr some J)relimi11ar~ training, the Landtd3re progressed w the stage 01 becoming an SS-Anwarter, or Cadet. on the occasion of rhe annual NS01\P ReJchspaneitag celebrarions in Nurnberg rhe following September. Ar that time he ~as prm isionally enrolled into rhe ranks of the SS proper, and received his uniform jn,ignia and Auswcis, or member.:;hip c.: ard. On the following 9 November, the anm\'crsary of the Mun i~h putsch. he and all other SS-Anwarrer appointed thar year rook rhe organisation 's personal oarh of allegiance to the Fuhrer, which ran:

trnm scVl'ral vallages, a single village

nc:n:r ha\ ing morl' than irs rwo really best bnys m the SS'. Not surpnsmgl~. rhe majorit\' ,,f tht!-.e 'ht: '-1 hoy'· tounJ that thL·ir ~) m ~mbershtp, wbtlc unpaid, haJ a real and hcndicial knock-on effect on the1r cl10~en ~ i\ dian cJreers. -\tter 19 B. the Hider Youth (IIJtlerjugcnd .. r H II w:~s the m;un S011rcc of recruitment for rht Allgemt•int·-SS. l'-'>Ccpcing of course h()norary members, specialists and tho~c in .1tftli,ned bodie such .ts che pollee. Purcntial S~ recruits were singled our by local units \\ h dc -;till an the HJ, and boys who had proved rhcmselvcs an the HJ -Streitendienst ' ~rt' made parricubrh welcome. Our of c.:H n hundred applicants, only ten or so were IHJ JII) admitted. Whale no educational qu .thfl<..ations wne required, each of these h,,J w demonstrate the good political hdlU\ iour of his parent~, brother~ and sisters, r roduce a clean police record anJ an Aryan J'l'Uap.rec dating back ro the mid-eightecnrh ~:e ntur) . Jnd proYe that there w;'ls no hncditary disease in h1s famil>· A Race Lommission compo~ed of SS eugenists and dt1<..tors super\'t!>t:d the last and mosr decisive Jm·d11:al rests. The) judged nor only lhe sh;:apc of ho considered whether the applicnnr hC'h,wed in J disciplined yer not servile way, "md how he answered questions Jnd generally <..< )llducted himself. If the applicant satisfied •111 chese requiretHl'ntS of political rcliabillt)', ranal purit} nnd physique he was offici,llly rccogni-.cd on his eighteenth birrhdny as tln \~ Bewcrbcr, or SS Candidate, and gin~n a untform \Vlthour 111sigma.

I swear to you, Adolt Hirlt'r, as Fuhrer nnd Chancello r of the Reich, loyalty and bravery. I promise w you, and ro rhosc you h~IVe .1ppointcd to have authority over me, obed1encc unto death,

Throughout rhe next few month~>, the SSAnw:iner continued wirh hi civi li an ucC11pation or apprenticeship during rhe day .tnd Jttended the set musters of his local f\llgcmeine-SS Trupp or ~turm in the evenings or nt weekend~. Much of his training at this !.Cage in h1~ serv1ce revolved around hi~ 4ualifying for the SA Military Sports Badge and the German National Sport~ l{adg~, borh of which he ~a., expected to win. Under nurrnnl prewar conditions. the SS-Anwarter was thereafter called up for SIX months' compulsory full-rime duty an the Reichsarheitsdien t or RAD, the ational Labour Service which worked on public building programmes, and rhen for hts t\'IOycar term of con::.cription in the \Xfehrmachr. During th at perioJ, hL· almost completely se\'ered his Jctive ties with rhe Allgemeine-SS . Subsequently. his lahourmg and military duties finished, he returned to civilian life and to the SS, still as an Am·\'iirrer, to receive his final imensi\·e training and indoctrination. This indud~J ideological ~chooli n g in 1he

49

THE AllGEMEINE-55

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

v.u. bur due to the commitments of mthtaq icc were unable ro participate 111 rhetr normal S duties. By 1944, the tot.tl .tcme ,trcngrh of the Allgemeine-$ had fallen ro -lO,OOO, excluding that parr of rhe organisation represented by the police. Fvcn ,o, while the purely numerical strength of he AllgcmcJne-SS declined. irs dommarion ''' the home front stead il y mcreased, h1ghlighred not onl) by Himmler's pcr:.onal .::oncenrrarion of power bur also by the ever~x panding influence of rhe SS hiernrchy, rc mforced br the police and securirr ,e n ·iccs and rhe patron and honorary member<;hip. In addition ro the general milirarr and rolitical training given to Allgemetne- men at local level, at the regular muster ot Truppe and Sttinne, there were a number of ,deem e and specialist training esrabltshmenrs wh ich members could arrend. A harch of '\CO and o fficer candidate schoob produced .1n d trained leaders for assignment rhroughour rhc whole SS system. As well as the Main Cavalry School ar ~1unich and rhe llelfcrinnen Rcichsschule at Oberehnheim, there was an S-Arzrliche Akademic, or S \1edical Academy, at Gra7. an SS\ t.f\\ altungsschule, or Administration chool, -tt Dachau, a Kraftfahrrechnische Lehramrah, or M otor Techmcal Training Establishment, at Vienna, an S-Musikschulc. or Music College, ar Brunswick, a Pioneer and Mining School ar Gio;lcben, and a Signals School and Security Police Training College at Berlin. There were also a number of pecial SBe rufsoberschulen, or Higher Technical 5,chools, et up under the auspices of the Haupramt ro rea ch t echnical .;ktl ls to candidates for rhe Allgemeine-55 anJ WaffcnSS. All German boys who were apprentices o r students in bu iness, trade or agriculture and who arrended a trade or [Cchnical schoo l could appl)' for entry ro an Berufsober chule as a n SS officer candidate.

Cond1tton' ,,( a c..ceprann were that candidates had ro be between fourteen ;lnd sc,·enteen years of age and satisf) the general recruitment standard~ laid down for the S. The rraintng g•ven qualified studenrs for the Reifeprufung, or !>tare leaving cerrificare, in economics, technical ~ubjccrs or agnculrure. rudents successful in Ia\\, politics, hi:.tor)', forestry, mining and engtneering were encouraged ro connnue rheir studies either ar one of the SS or SD Administration Schoo)., o r at a university. In effect, rhe ~ Berufsoberschulen were designed as a medium for rhe recruitment and initial training of !>uirable candidates for rhe secunry and administrative branches of the SS. One of the le s well known but imporranr educational offshoot<, of the SS were rhe SS ~lann chat£ hau er, or SS ~len's Halls. These institutions formed a Dienststelle. or branch, of rhe .r\llgemcine-SS whoo;e function was tO train young officers intending ro rake up civil and non-political professions. They differed, therefore, from the l>pccialist schools of the SS and police and from rhe Waffen -S Junkerschulen in that the) were destgned for SS men who propmed to make their career) 1n walks of life rhar had no offic1al connectton w1th the SS, such as rhe C1vd Service. mcdicllle, rhe law, a rt, CJence, engineering and rhe academic field generally. The acknowledged object of their training was to infuse the S spirit into the higher profes ions. The S .\lannschaft!>hiiuser originated in 1935 when c;mall g r oups of ten to fifteen ordinary students, who were united onl) by rhetr common S membership, began to live together in a few un1ver'iit) and htgh ~chool rowns. As their numbers increased a more careful S}''\tem of membership selection was practised. qualitic!> demanded being good cha racter, National ~ocialist beliefs and pro,·en academic or scientific talent. When the number of permanent resident~ reached

~en

Ss-Anwcrter toke rile oorll of ollegioll{e mfront Gf the Feldherrnhone 1n MuoKh, 9 NDvember 1934. Thrs ceremony, which took ploce in rile most solemn of circumslllll{es ot the 'holy shnne' of No11sm, wos attended by Hirler, Himmler and the rest of rile Old Guord.

forry-fiYe most nl the'>c rran:.ferred yet again to the regional Srammabtellung. Long servtee in thl!> \\a~ "a:. rc~o~•w..ed h) award!> of the NSDAP D• en,rau zeichnungen, a senes of decoration:. in!>titureJ on 20 April 1939 for ten, fifreen and rwenty-ti,·e ycarf>' active membership of an) of rhe Nazi part~ uniformed bodie~. Recruirmg for rhc Allgemeine-55 . wh1ch was the rc:.pon">thtllty of rhe 5 Haupramt, peaked in 1939 rhen drastically decreased on tht' ourhreak of war. A., early as Jan uaq 1940, H 11nmler announ~ed that of approximarch l )0,000 regulars in the Allgemeine-~~ at the opening of hostilitie~. no less than 175,000 hnd since joined the Wehrmacht and Waffcn - ~. rhe majority going to the .Hm y. These men retained rheir Allgemeine-<;) member~h1p throughout rhe

fundamental !awl> and concepts of rhc S. marriagt: ordt:r'> and rhe SS codt: ot honour and dJsopltne. On 9 Nmembcr following h1s return fmm the Wehrmachr ro ci,·ilian life, rhc ucccso.,ful Anwarrcr wa:. received into the SS a:> a full SS- ~1ann. On that solemn occasion he took a second oath . ""caring that he and hr., fanHI~ would ah\ays adhere ro rhe pnnctpb. of the SS. and wao., thereafter presented wirh hi.-.. ~) dagger .md gtven rhe right to u'e tr ro delend his honour and that of rhe Black Order. The confi rmed S m,ln remained in rhc a~ll\ c Allgemeine- 55 until h1~ rhirry-fifth ~car. at which time he was eligible for honourable discharge from the organisarion. H owever, many elected at that stage ro app ly tor acceptance into their local Re<,en eturmbann, and ,n the retirement age Cll

so

51

THE AllGEMEINf ·SS

HIMMlH'S BLACK ORDER

350, Jiimmlt·r ;lppotntcd ~S -Oberfuhrt:r Kurt l: llerstek a~ Chie£ of the .\lannschattshauscr, \\-llh the 'itarus anJ d1sctplinaf) powers ut a ~randarte commander. l1te m rhc.. ~len\ Halls he fore the "a• induJctl. hesidcs rht uw,ll .1cadcmic rudtes. an orgamseJ serie of SoLial occJsions at wht<..h the srudem'> (ould acqu•re the ea<,e and ~.onvenrional <..nurresics necessary for <;uccess m public hft.·. To pre, em them from attaching an exaggerated value m the academic and soc1al side of rhtng,, however, parw:ipJtion in re;1m spores anJ arhlerics, and regular service in an Allgemeine-~<; Sturm. -.,vas made compulsory lor all rc!>iJ cnt . Each winter the member<; of all tht' halls throughout German} attended a spcc1:11 courc;c at the: SS-Junkerschule ar Bad Tol7 wht:re, for a fortnight, rhey ~rudied and C'\erciscd along with regular ~~­ Verfugungstruppe officer cadets. In summer, dunng hlCation pt:riods. long marches were orga111.,ed in norrhern Germany or in the \lpo;, dun ng \\hJCh the students camped our 111 rhe open. The ourhreak of '' ar severely checkcu rhc growth of rhc vLlnnschaftsha user, as most member., were almost immediatelv con<,~..nprcd into the Wchrmachr. Onl} a fe\\ d1!>chargcd o r reserved men connnued their srudte!> in !>ome of tht: halls. An official lil>t of Mannschnft-.hauscr dra\' n up in Ma> 1944 comprised the fo llowing: Berlin I Berlin Jl Braunschweig ~runn

Dantig frciburg Grat Ha mhu r~

I Iaile l leidelherl! Inn ·brut:I-. Jena

Kiel Koln Konigsberg Leiuen Lublm ~li.inchcn

v1i.insrer PrJg Strassburg Ti.ibingcn Wien

Of tiH·-.c, hm\C\Cr, onh four (Scrim II , \ltindll·n. Pr.ag and \X ten ) were still full~ 1cm c .lt rh.tr late date. GcnerJI propagandil .1nd poht1<..al rdu~o.Juon '' tthin the ~ was the re<.pons1bili[) nt rhc: ~ HJupt.lmt, which IS!>ut:d or ~upervtlted the issue ot n number of rehlteJ puhlicataom. In ilddition ro special pamphlet~ ~uc.:h ac; rhe S~ rec.:ruinn~ h.1nJbook Dich ru(r clu· .S !TIJe S Ne(•ds Yv11) and .1 seraes of ~ Schulungshefte. or cducarional bouklerc;, the SS-llA pur out two periodicals, the SS f11(ornttl tionscilcnst, a news mag~uine for rhc ~) a nd police, and rhe SS Leitheft. an dlusrrared maga1.int.> with stories and articles for more general consu111ption. The rhcme ot the ideal German family \\J'> used ex1:cn~ivel) rhruughout thts I) pe of puhlic;ltiOn, and wa., incvitahl~ slanted w draw comparison!. wirh lcs!> favoured cthmc groups. Anorher much documented subJect was rhe Externsremc, rhe German equtvalenr of ronehenge. wh1~.-h bc:came en~hrincd in SS m) thology. The 5~­ llA al!.o held political educarion cour<;es tor S offict:r-. and men and. 111 aJdirion, was respons1blc for the appointment ul ~chulung~offi7iere. or Educanon Officers, to the !>taff ot rhe ,·ariou-. S rraining -.chools. o tar a., advancement for the ordm.tr~ SS man was wncerned, rhc sky was rhe limll. In qo rk conrra\t to rb e impcnal army. promorion in rhc SS depended upon personal commitment, cffcctivenes and polit ical rei ia hilt ry, not class or education. ' Das ~chwarzc Korp'' continually denoun~.-c.·d the old reacuonaq military sysrrm a!> typifying tbar 'mtddle-dass arrogance whkh excluded the worker from o;o~.-icry and gave him the feeling of hetn~ .1 third class citw:n'. Con,equendy, the cadet school'> cons-.:toush offered -.omerhing which those of the \X-chrm;lcht ne,·cr did - an officer'::. career for men withvu t a m1ddle- or upper-clac;s b.tckground or furmal educationa l <.Julltftcationc;. The SS alwa~::. encouraged "c:lt

52

d pl i n ~: .tnd mutuJI re~pect ~;nhet rh.tn .1 hrur.JII) cnfnr~.:eJ di!>ciplinc, anJ ttl> gtn~r.tl \\ nrkmg ,ltmmphere "as more rel:hcd than rh:ll 11i rhe Jrm) . rhe relauonsh1p ht:t\\een o tfiu·r., and m~n hemg le~., fnrmal. Otft<..er-. \\ l n termed Tuhrer', or •Jcadcr.,·. not 'Oft111ere·. which had dass connt>tatiom. On du r~. the old milirary rank prefix ·Herr' , mpl} tng \Upt:riont~ and dominance, "n-. tncrh forb•ddt·n Jnd even rhe lowl1ec;r SSIk\\ crher \\nuld address l llmmlt:r him'>elf uuplv a ' ReichsHihrcr, nor ' Herr Rt·tch.,h.ihrer'. Off dury, junior ranks referred rn thrir St:niors a~> 'Kamerad' (Comrade), or •fl.Htl'tgcnossc· (Parry Collt'-.lguc) if both w~:rc r l l mbcr' of rhe NSDJ\P. I he )S-Fuhrt:rkorps or officer corps of che \l lgl·m~ine - SS comprised a numher of dc lfcrcnr carcgones, main!~ JepenJent upon lht nature of tht: officn'~> t:mploymcnt. Tho.,e h In \\ rhe ran k of turmbannftihrer were g n('ralh N~benamrll~o.h, or parr-rime. and •I J'.lld, '' h1le h1gher ranh were uo;uall} }l 1upramtlich. or full-rime, and .,alant:d. 1 h~ 11\ llll ... ategones of S officer \\ere a-; follo\V'i:

dt

rwo caregone., who \\ere ohhgcd hy rc,P,on ol .lge or tnftrmity w retir~ honourabh from acme ~crv 1cc m rhe S or firsr·lme ~ rt:!>t:n·t:. The majorit~ of lull lltnC poiKc off~eers given ~~ mc:mber-.htp \\ere .tlso taken imo the '-.t.Jmm.lht~· dungt'n ·"' the~ could nor rcadd} b<: ab.,orbcd b~ tht' act I\ c •\llgemeinc S ~randarrcn. 4. fiihrcr ::u ~er(iigung (Officers 'on call'! Officer., 'll'>pcnded for disciplinary rc.lc;onc. whom the ~ court h.Jd put ·ou ca ll' fur a m~ximum period of two years, as a term of prohatton. Within rhar period, depending 11pon their behaviour, rhe) were e1rher re.,rorcd w acuve ..en•tce or dio;misscd fwm th~ 5). ,\n~

Allgt•mclne-1\S oificer who JOined rhe dur1ng the \\<11' rcra111cd hts ·\llgcmeint·-5 srarus and rank, bur usually rece1vcd a lower Waffen-SS rank unril such t1me as he had gained sufficienr military c..:pcnence ro warr.1nt promonon. Thc:reafter, .ln'· promotion he a<..hteved wtrhm the \\at len- ~ re!>ulted 111 a simultaneous a nd level upgrading of h1s Allgemeine-55 rank. Th~ l•ndernoted regulations governed promomm wtrhm the Allgcmc:me S : \Xf;lifcn-~~

\kttllt' .\ $ J-iibrt•r 1 \cnve SS Officer'>) All tho~c \\ hu held regular p.1rt-t1111c or tull-timc office in the loco! t\ll~cmeinc­ ~S, SS Haupriimrer or orher deparrmcnrs, •nduding all officers of rhe rani- of C..ruppcnfi'lhrer and ahu\e, trre pectivl' of c:mploymt•nt. 2 7ugetetlte Fiihra bei den St.tbcn (Officers atrached to Staffs and HQs) Ofllccr~ preven ted by reason of the1r '"'vii, gmcrnmcmal or party posts irom t.1 k1n~ an acti\ c part in the ~ . The~ were normalh arrached as ad\i ers £O rhc Per~onltcher rab RfSS, or to rhe staffs of fht> ~S Haupramter or OherabschnttJe JIQ. ). f-uhrer "' dt'r Str.1tTJ1nwbtetlung (Offi...:e:r) 111 rht: Supplementary Rcscn c) Otfi ... erc; not included in rhc tore~ni11g

PromotiOn ro SS-GruppcnfUhrcr and was decided hy Hitler himself, in hi:. rechnic.1l C:lp;lcit} J5 Commander-inChiei of the ~S, on rh~ rccomm~ndation of the Rcichsfi.lhrcr-~~. 2. Promotion co otficers below rhe rank ot G1 uppenfuhrer was dectded h} rhe R e~eh-.fuhrt·r-So; J t the mstam:e nf the ()$ Personalhaoptamt. The heads of rhe ~~ I lauptamrer, acnng as H immler's rt:pre\entallve'>, could ca rry our promorton., up w ,tnJ 1n...ludmg SSII.wpt<,turmfllhrer. 3. Promouon ro 5- lla upt~ch.u fi• hrcr "a'> effected h) Obcrabschnine commander'>. I.

.thnv~..

S3

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

marriage particulars, narneo; and J~cs of c.hildren, !:1 and NSDAP membership numbers. promonon.,, decorations and h1srory of RAD and milirary service. All fixed mformanon was entered in ink and variable Ill form:mon in penc1l. Fvery ru rm mamraincd a file holding rhe original cards made our for each officer and man assigned ro ir. Duplicate card~. which had broad red diagonal stripes on rhe reverse, were kept ar the HQ of rhe Srandane to which rhe rurm belonged. The third set of cards, wirh darkgreen stripes on rhe back, were filed at the SS Personalhauptamr if rhe) related to officers or ar the SS Haupramr if rher referred ro COc; and lower ranks. It was rhc re.spon ibiliry of all personnel ro ensure that they reported rimeousl~ anr information relc\'a nt ro the updating of their records. Se\·eral timec; a year, rhc SS Personalhauptamt produced a Seniority List covering all officers in all branches of the SS. As rhe SS grew so did the List. and by rhe end of 1944 ir comprised cveral volumes. Known a... rhe Dtenstalters!tste der Schut::stL1{(el der 1 SDAP, it was primed by rhe government publishers in Berlin and was intended for adminisrrame use only within rhe offices of the SS. Bcmg classified, it wa nor for personal is.,ue or distribution to non- bodies. Above all, ir was not ro be made available to rhe general public. The Dienstaltersliste wenr into great dera1l about each officer listed. Not only d1d 1t stare his full name and dare of birth. ir al o gave his SS rank, po!>itlon of seniority, NSDAP and SS membership numbers, current posting, decorariom, and any governmental, military, poliucal or police rank held. It C\'en mentioned if he was on long-term sick leave. In relation ro Heinrich Himmler, for example, rhc 1944 L1sr read as follows:

4. Promotion to SS-Ober..,chufiihrer was ~Jrried out by Abs~.:hnine commander!>. 5. Other '-:COs were promoted In the commanders ot the various S randarten. li. !'omina[lons for appoinrmenr as SSNlann, rurmmann and Rortenfuhrer were made by delegated officers of rhe tandarren concerned. Technical, admini~trative and medical personnel were hound b) the same regulations as regard~ promotion and appointment bur, in addition, had to be approved b~ the I) Wirr'>chafts- und Vcnvalrungshaupramr or the Rcichsarzt SS und Polizei, whichever was appropriate. It 1s note'' orthy rhat. during rhc early days of the SS, it was nor uncommon for some officers ro enrer the organisation ar a high rank. or to skip rank . For example, · epp' Dietrich enrolled 1n rhe SS as a Standarrcnfiihrer with membership no. 1177 on 18 No,·emher 1929, while Julius Schreck, w1th membership no. 5. sl..1pped from Sru rmfuh rer srra ight ro Sra nda rten fi.i hrer, missing our o1ll rank in between, on 30 January 1933. Other had a meteoric ri e through the ranks, a good example being Karl Wolff, who v. as promoted in rhe following ".1}': Srurmfi.ihrer Srurmhauprfuhrer Srurmbannfuhrer Ober turmhannfi.ihrer Srandarrenfuhrer Oberfuhrer

18 February 1932 30 janu.u~ 1933 9 November 1933 30 January 1934 20 April 1934 4 July 1934

The SS mainrained a thorough sy<;tem of personnel rt'cords, based on cards filled our in triplicate in rc!>pect of each member. The cards were reddish-brown in colour and comained a ho t of personal det.ll!<; including dare and place of birth . physical measurements,

I.

2.

54

Overall enioriry no: 1. Heinrich Himmler. Holder of rhe Golden Parry Badge and Blood Order.

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

IJ;, .,..,

,,.,, ,,,.....,,,,,,, ,.. lltlt •• ,.... ,,

.....

-............._......, -.... . ..__ ...___ ____

-~''''''

The SSOffi<M Seniority list, piodU<ed in seve~ol volumes between 1934 and 1944

Reichsm inisrcr. Reich~lc~rer. Reichskommi<,o,;:~r. City Councillor. ~[emhcr of P.1rliamem. 1. lloldcr of the SS Sword of llonour and rhe SS Jcath's head ring. 4 Re1ch~fuhrer-S ;tnd Cl11ef ot the German Pollee. 5 \JSDAP mcmbero,hip no: 14,303. Ci 1\S membership no: 168. D~ne of hmh: - 0 rober 1900. s. Appointed ro present po-.inon: 6 january

I.

2.

3.

1919.

4.

Further down the first page of rhe List, the lolluwing derails were recorded 111 respcc..r of member of German ro~alt), JostolS ErbpnnL 111 \X.tlded. und P) rmont:

5. 6.

55

0\'Crall senionrr no: 10. Josin-., Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmonr. !!older of the Golden Parr) Badge, 1914 Iron Cro ., hr Class, Cro!>s of Honour 1914-1918, First World War state ~.om bat a'' Mds, 1918 Wound Badge in Black, 1939 Bar to rhe 1914 Iron Cros~ 1st Clas.,, and econd World War combat awards ..\lembcr of Parliament. Holder of rhc S word of Honour and the SS dearh'c; head r1ng. Commander of Oberah~chnitt I uldaWerra and Hohere S - und Poli7etfu hrer in that Region. General of the Waffen-SS. Gener,1l of rhe Poltce. ~SOAP member~h1p no: 160.025. SS membt:r!ihlp no: 2,139.

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

H.

D:Hc of bil'rh: 11 M.1y ll-l96. Appointed to present po,itwn: J;:mun '1 1'-1 ;6.

rhc l~:g;ll indcpcnJcnce neccssaq to l'l,~un.• that ~ men should nor he answerable to the ~" il ~..ourrs for unlawful .ll"tl> rommitred 111 thl· hne nf dury. The :o.l~rllflcancc of thl!posttiun f.";lnnol be overemphasised , a' 11 guarantc~d tbl· whole SS orgamsation 1mmunir~ frum normal prosecution .wcl henLe the legal right. a..::cording to ir~ own code, to arrest, imprison, ill-treat and ultimately extermmare tts political and ract;ll opponents. rhis Wa<, the baSIS for the oftt, NCOs and other rank!.. male and female, whether :\llgemeine-SS, WaffenSS. full-time, part-rtrnc, trainee. auxiliarr. anacuve or honorary in starus, were liable ro triJI .and puni hment only by % wurtc; for all disciplinarr and criminal offcnct::. thl'} might commit. \'V'ht:re the offences wae military one!>, dlc} werl' t ned at.:cording ro mdat.l r~ procedures. In the case of crimin.1l offcn~;c!>, the SS legal officials tried the accused by normal German crimmal procedure. I he junsdn.:don of the DBO extended right across German} and rh~ occupied rerrnones, and the o;calc of punishment whid' might be 1mpo~cd ranged from simple dlsCtplm.H}' measures and expulsion from rhl' SS ro penal sen irudc and dearh h\ hanging. shooting (lr ~~~heading.

10

In April 1945, the SS made concerted arremprs to dcsrroy all ext~ting LOpies ot rhc Ditmstaltersliste, hut a few volume<; fell mw Allied hMtds and rhese pro\ ed i 11\ a lu;~ blc reference material during rhe postwar deNazification process. :Vtany prominent Germans who were by rh~'n v1gorously denying ;1ll as-.oc1anons with the NSDAP and irs affiliated organisations were suddenly confronted with rheir n.1mes appearing <>n thl' Dienstaltersliste and were forced ro admlt their mrimate involvement in thl' N:11i regime. One of tho~e was none othcr rhan rhc.· aforementioned Pnnce JosiJs, rhe only member of a German W)'ttuatcd, he was hl•ld to be directly rcsponsibk (or che conditione; which prevailed there and was sentenced to life imprisnnmenr. Such nccountabilic> for their acdon~ \\.1~ something rornlly alten to the SS. One of the mosr important factor<; to be taken into account when consiJcring the lo\\ tn~eing power~ and activities of rhc various ~~ and police forces in their role as supreme guardians of law anJ order during rhe Tlurd Rei~..h is that they were themlo~hclo placed ours1dl• .1nd above the normal C,crmJn le~al system. Wirh the foundation of tbe SS- lind Polizeigerichtsb.ukeit ( pecial Jurisdiction of che SS and Police) during 19.39-40, S<; men were made responsible only co ~S disctpliMrv officer~ and S<; LOlHts for :111 cnmt's
56

THE AlLGEMEINf·SS

t fi'11111lcr 'A-ac; p.tvcn thl· same powers of

with membership numbers beiO\\ I0.000 (i.e. the Old Guard) 3. prescribing disciplinary punishments in addition to penal sentences passed by rhe S courts

par~lon

and commurarion of sentence~ :l!\ rhu~~ hdd hy the Reich Supreme Judge and rh~ Lommanders of the three branches of the \X t"hrmaeht, and the only course of appeal, .111d rhen tn very special circumstances, was tn rh~.. fuhrer himself. Onl~ one general excepuon rC> this policy of bnnging all members of the SS under the ~t mgenr penalties of independent SS jumdiction was ever allowed. By agreemenr \\ tth the Reichsfiihrer-SS, a Wehrmacht rc~ul.nwn published in june 1940 laid down tlt,H andividual members of the SS and police wt• •ld become liable to normal military law af the} were serving in the armed forces. Thi::. cx..:~.pnon applied solely ro Allgemeine-55 and ;•ol i~.-c men conscripted for regular sen·ice in the Wehrmacht, and did nor affecr tlllkpcndcnt units and formations of the \\' .1ttl'n-SS, SD and police semng alongside the armeJ forces . With the adwnr of rhe DBO, however, the Wehrmacht regulation LC;l'-tnl to be valid and from 1943 the SS nduJed unJer it!) jurisdiction even those of m members temporarily serving in the armed torces. While in practice most disciplinar)' rnarrers Wtre d1~posed of by the competent senior SS tlt,t.:lplinary officers by direct action or courrs marual, and most cnminal matters by rhe duh appointed SS courr~o, full Ji sciplina ry power.; were arrached to Himmler personally, a' Rt·ichsfiihrer-SS. H e was competent to •mpo~e all disciplinary pen a lries allowed by rhe DBO, although Hitler usually took a persona l 1nterest in rare cases of the pun1~hme m of officers from Gruppenfi.ihrer ••pwa rds. In particular, the Reichsfiihrer r~·,erved ro himself rhe n ghrs of: I.

)

In order to exercise rhese powers and also for the purpose of cons1dering appeals against disciplinary senrences passed by the heads of the SS Hauptamtl'f, Himmler could order the serring up of a specia l court, or Disziplinarhof, ro hear any particular case and report hack tO him. fn times of absence, he could delegate his disciplinary aurhority to rhe Chid of the H auptamt SS Gerichr. In addition, a special legal officer was permanently ::mached to the Prrsonlicher Stab RfSS to assist ll immlcr in dealing with legal marrers which came ro him for disposal. The ordinary SS courrs were of two types:

I.

2.

the feldgerichtc, or Courrs-.Mart1al, convened in the normal way by the divisions and higher formations of rhe Waffen-SS the SS und Poltzei Gerichte. or SS and Police Courts, esrablished in Germany and the occupied territories

By 1943 rhere were over forty of these SS und

Polizei Gerichte. Outside the Reich they were set up in the capitals and larger towns of conquered countries . Inside Germany th~rc: was one LO every Oberabschnitt, normally bur nor tnvariably at the sear of the Oberabschnirr HQ. They were numbered in Roman figure~ which, unlike the Oberabschnitte, did not follow Wehrkreis n urn bering but corresponded ro the chronological order in which rhey were set up. Each SS and Police C.ourr W;'IS competent to try all cases whtch occurred wirhin irs area. In additron, there were two other special courts, both based in Munich, which de erve mcmion. The first of rhese was the Oberstes S und Polizei Gencht,

distmssal from the SS, rogether wtrh demotion or reduction w the ranks. of any SS officer dismissal from the SS of any SS personnel

57

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

Ajovial Himmlfll broadcasts to the nation on 'Germon Police Doy', 28 January 1939. By this fime he hod omossed awesome legcl powers 05heod of the po~ce, end his disci~ine code e11Wred totol obedience from the SS. During the wor he was to boost 'Than~ God - we hove not hod osingle case of treason from our ronks',

Gcrichte were made comperenr to tr~ non- S personnel and ci' ihan , which wa!> a major development in their powers and a parricularl} efficient weapon in the general securit} system of the SS. Initially, civilians could be tried and condemned by S court!> only in respect of cnmc' committed in SS and police building~ or s1milar estahlishment!>, or crimes committed 10 conjuncnon with other persons '' ho wert~ them elves subject to SS jurisdiction. As the war progressed. however, chis competence to try cases affectin~ the general inren.•st · of the S was extended and the SS und Politei Gerichre eventually came ro be used for ,,11 serious securit} trials, including case'> involvmg saborag.e, Illegal

the Supreme SS and Police Court, pre!>1ded over bv ~-Oherfuhrer Dr Glinrher Reinecke. lt rri~d ca~c!> of particular gravity, for example treason, crimes against the •a:He and espionage. It was a lso the onl~ competent tribunal for the trial of and police general., of the rank of Bngadeflihrer and abo,·e. l he ccond of the o,pecial courts Wd~ rhe unJ Poli1e1 Gcncht l .b.V., or Extraord111ar~ S and Police Court. It was attached din~~tl~ ro the Hauptamt SS Gericht and was a ~ecret tribunal which dealt with delicat{' and difficulr cases which it was desired to keep from the general knowledge even of the S itself. During the war, the various SS und Pohtei

58

THE AllGEMEINE ·SS

prop,t~anda and traffic with an enemy power. Tht great majonty of those tried in this wa~ \\ tre sentenced ro terms in concentration LJ inps or ro death by firing squad. In common with the other formations and ., f ·iliared organisations of the 0:SDAP, rhe <;S haJ ats own code of honour enforced h~ )penal Courts of Honour. or chiedc;hofe. J1w; code had two primary obJectives: firstly w protect the general repute of the agamst the o,candal of internal dissension and qu arrel,, and secondly to pro.,ide it!> mdl\ 1dual members with a formal method of detending their honour with weapons. In Jt 1llng with cd ec; which came mro the first category, rhe Courts of H onour had only hmrted powers, their main funcnon being to n:..:onc•le d1fferences b~ means of arbitration. ' regards cases in the second category, their r u po e wa-. to ee thar 'affairs of honour' were serried according ro due form. In principle, all SS men were entitled to demand ,,uisfacrion with pisrol or sword for affronts to their honour and inregriry. However, the 1\L hied hofe mually inrer\'ened ro prevent m Hter~ procecd10g to an actual duel, p1 rucularly since Hitler had long set his face againc;t rhe practice . .\.1inor and .\laJOr Courts o~ Honour (Kieme und Grosse ch1t'dshofe) .:ou ld be convened by the Reichsfllhrer and b~ commanders of the Oberabschnitte, -\hschnirre and Hauptam ter. The minor ..:ourrs carried o ut preliminary examinations ot disputes and the major courts proceeded to actual adjudications. \ spec1al class of SS legal officers or R1chter e' and conduct proceedings in ..:ourt. The!>e SS Richter were helped, anJ on occasion represented, by assiscanr legal officers or Hilfsrichter. SS protocol officers

and :\CO!> (SS Beurkundungsfiihrer und Unrcrfi.ihrcr) dealt \\Jth the preparation of documents, and C'\ammmg off1cer'i (Unrersuchungsftihrcr) inrerviewed witnesses. All of these officers were suhordin:ned ro th~: H aupramr SS Gericht. Their initial train1ng and subscquenr examinations rook place at the Haupramr and all appoinrmenrs and promotion<. "ere 1 !>ucd from there. As soon as the pccial Jurisdiction of rhe SS and police was legall) established. measures were taken to provide the SS organisation with facilitie~ for carrying our senrenccs imposed by it!> courts. For this purpose punishmenr camps for rhe SS and police (Srraflager der S<; und Polizei ) were set up at Dachau. near ro the concentration camp, and at Karlsfeld. .\loreo,·er, prison camp!> CStraf,·ollzugslager) were instirured at Danzig and Ludwigsfelde. Minor pcnods of derenrion were general!} completed in the relatively comfortable surroundi ngs of the prison quarter of the S barracks ar Munich. Longer terms of imprisonmenr were served in one of the Srrafvollzugslager. Execution of such sentences might at any time be postponed ons, and the period serveJ in the Straflager did nor count towards the legal term of imprisonment still pending. For men di missed from the SS during rhe war, and simultaneously senrenced ro a term of •mpric;onmcnt, anorher possibility was open. They m1ghr choo~e to be banded O\'er to one of the following r"·o spec1al formations of the \Xaffcn-SS, in an arrempr ro redeem them elves while working out part of their sentence: 1. The

Rehabilitation Detachment ( Bewahrun~' Abteilung) at Chlum 111 Bohemia. After a penod of initial training

S9

HIMMLER ' S BLACK OROER

':>Ible fO .1rhng SS members and thetr famrlrt:s. l he:\\ hole relarion'>htp her ween the and mo~t mt:dH...rl men came w bt' ~oured during the \\~H. however, when J limmler was per'>uaJed b~ hrs hard-pressed Waften-SS bartldteld surgeom and cerrain mtlttJr' scienmt., to Jllow liYe rec;earch to rake pla~o.c among cundemned inmate'> of (:Oncentratton ~amps . Those inmar~s who agre(:d to ral..c p.ut tn porentially fatal e\.pertmcnts, :md who survived rhem. would h.n·e their c.lcn1h sentence-. c.ommured to life tmprisonmcnt. alhetr •ltfe' tn :l concen tration camp atrcr 1942 probably meanr a few month~ ar lllO'it. 'I ht: I ufrwafte doctor '>•gmund Rascher ''a-. one ot thoo.e ·researcher<.' "r1h the most '\tntstcr reputation. He c.Hried our meamngless medical experiments at Dad1JU on the effecrc; of decompn:'>'>IOn on pri!>Oncrs, and rhcrcatrer turned hi' attention ro rhe problems of sun·H·al 111 ~.old condmom. chen survival in extreme heat. Ras<.:her \\J~ <:untinually ·suckin~ up' ro Himml er. The following extracts from letters give .111 tndicatiun oi the spirit of these nmes:

ther~.

>

THE All GfME I NE · SS

the mcn were sent w unit" emplm eJ J<; fighnng troops 10 rhe front fmc. The Labour Dera~hmcnt (Arheiro; .\hreilung) b.\,ed .H Debica 1n Pol.lnd. \lembers of that llllll did nor n(lrmall~ ht!ar arms blll \\cr~.· cn1plo)ed on hca\y a nd dnngcrlHI~ '' ork Jt the front, ~ncludmg hnd!!.e repair and nllnefield dearance.

For men dtsmts cd frum rhc: poltce there was w rhe ',, -PoltceDivision, officially entitled rhc ondereinheir der SS-Polizei Di\.1 ton bur colloqu•all~ known as the '\erlorenc Haufen' or VH, rhe lmr Souls'. ~I embers of the!>e pecial units did nor rank as ~S or police men and dtd not wearS or police tnsi~nta on rheir unifCJrm.,. While rhe S punished irs wrongdoer!>, those \\hu l,.()llfurmed to the tdeal~ ot the Black Corps were \'err well cnrt!d tor. The Retchsara \ und Pol.7et, or Chief and Police \ltedical Offi~er, SS-Obergruppenftihrer Prnf. Dr Ernsr-Robcr1 Grawitz. was rc.;ponsible for rhe general .. upervision of all the medical servu.:c'> of the ' and police, tor medical research and rr:llntn!!., and for rhe control and disrributmn of medical -.upphes and equtpmenr. I lc w.1s .1~~isred br rwo ... enior officials, rhe Chief Medical Quarrcrrna!>rer. SS-Gruppcnfiihrer Dr Carl Hlumenreuter. and the Chief ll ygiene Officer, SS-Oherfuhrer Prof. Dr joachtm \1r ugowsky. Gra\\ nz wa al!>o Business Pre~idenr of thl· t.erman Red Crm,., and used that posirion ro emme th:lt rhe SS kept up to tlarc wrth all thl' latest tnrernarional rncdr~al dcvclupment,, ~loreo\Cr, Himmler purposcl)' gave;• senior S rank ro many German t.locmrs ol renm' n, tndudtng Karl Gebhardt, head of rhe famous Hohenl}chcn Orrhopacdi~o. Clmt~o., and I t:nn:udo Conti, the Retch :\ltntsrcr of llcJith. In thi-; \\'3\', the s~ WJS kept at the forefront of medrcal technology, and rhe a similar formation :mached

xpn:r:1riorh, rhe Ru.,')ian in questton three experiments whtch \\ ould h.l\e been fat;ll for am other per..,on. In r..-.o rd.ln(t: "nh rhe Rer~.hsfuhrer\ order rh.u ,til test l>U btec.;b "ho .uc ~cnrcnced ro lk .uh but o;un 1\ c a Jangeri)U'> c'\perimenr .. houiJ he pardoned, I beg to rake the ' l' rropriarc steps. I regret thJr the: wrong .ls.,umprion on our parr has gtven rise ro ~ xrr;l corrc.,ponJencc work. With many rh.mk' ami I led Htrler! RA CJ U:R. ,.~ n 1\ cJ

.•rmp Comnt.md.mt Wt•tss. Dc1dJau. lu the Rt'l(hsfirhrer-SS, 2n October /942 I hghly eq~:emcd Rcichsfuhrcr! Will vou pka c dartf) the tollowmg case as soon .1!> possible. In rour lerrer ot I H A~ril 1942, it " ordered char 1t prtl>om·n in Dal.:'hau

._ ,,nJcmned to death live through •xpc:rimcnc'> whi..:h have endangered thetr I \C), they should be pardoned ro lrfe-long 1.. ,n .. enrr::ttiun c.tmp unpri)onmcnr. I especrfull} a~k d this order appliec; ro r.,lcs and Ru Stan<., .t'i well .1<; to non-'-11:1\ .... I lui I !irler! \'<'1:1 ~. \ .\ · Oberst u rmbann fit h rer Brdlldt, f<.crchs(iilmm~- \S. to W'etss, 11 Octoher f 'J-12 \\ ctss. PleJse inform SS-Untcr!.turmfuhrer Dr Rascher th.H the msrrucnon gi' en some ttme ago by rhc Reichsfi.ihrer-S concerning the pardoning of experimental <;uhjc~ts does nor arplv ru Poles and Ru.;-.ian ... I lei! Hrder! BR \ '\JDT.

Dr RJscher to Cump Co mm11ndant Wt•tss. /)Jchau, 10 October f'N1 fh~: Rus.,ian pn~oner ot w::tr Chonitsch, born 24 May 1920, W:l'\ tran:.ferred ro me on 28 ~cptemher tor expcnmenral purpmes. Choniro,;ch ,., a Russtan "ho wd" ro he e\.ecutt:d. As the Reteh fuhrer- ) had ordered me to use pt·r!>ons sentenced ro death for dnnf!emuc; experiments, I wanted to conduct an experiment on chis Rus<>Hln whtch I '"as absolute)) '>Ure he would nor survl\·e. I reporred at the rtme rhar ~<>U could he a\'iured char rhc Ru~si.111 \\ ould ~o.errainlr nor sunr\C the expenment and would be dead by che nmc of his '>Cheduled t!xecution date. (.ontr.:try ro .dl

60

lr can be as umcd, theretore, rh;ll rhc

nfonunare Clwnirs~h \\,1'- duly killed . I \Cntually. rh~ s~ cnncluded rhar Rascher w1" nmhtng more: than a dangerous charlar.tn ~' .1d11tg front-IJnt• ernce, and senrenc.:ed him ro death in ,\pril 194). I lowever, nor .11l mcdtc;ll c;rudte~ earned o ur at the .:amps wert' of ~u~h ,\ fantastic n,lturc. One of rhc benefits otht!r~ provided l

61

'""" the de\ clopnwn1 of haemo~tattc and w,tgulant product~ whtch did mu~h ru help wounded men in rhc \X'e hrmacht Jurm~ thc ccond World \'\ar and. •nd~ed, IIIJIIred ')Oidter~ of all natron' thereafter. :-\c\Wtheless. en n rhe ordtn.1ry Jouor!> of rhe Allgemeine<;~. whose onlr concern was the welfare of thc.:tr men and who hnJ nothing whnt'><>c:vc:r ro do with these matter.,, evenrualh ~arne to be tarred "tth the same bru h as Rase her and ht., accomplice-; in rhe minds of the posm:ar pubiJc. Medicine apart. the ma1n welfare activities ot rhe Allgememe-S!> were administered by the RJ e- und Sret.llungshaupramt and financed from the pri\ ate funds nf the S. The concept ot rhe S a .. 'nne btg f.tmd~' resulted tn considerable care being dc,·otcd ro the provi!>ion of financial help tur tho,e mcrnbcr!. in need of ir. Even in the early dayo; of the orgdntsauon, hetore che profits of office and establisht'd position pur rhe ftn.lnce~ of the ~ on a .. ound footing, a ~pect.tl Economic Assistance Sectton \\a~ st:r up under rhe ausptce., of Hu11ml er's heJdquarrers to provide hdp ro SS men who had ~uffered material to.. -. during rhe struggle lor power. In NO\·emher l 935, the Rctlhsfuhrer pur the mJtter on .t more businesslike ba ... ts b~ tn.,mut~ng a sa\ mgs tund ro '"hich all tururc S recruits in employmt·nr and all serving full-rime officers and men were w contribute according ro rhetr me:1ns. In thts w;1y, the SS wa~ able to build from tt O\\ n rc.:~ources rhc nece:.)arv tlllJil~l.ll resen·e from whkh assistance could be given or loans made to tts memberc;. All commander., of Oberabschnirre, Ab~chnirre, Standarten the pnmnry local authority ro whic.h

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER

IHE AllGEMEINf·SS

conccrm:J, ..,o train1ng wa!> a continual and ongoing process. fht.: Hauptamt was charged with rhe on·rall responsibility fur <; physical trainin(t. In Augu ... r 1942, a decree of the Reichsfi.ihrerSS enlarged and consolidated that function as folio''!.:

<;S men and thetr relatives could appeal. Questions oursaJc lw; competence were

rdcrred to the ippenpflegestelle (F.1mily \X'clfare Office) of the Obcrab chn1tt :~nd, If required, could be passed on up ~ ct a~a1n to rhe Sippenamt, or 1-amily Office, of the Rnsse- und Siedlungshauptamt for a decision. Where an SS man died ur was killed on active service and left a widow and children, the Oberabschnitt appointed a suitable man as Berater, or family adviser. He gave a much pt:r onal advice and help as was po~sible . assumed responsibilirr for the ~ducarion of the child ren and, ''hen necessary, called in the assistance of rhc "elfare official. In addi tion ro the private S welfare system, members of the Allgeme1ne- S -;erving in the Wehrmacht also enjoyed all rhe ad,•antages of rhc rarutory welfare S)'Stem established for the armed forces. Moreover, the !:> Hauptamt controlled a number of rest home for SS and police servicemen and provided mobil1o,ed SS units '' ith light entertainments such as film , concerr parnes, rad1o sets, books and magatines. ince it had long been recognised that the prevention of illnec;~ was as imporranc as curing it, sport and physical firnc!.!. were gn en great emphaSI!. in rhe da} -to-day training programmes of the Allgemeine-$ , and there were many local SS sports clubs. Members were chg1ble ro win nor only the SA M ilirary Spom Badge and the German \mona! Sports Badge, which rhey trove for du ring their term as S -Anwarter, hur also the Achie,·ement and Champiomh1p Badge of the ;-.;ational ociali t Physical Trammg l.e.1gue. the Hca\ y Athletics Badge, the German Motor Sports Badge, ski competition badges, and the variou national eq uec;rrian awards. ~1any of these decorations had to be competed for annually, i.e. holders had to pa the: 'iet qualification rests at least once every rear in order to retain the right to wear the badges

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

In

The organisation and control of all phys1cal training (or the whole SS, including routine training. competitl\ e events and military sports, wa s the n:sponc;ibiliry of the S Hauptamt. The Chief of the SS Hauptamt, Obcrgruppenfiihrcr Berger, wao; appointed In spector of SS Ph pical Tramtng and D~.:put}- Leader of the Sport Clubs (lnspekteur fiir d1c Lcibe!>erziehung der SS und srell' crrrctender Fuhrer der SS Sporrsgemeinschaften c. V. ). Amt V of the S Haupramt was made the competent department for the phrsical training of the whole SS, with the wle of Amt fiir Lcibesi.ibungen. The former office of the Inspector and Cenrral Directorate of SS Sports Clubs wa!> incorporated into Amt V. The Chief of Amt V was appointed Deputy Inspector of SS Physical Training. The SS Central chool of Physical ·1raming in Prague, which taught S !>pores instructors, was directly subordinated to the Chief of rhe Hauptamr. ~1arch I 943 ,

a slight extension of rhe of the SS H auptamt in this respect rook pl.1ce. By an agreement between the Rcichsfuhrer-SS and rhe German Life Saving Society ( Dcut'lche Lebcnstettungs-gemeinschaft c. V.. or DLRG J, the SS and pol1ce formed a ~pecial section of the Society under the title ot 'Landesverband SS und Polizci der DLRG ', with offices at 18 Bulowsrrassc, function~

62

Oisobled serticemen compenng oolhe gcmes field du!IIQ lheil rorwolescenc:e, 28 Morch 194 2 The moo oo the nghr wm SS spons kit.

tkrlln. The Chud of the S Hauptamt or hi deput) acted as rcpre:.c:ntati\ c of the SS and pol tce at the central headquarters of the 'lc~~.:iety. The function of the Landesverband "a~ ro promote lifesa\'ing and nrtificial rcsp1rarion techniques and, thereafter. hold l \aminarion and gram reb·am proficiency . . errificares. It rook in all formation of the \llgemeine-SS, Waffen-. S, SO, ..,ccurity pulice and uniformed police, and in rruction "'"' g1ven in conjunction wi th physical rrai ning. The Re1chssporrfiihrer, or Narion;ll Sports L~.:ader, wa<; an SA-Obergruppenfuhrcr, llans 'on Tschammer und Osten, and consequently the A rended to organise most of the p.tra military competitive spores event~ during tht· Third Reich. Ar rhe.;e domestiC

competitions, howe,·er, the SS and pol1ce reams always figured prommenrly and in' .lnilbl) dominated the ·cene. In February 1937, for example, the S won rhe Fuhrer's Prize at the NSDAP ki Championships at Ronach -Egern, and Himrnler and von Tschammer und O!.ten were present to award 1t. Internationally. too, SS men made their mark. Hermann Fegelem led German> ·s equestrian squad 111 rhc 1936 Olympics, and rhe SS motorcycle team of Zimmermann, :"\lundhenke, Patina and Knees, all wearing green lc.•athers emblazoned with the SS runes, won the Six Day Tnal at Donningron in Engl.1nd in Ju l~ 1938. Later the same year, an SO re.1m headed b~ Hcydrich htmselt and com!HI!>tng von Fricdenfeldt, Hainkc, Lieb cher and Loserr. all graduates oi the S-

63

HIMMlER S BlACK ORO!:R

h:cht chute, or

5~

contra!>tir)g particularly .,harply with the.: corrupt ch\ ~. had enjoyed widespread support tn Gcrnuny since the m1d-nmeccenrh centuq. Thcorie' \\ere regularl~ propounded that rronger peoples haJ a n:ltural right rn dominate or(!\ en exterminate weaker nation~ in the general struggle for su r vival, and 'artou.., \'Crsions of the me sage. often :.upporred hy the claim., ot ~c.1enrifk research, appeared in German, British and other European JOurnals over the )Cars. One of the carl} nventierh-ccnrury proponents of racial ideology was Alfred Rosenberg, born the son of an Estonian shoemaker in 1893. Rosenberg studied in Ruc;s1a, and received a degree in architecture from rhe Universit~ of Moscow. Having fled to Germany Jfter rhc Russian Revolution, he serded in Mun1ch and joined the Thule Society, whose members specialised in .tnriBobh~:' ik and anri-Sem1ric philosophy. In 1910 he enroiJed in rhe ~ an parrr "1th member h1p number 1 , and immediate!) won Hitler's attention '' 1th the publication ot the tirst of h•s many books anacking ludaism. In 1923, Rosenberg was nominated by the f· uhrer as editor of rhe ;-.;soAP ne'' paper, the Volkrscber Beubachta. "hich thereafter vigorou)l~· denounced commun1.,r~. Jews, Freemasons and Christians. Rosenb<.·rg ultimatel~ proposed a new religion whu:h would counr(!r the weak doctrine of Chmnan love wirh a strong ideal of racial supcriorit). In 19 30 he produced his masterpiece, The Aiwh of the Twentreth Centur~• . a rna <;ive tome which concluded that any given culture would always deca> ''hen humamt.lfi,IJl ideab obstructed the right of the dominant ra~:c ro rule those whom ir h;1d subjugated. The latter were degmded m the book to the le-..el of Untermenc;~hen, or sub-human . Accordmg ro Rosenberg, the mixture of blnoJ. and rhe sinking of the racial stand.ucl (onungcnt upon it, wa:. rhe pnmarr cau'>c for

I c:nctng St:hool, at Bl:rnau,

~merged vicroriou~

irom rhe l nrcrnauonal 'iabre Compennon 10 Berlm. Finallv, in April 1940, Ital}' \ f,,mouc; Gran Prem10 dt Brescia moror racing nent \\as won by the S driH·r von ~1 anstein 1n ,, B~IW 328 coupe. 1 ot surprisingly, SS phys1~al training csrablishml'nts :mracred ourstand ing rnlent, and at one time eight out of the tweh·c coaches at the junkerschule at Bad T olz were n.monal (ham pions in rhe1r c\ ~nrc;. Conditions of o;ernce in the Allgemcine-SS were therefore \err good in terms of the o;ociery in which rhe organisation ~rew and developed. Members' dunes were not onerous, at lea'>t prior to the \\ar, and there were excellent promotion prospect . fmc med1cal and wclf.ue facilities, and the very best sparring opportunities. Moreover, the SS man was placed above the law. He and h1s family were accorded special status, as rhe physical and racial elite of the new Germany.

THE RACIAl ELITE In .Janu:H) l935, Himmler addressed an audience of senior Wehrmachr offic{'r on his vi.,1on of the Third Reich. ' I am,' he said. ' a convinced supporter of the 1dea that the only thing which reall) matrcrs in the world IS good blood. H1 rory reaches U!> that only good blood, in particular the blood engaged in milit:lry a(tiviry and, above all, Nordic blood, is rhe l~ading creative element in every rare. I ha,•e alway approached m~ ta~k from rhis angle, and will continue to do su. • It is perhap surpri ing, given the generally nonNazi nature of rhe audience, rhat c;uch a o;r:.uemenr was accepted ar face value, as a \ Jlid and rcali<.tic opinion to expound . lloweHr, 1t is 1mponanr to appreciate that thi) Naz1 form of ractsm was norhmg new in German}. The notion that the Germanic master race or Herrenvolk had )omehow been endowed with an inherent supc.:rioriry,

64

THE AllGEME itiE ·SS

thL" Jc:nml' of .lll lulrures. Although over 20 n tl l10n copies of Tin• Myth oftiJe TrL'entu:th \ 11tury were e\entuall) 'oiJ. fe\\ pcoplt: l •uld he found who acwally had the stamina t• \\ ade through It from cover to cO\·er. Hider h m,eff haJ ro adm1t to 'gi\ ing up • half .,., ay through rhe book. One who did read .md adm1re Rosenberg's t1!4'u rie~. howe' er. was R~~: hard Walther Da m:, a fir'it \X'orld War artillery offu:er who curncd ro agriculture after 1918 .1nd \\hO!>(! ...on:.um1ng enrhu 1asm was the peas.lntry. In 1929 he wrote,\ bC)ok entitled Bluud and Sod 1he Peasantry as the Life So11rce o( the i\:11rdic Race, \\ hich called for dO energetic programme of selecnve breedin{t tO emurc the lll"case of ~ordic peasant stock and rhctr dcomJOatwn of the jews and Slav~ . In Darre's \ ll'\\ , blood a lone determined h1sror~, ethics, Is" and economics, and rhe blood of the l.uman farmer wac; related to the ~round he worked . The .ugumcnr ran like thi.,, The f:~r mc r who roiled the land would be buned 11 t he same !>mi. therefore the farmer\ daily htl.'ad was, 111 fact. the blood of his turefarhers, which fertilised rhe earth . ( ,t>rman blood would be passed on from gL·neration to gcnr:-rarion b~· mean) of rhe !.OJI. l fimmler lo'\ed Darre's book, bcfr1endl·d rts :tuthor, and rook h1m into the to pur ue h1, research with official sanction and l1 n.mcial backing. At Hiders reque!.t, Darre l.tter prepared an agricultural policy for the '\ SOA P \\ hich f.n oured Aryan farmers and rvesrablished rhe medie,·al hereditary '-)'~tern '' \\ h~eh no farml.lnd could e\ er be old or 1111>ngaged. I Iea.,ily influenced by Darn\ llimmler nnw began to U!.C agricultural metaphors ro JU ~tify his new · recruitment policy of racial , tJcction. In 19 31 he wrote: ·wl' -ue !Jkc a r bnr-breeding :.peliallst who, when he wanrs to breed a pure nc.,., !>train, iirsr goe o"er rhe tll:ld to cull the unwanted plants. \X'e, roo, , hall hegm by weeding om people who arc

65

~~ ~ilbtrmoppt W11lri~e 306JWI81\6oft """ L 'fJ.uT4ttnan cueolltn~ ~ e.c foil l>fm ~ l>« 1lugm fi19tm. o.xs brtfee nllrllc~ ~hit, b llltft <&tft~ grfonT'Il unb gq~r4ga ~- Om! goJI.]tll bnuf~ ~It c4\tn If\ unb n£nnru.11 ba ben! bftrt• ~ 'Ooa cmmm~. f¢11~ flu. nur M' b.lb bf~ l>olt bnbill~

l)tumdl ifl

')I f4nga man Ntf( CIW~ .mf'K~ ~o bdmmta fommm frc annn bee. UN 1rf1rm fit • m.rr in ba lltutism 3d! r.n oDrn ~n tntfme ~~. fonbft'n finbm fir ~. 111m11 lllfl un. blc ?alba- btt 'Ubnm un(aft ~1ft» olla ~mn1 WCI\ti}GltO&rism. m~ bit 2Ltbcilcn row~. \'1011

m6d}ct, b4j m¥~ oldt ~

111ngr -

bwtn ~ 'IX!ilnf~·

mtrlfctm -

~

lit 311 ~ bdommm, ba.;aa lxittagm, bot nlligc

~~~~~~w~~~m

ullb banut bet srojt ~ng, ~ ~ Rll1 JU tr• ~ICTl ~ Jll md'ftn.

lnllodu
oority of lhe SS.

nor ~ultahle S material'. Applicants for the

SS were !lOon being categorised according to rhc1r racial characrenstics, from 1-a-7\111 1 (racially ,·ery suitJble) to IV-3-c (rac1al reject ). Himmler's rapidly increa ing obse.,c;ion wirh racial purity began to mott\atc more and more of hi c;ch~:me dunng rhe 1930s. At h1s behe\t, the kept a genealog1cal regic;rer of it!. members. and the Reichc;fi.1hrer often pored over It like a horsebreeder examining a stud book. He ordered elaborate investigations inro his own ance'ltry and rhar of his wife, to gather irrefutable evidence of their pure German lineage, and he dre.lmed of a new feudal Europe, cleared of Unterm~nschen, in which model farms would be operated by a racinl elite. The Spt·arhcnd

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER Je\\ s of Res ch cstl7enshlp, the \'Ote and eltgihillt~ for appointmenr ro stat~ offices. ~Lunagc or e'\tra-manral relations bcrween j<:\\.<, .tnd German' was forbidden, and .Jewi!>h

bu-.messe do,ed down. By 1938, the :-\azi were r.tic;mg an mtt.·rnational loan to finance rhe cmtgr.mon of all German Jews and rhetr resettlcmcnr on some of Germany's former colontc!> O\crse.1s. When war broke out, howe\er, J ews hegan to be mo,·cd snsread ro ghccros 1n occupied Poland, which '"'as a cheaper ami more expedient alternative. This racial fanattet!>ll1 reached ItS ultimate and inf.tmous conclusion at rhc end of 194 1, when 1r became clear chat an easy 'ictor} would not be won and th.tt the Second World War might drag on for years. The comple'< prewar plam for the peaceful removal of Jew!. and Sla'·" from Reich territory were now shelved. Ful atzgruppen in the east had been C'i:ecunng Jews and suspected partisans on an .ld hoc basb !>ince rhe m\·aswn of Russia, but the JCtucll proces of killing was random and had ro be accelerated. On 10 January 19-rt Heydrich convened a meeting of repre enratl\ es of the ,·anous government m1nisrric at rhe pleasant Berlin suburb of \Vannsee, and they decided upon a much s1mplcr and irrevocable 'Final Solution· to rhe problem. All the jewl> and lavs of Europe and western Ru.,s1a were w be rounded up and transported to specified locattons to be worked to death, then nemared. Those who \\ere unfit for work would be killed on arnval by gas!>mg. "lo that end, large Vernichtungslager, or extermination camps. were establi~hcd at Auschwitz, Bel1ec. Chclmno, :\lajdanek. obibor and Treblinka, all in Poland, and mmor ones were set up at Kaunas, I wow, ~ltnsk. Riga and Vilna. 1 a rurally, all \\ere placed under the control of the Retch's racial warriors, rhe SS. By rhe end of 194 3, most of the death camps had .:omplered rhe1r horrific work and had been closed down and demolished. The gas

Wilrich prinl depicting the ideol ss soldief.

ot rhat elne was tO be rhe SS, an 'Orden nordischcr Rao;se·, or Order of Nordic ~len, of the purest selection, acting as guardians ot rhe German people. The 5$ would become a ' Blutgemeinschaft', a blood communtty. To paraphrase H immlcr, they would 'march onward into a di ram furure, imbued with the hope and faith uor only that the~ might pur up a better fight than their forefathers bur that rhey might themselves be the forefathers of generations co come, generations whtch would be neces c~r~· for rhe erern.1l life of the Teuromc German nation'. As late as 19-13, when S manpower shortages were de perare, rhc di 'overy of even mmor racial blemishes ('borderline rype - e1ghreenrh-cenrurr Jewi!>h ancestor') n:-.ulred in a swift removal of 5 officers from their po irions. As foretold in Mem Kampf, Hsder's i'umberg Laws of 1935 deprived German~\

66

~,h

mbers ar \uc;chwir:r and ~tajdanek, vever, conrinued almost until the arrival of ':>m iet army. Those still alive in the slave our barracks ar Auschwitz and ~!ajdanek :l the Russians approached were forcemnr hed westwards. ro Dachau and Belsen, \\here tens of thousands djcd of starvation. In 1°46, the Ni.irnberg indicrmenr concluded rha rhe e camps witnessed the death'- of 5, -oo,OOO Jews, Slavs and gypsies between 1942 and 1945, in the Nazj drive cowards the 'ra... 1.1l purification of Europe'. -'.t Au~chwitz, the main extermination ~.tm p complex, which compri ed twenty In 'our camp and four massive gas chamber!., r.t-.1<1 1 e'. :\11 prisoners who ' ue 10 any Wa} malformed were t llllcdiarelr butchered upon their arri\al at u .. chwitz so that Mengele and hi!> ream uld examine the bodies in a special >Section "a rd. No twin , dwarves or hunchback!> e!>caped his scalpel. H e even ~ wed norma I twins roger her ro ere ate

artificial Siamese rwms, and 1njecred the brO\\ n C) es of living patients in an effort to turn rhem blue. I hese racial experiments cau ed unrold agonies and had lirrJe or no practical benefits, unlike some of the purely medical experiment!> earned out 1n other camps. Modern apologists for the \Vaffen-SS have conststcntlr put forward the argument that the horrors -.vhich rook place in concentration and extermina t ion camps during rhe war must have been unknown ro ordinary SS soldiers fighting at the battlefron t , on the ba is that the camps had nothing at all to do with the Waffen-55. However, rhe fact is rhar from April l94 1 the camps were classified by H immler as an integral part of the Waffen·S system. From that time on, during the worst atrocities, camp officers and guards wore Waffenuniforms With distinctive brown ptping and carried Waffen-55 paybooks. The permanent camp adminisrrati\•e staffs of older Torenkopf NCOs were reinforced by ubsrantial numbers of wounded and recuperating personnel transferred in on a remporarr rota basis from various battlefield SS unit!>, of whjch the Torenkopf-Division was onlr one. For example, Feldgendarmerie clements or the Leib tandarte and men from rhe 13th SS-Divi ion were srationed at Buchenwald and Gross-Rosen camps in 1943, wh ile 'Wiking' Division troops found themselves in the unfortunate posit ion of manning Bel en when it was Jjberated by the Briti h. Kul Gebhardt, !>Upervisor of medical and racial experiments at the camps, had formerly been a front-line surgeon with SSDivtsion 'Das Reich', and Richard GILicks, rhe man tn daily charge of the whole concentration camp svstem, was a \Vaffengeneral as well as betng In pekteur der Konzenrrariono;lager. The Waffen-S mtn who rranstenrly staffed the camps rook their directions from the permanent cadre of Torenkopf\·crb:indt' veterans, and were

~

67

THE AllGEMEINE -55

HIMMLER'5 BlACK ORDER

An SS medi

~ ~tsted

Se
68

by foreign auxiliaries, selected Prtsoner , and even a few factory guards, SA t nd Wehrmacht personnel in J 944-5. So whtle the WVHA administered the camps and t he RSHA decided who was t o be t'H.arcerated in them, members of the Waffen<;, ~ effecttvely ran them and were cerrainl)' not ~ 'empt from practising the Final Solution at r,lSs-roots le,•el. Ir is still a common rmsconception that 'the black-uniformed \llgememe-SS staffed the concentratiOn c.unp-.·. Lndcr llimmler, the SS came to regard lt'ielf not mcrelr as a temporaq political l 'iSociation but as a 'Sippe', i.e. a tnbe or dan. The same racial qualities looked for tn

the S man were therefore also required of his wife. The Engagement and Marriage Order of the SS, one of the oldest fundamental laws of the organisation, was issued by Himmler on 3 1 December J 931, and read as follows:

1. The SS 1 an association of German men, defined according to their ordic blood and specially selected. 2. In conformiry with the ational Socialist conception of the world, and recognising that the future of our people is founded on selecnon and the preservation of good German blood, free from all taint of hereditary di ease, I now require all member of the SS to obta in the

69

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

tukl. place. More than a few members found rhl marriage regulations impossible to liv~ \\ rh . and in 193 7 alone 300 men were

Young German girls from a Lebensbom horne, their heods garlanded with flowefs in pogon style, giVe the Nazi solute at Nomberg 1n 1938

The main objects looked for in adjudging rhe marriage applications of SS men were, firstly, racial purity a nd, secondly, physical compatibiliry between the two partners likely to result in a fertile union. Thus an application ro marry an elderly woman, or a woman markedly bigger or smaller rhan the intended husband, was likely to be rejected. The prospective bride and her family had ro prove their Aryan ancestry back ro the mideighteenth century, uncontaminated by the presence of J ewish or Slavonic ancestors. She further had to demonst rate that she was free from all mental and physical disease and had to submit to an exhaustive medic~! examination, including fertility resting, by SS doctors. Only after a couple had successfully completed all these tests could an SS marriage

authorisation of the Reichsfi.ihrer- S before marriage. 3. Consent to marry will be given solely on rhe grounds of racial or physical considerations, and with a view to congenital health. 4 . Any SS man who marries without seeking the prior authorisation of the Reichsfiihrer-SS, or who marries in spire of being refused such authorisation, will be dismissed from the SS. H. HL\1MLER. To administer the racial and marriage procedures, H immler created rhe SS Race and Settlement Office on the same day the order was issued, and placed it under Darre, his racial guru.

70

Wit!n ) were in the neighbourhood of main SS headquarters, barracks or schools. In addition, three colonies specifically for married officers of the Allgemeine·SS were established at Bad Frankenhausen. Jiittrbog and Klagenfurt . It is interesting to note thar the marriage rules applied nor only to male members of the SS but also ro female employees and auxiliaries. In the case of the latter, if they were already married when t hey applied for appointment with the SS, they were obliged ro produce on behalf of their husbands records and genealogical charts going back ro the grandparents, for examination by RuSH A. The SS demanded that its racial elite should breed quickly and multiply, to compensate for the catastrophic losses of manpower suffered between 1914 and 1918 . In 193 1, HimmJer announced that it was the patriotic mission of every SS couple to produce at leasr four children, and where that was nor possible the SS pair were expected ro adopt racially suitable orphans and bring them up on National Socialist lines. To show the interest the SS had in irs children. the organisation created a range of official gifts for them. At the birrh of their first child, Himmler sent each set of SS parents a ribbon and bib of blue silk, symbolising the unity of birth, marriage, life and death, a nd a silver beaker and spoon representing eternal nourishment. During the subsequent pagan naming ceremony, which replaced the traditional christening in SS circles, the child would be wrapped in a shawl of undyed wool embroidered with oak leaves, runes and swastikas, while born parents placed their hands on the baby's head and pronounced namt: such a Karl or Siegfried, Gudrun or H elga, and, of course, Adolf or Heinrich. T he Reichsfiihrer served as nominal godfather to all SS children born each year on the anniversary of his birth, 7 Ocrober, and on

c~p c:llt: d from the SS for marrying without apJ'roval. ( hristian weddings were replaced in the .AII~cmcine-SS by pseudo-pagan rites presided tlH r by the bridegroom's commander. \Llrriages no longer rook place in churches, hut in the open air under lime trees or in SS butldings decorated with life runes, ~un flowers and fir twigs. An eternal flame burned in an urn in front of which the couple ... wore oaths of loyalty, exchanged rings and ,e.. ctvcd the official SS gift of bread and salt, ,~ mbols of the earth's fruitfulness and purity. ,\ rrcsentation copy of Mei11 Kampf was rhcn tJk~ n from a heavy oak casket carved with tunes, and handed over ro rhe groom. Finally, .1 the couple departed from the ceremony, rhe\ invariably passed rhrough a sombre .ucade of saluting SS brethren. During the war, the position as regards \llgemeine-SS men serving in the Wehrmacht hccame fairly unclear, for a decree published m \rmy Orders on 27 Ocrober 1943 stared rhar the decision on the marriage of such p r'ons to foreigners rested with the Rc- 1ch~fiihrer-SS. Requests for permission were to be forwarded through official service channels to rhe competent High Command \\ l11ch would then transmit rhe request to RuSHA for a final decision. The implication, .n least, of this decree was that marriage hetween SS men in the Wehrmachr and temales who were Reich German nationals no longer required the authorisation of the Rcu.:hsfi.ihrer-SS. rhe maintained colonies for the 'onvenience of irs married personnel. Eight of these existed in I 944. Four (Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and Oranienburg) were loc.:atcd ar the Jarge SS settlemcnrs which grew up around or near concentration camps, and the remainder (Berlin . Graz, Radolfzell and

ss

71

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER

pn•ltfic of ''hom rccei,·ed ~1orher' ' C ro-.'>l''> l.lm.l o ther ~pec1al recogninonc;. An) babies Jppearing \\tth mental or physical handicapc; \\l·re c;morhered at birth and, so far as the mother'> were t..:onccrned, were <.atd to be ·,ri ll -born'. pite the contemporary ... ai.:Kious rumours abour brothels and · ~ ... rud farm-,', onl> a small percentage of .:h1ldren Jppearmg from rhe Societ) '<; home-. 111 pc.:.tcetune were illegitimate. The c-.rabhshment of the Lebensborn home' was a genuine attempt by Himmler to pro' ide free but h1gh-quahry maternity care for the poorer ~s bmdte'>. f he outbrcaJ... of war in 1939 'ltimulnrcd the Re1chsflihrer tO remind all members of r1e SS that it w.t., now their most urgent dut} t 1 bec.:ome bthers. On 28 ;--.:o,emher, he l'> ... ucd the following instruction:

1rnponancc.

H.

Lebensborn was direc.:tly c;ubordinated to randarrenfuhrer ~tn ollmann of the Hauptamt Perc;onhcher rab RfSS. Irs stared objecri,-cs were:

1. 2.

to assist in sustaining large raciall) valuable families ro look after pregnant women of good race

3. to care for the ~hddren of raCJall~ suitable unions .\laterniry home were quickly set up Jt Hohehorst, Klo.,rcrhe1de, Polzin, Steinhoring and Wienerwald, and Himmler rook an intense per~on.tl interest in rhcm. Every derail fascinated him. from rhe shape~ of rhe noses of ne•Niy born infamc; to the ,·olume of milk produced by nurSIOJ! mother , the mosr

72

lll~il'vtLER

It was the .,,1me ~.:om.crn ro ensure the future of rhe rnce which \\aS behmd Himmler's ~ubsequenr ·Specie~! Order" of 15 August, 1942. lr md1cared rhar ·when an S familr had only one ~on left, and he was of military age, he would be withdrawn from rhe barrlefield and ent home for anything up to a year, or at least long enough to find a mare and make her pregnant, so as to 'preserve ht ltncagc'. Therefore, no justificati on could ex1sr for SS men to fall short of their biologital dut). In fact, failure to carrr it our hampered their careers. B) v1rrue of a Himmler memorandum is ued 111 Februar~ 1944, all recommendations for the promotion of marned S officers had henceforth to include derails of their dare of marriage, age of wife, number of children and dare of birth of the lasr child. Where the la~t child was born more rhan rwo years previously, and where the wife was not over fortr years of age, an explanation had to be added as ro why no mo re children had been concei' ed. If there was no sufftcienr explanation, the application for promotion would be rejected. In a s1mibr vein. a forrrfour-year-old bachelor, S~-1 lauprsrurmfUhrer Franz Schwan•, w.l!> threatened in 1943 that if he had nor married within the year, he would be dismis~cd from rhe SS! The Lebensborn ot..:iety continued ro operate unril the end of the war, and ne'" marernit) home!> were opened up in O!tlo, chwarzwald, chloss Wegimonr in Belgium, and Taunus. uirahle fore1gn children, usually war orphans and even infants who had been corn from their Poli sh, Czech or Ru s ian families by V0..\11 officials because they were recognised a~ being of ~ordic descent, were accepted into Lcbensborn homes ro be

Order to the S .wd Police. £, ery war in' oh es a shcddmg of the

the btrth of a fourth child he senr the happy parent~ a lener of congratulation and a LebenslelH:hrer, a s1lver candlcsuck engra,ed with rhe words, ·You are a link in the eternal rac1al ch::~in'. Howrver, rhe S birthrate during the 1930s remained average for rhe country a3 J whole. Wages were low, and children were expenc;ive. On l3 ~eprember 1936, in a funher de~per.He attempt to encourage S familie~ to ha' e more offspnng. rhe Reichsfuhrer eo,mhltshed a registered '\OCICt) known as Lcbenshorn. or rhe Fountatn of Life. Senior full-rime S officer~ were expected ro make financial conrributions so rhat the ~ociery could provide maternity homes to which both married and unmarned mothers of SS ch1ldren could be admitted free of charge. Although affiliated to RuSilA,

disdain and non-

future belong~ to us!

oc ..

The furure SS: new pu~ls on pcrode at the Potsdam NPEA. 1938.

~1uckeq,

comprehen~IOn "ill nor affect us, for the

pure"r blood. A multitude of victorie' will mean a great loss of ir, bur the death of o ur best men will nor in it!>elf be rhe ulnmare consequence. What will he worse \\ill he the ab cncc of children who ha"e not bec:n procreated by the living dunng the \\ar, and who most certa1nl) cannot be procreated b) rhe dead after the war. Regardless of the ci,·il law and normal bourgeo 1 ~ custo ms, it must now bt: the dur~ of :.til German women and girls of good blood ro hecome mothers of rhe children of S soldiers going to the front. Ottie~al guardians will rake o'er the \\ardship of all legitimate and JllcEtltlrnarc ~-h,ldrcn of good blood whose fathers have fallen in the "ar, and the Chief of rhe RuSHA and hi~ staff will obser\'e discretion in rhe keeping of documentatiOn relating to the pan:ntage of illegitimate children . S men musr c;ce dearl} that, in complying wirh this order, they will perform an act ot greJr

73

THE ALLGEMEINf·SS

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

1deologv. lo JS,ht in rhe t'\.CCurion of tts poliq 1t had a 'pecial officer (l· uhrer im Rasse- und Siedlun~swesen) on the staff ot each Oberahschnm, anJ Famil) Wdfare Office ( ippcnpflegestellen) -;et up in the larger towns of German~ and the occupied rerrimne . '\ ith the r;lcial laws of rhe SS as a basi~, 11 w.1s the ta"k of RuSHA and lfS agencies to '>upervi!>c rhe election and breeding of • men and ro foster the general well-being of t ht: SS in accordance with its code of 'tribal solidari~ •. RuSHA was the only competent authority for checking the r.tcial and ~c.::ne;llogic:tl records of S recruits. In peacetime, and in wartime so far as the Allgt·meine-SS was concerned, these checkmg procedures were strictly adhered to. With the rapid expan~ion of the Waffen-SS after 1940, however, the ra~Jal rules became something of a de.ld lerrcr for 1ts rank and file. Dunn~ the war, the hard-pressed Ru H:\ .lU thoriries were content to accept a signed declaration of Arran de cenr from enlisted German and "est l-.uropean Waffcn-S men. which could be inq:stigared Iacer when the opportuntt) pre cntcd itself. Ru HA wa al o respomiblc for issuing one-~ear marriage permm, or lleirarserlaubnis, on behalf of rhc Reit-h fuhrer-S$, granting his approval for S personnel to wed. Anorher of irs function-; was to keep rhe S1ppenbuch. or Family Book <>f S member~, and it compiled a register of all SS men willing and suited tu become colonisro; in the occup1ed territories . In addition, RuSHA was responsible for S and police welfare, particul.uly rhe mamrenancc of orphan and w1dows of Sand police men killed in the war. and the care of families and dependant ot SS men serving in the \Xfehrmacht and Waffen- 5 an all cases of dmress, hardship or private difficulty. By 1944, Ru HA had absorbed the Hauptfur orge und Versorgungsamt der \Xfaffen- S und Politel (HFVA). the \Xfaffen-SS and Police Welfare und Pensions Department. The

.1dopreJ b} dtildlu.s SS couph:s. Ult1mJrch. more than '0,000 non-German children \\ere rhu' 'C.enna01sed' by the As SS rac1al policies !!Xpandcd and de,·elopcd. so too did the departments charged with the~r administration. Darn~·s Ral:e and Setdcmenr Office achic"ed llauptamt status on 30 January 1935, as the S Ras'>e- und Siedlungshauptamt or RuSI lA, rhe Race and Settlement Department. h WJS therefore one of rhc three o ldest } laupriimter in the Reichsfuhrung-S ·,
-

V

-

VI

-

VII

-

Or~anisanon & Vcrwalrungsamr !Organisation&.. Administratitm ) Ras!>cnamr ( Ra~e ) chulungsamt (Ed ucanon) 1ppen- und Heirarsamt (Family & \larriage) Siedlungsamt (Settlement) Amt fur Archiv und Zeitungswe!>en ( Record~ & Press) Amr fiir Bevolkcrungspolttik (Populanon Policy)

-so,ooo

In the ~c:neral reorgantsation of the ~) Jdm1nisrrarion whtch rook place 1n 1940. R u~ H A, like the 55 Hauptamt, lost snme of it~ functions and retained only the Ra scnamt, Sippcn- und Heirarsamt. Siedlungsamt anJ Yenvaltungsamt. 1r was rhus trtpped down to the bare cSSI.!tHiall> for cont1nuing the work indicated by irs tide. ~evcrrheless. in spite of this restriction in it field of actlvHy, the volume of work undertaken by RuSHA necessarily increa-.cd with the progress of rhe war. Thar "as due partl) ro the physical expansion of rh~ and partly co the repatriati o n of raoal Genn.tns from Russia and the Balkans and their resenlcment 111 Germany and rhe occupied areas of Poland. The mam dury of Ru. HA was to tran~l.nc inw prac.:nce rhe general racial theories of

74

rth.,bilirarinn and rcrr.tin111g tor ~" d or ,,dtnlnl tr.lfl\ C po~t~ of \\ ar-JI':>,tblt·J 5\ men h1rmed a lurrher part of rhe work ot Ru~HA , and tor rh;u purpose tt controlled nvo t uning -.~hoots at Schle1s'>he1m and ~1111\H"Ida and a cran school ar Bernau ne.1r lkrltn. ~ loreo\'er. there wa., a 'er~ dosl ~o­ •pcrarion berween Rll J fA and Lcbensborn 111 \lew of the o\'erlnppmg nature of the1r ~-vork ,\nd, whit~ Lebensborn was technteall} ~ubt~rdm.ucJ to the Haupramr Personlichcr \t:tb RfSS, RuSH A W:J. • the normal ch.tnnel through whteh tt rcceiH'd its tnstrucrions tront Himmler. L>arrc headed RuSHA until Febm,1r} 193:), , hm he quarrelled with H1mmler and left ro .. nnccnrr.ue on h1'\ government career a!\lin"rer of Agriculture. lie was c;ucceedecl h~ Ohcrgruppenfuhrer Gunther Pan..:ke. later '1\\Pf in Denmark. and 10 jul~ I ~40 br <Jhcrgruppeniiihre r Ouo Hofmann , ,uh~equentl~ HSSPf 10 Obcrabschnin "uU\\~Sr . 1 he la!'>r ch1ef of rhe Rassc- unJ S1l•dlungshauptamr wa Obergruppcntuhr~r R11.:hMd llildchrandr, who took mer 1n Apnl 194 3. Although H tldebrandt had an acm·e 1ppo1nrmenr abroad ao; I I Pf Black c.1 dunn!! 194 3-4, he d1d nor relinqui~h h1s po t ·" <..hd RuSHA. H1s dcputr. S~­ c•rtlppenfuhrer Dr Harald I urncr, covered for IHm during h1s .ths~nc~ in Rus!>ia. 1\ ~ornersronc of SS ra<:ial policy \ht~ rhc dt"•tn: to reunite the Volk
7S

!>trong ttc~ ot k1n,h1p '' 11 h rh<.· old 'Hcim<~t'. The\ had 1he1r 11\\ n as,octarion. the league lor c.crman~ \hroaJ, or \'olksbund liir <.1.1~ Dcut\1..htum in \usland (\'DA) . wluch wa" taken mer hy the '\. ~D -\P in I ~130 anJ put under rhe Jtrectlllll of Werner Lorenz, a tormer Fir.;t \\'nrld \X'ar pdor who owned a \ a-,t e'tate near Danzig and had tht: repur.ltJOn of being something of a bun L'lt'.llll. Loren/ 101ned the S m 1931, and hi\. sophmic.Hed life.,tylc. C(.lmbined with hi'i untttue ,tbi lit~ ro he cquallr at ease wirh J1plomats ,1nd pea anr farmers c~ltke, ~oon hruuAht him to Himmlcr'o; attention. 1-wm tht:' outset, 1he Nazis were counring on eth n1c German~ ro augment their ne\\ Retch\ depleted population and help 1n irs ulr1m.1tl' exp.1nsion e:to;rwards. Himmler in particular vowed ro t..tke German blood from "herever 1r could be found in rhe world, .1nc.l w 'wh .tnd 'real it' whenever be could. I o thJt cnc.l, an agenq nt the :\SDAP known as rhc Buro \on Kur,ell was formed in .\larch 19 36 to co-ord1n<1tC attempts ro encourage the ruurn uf the Yolksdeursche ro Germam. In 19)- It \\as renamed the Volksdeurschc \ llttcl'>telle or \'0,\ II, the Depa rrment for the Repatnatton of Racial (,ermans, and pur under the direuwn of Lorenz, now an S. Obergruppcnfuhrcr. Under Lorenz, VOi\11 performed o;o efficiently th;tl in July 1938 l litlcr increa!.ed irs powt·r by allowing ir to absorh the VDA and similar agencies, bring rogcrher mal f,t~rions in the ethnic German <...omrnunim·s. anJ generate ml>ney to build rccrt and hospitals and spread Naz1 propaganda. As an SS-mspired a'>1de, VO \11 abo investigated rhe pohrks of lflc.ll\ 1dual cthmc.: Germ.1ns, ~nd began ~..ompdtng files on those suspected of nppmmon to rhe hihrcr. Although \ 0~11 \\ nor form,tll~ im.:orporared into the \llgememc-5~ ~rru~rurc until 1941. Himmler \Cr~ qu1ckly m.1de Jt h1s 0\\n lmcrumcnt. J--fe mftltratcd S\ men into the dc:p.utmcnr from

HIMMLH ' S BlACK ORO £R

hinged upon prll\ ukulg trouble in rhe eac;rcrn p ro' in~e' ot Slovakill. "hen. narionalec;r tcchng~ h.1d hcen ~tirrcd b\" the C\'Cnts in the Sudetenland. ~ ream of SS men led by Gruppentuhrer \X tlhelm Keppler ~et off bomb' tn Bratisla\.1 and put the blame on the Slo-.aks. \'0~11 organi ed street dcmun 'rrauom and D groups led 11) Hcydrlch\ rr<)uhleshooter. Alfred l'aujocb. ~rrieJ our further au-. of provocauon. On 15 :\larch, rather 1hJn risk war. the Czechoslovakian Prcstdenr agreed ro Germ.ln 'protection' of the province~ of Bohemia and ~lor::lVla, while Slovakia became ;l German puppet state and H un~ory grabbed the easternmost .wd last remaming prm incc, Ruthenta. Late in August 1939, Hitler mrned to the SS once more to prO\ade his e'\cll t> for anvading Poland. lleydrich dreamed up '>Lnrcs of 10cidenr., whtch could be arrribured to Pohsh cxtrcnmts and d1u!> JU\tlf) a German attack. These were pia) ed our by a dozen ream-, of SD men and pollee o fficer'> under the Gestapo chief, Hcannch ~luller. The mo-;r imponant of the bogus ra1d~, LOJenamed ·operatton Himmlcr', '.\as launched by Alfred ~au jock\ agamst a German radio station ar rhe border wwn of Gletwtrz on 31 August. The tollo\\ mg J.l}. citing the Gleiwiu incident as the rc,, on for has acrions, lllder declared war on Poland. Dunng cptcmber 1939, rhc advances of rhC' Red Arm)' into eastern Pol and in accorc.bnce w1th rhe Nazi-~ovter Pacr brought o;ome I ~6,000 Volk:.deut'>che under Russaan <)ccupanon. In de,cuc;sions with Berlm. however, the twiers agreed to let these people: le.we. :VInreover, rhe Reich also negotiated lor the transfer uf another 120.000 ethnic Germans living in the Baltic stare,. Throughout the Winter of 19 39-40, the fir,r H.OOO east l uropean Volksdcursche \\ere c\acuated from \'\'olhynta. I he pw"i tnno, ot the Russo·G~rman Reserrlcmcnt Treat~ h.ld to be completed by ~O\ ember

I t~ ~arlic't

J.n ....1nJ P~"uadcd It~ cxl,tmg 10111 the SS. The Retchstiihn:r al~o ln">talkJ <1~ L nrenz's deputy an S colleague. \.ruppcnh.ihrcr Dr Hermann Behrend-; of the ')[), b~ '' h11:h mean'> Heydrich wa'> soon u!>tn~ VO~tl to plant D officials in far-flung communHIC~ of cthnK Gt'rmam in ca!>n:rn Furope. Hammier hr~t exercased hi" rlt'\\ -found authority 1n foreign affairs in Czccho~lovaki:l. Cre::ned after rhc old Aus tr o - ll un~anan empire wa!> c.uved up 111 19 19, (7cchoslovakia was home ro more chan 3 millaon pcoplc of German descent. Most of these Volksdcut..che lived in the counrry's western p.ur. the Suderenland. and thear presence hecame a wedge by which I titter began w ~plinter the Czech repuhlic 10 1938. He used V0\11 and the tn contmuously penerrarc uJeten t...nmmumrte'i. <;O agents pro z•uc clteurs pia} ed upon the grie' ances ot the Sudeten Germans, "ho had been hard hit h) the depressiOn and felt mistreated bj the Ctech go' crnmenr, and tunds subo;lda.;ed the pro-~:11.1 udeten Gcrm:1n Parry under Dr Konrad Ilenleul. He} drich won rhe allegt~n'e ot Henle10's deputy, Karl Iiermann h he plorred ro rake over the rest o f Ctechu .. IO\akra. I are m January 1'/JCJ, the I uhrer a,c;tgned l leydrich and other le,ul!ng members of the SD ker roles tn rhc f1n.1l dasmembrnm:nr ot the countr). H1rlcr's plan ~taff to

76

THE AllGEMEINE ·S S

I ~40, and dunng October alone some 4 ),000 .1p1Jiy uprooted men. women .1nd chtldren n.tdl" the long and so-called 'lanai trek' from ht·s.,,u.tbr.t .tnd no rthern Bukm 111>1 rn VO \11 ~~.t ~reon t....Htlp.., an Pomerana.t, La'>t Pruss1.1 nJ the W.HI hcga u bdorc: h:a vmg for 1 rmancnt rcserrJemenr m rhe mt...orporated l'•>lish tt~rritory. By mid-1941, 200,000 t'thnec ( .c.rman reparriates had been ga,·en poc;<;csslon of 4 7,000 confi!>cated Poli h farms 1mpming a total of 23 million acres, 111 rhe t ' ' o new Reichsgauc of Danzig-West Pruc, 1,1 md Warrheland. h the Rt:tch expanded further eastwards mzo the Ukraanc after 194 I, masses ot \ o JI.,)dtutsche were moved our from Romania, Hungary, Albania and Yugml:wi.l n r resettlement in the newl~ oc... uplt:d land) enJer rhe l:..lstern ~1intstry of Alfred "'cnbcrg. tach family was permitted only I kaloJ!rammes of personal possesc;ton' ur l\\ 11 horse-drawn "J.gon loads, and some \\.l~o n rratn~ tra,elled :t!> manr as 2,000 rm lt', in scenes reminiscenr of rhe Amencan fronner era. All arri,·als \\ere probed b, SS doctors and racial examiners from Ru Ht\ to on f1rm rhar the~ ''ere suitable ro be ~ .. l.l'!>ified ,,:, Reachsdcutsche and gi\'en ~ rm,ln Cltitenship, but long sta)'s in VO;\ fl's • )00 rescrrlemcnr :1nd transit camps ldr mJn'r Volksdeursche feeling dt$appouucd. t mbmercd and hopeless. By 1945, VOMI h.lll forcibly moved as many as I ,100,000 t•tbnu.- Germans, the bulk of whom hecame da,pl.lced persons at the end of the w::~r. \'\ htle V0.\ 11 dealt with the rransporl,ltion of Volksdcursche repatriates and R. u"'ll.\ upen·ised their r.ldal pum~. rheir Ltual resettlement was the rec;ponstbahr~ of i1 th1rd S org.ll1i\>ation, the Reich ku mnw,.,artat fur dae Fesrigung dec, tleut.,chcn Vnlksrums, or RKFDV, the Re1ch C
kommiv;ar. •lnd he tmmed1:nel~ c't;lhhshcd Rerllll \t,ltl II Q, the llauptamr RKF. Lhrc:cted IH ~S-Obcrgruppentuhrer L lrich Grt:ttclr. To adminascer rhe tanancmg of ns opera non . a Land Bank ( omp,tn} wac, ser up under S-Ohero;turmhannfuhrer Ferdul.llld Htegc and monc:y poured in from the '>.lit''> of confiscated .Jewi!>h and Poli.,h propcrr}. H immler intended that not only repatriated ethnic Germ::tns but also crippled ~ ex - ~en· 11.:emen and returned veterans should cventuallr be serried in the ca!>tcrn r~:rrnories as 'Wehrbauern· or "peasant guards', ro prov1de a buffer between the Reich proper and the unconquered wilderness beyond the Urals. 1-rum 1940, SS recruiting propaganda l~td LOnsHJcrahle srresf. on Lhe opporruniric .. \\ htLh "ould be open ro all SS men after the \\.1r, w1th rhc promese of free land in rhe east, and a number of SS soldiers tnvalldt>d out from rhe sen ice!. \\ere emplo~ ed on preparatOr) serrlemenr work with rhc soC;11lcJ ' S-Kauemsatz-Osr·. In rhe words of <;-Ober~ruppenfuhrer Orro Hofmann ot Ru~HA. the cast would 'belong to rhe ss·. In \Ia} 1942, -Oberfiih rer Prof. Dr Konrad ~!eyer of the: H.tuptamt RKI finished dr:l\vmg up the great resettlement plan on heh.1lf of llimmler. Under irs term . rhe Baine stares and Poland were ro be fully Cermanised. The occupied cast would be caned up inttl three huge provinces or ~tarks, namely lngermanlancl, Nare' and Gorcngau, under rhe supreme authority l>f the Reachsfuhrer ~5. who was ro be rhcir new lie~e lord. He would direct the serrlers co the areal> pro' ided for them and gram rhem lands ot 'arying t\ pe~ depending on theer serv1cc, including 'lafe ftefs·, ' hereditary fids· and 'l>pecaal ~tatus properties'. Pro,·incial headmen appornted by Himmler \\ere to 'upen ·~r the ~larches of the ne\\ SS em pare. \frer .1 2--ye.u penod of ractal punficarwn. it wa<; calculated, thdr populauon would be J

l1

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER liimmkr\ dream nf an ca'>tern Germani~ cmp1re run br the 5. The Retcht.fi.ihrer d~·.1rl) 'te\\ed the ~e~ond \'\'orld ~·ar as rhe f1n.1l '' .u ot racial cxrerm1narion whi~h \voultl l'Cure rhe tururc of rhe Germantc peoples onu: .1nd for all. The fa1rl~ modest ra\:lal polu.:u:s of rhe early SS. wh1ch centred around It~ recruiting standard!:>, had cwloded out of all recogl1ltton h)' rhe spring ot 1942, With the mas~ kill1ngs of the Ein-;,azgruppen and rhe commencement of the 'con\e)or belt' destruction of hum.Ul life at -\uschwlt7. !lad the war gon~: in Germany\ favour, there is linle doubt rhat the Jews, g) psie~ and Slav races would have heen depl('tcd to extinction in Europe. llowe-.er, from 194 3 Hitler felt that their labour, horrage. and Himmkr had little choice hur to lmcn and agree. Thereafter, Volk!>dcurschl: were hroughr ·home ro rbe Reich ' onl~ ro "ork 111 rhe rhri,·ing armaments 111dusrr> and to >taff factories and farms rh.lt had been ~orel} attected by \XIehrmachr rccrutrment. In so doing. these erhnic C.ermanc; roiled alongs1de Pole s, Russians .1nd nrher imported labourers whom ther were suppo~cd to have replaced in the eac;t. Ironically, huge numbers of ami-communi t Slav ,o)unreerc; in the !>chutlmannschah and Wehrmacht. technically Untermenschcn h) SS standard-., were b) thar time being rched upon tO bolster and defend rhc Nilzi regime tn the occupied termones. and had e\•en been n~corded rhe honour of thetr own r.1nge of medal.-. and decoranons. X.1any wc:re emplo~cd J'> auxiliaries by the S mclf. llcinnch Himmler had anempred ro do roo much too yu1ddy. to reverse the de' elopment~ ot a thousand years m a single decade. and rhc whole rac1al programme had come cra..,hmg down about h1s heat!.

)0 per cenr Germani( There \\ould be J direct aurob.thn lmkin!! Bt:rlin w1th ~~o~CO\\, and a 4 mLtrc·\\tde railrrack between .\lunKh nnd Ro tO\. A !:>~'>tern ot m•enr~·slx t:a,rern -.rrongpoint~ consisnng of small rem nc; of about 20,000 mhabirant'i, each surroundt:d b~ a nng of German viii at a distance of .lhout three mtles. would guard rhe tnrer ...ecrions of German communications arrenes. The village~ rhemseh•cs were to co mpri~e thirt} to fony farmhouses and haH: thc1r 0'' n S '\Varrior Stiirmc' ro which all male inhabitan ts would belon~. Working along Viking lines, it was to be the gre.1tesr piece ot continental colonisation rhe world had ever seen, de~igned ro prorect western d\ dtsatton from rhe threat of Asia ric IO\J't10l1.

h om rhe beginning, ho\\e,·er. Himmler 1nd the RKFDV encountered insurmountable obstacles '>ct up nor by the enemy but bv compermg ('\at..l -.atraps in rhe occupted land~. ~:ach 1nrent upon securing h1s O\\ n nu:he of innuence in rhe new empire. >.:either Hans 1-ranJ..., Governor-General of Poland , nor Alfred Rosenberg, ~linister for rhc Occupied Eastern Terrirories, were S men Jnd rhey owed no allegiance ro the Rcich-.fuhrer. e\eral Gauleiters. pamcularl) Ench t-..o..::h, Reichskommiso;ar 1n rhc Ukraine, and Wilhelm Kube, Reich kornmissar in Byelorussia, fought com istentl)' ro hindt:r rhc resettlement programme in their areas, which they saw a~ an S impingement on NSDAP authority. fven Alhcrr forster, rhe Gauleiter of Dlln7ig'\ C'-t Prussia, who was an SS-Ober· gruppcnfuhrer and had been a member of the SS before Htmmler himself. was -;o antagomsttc to the prospect of rak1ng Volbdeur~chc settlers into his dom::11n that shtps carrying reparriares from Estoma ro Danzig had ro be re-routed. In rhe end, the practicalities consequent upon rhe turn of rhe nde of war smashed

18

GUARDIANS OF THE STATE I limmler's intentiOn rhat his racial elite hould e' enruallr police and guard occup1ed stemmed from the facr that the most tm portJnt achie,·ement of the S from the ca1ltc 1 da) of tht: Thjrd Reich had been its Jommance of the security apparatus w1rhin ( ,, rmany itself, and the power and inAuence \\ htch that entailed. The failure of the .\ lunu:h pur ch in I 923, which wa smashed In the polict: rather than the army, brought I 11me ro Hitler rhc realisation that nrec;rricted control of the police would be an ·~ ... ermal element in rhe successful foundation u t J long-term 'azi state. Consequently, rhe l • t iud immediately following rhe assumpuon , j power on 30 Januar) 1933 wi1nes ed a ' o111..erred eHorr by the Fuhrer ro ha,·e h1s n• >'t rrusred lieutenants nominated ro senior p uh~..:c po<:>itiom in the governments of rhe \ a nou~ pro\'inces, or Lander, which exi red under the Weimar Republic. Foremost among tht ..e men was Hermann Goring, one of the I r..r ;\;atis elected ro rhe Reichstag and irs l're"dent since 30 August 1932, who received m1ntsterial duties in both the narional ;lnd l'russ1an governments. As Prussian Minister P ! rhe Interior, he became responsible for polu. mg the Reich capiral and rwo·thirds of the land area of Germany. Goring appointed t-..urr Daluege, head of the Berlin SS, as h1s <.. htef of Prussian Police and Rudolf Diels his ' ... ouc;in 's hu'lband, as Deputy Chief. He then movtrapo), and a signed Diets to head ir. The Gestapo \\3 instructed that It could J1!tregard the restrictions imposed by Prussian '>tate law, and it was remo\·ed from rhe ~..onrrol of the Prussian :'vlinistry of tht' Et~ mpe

POfl!od phorogtoph of He111nd1 Hllllmle•, circulated tool police stotions in 1936 offe1 his D!lPOIIltmenl os Chef del Oeutsdten Poltzei. Uwas Jl(O&Ked ond &5tnbllled by the German PoiKe Offi<ers' Asso
Interior ro new offices ar 8 Prinz·AibrechrSrra!.sc, Berlin, and made an independent force responsible to Goring personally. By mid-1933, therefore, Goring had a firm grip on rhe largest provincial police force in Germanr and launched it and the SA againsr the communll>ts and other opponents of the New Order. Dielc;, ho"' ever, soon became a problem . He was a professional policeman, nor a ~a;>i, and at once went ro war again t all extremists and la\\ ·breakers, regardless of political per'>ua 10n. Hi~ fledgling Gestapo. armed \vith machine-guns, regularly surrounded ad hoc A and S detenrion centres in Berlin and forced the Brownshirrs to surrender and

79

HIMMLER S BLACK ORDER

Gorin~ ~rood fasr for a rime in Prussia, and he might h:1' e frustrated rhe unification proe<~~s entireh were ir nor for rhe growing dread of Rohm and the A. The rab chef was hunp.n for power and eager to trample on anyone who stood 10 h1!. way. The mcna~.ing presence of the SA, and the fact that the SS was rhe only reliJhle bodr which cou ld capably oppo-;e it, fin.ill)' persuaded Gonng co compromi\>C. He ou\>tl·d h1s beleaguered protege Diets on 20 April 1934 and appomred ll1mmler as Chief of rhe Pru sian Gestapo, with S -Brigadefuhrer Reinhard H eydrich a~ his depury. Onl) rwo month., l:lter, rhe Goring/Himmler/Heydnch rrium' irate uccessfully de~apirared the SA in the 'Night of the Long Knt,e!>'. During 1935. the mrngues conrinued and J iimmler rook his turn ,'lt coming into con flier with 1-nck. The larrer was anxious ro purl)uc his aim that all German police forces should ultimately be subord111ared to him alone, as Reich ~tinisrer of the Interior. To that end he sought rhe support of Dalucp.e. still head of the uniformed police in Prus ia, agamsr Himmlcr. Fnck proposed thar D::duege should be nominated Chief of the German Police on rhc undcr<,randing that he would take hi.., insrrm:ttons only from the 'vJinisrry of the Interior. ]';or ~urprisingh, D..tluege expressed inrere t, bur both he and Frick were outmanoeuvred by Himmler and Heydnch, who had got wind of rhe plor ro undcrmmc rhem. On 9 June 1936, lleydrich approached Hirler direct and presented ,1 !>trong case for gn 1ng Himmler the rank ot ~1inister and tttle Chref of the German Poltce. The crux of Heydrich's argument was that Htmmlcr'!> efficiency and personal loralty to the Fuhrer were beyond question, am.l he would cur out rhe 'middle man', rrick. Frick retaliated hut was succe.,sful only tn ht'i objection that Himmler should nor be gi\'Cn mmisterial rank. On 1~ .Jum· 1936, the Reich!>fi.lhrer-S wa!. appointed to the oe,...Jy created go"ernrnenr po~t of Chief of the German Police in the Retch

relea e their severely beaten polir1Co1l pri~oners. Daluegc and <;ome SS men who worked their \\a~ Into the Ge<>tapo began w campaign nc10u~h for the downfall of Diets Jnd hts fanion. and .;uch infighnng developed that it evenruall} became commonpi.Ke for members of the Gestapo to arrc!>t one .1norhcr. Daluege even plotted to invite Diels ro a meeting and then throw hun our of an upper-storey window! Bur Diets continued co enjoy Goring's patronage and friendship, and retained hi!> command of the Gestapo. While Goring was rhe first official of the Third Reich ro ns<;ert a measure of perc;onal .wthoriry over rhe regular provincial police, ir remained for H tmmler to reali e that ambition on a national scale. \'(hen the Gauleiter of Mun1ch-Upper Ba\artJ, Adolf Wagner, became Bavarian Mint~ter oi the Interior at rhe beginning of March 1933, his natural choice as Police Presidenr of .\lunich was H immlcr, '" ho had been Head of ecunrr at the NSDAP headquarters in the c.:1t~ for o'er a year. On l Apnl, Hi mmler was appointed Commander of the Pol itical Police for the whole of Ba\'aria, a po!>ition which gnve him the power to challen~e Goring's Pru.,sian suprema~y. He found an ally in rhe Reich ~linisrer of the lntenor, Dr \X'alhclm Frick. a former ~I unich policeman "ho was a ~onfirmed opponenr of rhe auronotn) of the I :inder and an old enemy of Gonn~ . With l'rick's support, Himmler was nominated Chief of Police 10 province after provincf..' until only Pnl)'>la remained our ot h1s reach. In January 1934, Frick laid before H1tler a B11l for the Administrative Reorgam!>ation of the Reich . As a result of irs acceptance, all the provincial police forces were to be amalgamated to form the first national German Pohce Force, offictall) termed 'die Dcut che Policei', under rhe Reich ~linisrer of the Interior. Swift changes were made, including the mcorpor:mon of the eagle and swastika into rhe design of existing poli1.e uniforms.

80

THE ALLGEMEINE ·SS

from IBro 21 February 1939 Hllllllllei pOid ofoct.finding YISIIIO WCWJW os oguest of rile chief of rhe PoliSh Pollet. Hrs next Vistl, S!'leo rnooths lo1~1, wos to rond coogrotulore SS troops who hod porticipored 111 rhe c~l of Poland

\I msrry of rhe Interior (Chef der Deubchcn p, l11c1 im Rcichsministerium des lnncrn ), ar '"erable onl) 10 Hider. Heydrich \\aS r('\\ arded for h1s effom by being put in charge of rhe securit> police, and Daluege accepted l• Hnmand of the uniformed poli~e. The entire ''~rem was reorganised around rhe!>e two rnaror di,·isionc; and, "1th the introduction of a 'enes of ne" poltct: umforms. all vesnge'> of the old Lander forces finallr disappeared. Basking in hi., impressive ne\\ ride. which h.1d to be ahhre' iareJ in offic1al l.orrespondence to RfSSuChdOtPol, I Iimmler was r 0\\ the undr,pured head of two imporram hut ep.trare orgamsauons: rhe SS and rh~ national )OltCe. The pollee, however, b~ far th~..· more powerful and inrru,ne agenq, affccrmg rhe d.1ily live of the: cnrir~: German populanon.

conc.1 reJ of indi,-iduoll<. who "ere nor rac..:Jallr :.~.-rccncd and. more tmporrantly, not alw;J}S poltttcall) reliable. Comequenrly, one of Hirnmler\ first acnom. on assuming command was ro expel twent) ·(\\O police colonels, hundreds of junior officers and thousands of ~co., "ho were considered ro ha\'C socialist ~mpath1cs. fhe end result, in term!. of lo t expc:nence, was carasrroph1c. Those dtsmtsc;ed h.1d been professional-., and totally outclassed rhe SS men brought in to replace them. Man) had ro be reinstated after a hastilr arranged programme of ~azi indoctrination. The ~aztficarion of the existing police member<;hip ''-a" ,, '>hort-rerm expedient, howe\ er. Himrnler no\\ b<'gan ro formulate hi!. greatest project, the complc:te merger of the S and police imo a single Sraatsschuukorp), or

81

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER

Ra k Pann De~ree on 26 J une 19 38. "hi~h

Oberwachtmeister "ould t:nrer the )~ as a Hauptscharfuhrer, an l nspekror as an Obersturmfi.lhrcr. an Oberst as a Standartenfuhrer, nnd so on. Consequentl y, a practical ceiling had ro be put on the number of police men '' ho could be incorporated into the SS each ) ear, and competition for places became fierce. Successful applicants were normally taken into the SS Srammabteilunge n , Without any real powers of operational S command, and were permitted to wear rhe SS runes embroidered on a patch below th e left bren-;t pocket of the police tunic. The outbreak of war in 1939 d ealt a mortal blO\\ to the steady progression tO\\ ard a Stant chutzkorps, for rhe majorirr of the finesr potential police recruits from the Allgemeine-55 were uddcnly swallowed up by rhe Wehrmachr. ;....;evertheless, the acceptance of ~erving police men into the S organisa tion continued apace. During October 1939, no lcs<; than 16,000 members o f the uniformed police were called up en masse to form the Polizei-Di,·ision, a combat unit affiliated ro rhc Waffen-SS, which fought on the western front and in Russia. lt~ soldiers were nor ohlrged ro pass rhe racial and physical requirements and so were nor initially con~idcred to be full S men, although by Februa r y 1942 they had distinguished themselves sufficiently in barrie ro be completely integrated inro rhc WaffenSS. Over 30 heavily armed police regimenrs also served under SS command as occupation troops throughout Europe, and in 1-ebruar} 1945 an SS-Polizet-Grenadter-Di' ision was raised with cadre personnel from the pollee -;chool at Dresden. The Staarsschutzkorps idea wa ultimatclr overraken by events and never came to fruition. However, while the German police alwa}") monoged to retain irs position as a technrcally o;eparate en riry, ire; operarional independence wos rapidlr eroded 111 real terms through continual S

I tJ Jown the iniJo,, ing provisions: ,\!ember'> of rhe police could, on application, be accepted inro the SS pnn ided that: 1l The~ fulfilled general SS recruiting condttron~; and h l rhe) had been member~ of the '...: DAP or any of irs orgo1n 1 :'ltlon~ before 30 January 1933. or the) had been Patron M embers (F.\1) of the S before 30 january 1933, or rhey had scn 'ed for at least rhree years in the police under RfS command and had proved themseh es '>•ltl.,facrory. 11 The Rctchsfuhrer-SS re~en ed ro himself rhe right to authonsc the acceptance of an) further categoric!> of pason~. including most Police general!> who w ould normally h;.1ve been rcjccred b)' rhe SS on accounr of their age. (ui Acceptance into the S would rake place according to the police rank held. 1\ Police civi lian emplo~ees could be mcorporared mro the SS with rank corrt'<,ponding to their Civil Service grade. ' Rank parity promotions would tnke place from case ro case, as required. frl

The Bel~n S
Hohere S - und Polr1esfuhrer. assumsng responsibility for all S and police formation!~ in their regions. \ l o~t important of all. a great rccrutting drive wa'> ser in motion at the beginning of 1938 to encourage young members of the Allgcmerne-SS ro join the police as a full-rrme career. The ultimate intention was to replace the older and retiring police offtcerc; "irh 'new blood' <;O rhar. through a progre-.o;IOn of .,eJecm·e recruitment. accelerated promOtion and natural wast:~ge, the Staarso;chuttkorps would be 111 full operation and the police disbanded by 1955. With the object of picking onl) the most reliable ~en.ing members of the police for acceptance IIHO the SS. H11nmler issued a

rare Protectton Corps, c;o that the conventional police forces could be done :tW3) with altogether. rim was to be achieved first by reorgani<,:uion and then by cht· ab!.orption of police per onnel into the SS. Acceptahle members of the uniformed pollee would jom the Allgemeine-S . forming interim S-Poltce units m the rna1or cities. whdc -.ecurit\ policemen who fulfilled the various racr:~l ,lnd ideologtcal rcqusrements of the SS would enrol in rhe SO. In aurumn 1936, as the first -;rage 10 rhi!> process, various SO leaders were appointed Inspectors of Security J>nlice and charged with promoting the gradual fu ion ot the Gestapo. Kripo and SO. A year later, the SS Oherabschntttc commanders became the fir't

82

fhc dfect of provi)ton (i) of the decree "a<; uur on!) racralh and physicallr susrable a nd polrrrcally reltable member of rhe police wnuld be accepted into the SS and, thereafter, rn w the mtended raarsschurzkorp'\. llo we\er, pruvrsion!> (ii) to (\·) threatened ro ~" .w,p the Allgemeine-SS wirh police offici a Is "ho were to be automatically given SS ranks -.o rrcsponding ro their status in the police. C\t.'n though the) had never held an}' junior ~~ po'>ition'> before. For instance, a police

83

THE ALLG EMEIN£-SS

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

Diemcb. The following year he was made Deputy Reichsprorektor of Bohemia and ~oravia, and the da y-to-day running of Orpo fell ro SS-ObergruppcnfUhrer Alfred Wlinnenbcrg, formerly commander of rht: SS· Polizei -Division. By that time, the Allgemetne-SS had permeated every aspect of the uniformed police system. 55-pattern rank insignia were ported by police generals, SSstyle swords were worn by police officers and NCOs, and SS-rype flags and standards were carried by police units on ceremonial occasions. A deparrmenr known as the H auptstelle der Haupramt Ordnungspolizei had been set up within the Reichsfuhrung-SS to advise Himmler on aU matters concerning rhe uniformed police and. as Chef der Deutschen Polizei. he made policy decisions regarding its operations and deploymenr. In effect, the massive Orpo organisation had become subordinate ro, and rook irs insrrucnons from, the leadership of the Allgemeine-55. By the end of the war, rhe Ordnungspolizci bad ~xpanded to include a large number of distinct police formations, each with irs own purpose and often its own series of uniforms. These groups are listed below.

Kurt Ooluege in the uniform of SS{)beJSt{)ruppenfuhrer und Generalobe~SI der Polizei, 24 Augustl943. From this time on, he wos continually ill and wos, in fa
1. THE SCHUTZPOLJZ£1

infilrrarion. By the end ol the war, Himmlcr had inevitably succeeded Frick as Reich Minister of the Imerior, and he and hi<J SS generals completely dominated all branches of both rhe uniformed and security police forces across the Reich. By far the larger of the two main divisions of rhe German police was the Ordnungspolizei or Orpo, the so-called 'Order Police', which comprised all uniformed civil police personnel. From its inception in 1936, Orpo was commanded by Kurr Daluege. whose powerful position qualified him to become one of the first three SS-Ob~rst­ Gruppenruhrer in April 1942. the other n.vo being hanz XaYer SchwarL and ·Sepp'

The Schurzpolizei, or Protection Police, comprised the regular municipal 'ben t bobbies' of rhe Third Reich and numbered around 200,000 men in 1943. This branch was itself subdivided into the Scbutzpolizei des Reiches, whose jurisdiction extended throughout Germany, and the Schurzpolizei des Gemeinden, who operated only within their own towns. In addition, companies of chutzpolizei were organised into Kasernierrepolizei or Barracked Police:, equipped wirh armoured cars, machine guns and grenades. Their function was to act as a mobile reserve ro back up rhe loca I police when addirionJl manpower was needed in

84

,,me' of mass demonsrranons or <;tmilar

v;~rious

duties included record keeping, the enforcement of statutory regulations affecting rhearres, factories and shops, the regiStration of foreign narionals, and rhe i~suing of firearms licences, travel permits, ere. This adminisrrarive force wok in the former Gesundheitspolizei (Health Police), Gewerbepolizei (Factory and Shops Police) and Baupolizei (Buildings Police). Many Verwa ltu ngspolizei employees were civilians, who had been given extensive periods of training at the SS and police administrative schools.

19 36, rt!cru it~ for the were rnken primarily from the ll~eme me-SS and the Wehrmachr. Their t11ti.l l training by SS lecturers emphast-.ed 1 polmcal indoctrination and was followed by 'f'"d.l lised instrucnon at one of the thirty polr<.c !>Chools scattered across Germany, rhe m 1111 ones being at Berlin-Kopenick and at hH'fe nfeldbruck near Yiunich. The Jn-.pccror-General of Police Schools was an ~.,, t.ruppenfi.ihrer, Adolf von Bomhard.

n •cnt!>-

A tter

~dtutzpolizei

2 THE GENDARJ\11::.RJE

I ht Gendarmerie or Rural Police, under SS( .ruppe nfuhrer August Meyszner, covered l.tndward districts and small communities of b) rhan 2,000 inhabitants. They were p.,rricularly adept at combatting po.tching, dete\C"ting black marker slaughtering of antmals, ,1n l rhe like. ln those areas of rhe Reich. mduJrng the occupied territories, thar were of :.t mountainous nature or prone to hea,·y '""'''tall. members of rhe Gendarmerie skilled 111 -.1-iing and mountaineering were employed. r he.:} had to undergo rigorous training at the HC)... hgebirgs Gendarmerie Schools at Obeqoch bc1 llinddang, Sudelfeld am Wendelstein and J.\ir,buhd in rhe Tirol. In January 1942, a ~~.·parJ te branch of the Gendarmerie known as the r andwacht or Rural Guard was set up by I hmmler ro supervise prisoners-of-war engaged tr\ agricultural work. Tt was recruited from oldl·r policemen and disabled SS ex-servicemen. Mrer 10 July 1944, military prisoner-of-war camps themselves were pur under rhe 1Jminisrration of the SS and police, wirh rt·~ponsibiliry for running them being placed in ht hands of SS-Obergruppenfiihrer Berger.

THE VERKEHRSPOLIZJ:I AND MOTORJSIERT£ GENDARMERIE The Verkehrspolizei, or Municipal Traffic Police. consisted of specially trained units of men who were stationed alongside the Kasernicrtepolizei in all major German cities. They regulated traffic and patrolled the main roads in their areas, and were well versed in the field of traffic law. The Verkehrspolizei was responsible for the prevention of traffic accidents, piecing rogether and recording rhe causes of accidents, and escorting abnormal loads, ambulances and other emergency vehicles. The Mororisicrtc Gendarmerie was formed ro cope with the increase in traffic on rural roads and the new network of autobahnor mororways being built across Germany. Unlike the Verkehrspolizei, their jurisdiction was not limited by geographical divisions. They were organised into Bereirschafren or mobile reserves containing three or four platoons of men and vehicles, each located in barracks at strategic poinrs on rhe German highway system. The wail of their sirens could often be heard as they provided high-speed escons for NSDA P leaders travelling throughout the Reich.

~.Ti lt-- VER\'
5. THF \VA5SERSCHUTZPOUZ£1 The Wasserschutzpolizei, or Waterways Protection Police, was responsible for policing anJ patrolling all navigable inland rivers an<..l canals, regulating waterborne

-1.

85

IHE AllGEMEINE·SS

HtMMlER S BLACK ORDER

throughout the Reich. Prior tu 1942 the 4. SOO-.. trong Posr.,churz "as unJcr the ~.onrrol ol rhe Postm.urer-Gener.1l, ~ "-KObergruppenfuhrer Dr w,Jhelm Ohnesor~e. hut m \larch of rh.tr year. upon the dm~crions of l lirler, tt wa~ complcteh incorpor.ued imo rhc: Allgememc-~ and redesignated as the '>'> · Po'>t,chull. hom then on, S collar patchl'~ were \\Orn \\lth the Posrschut7 uniform.

traffk. preventing smugglin~. cnfon.:mg '-JICt\ .111d '>Ccurit~ measure and tn pecong warerwa~ c; '\htppin~. It was c;upplemcmed during the '' ar by ~pt-cial unit of the Allgemcme-~S 1-nown as Hafenstcherungrruppen, or Porr ecurirr Troops, whtch patrCJlled the waterfronts and maJOr port'> ot thc: coac;ral S Oberabschnirre m co-uper;ttion wtrh rhe police aurhomiec; and rhc SD. In addition, by a proclamation of SS-Obcrgruppcnfithrer Karl Kaufmann, Gauleiter of l lamburg and Reich Commissioner for Ocean N:lVigarion, the vcsseb ~ailed, and rhey were u~ed ro man flak guns and generally assi t rhe Germ.1n offtcer'i in maintaining order on rhc: c;htps.

8. THl- FE:.l•I::RSCHL'TZPOllZJ:.I

•\II uf Germany''> pr<.)\ tncial fire bngades. were incorporated into the Ordnungspoltzci m 1918 under the title Feucrschuczpohzel, or hre Protection Police, which thereafter directed firc-fighrmg and fire pre,·enrion across the Reich. r he size of rh~: Fire Protection Police w.1s fixed in accordance "tth the local population, and 1n those towns wtth more rhan 150.000 restdcnts aux1hary fin• hngades kno'"" as Frciwilltge Feucrwehrcn were e tabhshed on a voluntary hJsi ro ass1 r rhe regulars. At the berghr of rhe warttmt: air r..ltds on Germany, the ilreiight~ng senict•s numbered over 1,700.000 men and ''omen, all of whom ''ere rechnH:all) under the command of <..ruppenfuhrer Dr Johannes \!eyer, the In pecror-General of the Feucrschurzpohtet.

6. /IfF BAH:-. ~C.HL'TZPOL/Zf:.l

fhc: BahnschutzpohzeL or Railway Pohce. recrutted primarily from Deur t.:he Reich'>bahn employees who held parr-nme member!.htp of the Allgemeine-$ or SA, were .umed with rifles and machine-guns anJ were cha r~ed With protecting r:l ilwa )" propert), preventing t:!>ptonage and sabotage, and maintaining Ja,, and order on trains and at sn:mons. T hey were assisted by the Rcichshahn \XIaso;erschutzpolizei '"hich parrollcJ raih,ay facilities associated with harbours, cnnals and m1and wnrerwar"·

9. THE:. I UFTSCHUTLPOUZFl

Germany' t:i\ il defence system comprised three main bodtes. The first was the Rc,~.hsluftschurznund or RLB, which engaged in thc: widesprcaJ civil ddence rraining of the civilian populati<Jn. The second was the Lufrc;chutz. \XIarndtenst or LSW, which ncted like Bmam' Royal Oh~erver Corps in al~:rting the local populace ro tmpending air attacks. The rhtrd hod) \\as the S1cherheits- und H ilisdten t or . H D. rhe ccunn and A.,sisrancc ~en tc~:. a highly mobile rescue or~antc;arion which rendered immt'diare help w trapped and injured air raid v~trims. Tht" cqutpmt•nr u.,ed in rhctr dangerous work

I . 1 1(£ POSTSCHUTZ The Post chutz, or Posral Protection Ser\JCt:, had the responsibility of prorecung and tnatnraining the <,ecuriry of all poc;t offices ,tnd other postal establtshmcnt:., together "nh mall. telephone and telegraph !>en ice'

86

c;abor,lgt.' •n wamntc. Tu thar end, an ~S­ Iunks,hu r7, ur Radio Guard, \Vas c'tJblt-.hed. It ulomatel~· policed all the off1u.tl radto ..r.wons, or Re1chs<>ender, ratded tlltttt r.1Jw '>t,Hton., and dctcn~J dl~gal lt-,tcnmg m fun·•gn !>tJtlom. ~I ember) \\ ort• standard \llgemcine- S uniform with the addition of a gorger hearing the legend ·ssFunk'>chutL· while on duty.

hydraulic jacks. curring m.11.hines rools. During rhe war, rhc RLB ]IIJ he 1 ) \\ came under rhe d1recr conrrol ot tht 'f.lrtou.. '~DA P G.mletrerc;, \\ hn ...c tc: pflll'tnllmc-. mdudcJ 1.1\ tl Jdcn~c m tht'tr G 11~. rht: HD, hO\\t'\cr, \\<1' ,1b~orht'J mtu the polt(c tn ~~a~ I 942 . renamed rhl' 1 uft,..:hu tlf'Oitzet and issued \\ irh pollee I05lgm.L ~ lcmhers were housed 111 b.uracks on t wr,uing ba'Si~. i.e. they were Jllowc:d co Jeep .tt homt' c\ cr} ~econd night, .wJ \H'r~· e.x<>mpt trom~.onstription inro rhe Wehnnachr .ts '·n tc.:e Wtth the Luftschut7polizet wao; .1 r ...c \l'U th.:cupatlon . Consequently, rho-.c who ,,cr. abo in the Allgemeine- S could keep up rhetr norm..1l S acri\ities. air ra1ds permimng. 111 dudcd

~n,t

\HC\ ktng

12. I Hl \Vf RKSCHC..TZPULIZI:.f ,\ 1cmbcr., of rhc Werkschurzpolizei, or

1-Jcrorr Prorecrron Police, were stationed at •mportant 111Juc;rrial .. once rns ro act a' factory guards .tnd watchmen, and \\ere under rhe command of the Fuhrer of the ~~ Oherah.,chnirt in "'htch rhe1r factor) was 'ited. The~ were generally kitted out with o;urplus black ,\JI~emeine-SS uniforms and outd.tted Pru~o;ian-blue fire service uniforms. ro "hu:h the) arrat.hed their own insignia.

10. JHI fi-\H\'IKHF \ 'OTHILFF

1 ht fechnische • othilfe, or Te:\o,

\\,1'; a ltdlmcall:.mcrgency Corps founded initiall~ ac; a tnke-hreaking organisation b} the ~n~rn ment tn eprember 1919, and u eJ later ~~ ;1 tt:c hnu~al re!>cn e tn ca~c~ of natur3l dt~'ra. In 193- , ir was incorpor.ued inro the Ordn ungspolizei and set rhe rask of dealing 1t'1 breakdowns in publtc service and uriliues lh n ,,.., gJ.,, warer anJ elccrricity, particular!) niter .ttr r;ll(h. A !>Ccond and mort' remote pur po\c was tu meet potenual r~·,·olutionar) <>nJ mon.. tn rhe ·Theatre of War Inner <.aman\ ', as Himmler lil.ed to call the home tr11nt \\here the mnjoriry of his forces opera red. In .1Jdition to this domestic work, units known :h Te'\;o Kommandos laboured with the \\ ~ hrrn.tcht on front-line construction and ~ •11 tr. J rom 194 3 the l 00,000 member~ of I were aurhonsed w wear ~ -o;tyle r.tnl. l1dgcs. The warrime Chef der Te:--;o was 55<.,r uppenh.ihrer Hans Weutreach, Iacer uc"ecdeJ by Wilh <;chmelcher.

B~ 194J therefore, through his continued absorption of u01formed police rcc;pomibilitks. Himmler had succeeded in achle\ing ultimate control of all comentional German police forces . the fire hrigaJe, rJdWa} and poo;r office guards, rescue and l'mcrgcnC) '>t:n ices, anJ cnm night \VJtchmen. ~ l o r eo\cr, the corresponding Jomeqa'- poli~..c forces in the conquered rerrimrie<> also came under his authority. T he active Allgemcinc-SS proper was by that time :1 relatively small organisation in its own right, and numcricall> far inferior to the Waffl'n- . . I lowe\ cr. nc; leaders JirccrcJ the opcrnrions of hundreds of thousands of uniformed policemen rhroughour the Grearer German Retch, and had access co their tntllllo\lt> Iota I kno"' ledge. In that '' 3), the uft-m.:tllgnc:d .1nJ facdc!>s burcaucrars of tht' \llgemctnc-SS hierarch) cxcrused a po\\ cr and mtluence more widespread and effective rhan an) thtng conremplared by rhe1r fighting comradl·., 111 rhl' \\affen - S. who naturally

'o

11. 1/lL SS-1-L .\ J..)CHL TZ

In 1941. the Allgemeine- S .:~ssumed re' f'<>nsibiltty tor the protection ol radau r.Hton' hccau-.c of thcrr 'ulnl'r.lbiltq to

87

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

and the more recently formed Gehetme Sraarspol11ei, m Gestapo (Political Pollee). In 19)9, all of these group<> \\ere united as part of the taatsschuttkurps programme to become dep.trtment'> ot a single newly created SS ll.lupt.tmt, the Retchssicherheirshaupramt, orR · li t\ (Retch C:enrral Security Office). Thc.-,e main sc~uriry police bodies are best de..,~rihed in turn, to mdtcate their widerangmg re'>pon.,ibihtics and the pm' er "'hich the SS obtained h} taking them over under Hammier'!> aurhorit~ .

rec:c:tved .111 the propaganda puhhm) dunng thl' "a r. Juc;r .1~ the Gernun police nen' ark could he split 1nto m o dt-.tmct groupings, the umformed polKe and the secum~ pollee. :.o rhe se~.unt) poiJCe fore\.' rhemsehe'\ compn!>ed two entire!) separate dn IS lOll'> pnor to c:ptember 1939, namely rho~e of the ~all parry and rho~e of the state. Tlw principal parrr force was the Sic:herheirsdienc;r des RfSS . or SD, the SS !>ecurit) )Cn ice, which ah~orbeJ all orher intelligence sen ice-. of the NSD1\P in June 1934. The state force W known as the Sicherheitspolizei, or Sipo (St'l.ltrt t) Police), a general administrative term used to cover both the traditional Kriminalpoltzet, or "ripo (Criminal Police),

S~uppenftive~ Reinhmd Heydri
1. THI- SD In June 19.11, H immler accepted Reinhard H eydrtch, a former na,al communications offu.:er, anro rhe SS a~ a Sturmfuhrer and set htm the task of organising an SS intelligence 'en 11.e to keep watch on the political opposmon. lnmally known as Department lc of rhe S -Amt, or the lc-Oienst, then as the Prec;c; and Information Sen tee, tt was finally rcn.lmed the Sicherheitsdtenst de' RcH.h!>fuhrer.,-SS (Security en·icc of the Rct~.h!>fuhrer-)) ) , or D, in June 1932. By that ttmc, H cydrtch had been promoted to SS-Srurmbannfuhrer Jnd '' tth a ~taff of se\'(•n ci\ ilian!; e'>tablished his small SD hcadqu.uter~ tn ~l unich. When the 1'\a1is came ro power at rhe beginning of 1933. the SO had no more than 200 personnel, most of '"hom were attached to the various Ahsc:hnirre HQs throughout Germany. During the I')~ 3-4 period, howe\'er. the 'lervtce wa!> expanded and many doctors. law~er<; and orher academics who applied to JOtn the Allgemeine-55 were advised that thetr be t pro.,pect!> for advancement within the organtsarion Ia) wtth the SO branch. As soon ao, Hunmlcr took O\t~r the Gestapo in April 19~4. H e\drich. by then a Brigadefi.ihrcr, rcorg.tnt'>ed u and placed as man} of h1"> SD men ao; posstble tn pomions where the) could observe the acri' ttJes of the political police and gain ,·aluablc e\.pertence. HowC\' Cr,

The SS deolh's

heod riog con be seeo clearly oo hiS left hood.

88

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

o1ldwugh the SD cotHtnucd a~ a ~cpararc mit~ . tt had netther the manpo\\cr nor the n;p~. rtt'>e to replace rhe existing poltttC,ll p 1h .. c altogether. Himmler's ungmal plan to mcorpor.uc .111 member'> of the Stpo into the n \\ .l~ conttnuall} frustrated, and h) jJnU lf) 1938 the D still had onlr 5.000 full u and honorary members aero-.<; the Reich. lr Kt, with the formation of th.: RSH,\ the f11l1> \\ tng year. the SD eventually became ~upl.' rfluou., and was it!>elf almosr complerel) .tb-.orbed into the security police. l r-. ._otmnued existence as a separate bran~h of dll Allgemeine-55 '"as due solely to I hmmler's desire to retain his SD's unique r(hltl011 J~ the only intelligence agenc~ of the ~\ 1)

\P.

I he remit of rhe SO gradually expanded fro n purely political intelligence to soctal, c.. ononHc: and religtous maners, and became ')Onlt' \\ hat 'airy-fairy' . Irs member<; made dl·t.ult:d srudtes of communtsm, judaism, the doi..trtne of papal upremacy, Frcemasonn, .1 trulog~ . reltgious ~t'cts and rhe forcec; of rca-.tton general!~. They were concerned nor 'o much with actual and current >ecuritr pro ~lcms as with percel\ ed idcologtcal ~Jll 'nom. Ther delved inro the influence of Hnl.,he' t'>tn on ~la~onic circles abroad, and looked at the ~} mbolism of rop hat~ at Eron. l'le, '>tudied .Jewish economics and rhc black tn.trkct in currenC). They propounded the thnH)' that by 1960 com muni sm would bewmc 3 rdigion centred in Asia, designed w Jc 'tro~ the whole white world. By the rime \\ 1r broke our, man) members of the SD had ht ome ~omerhtng of :t laughing stock among thctr wlleague~ in the ipo who were engJgcd 111 the real da\'-tO·day '>truggl~ .tg.HnH ~o.rtrn tn.tl.,, ..aboteurs and active enemies of the

~UIIIy Poke SIOIIlllng 0 suspect's house in WOMN, November 1939. I. ore lhe 'Pol', i.e. 'Polizel, prehx oo lhe reg.sllation plore o! their Yehicle.

police 'en tng tn th~: conquered terntories, \\ hether or not they were members of the S or D, were instructed to \\ear rht· !?,rcy S untform \\ tth a comhinanon of SD collar and >lec,·e 111 igniJ and police !>houlder strap!., to gt\'e them rht: prorecnon of mi lirar) <;tarus yet al rhe ~aml' time distinguish them from other u111formcd SS, police and Wehrmacht pt:rsonnd. Dunng rhe earlr days of the war, sccurm poltcemen, who were detested b) the figlwn~ .,en tee!>, had worn ci\'ilian clothing anJ rherc had been occa.-,wn:. when they had been conventenrl~ ·m..,t:tken for resistance people' .llld -.hot b~ German soldiers! The untfnrm " ,,., therefore intended to protect them .h much from their own stde as from the: enemy. The atroctne' earned out br some of thew Sipo men, p.ut1cularl~ those artached to C\.ttrmtnatton -.quad!> in the east. reflected dJrt!Ctl) on the SD proper. the maJorit) of

<;t,lfe.

r he connot ations of dread and horror \\ hu.. h l:ner attached them eh-es to rhe <\[) tn O'lupted Furope and Russia stemmed from Ihe I.Kr that .111 members of the '\ecuntr 89

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

\_ - rhose ro be imprisoned tn ca-.e o f certain mobilisation \; - those to be closely supervised in time of \\ar because of their politteal a path~ \'\ htle rhe SD simply amassed tntelhgcnce, the l 't.lpo had real power to act on the I 1tormat1on COntained in its files. ft was the l • o;tapo which organised the 'dawn r:lids' i!nd the infamous 'three o'clock knock'. The ~IJ .tnd Gestapo inevitably expended a great dt''ll of energy competing with one another unril their ama lgamation under rhe RSHA. t

THI:. KRIPO

NCOs of the Sipo uncovering acodle of hidden weopons in Warsaw, Novembel1939

bud~er uf I million Reich1.marks. Two years later, irs memhership had risen to over 600 and its budget exceeded 40 million Reichsmarks. At:. the political police of the Reich, the Gestapo was responsible for gathering information on all subversive individuals and organisations, carrying out plain-clothes surveillance operations and raids, and effecting arrest'> on a grand scale. It also decided who was to be 111terned in concentration camps. At m Bcrltn headquarter~. the known enemies of the regime, from Jehovah's \Xfitnesses to fanancal anri-l'.:aLis, "ere categorised inro one of the folltm mg three group-,:

whose members were engaged almost exclusively in academic research, inrclligencegathering and policy formulation. In fact, while the death squads which penetrated deep into oviet territory in 1941 killing communists, partisans and Jews as they wenr were entitled 'Eimarzgruppen der Sicherhcitspoli7ei und des SD', only 3 per cent of their members were actually SO men. The greater number were Waffen-SS (34 per cent), army (28 per cent) and uniformed police (22 per cent), assisted by Gestapo (9 per cent) and Knpo (4 per cenr ). 2. THl: GE:. 'IAPO

When the Gestapo was established b~ Gi.lnng tn 1933, it had thirty-five members with a

AI -

90

those to be imprisoned m case of probable mobilisation

I' e Kripo comprised regular police detectives '' ho carried out standard criminal 11 \'esttgati on work. Like the Gestapo, they ope rated in ci\'ilian clothes before be1ng ordered to wear the SD uniform during the " 1r. Their main duties were the investigation o' "! rtOu~ ~tatutorr offences and common I ' crimes such as murder, rape, fraud and a ·o;on, and the interrogation of suspects. They • ·te nded at hrea!...-ins, took fingerprints, l 'llected material evidence and prepared r fc , ant reports. The Kripo wa the mo t tb le and professional oi all the security •nltce forces, and was a favoured recruit ing ~ro und for the Reichssicherheitsdienst or R ">D (not to be confused with the D), an d tre force which provided small bodyguard ,k·tachmenrs for Himmle r and leading Nazis. ., commander was SS-Brigadefuhrer H arh <.arrenhubcr. 1

ASecunry Police HoopMloffl)hret, c 1941. The bbU: nghl collar patch is deol!y evtdent, os 01e rhe ma,~aty-sty~e shouldef strops whim gave Wf1f to poft<eversions Ill Januory 1942. rM affK.d may wenhove been 0 member of one of the EllSOtzkommandos respaosible 101 roooding op potenliot porttsons followrng the IIIVIISIOO of Poland and Russio. His kind~ countenancebelies the unspeakable otrocilles in which he may have been involved.

ipo and D were brought rogcthcr to form adjacenr deparrmenrs of a single, allembracing ~S I l auptamt, the Reichsu:herhcit!>hauptamt or R HA. Once again, a go,•ernmenral or <:tare office, the Chief of the Securtty Poltce, and a t\azi parry office, the Chief of rhe ecuritr Sen·ice, were merged tnto a '>tngle post, Chief of the ecurity Police and ccumy en·ice (Chef der icherheitspoli7et und des SO. or CSSD ). ~eedle.,~ ro '>ay, the first CSSD was Gruppenfuhrer Reinhard H eydrich. fhe RSHA (often abbreviated ro 'RSi- H' in S correspondence to a' oid confusion with

Tlll- RSHA October 1936, Inspectors of Securit)

Police (lnspektcur der Sicherheitspolizei or JS) were appointed in each SS Oberabschnirt 1 1mprove co-ordination between the SD, the <-•e '>tapo and the Kripo. Liaison and tn rerdeparrmenral co-operation impro,·ed thereafter, and on 2- September I 939 the

91

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

THE AllGEMEINE · SS thereafter. The pro~titurcs were 1n f;.tct female agents of rhe .,e~urin pol tee, ,tnd wenr our of rhetr '' .l\ to ennce anti-~aZl remark~ from their partner'>. \ u 1\ Gest.1pu. Under SS-Gruppentuhrer l l einrich ~fuller. the Gestapo continued in irs !>t.'t ta.,k of elnntnating the enemie of the K1zi re~1111e.

K.npo. Thts active department retained it~ executive powers in dealing with common crime. Its long-rime commander, SGruppenfiihrer Arthur Nehe, wa~ hanged in 1945 for his complioty 111 rhe attempt to assassinate llirler rhe pre\ wus year. A 11t \'1 !>D (Abroad). An intelligencegathering service directed again t foretgn countries, \\ hich also organt ed espionage in enem~ territory. It wa!> led first h) o.., BrigJdefuhrer lleinz Josr, then h) Walter chellenberg. \ nt \ 'II Ideologic.11 Research. This depJrmtent ''as headed hy SS-Oberflthrer Prof. Dr r ranz Six, and sounded OUl general public opu11on on a range of ;ub,ecrs. \\'orJ..ing in conjunct ion with the ,\ linisrry of Propaganda. it moniron:d the progress of the Nazi indoctrination of rhe German people. Dr ix was the officer selected ro command rhe o,ecunry police and SD in occup1cd Britain - a po!-t which he ne,er rook up! \

Sipo ond SO offke15 who portiop
Minister. Teruw.

hc;lJl·d h) Be~r. then b) Dr Rudolf Siegert, and finallr by Josef Spacil,

Ru HA ) was divided mro '>even deparnnentl>, or ilmter, JS follows: Amr I

Ann II

.111 SS-Srandarrcnfiihrer on the staff of Oberabschnirc Donau. Amt Il l SD ( H ome). An information scn·kc, led b~ SS-Gruppenfiihrer Orro Ohlendorf, which collared datJ rd.ttmg to politics and countere.,piOnage "irhin Germany. lr financed the ·<;alon K itt~ ', a highchw; brothel 111 Herlin popular \\ irh -;emor ~azis and wealthy locals. The salon ''a' wired for sound and, dependmg on \\hat they said during the1r romp'>. the diems often found themsclvc~ bcmg hl.td.malled h) the ~D or arrc.,ted b) the <;ipo shortly

Personnel. This department dealt with all securit) police and SD personnel matters and was led b) SS-Gruppenfiihrcr Dr Werner Best, J ~en1or jurist and Herdnch ·~ de put~ umil I 940. H e wa" succeeded by Bruno treckenhach, Env1n Schulz and finally Erich Fhrl1ngu. treckenbach went on to command tht: 19th D1\ ision of the \X Jffen-S), and chult ended rhe war a securi~ pollee leader in alzburg. .Adnumstr.1tion. Thi., eifecm·ely ran the R HA and was also mHI.tll)

92

1r \'

fhe a~tl\ ttic'> of the RSHA were exrremel) \ .Hied, ran~ing from the defamatiOn of I ukJcht•,·<;ky and other So,·ier genera h., which led to Stalin\ purg~ of rhe Ru~sian off1cer ~o rps, ro the liberation of \l us~olin1 b~ ~ korzen) \ commandos. The\' cncompa<;~ed :~ nrt rerrort'r operation , assa~s111arions,

93

lOnrrol oi foreigners in Gt'rmany, and rhe collation of poliri~al flies seized from the polu:t: torcc~ of rhe oc.:cup1ed ..:ounrru:!>. \\hen thl Gestapo rouk mer the admm1srrarion of the (u.,tont'> Service trom the Reich ~1in1o;tq of lm ance, border controls and tht· combatung of smuggling abo came under the JumdKnon oi the RSHA. As CSSD, Heydrich controlled one of the most complex and allcmhr Jcing ~ecurtt) police <;ysrems the \\.Orld had ever <;ecn, and in 1940 his standing on an International le\el \\aS recognised with his nom1narion to rhe post of President of Interpol. A -;urpn!:.mgly high per~entage of sentor SS officer<; were attached to rhe RSHA, ~incc the n·rr nature of Its work and rhe expertise required for man) of irs operation~ ne~<''>'>ltated that ir should be a 'top hea\f organt atton so far as rank wa~ concerned. Takmg into account every section of rhe includ1ng rhc ,·ast Waffen-SS, almoo;t a quarter of all officer-. holding the rank of SSturmbanntuhrer 111 1944 (i.e. 7 14 our of 3,006 or 13.8 per cenr ) worked with the RSHA. Corresponding figures for higher rank c; \\ l.'r~ as followo;: Obemurmbannfuhr~r 240 our of I, l99(20°o) 95 out of 623 ( 15.2 "'o ) Srandarrenfuhrer Oberfuhrer 41outof274 ( 1 5~o) Brig:ldcfllhrcr 31 our of 270 ( I 1.5%) Gruppenfllhrer 7 our of 94 (7.4%) Ohcrgruppenflihrer 4 our of 9 1 (4.4°{,) (0°'o) Obersr-Gruppt·nfi.ihrerO our of 4

Thcc;e srari-.rics ore remarkable, and sen•e ro mdicare the .,.ze and exrenr of the securit) pollee network in 1944, fur rhl·y sho\\ that no le.,., than onc-ftfrh of all S maJors and colonels at that t1mc were Sipo or D men. Ultimareh, there were some 65,000 junior ~ccurm police ofticialc; <;rationed acro<;c; [urop~ and Russ1a, fed h' O\W 100.000 local informc:r....

HIMMLER ' S BlACk ORDER

KIXI Doluege O
On 27 ~h:t} 1942, Heydrich, then Depury Rei chsprorektor of Bohemia and ~toravia, was blown up by Czech agents in Prague and he died a week later. Upon his death, he wa!> awarded the Blood Order (rhe last posthumous bestowal of that revered decoration) and he became only rhe :.econd ever recipient of the Deutscher Orden or German Order, a new . azi 'ersion of rhe medieval Teutonic Order. Heydrich's assassination caul>ed .,hockwavcs throughout the Na7i hierarchy and stunned Himmler, as it cmpha ised his own vulnerability ro attack. His heanl} armed personal escort barralion, the Begleirbataillon RfS , was 1mmediarely

doubled in !>JLe. On 1 J anuary 1943, after some considerable anxiety and indecision, Himmler finally appointed SS-Obergruppenfiihrer Dr Ernst Kaltenbrunner ro fill the combined posts of Chief of rhe R HA and C D, as Heydrich 's successor. It was inevitable rhat sooner or later the R HA would clash with the Abwehr, rhe \XIehrmachr intelligence !len ice under Admiral Canans, bur ir was nor until Canaris was implicated in the 20 julr 1944 plor against H itler rhar rhe Abwehr was finally absorbed by rimrer IV and Vl of rhe RSHA, leaving rhe German armed forces as rhe only major European milirarr organisation

94

THE AllGEMEINE · SS

Hrtler pays his lost respeos to Reinhord Heydrkh orlhe Wognenon stole funeral service held for him in lhe Mosoic Chamber of the new Rekh Chancellery, 9June 1942 Karl Wolff ond Ss-Gruppenfiihrer Gouleile~ Dr Friedrich Roiner ore omoog the guord of honour, drown &om the SS, po/'Ke, NSDAP, army, oovy ond ldtNGI!e Despite oil of his Secunty Poli<e respoosibrtlies, Heydnch slil found hme to fly ove1 sixty ope~ollonol missioos os ofighre~ pilot on the R~ front, betng shot down behind enemy Snes ond l'linning rhe Iron Cross I st Gm.

'' nhout it own intelligence nerwork. As rhe drew to a clo-;e, Sipo and SO men furn ished themselves with false papers and -..u med underground . only ro be rooted our ag 11n to face rrial for their wartime acri-.irie or. more ofren, ro continue 1n rheir old 'r~:~ialisr roles a agenr of rhe Americans or Ru<;si.lns, as F.asr and West prepared for whar then seemed an almost una\ oidable con frontation. One parr of rhe police organi'>arion was t:ngagcd in more active combat durics rhan thL rest of Orpo and Sipo. During rhe period 1940-2, a large number of younger members >t rhe Ordnungspolizci. supplemented by

Allgemeine- conscript , were transferred ro rhirry newly crea ted independent Police Regiments comprising around 100 barralions, each of 500 men. They were organised and equipped on military lines and sen·ed as security troops in rhe occupted countries. In February 1943, these German formations were offici a II y design a red SS-Pol ice Regiments, ro distinguish rhem from rhe recently formed native 'Police Rifle' units, and rhey subsequently gamed a rcpurarion for extreme brutality and fnnarical 1oyalry to Himmler and rhe Nazi regime. Relatively few . -Police Regiments were garrisoned in the we r. The 4rh, 14th, 19rh and 29rh went to

,,. 1r

95

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

Sold1ers of the Polizei-OIVlSIOfl, o~hnguished by thea use of acombinohoo of army, police and SS ~O«lllllSIQilJO, during mortar troiling, Apri 1940.

constant havoc behind the German lines. In 1942, Himmlcr wa'> made responsible for all counrer-guerri I13 operations, and he appointed SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Erich \On dem Bach, formerly head of Oberabschnm ~ordost, as his Ch1ef of Ami-Partisan Units (Chef der Bandenkampfwrbande). It qu1ckly became apparent that the territorie to be controlled, particularly in Russia, were o vast that the SS- Pol icc needed add itiona I support. Consequently, various pro-German local militias and home guard units composed mainly of Baits, Cossacks and Ukramiam.

France, and the 26th and 27th to Norway, while Denmark wa~ allocated only two poltce barralion'i. In Belgium, no German police deplo} menr a r .1ll "as felt nece.,.,J r~. The lraltan ~ltu.mon was somewhat more volattle, with w1de-.pread partisan activity after 1943, and neceS!>Itated rhe presence of the 1Orh, 12th and 1 )th SS-Police R egiment., and se,erallocallllm.,. The vast majority of SS-Police Regiments were posted to Russia, eastern [urope and the Balkans, where roaming partisan bamh of brigade ~trength or even larger ~au~ ed

96

DIE

POLlZ IM FRONTEI

SATZ

TIVs postcord, p!oduced for 'German PofKe Day' r1 1942, depic1s membe!s of the Oldoongspoizei ood Sichelhei~zei on joint patrol on the eastern

front. Its symOOism ~ the dose hes between the SS ood rhe poke, ood the fact lhot both OIQCnSOhooS were fiA!y iNdved il comOOI.

97

THE AllGEMEIHE·SS

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

s~huma battalions. l n Estonia, (\.\'Cot} -six s~

Whl1e he wns HSSPI in Serbia, SS-Gruppen!Ohrer August Meysrner (left) wos responsible for oil coonter"!)uerrillo operohons in the counlly. Here Mconfers wtth SSObergnJPI)eofiilver Al1ur Phleps of the 'Prinz Eugen' dMSIOO durmg me spring of 1943 Of portKulm nole ore the d·ffenng pone~ns of collol potch ond the JXI!tees worn by both men.

ternble atrocities against their own compatriots, in an effort to prove that their 10\ dtd )even Police Rifle Regiment<,, which were mi\.ed German-Russian unttS, nnd a vast number of

were comolidated into an au'· police force known ac; the Schutzmannschaft der Ordnungspolizet, or chuma. later ewanded to include a ~chutzmannschaft der Sichcrhcitspoli1ei. Members of the chuma were generally nationalists at he<~rt, whose main aim was rhe defeat of communism, and they viewed the Germans as liberators. ~loreover. on a practical level, rheir cr\"lce 111 the Schuma en ured that the) and their families rCCCt\ ed favourable treatment from the Nazis. Schuma units often commi tted

98

therefore, as in Germany itself, SS headquarters and police command posts were usuall> e tablished in the same building, \\ irh frequent inrerdeparcmenral tran~fers of staff. During 1943-4, Hans Pri.irzmann became llochsre SS- und Poli tetfuhrcr (Supreme , and Police Commander) in southern Ru ia, and a ~imilar post was held by Karl Wolff 10 Italy, making these two officers the highe t ranking of all the HS Pfs. Subordinate to the H Pfs. a number o f local SS- und Poli1cifi.ihrer and Poltt eigebietsfUhrcr directed SS and police operations in areas particularly troubled by partisans and other civil insurgents. In addition, each major city across Germany and the occupied territories had tts Befehl haber der Ordnungspolizei (BdO) and its Befehlshaber der icherheirspolizei und des D (BdS), whose authorities were resrricted to their local uniformed police and security police forces, respectivelr. ln practice, the ultimate authority of rhe Senior SS and Police Commander wa increasinglr challenged during the war by the Chief of the SS H auptamrer, who felt that they hould have supremacy in all matters relating to the functioning of their departments, and al o by Waffen- generals, who demanded rota! autonomy of acuon tn deploying their rroops. In so doing, the> went against Himmler's direct o rd ers, for the liS Pf system wa devised as an essential administrative rep in the Reichsfi.ihrer's planned progression rowards the taat!>schurzkorps, and he bolstered it to the end. H e regularly issued decrees confirming the jurisdiction of hi H SPfs over all SS and police officials in their regions, wirhout exception, specifically including members of the Allgemeine-SS, Waffen-SS, Orpo, Sipo and D, and representatives of the Hauptamr RKF and V0:\11. However, as the Reich began ro fall back on all fronts, the H S Pfs 111 previously occupied territories had their

una battalions were formed, being rc , ·J:;nated 'Ec;tonian Police Battalions· in .\fa\ 1943 and tssued with German police untlr ,ms on account of rheir reliable record. An t,rimared 15,000 Latvians and 13,000 l ulwa nians served in sixty-four other S~.:h 1ma battalions which were deployed right a~ l " ' the eastern front, from the Ostland to )u ~ J'ila' ia, wh1lc the Ukraine alone supplied -o, 100 mlunreer ro staff a further <>e' enrynnt> <;.;huma battalions. In Croatia, pro-Nazis ~rt up a regimental-sized 'Einsaczstaffel', ba ed on the Allgemcinc-SS and dressed in qu. ~~-ss uniform, and 15,000 more went into a r Jlti-national 'German-Croatian Gcndarmene· of thirrr battalions. On a )mailer ~c 'e, the Serbians produced ten auxiliary pc ICt. battalions, and the Albanians rwo Po t~c Rifle Regiments. All of these native aux liary formations (and there were many m• re than tho e mentioned briefly here) were ct pletely separate from rhe foreign legions ol he Wehrmachr. They were police or Jntsations directly subordinate ro the local Orpo and Sipo commanders and, ultimately, tonk their orders from H immler through his 115:-,Pfs. I n effect, they were remote exec :mons of the Allgemeine-55, operattng in tht: O\:Cupied territories. I lch Oberabschnitt commander normally hdd the post of Hohcre SS- und Polizeifi.ihrer or HSSPf, rhe Senior SS and Police Commander in the region. H e acted as H11""'mler's repre enrative and had technical tur -,diction O\er all and police formauons ha-.ed in the Obcrabschnin. The close rd 1t1onship between rhe SS and police ~ubsequenrly resulted in a joint administ' won at regional level, and rhis am lgamarion was particularly convenient in ne\\ I~ occupied territories where it was nccec;c;ary rapidly to sec up tried :1nd rested admmistrative structures for both rhe 5 and th~ police. In the conquered countries, I

99

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER fiefdom~ snatcht:d ·'"a~ from them In the advancing Allies, and the c;rruggle for !.Unl\ al tnertook the gr,tnd nonon of rhe '-ttate Protection Corp!>. B) 194-5, the H SSPf~ had become: figurehead' wtth lirtle or no me.ws of auuall) directing the 'ast force-. still technically under rhcir command.

production field. The concc:ntr nor i.'xpedient tn an} g1vl·n ca e to set up an S cnrerpri'ie the camp workt>r~ could be farmed out to pri\ate firm-. or U'>ed on !>Ub conrracr "ark, for which the S received pa~ ment. The projects thu'> directly or ind1rcctl~ carried out b~ the ranged from railoring ro armaments .tnd from quarr~ 1ng to aircraft construction, and nearly 2 mill1<111 labourrr:, of both sew., were ·employed' on Himmler's huc;mess. By 1944, rhe SS had developed its own comprehensive and \\ 1despread econom1c !>ystem tn which was found the ra'' matenals, the factories which processed rhem, the workers v.ho l1.1ndlcd them. and finally the consumc:r!> who absorbed them. It ultimately controlled more than SOO mnnufactunng planrs, and produ~o~:J -.5 per cent of Germany's nonalcoholic be,·eragc., and prawcall} all of the country's furniture. ~loreover, by virtue of this economiC a~o:ti\ it), the SS ma1nrained influen[la( repn:!>cntat•ve and ~o:ont.lcts at many potnts throughout normal Gc:rman industrial life. Indeed, Hitler often joked that H1mmlcr was Germany's b1ggc: t 111du~rrialist! ror hiS parr, the Re•ch:.fuhrer .Htached supreme unporrance ro making the best possible u!>e of all a,·ail.1ble concentration camp labour. It "'~"' planned that the building projech of rhc SS C\il'r produced by all the quarnr!> in the old Re•ch. S111ce there were onl~ 4,000 sktllcd c;ronemasons 111 the whole of Germany before the war, an t." were directed to emure that rhe eff1ci~:nc~ of prisoner<; selected for

THE INDUSTRIAl EMPIRE As well a<; being a great conc;umer of goods .1nd materials, the S wa al o a large-<;cale producer of them. Before the war, Htmmler indu lged in limlled productive ewnomic enrerpnse-., or \X' i rrscha ftsu nrernehmungen, ~uch as the Apol11naris mineral water works at Bad ~euenahr. Great publicity was gt' en to the porcelain factory at Allach, a satellite of D.1chau concentration camp, which manufactured top qualny decorattve pieces a'> well ac; basic cer.1mic utensils for kitchen u-,e. The sword !>mithy at Dachau, "hich kept alive the tradition of makmg high-grade dam.t~cus <;tee I edged weapon!., "as another example of the acceptable face of the SS economy, with workers bemg 'er} well tre.ucd to protect their prec1ous skills. The "ar, howe' er, and the acqu1sition of large fernie ternrories, greatly enlarged the scope of these actl\'ltiC'>. I arming and stockbreeding 1n Poland, and lumbering, mining and fishing in Rus-;1a, all entered tht: field of SS economiCS. Ad hoc SS Economic Operations Un1ts, or \'\' lrr!.Chaftskommandos. were formed to coordinate local enrrcpreneuri0 it sought and arrained independence in the more general

100

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

Rill IJ!!nodes, signals flares and olhef e•plosrv-es we~e rnonufoctured lfl lo~ge numbers by p1isor1m ot llo
101

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER rr~ining was increased through

the provtston

of suitable food and clothing, and willing trainees were given rewards a an example m the indifferent. One of rhe biggest incentives was thar mmates successfully undergoing training were exempt from rransfer to other less humane camps - or to extermination

L the old Verwalrungsamt \Administrative Office) of rhe SS Hauptamr 2. the Hauptamt H aushalt und Bauten (Department of Finance anJ Building) 3. rhe office of the lnspekteur der Konzentr.uionslager (lnspccrorate of Concentration Camps)

camp~.

For construction and building purposes, Germany was subsequently divided inro four great SS Work lnspectorares, the SSBauinspektton Reich, with headquarters at Berlin. Dachau, Posen and Wiesbaden. The wartime activiries carried our by their workers included road making and the building of barracks and training grounds. Plans to lay the foundations of a large SS mwn. the o-called ·ss- ' tadt', around Wewelsburg Castle had to be shelved until :1fter the war. Instead, SS consrrucrion brigades, or SS-Baubrig;\den, drawn from unskilled concentration camp inmates assisted in clearing up bombed areas. t\ large number of prisoners were derailed to build the exrerminanon camps, to consrruct varioul> cxpenmental rocker sites and to transfer viral war production plant ro secret ~10derground locations in Germany, before being ' permanently silenced'. In occupied territOries 1t was customary ro use for general consrrucrion purposes formations known as SS Front LabC>ur Units, or S· Fronrarbeirerunrernehmen, composed chtefly of foreign workers. while building equipment stores, or SS-Bauhofe, holding reserve smcks of equipment. were maintained in most large [O\.VI1S.

All this industr~' was co-ordinated and directed hy rhe SS Wtrtschafrs- und Verwalrungshauptamt or WVH A. rhe SS Economic and Admmtstrative Department. Commanded by SS-Ohergruppenfithrer Oswald Pohl, rhe WY H A was formed in March 1942 by amalgamating rhree existing offices:

Its creation recognised rhe potential -..vhicb rhe SS and police system had for generating 1ts own income. and solved the problem of conflicting interests and divided aurhority over such questions as rhe allocation of prison and concentration camp labour. As with rhe other SS I Iauptamter, the province of the WVHA covered the whole 55. fhe Allgemeine-55 was, for the most parr, an unpaid and only lightly equipped organisation. so rhe administration of both supply and finance for that branch did nor require a very extensive or complicated machiner~·· Nevertheless, rhe employment of full-time Allgemeine-55 staff, the upkeep of Allgemeine-$$ properry and the supervision of stocks of weapons, uniforms and equipment ar regional level all fell within the scope of the WVH A. The Waffen-SS and police imposed much larger claims upon it, including the overseemg of administrative unm of the Waffcn-SS, rhe provision of Waffen-SS clothing, and the underraking of engineenng and construction work. Moreover, a WVHA Wirtschaftsfi.ihrer or Economics Official was anached to the HS5Pf in each occupi<.·d territor)' to coordinate rhe JOint admmistration of the SS and police. When rhe National HQ of the uniformed police was bombed our in February 1944, it moved most of its depattmenrs to the premises of the WVHA, which thereafter carried out sen·ices on behalf of the Ordnung polizei not only in the occupied territories hut also in the Reich pr()per. In addition ro rhese activities, the WVHA was the supreme financial authority

102

THE AlLGEMEINf·SS

r the SS .1nd ran rhc ';\<,t range of S ~· nom ic unJertakin!t~· To a large extent, the d ' rn-dJy work of rhe WVH.\ wa!> Jc~~:ntraliscd and carried our by .1dn11ni:.rrative Jeparrmenr.., of rhe various . S H a11 ptamrer, the administrative offiars ,l(t, .. hed to rhe HSSPfs, and adminisrr,mve 'l nnl> .H Obcrabschnitt and Abschnirr level. tHII :;o, rhc WVHA remained in charge of tlh ~e neral supervision of all SS and police ~d 111 uscranon, and appointed administrative r ,onnd . It had to approve the promorions of • l mmi~tratm: officers in the S and police. ,uhf .1cred in close lta1son with the SS luht utlgshauptamt regardtng aJminisrrarive uanung courses, for which it maintained cwo ~.p .. t.tli'>t schools ar Arolsen and Dachau. the \~ crwaltungsdiensr. or Administrative h .. c, included for its enbred ranks the pmr~ ot accountant, baker, billeting official, htll~fic r, clerk, cook, paymaster ;lnd 'f('w~kccpcr, while officer grades Spt'CIJiJs~J in a~r cu lrure, engineering. forestry and mining, as · dl a~ general administrative duties. The ~) u::. intJined its own sysrem of supply Jb ncr from that of rhe Wehrmacht, for \\I h purpose a large nerwork of depots and swrc-. was built up in c~rmany and the o~..~.. up1 ed rerrtrories. Operationally, these ~..·amc under rhe control of the SS f uhru ng!>hauptamr, but the actual n:.,ponsi biliry for supply was divided bcrween chc fuhrungshaupt:tmr and the WVHA. Hr• Jl) speaking, rhc former dealt with arms. au1muninoo and other technical equipment. '' luk· the laner was responsible for rations, ch.rhing, wood, coal, fodder and personal 11e 17\. The WVJ lA also engaged to the hulk pu1 d1J~e of leather and textiles, although all orhcr raw materials were acquired f()r the S · hv 1 ~pecia l Rohswffamt (Raw Materials l lit eel attAched to the Per onlicher Stab It

"o

tov... lh 1945. the WVHA had developed ro five distinct br.tncht•s, or

tn~.ur por:nc

103

Amrsgruppcn, wnh general alloc.ltlon of functions as follows: Amr..<>gruppe A

I manl:c, Law and Adm1n1 rration (SS-Bngadefiihrcr I feinz Fanslau) .\rntsgruppe B Supply, Bsllering and Eqttipment (55Gruppcnfi.ihrer Georg Lerner) Ann gruppe C Works and Buildings (SSGruppenfuhrer Dr Hans Kammler) Amtsgruppc D Concentration Camps (SSGruppenfiihrer Richard Gliicks) Amtsgruppe W Economic Enterprises (SSGruppenfiihrer August Frank ) Pohl proved to be a ,-ery capable adminisrraror of the eorire system, and by rhc end of the war rhc WYHA had attained a n;trionwide economic imperium for the SS. Amrsgruppe W was subdivided into eight distinct departments or amter at the end of 1944 . The<>e arc J~tatled in the table on p. 104, together with the m;1in activities commg under their jurisdiction. t<> show the immense variety of S enterprises being undertaken at that rime. Due tO irs very nature, Amtsgruppe W was considerably decenrraliscd, with each of its amtcr located awar from rhe WVHA headquarters. The massive concentration camp mdustry was supervised on rhe ground by only a few junior SS officers and NCOs, assisrcd by a large number of foreign auxiliary troops and senior inmale' known as altesren. These tnmutes acred as works foremen or Kapos. and \\Crt free from all other cam p duties. Poliw:al prisoners and hardened habitual criminal!. were usually t•ntrustcd wirh such jobs since they often wielded grear intluence O\ er their comrade!>. Many clerical positions

HIMML~R

5 BLACK ORDER

THf AllGEMEitH· SS

A,\tTSGR l PI' I- \\'- Tfl£ SS 1- CO.\ 0 \1/C ENTI:RNH'Jt\ ,\ \1 I I

Se.:rion 1:

~cctton

1:

ccnon 3:

~MT

II

ecrion t:

~ccuon

2:

~ecnon

3:

Ai\1T Ill ection I:

Secnon 2: cction 3:

AMT 1\'

ecrion I:

DL'ttfs.:he f.rd- u11d \tcmrl'erke Cmb/ 1, m D.J:.St. (Germ.ut Cia~ and Brick\\'orks Co., L.tJ l under !>!'>-Obl·r~turmbannfuh rcr k arl \,(ummenthc\ . Um:k" orb. The~e were locared .n al Rmau and Linz; m.lsnnn at Oranienburg; gr:l\'el dredging at Ausch" Hz; and an oil shale research dl'i;rilh:ry at '\.nzweiler. Potter} and PorceLHn Works. These were in operation at Allach, Da~;hau and also in Bohemia. 8Jifsto({sll'crkc uncl Zement{.zbnken (Building .M arcnal., nnJ Cement Facrorie.,) under S -Obersturmhannfuhrer Dr Hanns Bohermin. Buddmg ~l areriab. I he e plant. made pl.l..rerhoJrd. msulanon. routin~ tile<>, etc. and were sited tn Pu!>cn, Bteltrz and Zichennu. Cement Factories. The main enrerpnse under this eLrion wa' the Golleschau Cement Works at Au chwuz. l:.a tern Work . Dealr w1rh the large number of Russi.1n bu1ldtng companie<. \\ h1ch rhe rook O\ cr 'lock. ~rock and barrel' during 1941-2.

umn l:

C\."ti(ln ):

ml \'

c;,c, uon I :

\t .. uon

2:

sc~ r1un

3:

Frniilmmgs Betriebe (I ootl Industry) under S~·Oberfi.ihrer Karl Mockel. ~lineral

Water. There were rhree sofr drinks facrones whiCh \\'em under the trade name) of uderenquell, ~larront and Apollinari<>, and .111 a ociared ~ bottling planr. rhe Rhcingbssfabrik. vlc:tr Processing. This wa.., ~.:.arried our at ,\usdw.ttt, DJch:lU and Sachsenh:::ltl'..cn. Bread .\ltaktng. h.1kenes opcr.Hed .H Au!>chwitz, Dachau, Sachsenhauc;en. H cuogcnhu~d,, I uhltn ;tnd Plac;?ow Deutsche Ausriistrmgswerke. or I).A. U.. (German Equipment Worl..s) under <; · SrurmbannfUhn:r Dr H:mc; May. ,\1ilitan Armament!>. S •m·olvemenr in the armamenrs and munttions mdu~tq tncreased as rhe war progressed, nor onh for the purpo'>C of 'upplymg rhe Waffen- <; hut also to assi r conventional ,1rrns manufacturers by furni-.hing them wirh che.lp labour. The S made many of It<; O\\ n weapons and technical instrumentation at AusLhwirz. 1\euengamme. Raven hriick, Sachsenhnusen, Srurrhof, Lublin and PJa~;ov.,

104

m.tlnr:ltllt'd an ordnam:c resnng .wd rcp;Hr ... hop ar ~runhot, anu rnclred Jown .,cr.lp ~·.1bk ar DaLhau. In adJi11on, airc.:raft pan.; .w.emhh wa~ -.;arncd out .n lloc;senhurg, .\taurhausen and :\arzweiler on heh.1lf of the \lesserschmtrt ~n<.l Junkers compante-.. I lemh-I conrraued the '\5 to prodULl hangar<; for them at Sach!>enhausen. gun carriage" \\ert' rtp.\in:d ar ~lauthau;;en, hand grenade~ as..,emhled at Sachsenhauo;en, .md llldU)trlal dtamonds LUt at ller.wgl·nbu!>lh and Bel&cn. C..arpcnrn and Cahiner ~laking. .\lmosr e\er~ ~on~entrarion camp had J lurrllture workshop, maktng arncle~ tor borh mtltt;Hy and nnltan consumpnon . Wea\ mg. I he vast majMity ot and police un1for•m were manufactured ar so-tailed ~S­ Bel..leidungswerke or dorhing factories in the concentration camps, with a t:emml start' at D;lchau. In nddirion, the SS made; webbing and bra1d for the Wchrmacht OT\ ~ub-~untracr to the Schwarz Compan) of Hamburg. Land-, Forst- tmd hghererwtrtsdwft ( Agn~.:.ulrure. forcstr) anJ Fisherte)) under S-Obersrurmhannfuhrer Hemnch \ ogd. ' utnrion and Food Research. 1 hi~ sct:non purchased horh live and dead animals su<:h as guinea-pigs, mice .Inti rars for experlmenral u-,c in the researc.:h immures of the 5 . Jr also bred Angora rabbtts at Au~chv.ttl and maintained mcdiLinal herb and c;ptce garden in many other ~amps . t- ore'itr~.

Admmtsrered the economic.: Ul><: of forc!>ts ~1ruaced on SS propcrt). hsheries. The operated a fish processing cornpan~ under the crade name of Amon Loibl Gmbll.

'lilt \I

Te;~;t1l· und Leden•erwertung (Re-proceS!>tng of lexrile and Lc:uher Good.,) undt·r SS-Ohersrurmbanntuhrcr Frirz Lechler. fhere were textile and leather WClrk~ at Dad1:::1U nnd Ravensbrikk whic.:h upgraded old uniforms, belrs, boors, ere. for re-issue to combat untts of rhc Waffen-SS and police. They also prot:cs~cd clothing conft~carcd from concenrrarion camp inmates, \\ hu.;h " as then forwarded tO rhe S~-Bekleidungswerl..e ro he made tnro umfnrmc;.

\mt \'II \ cwon I :

Buch mrd Bild (Boo!..-. and Pi-.;rures) under SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Dr Alfred ~1t'>chl..c. Nordhllld-Verl..tg. The SS pubhshmg hou~e which produc.:ed books and maga7Jne~ on GcrmantL htsrory and culture for generalf'ubli<.: consumption. B.lUcr & Co. An ·s picture resroratton compan), employed O} mator European art gallem·'· whic:.h J!so confi-;carcd valuable painnng~ for di-;plar ar Wewelshurg or in rhc

Sm1on 1:

105

HIMMlER S BlACK ORDER

Amt \'Ill Section 1:

Section 2:

House of German Art 111 ~tumch. 1\.ulwr/JLwteiT (Cultural ~lonumems} under SS-Ober~turmbannfuhrer Horst Klein. OI:ICt) for the Maintenance of German J\lonuments. Looked after the upkeep and improvement of historical buildtng!) including the cac;rles at Wewelsburg, Kranichfcld and Sudelfdcl. )\,1an) of the tapestries. wood can·ings and rhe like used to embellish rhese insmunons were manufactured b} craft.,men at Buchcn"ald and other concentration camp-.. This section also supervi ed the SS Damascus chool at Dachau. )\,1emonal Foundations. Tlw; section was princ1pally concerned with the K1ng Heinrich ~lemorial Trust and the E'ternsteine Foundation. the latrer looking after a ~anctuarr situated among a

within the camps were also held by selected inmates, and there was a high degree of prisoner self-adminbtration. Employment of inmate~ on de k work also provided rhe camp officials with an opportunity ro pia) the pnsoners agamH one another. and make them

scapegoats for rhefrs and other petty crime com mirred by c;ome of the SS men. Th e permanent SS conringenr at each camp was usually fairl) small, Dachau, for example, having just 300 Totenkopf veteran , all o'er forn· \'Cars of age. ro oversee 1.., .000 inmate~

SS men guarding Hungarian Jews or Ausdlwitz runway terminal, summer 1944. This candid photograph was foond inCze
106

THE AllGEMElNE · SS 10 1943. HO\\ C\er, mo t camps also had \\ ,1ffen -SS training grounds sited nearby from "h1.:h extra men were regular!~ drafted in on 1 rota basis, and from which emergency rc111 forcemcnts could be summoned if reqUired. During rhe 'lccond half of rhe \\.lr, the \\ orking hours of mosr prisoners were raised Cl n-;1derably. By 1944, an eleven-hour da, h.td become the rule, e'en during rhe "1nter m.w rhs, \\ 1rh only Sunday afternoons <>ct a~1 d e for rc t. Debility and mortalnr IIH. n:ased rapidly, and rhe productivity of inmates remained far below ll immler's and Pohl's high expectations. Consequently, more a d more had ro be employed to maintain e• tn a •..ratic output. Ami-social elemcnrs and pert} cnmmals were soon being transferred en musse by the RSHA from conventional Gt.rman state pnsons to the concentration ~.:am p factories, and according to a WVIIA report of 15 January 1945 the number of rnmates incarcerated ar that rime had reached an all-rime high of 715 .000, including 200.000 women. Probably as many as aneth rd of thoM~ ub~cquenrly lost rheir lives in thl exhausting e,·acuarion marches organised 1n he face of Allied advances on the camps. 1 hl total number of prisoner "ho d1ed during the war from weakne s and disease "hi le labouring for rhe ~S 1n the concenrrarion camps and industrial w mplexes of rhe Reich was estimated b)' the ~ 1rnberg tribunal ar half a million. The ~aLi party in general, as a nationalist and anti-socialist movement, was supported from its infanq by big business. The . " ·as P• rr icularl) attracm·e to major 1ndustrial gru up1ngs o;uch as T.G. Farben, whose direLtOr\ shared Himmler'~ opposition ro the ~'>•.tl)' protection of the old Junker ,andholder<;, and his goal of building German he~cmon) in Furope, in a closed economic bloc independent of American capital and the \\ o rld marker. During the spring of 1914,

107

Alypi
HIMMlfR'S BLACK ORDER Himmlcr befnendcd \Xtilhdm ~eppler, one of J.G. F3rhen\ managers, and bestowed upon him the honcmu} rank of SS-Gruppenfl.1hrcr. In return, Keppler '' ao; instrumental m the cre.mon ot the so-called 1-reunde.,krel<; Rf S, or ( m..le ot Friends of the ReKh~fuhrer-)S, a group ot wealth} indusrnalisb and bu~ine,.-, ad,·isers. Thq agreed ro make regular fmanual Lontribution., towards the cultural, \OCial and charitable activities of the SS. in rcrurn for Himmler's parronage and protection. While Keppler was the instigator of the freundeskreis, it~ leading member was the renowned financier K urr Freiherr von Schroder, who-;e Cologne Bank mamtained the !>pec1al account, code named which held Freundeskreis donations. Other prominent members of rhe Circle 1ncluded:

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

Dr Rast..hc, Drrectnr of the Dresden Bank; Dr lrpperr. Obnburgermcisrer of Berlin; Dr Rarer 'on H alt, Director of the Deutsche Bank; of the SS, and a special office wa~ set up under ~S-Brigadefuhrer Fritz Kranefuss to admmt!>ter don.ttron~ received from rhe Circle. 1:-or 1tc; part, the SS was able ro award lucranve contracts in the conquered territories ro rhe companies concerned, and supply them wirh cheap conccntratton camp labour. In eprember 1943 alone, O\ er I million Rcu:hsmarkc; went inro Account 200,000 of rlwm from 'on Schroder personally. who wrote that he was veq happy to be able ro help Himmler perform ht~ 'special tasks'. r here I~ no doubt that these pillars of German '>OCtet~ played a most important part in oiling rhc ''heels of the SS economic machine.

·s·,

·s·,

THE SS SOCIETY Be'iide<; the acknowledged and logica l Jc,elopmcnt of the SS as regards irs fusion with rhc police and security service!>, rhe organisation enlarged it'> position and range of Influence in more 1n~idious ways. By meanc; of an unobtrusive bur thorough policr of rnftlrrarron, rhe SS furnished itself with rcprec;cnrarives tn every branch of official and c;em1-official German lrfe. It became, in effect, rhe art.. hen pal 'o;rate within the srare', a clmel) kntr .tnd powerful group of men and ''omen governed h~ .1 rigid ser of rule~. rhe chJCf of \\hrch w.t'> loyalt) to HimmJer and unque-.rioning obed1ence of orders. .\lembersh1p of the SS '"as al" a} s

fore~gn Mirisler Jood1m von Ribbentrop in lis uniform os on honorory SsBrigodeluhter, em1y 1936. At tlis stoge in his coreer, von Ribbentrop hod

fUSI been oppo101ed Hider's ombos.sodor 10 Greet Bri;run

108

t.• mben of the ReJChstog solu1tng Hitler i11937. SS umorms rue Mlenl evefyWhere, ood Pfom!Oelll SS pt!SOOO~Ms 1111he group ll
a ttractive after 1933, offering a steady and lt11.. rative job in the agency of the most 1110uential body in Germany, with rhe chance ot a quick lift on the road to economic, nolitical, profes ional or even artistic )Uccess. ( nmequently, the Allgemeine-55 soon outgrew irs origins as a group of guardsmen tnd came to represent a ver y carefully I rgani-.ed raCtal elite COmposed Of lntellectuab as well as ex-soldiers, '-lopkeepers and peasant youths. In .\lay I 'J44, no less than 300 of the 1,200 leading '1Cr~on alrttes in Germany, including ndu ..ma!Jw,, financiers and academics, held \\ membership. By rhar rime, SS dominanon hroughout the Reich had become toral.

A c;tarring point in the -..rudy of SS can be made with the immediate entourage of the flthrcr. I Iirler surrounded him,elf with SS men, rhe principal of whom were his secretary. SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Philipp Bouhler, ;tnd his personal adjutant, SS-Obcrgruppenfuhrcr J uiJU'> Schaub, both con'itant companions and confidants since rhe old Srossrrupp days. The Fuhrer's chief medrcJI offtcer, Prof. Dr Karl Brandt, was a Gruppenh1hrer; ht., pcn.onal pilot, Hans Baur. \\a., a Hng,ldcfuhrcr in the RSD; and his chauffeur, Erich Kempka, \\a a Srurrnbannfuhrer. In addition. the majorit) of Hnler\ ~ OLtng \a lets ,tnd aide':>, including Frrtt Dargc'>. Otto Gi.msche, Wilhelm Krause, perc;onalinc.~

109

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

SSObergruppenfulve~ Korl fiehlel, Lord Mayor of Munich, oove1ed the city's freikorps Memonol oo 9 May 1942.

Ss.BogodefUivel Atfu GreiSel (left) md Ss.6ruppeofiihrer Albert Forster (cenne) wilh Grossodmiral Roeder oo on inspecllOn fOUl mDanzig, 1939. Greisef, o former oovy pilot, wears the pole-grey ~SS umform wffle Forster SI)OIIS ope~ political tunic, wrthou1 iiiSIQmo, VI IllS other copooty os the loco! NSOAP Gauleiter. GretSer, then forstef's deputy, lote1 become on SS.ObergruwenfUhrer ond Goulerter of Worthelond. Rcr~.;h ~bntstries, thirty-nine key positions

o;ignrficant that so many SS men held influential posts in the sphere of activity wh1ch he controlled. In view of H irnmler' position after 1943 as Rei ch Mini tcr of the Inte rior, ir was inevitable that rhc SS were well represented in that branch of rhe government. SS· Obergruppenfiihrer Oswald Pohl of the WVHA wa a mini tcrial director, and Obcrgruppenflihrer Dr Wilhelm Sruckarr was a ecretary of State. M oreover, Gruppenfuhrer Prof. Dr Friedrich Weber, S Brrgadefiihrer Dr Anton Krei ss! and 5-0berfUhrer H ans Rudiger were heads of de!parrrncnrs. The special significance of the ,\ 1inistry of rhe Interior, howe,·er, extended bcrond the mere ltsr of SS per onaliries holding office \\ 1thtn it. 1'\ot only was it the

occupied by SS men from the ranks of Obergruppenfiihrer down to Obersturm,,mnfiihrer. In the Foreign Office alone, ten ''o~t ~ were held by SS officers, including \\ tlhclm Keppler, Walther H ewel and Prof. Dr Werner Gerlach, who were heads of dt:pa rnnenr . Brigadefiihrer Kurt Frciherr \'On ~~..h roder, of the Freundeskreis RfSS, and the ~l.l nt Dr Alexander Freiherr von Dornherg, l hH~ f of Protocol, were ministerial d1recror'>. <.,\ Oberfuhrer Prof. Dr Franz Six, Chief of \rm VII of the RSHA. was also H ead of rhe l-llreign Office Cultural Deparrmenr. Rrbbenrrop is known to ha\'e fought hard ro rtar ntam the independence of the Foreign Offrce and D iplomatic en·ice against the encroachments of the SO, so it is all rhe more 'H rc

Cassel was Chief of the SDAP Racial Department, and SS-Brigadeftiluer Bernhard Ruberg wa!> Deputy Gauleiter of the Foreign ecrion of the NSDA P, which co-ordinated all parry activities abroad. C..onrrol of access ro H ider and domination of rhe N DAP by the SS could perhaps be expected, but the arne penetration was also e"rdenr in the machinery of the state. Some of rhe most tmporranr posts in the Cabinet \\ere held b) S generals. Obergruppenfiihrer Dr H ans Lammers was H ead of the Reich Chanceller), while Con ranun Freiherr von r\eurath and J oachim von Ribbentrop both !ter' ed ao; Fore ign Minister. Jn the \' arious

I leinz Linge, Hans Pfeiffer, Max Wtmsche and the brothers Hans-Georg and Rich ard Schulze, were junior SS officers. As it was with the head of the party, 50 it was with the NSDAP itself. One of the key posts at the top of the Nazi hierarchy, that of Parry Treasurer, wa held by SS-ObersrGruppenfiihrer Franz xa,·er chwarz, \\hO controlled the whole financial policy of the ::-J DAP. Below him were three Obergruppenfuhrcr: Walter Such, the upreme Parry judge: ~lax Amann, Chief ot the Part) Press Office; and ~larrin Bormann, I lead of the Parry Chancellery. To quote onl) two more examples, SS-Brigadefi.ihrcr Erich

110

111

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

Himmler in conversation with SS.ObergruiJI)enfohrer Dr Hans Lammers, Heod of ltie Reich Chancellery, who is wearing the white summer funk. The chief administrators of the Party, the Wehrmochr ond the store (Bormonn, Keitel ond lommersl wete known os the 'Gong of Three'. Two of them (BormoM ond l.ommelsl were SS gene10k. and so were due
ltlllVlller.

central illlthorirative ministry in all matters concerning the home front, but from it Himmler was able to keep control of the vast German bureaucracy. The pO\\'er of appomrment, promotton and dtsmto;sal whrch he enjoyed as ~tinister of the Interior wac; one of the gre.nesr reinforcements to irs infiltration poltC) \\hich the SS achte,ed. At Goebbeb' M11mtr} of Propaganda, rhe Chief of the Reich Press, Dr Otto Dietrich, was an SS-Ohergruppenfiihrer. Other S~ officers of high rank included: Alfredlngemar Berndt, the Controller of Broadt:asring; Karl Cerff. a departmental

head; Dr \X'erner ~aumann, Secretar} of State for Propaganda; and Dr Toni Winkelnkt·mpcr, l lead of rhe Foreign Broadcasting Department. As with the Foreign Office, thic; 55 infiltration into the Propaganda ~1rmstry was one of parricular o;ignificance since Goebbels ·wa~ no friend of Himmler and can scarcely ha"e welcomed the presence of S men among hjs subordinates. There i no doubt that this aspect represented a deliberate attempt by the 55 to gain control of the German press and the narionwide machinery of propaganda. At the Minisrr)' of Labour, the Head of the R eich Inspectorate of Manpower was 55Gruppenfiihrer Prof. Rudolf Jung, while SSBrigadefuhrer Prof. Wilhelm Borger was head of a department and 55-0berfuhrer Kurt Frey was Reich Inspector of Labour. tn the justice ~tinistry, SS-Gruppcnfuhrer Leo Perri was a member of rhe People's Court and S Oberfiihrcr Karl Engert was a Ministerial Director. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food was headed hy SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Walther Dam! until 1942, when he was succeeded by SS-Obcrgruppenfiihrer Herbert Backe. SS-Gruppenftihrer Werner Willikens was a Secreraq of Stare ar the ~tinistry, and SS-Ober!>turmb.mnfi1hrer Ferdinand Hiege of the Hauptamt RKF was a departmental head. The ~inister of l lealrh, Dr Leonardo Conti, was an SS-Obergruppenfiihrer and the Ministries of Fconomics, Ftnance and Education all had their share of permeation. SS-Gruppcnfiihrer Dr Franz H ayler and 55-Gruppenfuhrer Otto Ohlendorf. both tmponant D officials, were at rhe first, S -BrigadcfUhrer Otto Heider at rhe second, and -Standarrenfuhrer Prof. Dr Albert Holfelder at the last, to name only a sample. ln local government, rhe rale was the same. Provincial State Minister!> and Secrctarie , Presidents and Vtce·Presidents of state governments. were but a few of the men

112

THE Al LGEME l NE·SS

SS.Obergruppenfohrer Dr Otto Dieh1ch, Chref of lhe Reid! Press, addressing the first Coogress of the Union of Notional Journollsts' Associations of the Doge's P- :c~ tn Venice, 9 Ap!ill942

Jse high SS rank "as nor always the most publici ed feature of their careers. furrhcr down the \calc, m municipal affairs, at least '>IX cities hild c;enior SS officers as their Lord \ fa yor , including the Stosstrupp vereran 1\.ul f'ichler, Oberhi.irgermeisrer of Muntch. ~m il ~Iaurice, Ulrich Graf and their Old Guard comrade~ were im·ariably msrallcd a" local Cit) counctllor<;, 1n addmon to thetr n ttonal appointment~. Turnmg t<> tntlusrry. Paul Korner, ecrerary "I State for the f'our Year Plan, and Wilhelm \ leinherg, Commrssioner for Fuel, were borh \S generals. In other spheres uch as .• rmamenrs. shipping, bankmg and rhe moror ,t nd texnle indu~trics, the SS was ag:un well tl·presenred. For instance, 5-St.tnd-

arrenfuhrer Dr Auguc;r chwedler was Director of rhe Retchsbank; 55-Brigadefi.ihrer Hans Kehrl wa~ leader of the Textile~ Economics Group; S -Oberfi.ihrer Jakob Werlin was Reich ln<;pecror of Motor Traffic and Director-General of the Mercedes firm; and SS-Oberfi.ihrer Rudolf Diels, fir t chief of the Gestapo, headed the Hermann Goring hipping Compan). The same \\ ao, true of the milirar) arisrocrac), anJ '>Orne parts of the S · Dtenstaltersliste read like a 'Who's Who' of German nobility. In addition to those mentioned elsewhere in rhis book, aristocratic members of the Allgemeine-55 included General Fnedrich Graf von der Schulenburg, Generalma)or Anron Edler Kless von

\\ t..

113

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER adm10isrration, and ,til rhi' was 10 ;lddmon to rhc normal machtncr~ of rht o.,<; .wd police er up m the conquered countries. Tht· re;llm~ o f education. culrurt and charitable organt.,ariono, "ere no more closed ro rhe ubiqutrous S than were the high gowrnmental circle or hea\-y industr~. \Ltny un1ver.,1ty professors were SS officers of htgh rank and S -Gruppenfiihrer Johannes johsr was Prc!.1dem oi both rhe Reich Chamber of Literature and rhe German Academy of Poets. S - rurmhannfllhrer I lermann :Vltiller-John, bandma~rer of the Letbstandarte, was on the Council ot the Reich Chamber oi Music. Even the German Red Cros ociety. under the lc<~der')hip of SS-Obcrgruppenfiihrer Prof. Dr 1-.rn:,r-Roherr Grawitz, was permeated \\ irh SS officiJl~. imilarly, the head of the ~a7i People' Welfare Organis.ttwn was Gruppenfii hrer E.nch H tlgen feldr, who \\as also 10 charge of rhe annual \X'inrer Charitie C.amp.llgn, the \X inrerhilfswerk. One of his dose W'H\X' colleagues. the Reich Women's Leader Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, wa the .... tfe of . S-Ohergruppenfuhrer August lleissmeyer. The s~ ltke\\ ISe dominated the sportmg world with. for example, Srandartenfiihrer Hans H1eronymu!. as !>ecrct.u~ of the German Boxing Federation. This SS penetration into all parts of German life was \teadil}' achieved in two wa) s. Firstly. in the early day~ of the ~az i movement, before the S' wa~ in a position ro appotnt or arrange rhe appointment of its own men to influential offices, rhe main method tt\ecl was the practtce ot awarding honorary 5 rank to important public figures. rhl· new members feh their authorit) cnhan~:ecl b} the ~lack uniform and semimtlltan St
Dr,1uworch, Kuno I rrihcrr 'on Elrz · Ruhen.1ch, Oberst Fnednch rrciherr von der C.ultl, Oher-;rleurnanr Rolf von Hum:tnnHainhofcn, <...art Rekhsnner 'on Oberkamp, \X' ilhelm Freihcrr von Hol7c;chuher, Rinmeisrer Erasmus I re1herr von ~IJI ~~~. t-nednch Erbgrossherzog von ~kcklcnburg, Carl Graf \on Puckler-Burghaus, Friedrich Pre1herr von Reit7.ensrein, Hildolf Rt:1chsfreihcrr von Thiingen, Paul Baron von Y1etinghoff-Scheel, and Generalmajor Gu~t;lv Atkllf von Wulffen. T he list went on and on. One of the more renowned of thei r number during the Secontl World War was Oberst H ya11nth Graf Strnchwirz, who won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves. words and Diamond while serving as an arm~ Pan£er commander on the ca'>tern front. He wa!> one of a mere t\\ enr~­ ,even recipienrs at the covered decoranon . and the onl} man ever ro wear it with thl· black Allgemeine- S uniform. The widespread influence of the SS "as nor confined ro the Retch. for m c,·cr) occup1ed rernror~ S men held some of the mo t tmporrant admin1strarive posts. For example, Bngadcfuhrer Dr Wilhelm Kinkelin wa~ leader of rhe ecrion for Colonisation Polic~ 111 Ro enberg's Eastern ,\linistry. In Poland. . S-Gruppenfuhrer Dr Ono Wachter '-\:l~ Govcrnvr of Galic1a and S-Gruppenflihrer Dr Richard Wl·mller Governor of rhe l uhlin Disrrrcr, while rwo more key poc;trions m Krokow were held by Brigadefi.ihrer Prof. Dr Hcinnch reitge and Brigadefuhrer Dr Harrr von Craushaar. In Bohemia and ~1oravia, <;SOhergruppenfuhrer Karl Hermann h;lnk was ~ t 1n1srer of rare. with Brigadefuhrer Dr Walther Bertsch a hi!. ~tinisrer of Economic!. and Labour. In rhe we~t. Obergruppentuhrer Dr Werner Best wa'> German Pleniporennan 1n Denmark and Obcrgruppenfuhrer Dr Arthur
114

THE AllGEMfiNE· SS fuhrer \\as u~ed for honort~rY ranks up nd mduding Obersrurmbannfllhrer, whtle .:n fllhrer Co\·ered Standarrenfuhrer ~nd ,\bmt: . Borh groups wore distinCrt\'e 1\·ory· .:: 1ured cuff mlec;. After the separation at \~ trom the A m J9J4, rhe Rangfuhrer 8 ,ll· ;.llld the pecial insigma were abohshed, and trom rhat rime there wac; norh1ng to {i \ \ ardl~ distinguish the SS-Fhrcnfuhrcr 1 ~,1 acnve S officers. I he c;econd method of SS infilrranon re c. h~:d it full efficiency only after the l ll ,,olida rion of the Nazi regime, and was rhc dtrccr promotion of 55 men to high positions m 1he !>tate. A marked ftature of the German g\!l't rnment.d hierarchy was rhe pluralism of t~l .. c.., held by leading SS figure~. wh1ch l'n 1hled a few men to exercise a l.uge mfluence. The hest ex 1"1 ple wac; rhar of ll immler himself. whu ev~ll tually controlled all mtlirar). paranuLtary and police forces on rhe home front, t\~ well a two entire Army Groups in the fid I He was :thle to appotnt his lieurenanrs w ~,.nrrec;pondingl~ high poSitions in borh the ~rat .. and, afrer rhe Jul) 1944 bomb plot, the \'\ ·h rmachr. By the end of 1944, S Ubc. r~ruppenfiihrer Han-; Junner was Chid tll St.lff of the Home Army as well as being h d of rhe SS Fuhrungshauptamt. while S~ ­ ( tuppenfuhrer Augu t Frank of the WVI lA .H J Verwaltungspoliz.ei had a lso been ·'Proinred Ch1ef of Administration for rhe Ar m High Command. T har last basrron of rh\ old traditional Germany, the army, had fu 1 11~ fallen ro the S. The primar~ functton of the S was to P" 1tC<..t Hitler and his regime, and It opera red a II the more efficien tl )' ha .. i ng placed it!> re..,rc,enratives and contacts rn all !.ection :tn J at all level' of the society which it •uarded. The part 1t played in presen mg the cneral security of rhe Third Reich and m trcngrhening I Iimmler's posttton agarn t hi., rtv~ j., from wit hin the ~SDAP cannot he ll

eremph.l'ilc;cJ. In short, rhcre "a"> nothmg '-:,ui Germany whtch wac; nor poltt~~:al, •lnd norhrng polittcal wirh \\ hich the S wac; not \..onccrned. O\

tc

111

NOBLE ANCESTORS l limmler' plans for the SS were in man} ways dominated by hts genuine belief rhar the Black Order constirured a brotherhood which was spmtually descended from the heroes of pagan and medieval Germany. rhis view of a mythical Germanic past linked to the present by invisible bonds of race and will wa nut unique ro H immler, and was shared hy many of hi!> contcmporariec;. During the nineteenth cenrur., Germany had wtrnessed a resurgence of nationalism and 111 the progress1on to\\ a rd-. a unified Reich there had grown a tremendous interest in mediev~ll h1srorr and ancient Teutomc legend. The general fa'icinatton \\as fired by rhe opera ric works of RichJrd \Va~ner ( 1813-83 ), a rabid anti· em1re whose heroes such as Parsifal and Lohengrin were the epitomes of knighrlr chivalrr, conrinuall) battling againl>t the forces ot evil. Wagner's last and epic work, however, entitled Der Rmg des Nibelttngen ( fh£' Rmg of the Nibelung ), was '>t:t in the murky world of Dark Age fables. Its four great inrerconnecred operas, Rhemgold, Die \Valkiire (which includes a Valk}'rte named tegrunc!). Siegfried and Gotterdammemng, were ac ted our in a land of gods, ~iatus, dragon~. supermen and slavish sub- human dwarves, \\here a magical ring and enchanted sword hec;rowed limitless po,.. er and imincibiltry upon thetr owners. fhc Ring Crclc had a t1mclc'>'> message about the human des1re for mfluence and \\ealth at the expen!te oi Jll other things. but the moral of rhe ra le was oon lost tn 1t~ telling, as the operas With their '>ubltme music capti\ a ted and bewitched rho. e \\hO ;lrtended them, and ln:,ullcd m the audiences a feeling ot racl;ll

115

THE AllGEMEINE ·SS

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

ll'.1 dmg indu.;mall-,rc; and arm~ and police ''ere .111 n:pre!>ented, to the \lrrual exdu-.ton o f the lower classes. Thule ('onJuctcd op~n nationali~ric propagand,1 rhrnugh It'> O\\ n newspaper, the ~1unich \ oll.:.tschrr Beobu chter, edited by Dietrich f d:arr (\\ ho later coined rhe ~azi barrie cr} ·L) eur..~hl .md Erwache!' or 'German~ ,, ,, 1ke! 'l , and set up a secret intel!.gt·ncc c;tn lt.t" \\ hich infiltrated communist groups. It m t1n t.1111ed and financed three Freikorpc; u1 11 ~ . 1.c. Oberland, Reichskriegsflagge and \X 1~ 1ng. 3nd to win popular support to its ca '" promoted the German Workers' Party undlr ' trom· man' Anton Drexle r in 1919. \\ lll' n Drexler's party was taken O\er by Ill t r .tnd expanded under irs ne\\ name a'> rht '~DAP, it complete!} absorbed the Thule ) n •t t\, together with Its newspaper. r •• 111 lll!>t programme and racist policre!>. I hro ugh his association '' ith Thule, Ham mier became obsessed w1th pagan (,crmanic culture, an obsessiOn which grew e\t'r 'tronger as rhc years wenr by and one wh1c h t.ame to mfluence his ennre wa} of lrfe and th.tt of rhl' SS. During the early 1930'>, rhc Rtichsfi.ihrer established an S-spomored ~o~..;Je t\ for th e Care of German Hi stone .\1on ument'> and acquired a publishing house, :\11rdland-Vcrlag, to spread his ideas to the ~cn a31 public. Plans for rhe sy'>tematic lfl':l tlon of a cultural framework to replace C 'msti.lllit}, referred to as the Development of the German llerirage, were worked out bet ween Himmler's personal staff and sele..:ccd academics in 1937. A new moral pi do<;oph} ba<,cd on the supposed beliefs of thl old Germanic tribes was formulated, and t\IO pagan rites, rhe summer and w•nrer $U o,tJces, were re' ived ro replace Christian fe, m als. The summer event centred around ~ror nng actJo,;Jtres and the winrer one, rhe '"· Ic. \\a<; J t1mc dc\oted to the honouring of tc.:e'>tors. God became ·Got' in SS c•rcle., tllegcdly the old Germanic spelling ). to

dic;ringu"h the p:~gan SS god from the ..:on,·cnriOnal Chrio;rian 'Gorr'. a sugge">t•on \\ h1ch came from Karl D•eh1r<.ch dunng hil> prcparauon of ne\\ S wedding and childnammg ceremon1e'). \X hat drstmguished Himmler from Ro.,enbng. 03 rrc and rhe other blood mrscics \\aS the flair he brought to the practical ta<;k ot reali.,ing his vision of a pagan Germanic Reich. The Reichsfiihrer wa5 con"dercd a persuasive speaker, wirh h•s light Bavannn accent, nnd, more imporranrly. he clearly believed in everything he said at rhe moment he <;aid ir. o man looked less like hi'> job or appeared more normal than rhc SS chief. lie successfully convinced ultra· traditionalists rhat the> were the vanguard of rhe new Germ.ln~. while ar rhe same rime pro\ 1ding the young with the glamour of a dark and secn~r Order sworn to a pagan creed running counrer to rhe rules of bourgeois Chnsnan -;oc•et) . He also appealed ro most women, rracmg as he did the origin of the '>UOJUganon and undervaluation of women to the tea..:hing!> of the Christian Church. The Church leaderc;h1p, he asserted, had always been nothing more than a glorified hommexual male fraternity which on that h.N~ had terrorised the people for a thou and year!>, ro the extent of burning 150,000 good German women (not men, he emphasised ) as witchec;. Fnr better to be pagan rhan Chnsrian, he declared over the radio in 1937. 1-ar bcner to worship the cercainrie~ of nature and ancestors than an unseen deiry and irs hogu
oft•~ er-,

~e1

120,000 Germans enjoyed on impressive IJe0'1l09CI1 summet solsliCe <elebcohOn il the Belin Olympi< Stod.un on 21 June 1939. The event wos 01gon.sed jOinlty by rhe SS ond !he 1/iMtry of Propog<Jil(!o.

Bcrltn in 1912. The Societ) rook irs name from rhe legendarr 'Ultima Thule' or ·Land at the End of rhe World', supposedly the birthplace ol the Germanic race, and its primary purpose wa'> to o;erve as a literary circle for the study of ancient German hisrorr and cu<;toml> . After 1918, ir became f:~nancall~ nnn-Bolshevik and ami-Semitic, and eventually propounded the aim of unifving Europe under the leadero;hip of a Grear (,ermanic Reich. ignificanrl), the ~\mho I of the Thule ociery was a sun wheel !>\\ a'>uka. The Bavari.1n branch of the Societr was c;mall, but irs mcmbcr~h•p wa~ hand-p1cked .tnd mcluded Hrmmlcr, Hess and Rohm. The nohdny, the judiCiary. higher academ1cs,

unity and national identity which ~eemed co extend back ro the beginning of mankind. l litler himself was inspired in his youth b~ Wagner·., music. and it was while he was entranced by it that he conceived his great plano, for the furure of Germany. He c;aid ye:~ro; l.ner, •for me. Wagner was someone godly and h1s music is mr religion. I go to his concerrs as others go to church'. Exalted by rhe works of Wagner and by the '' rltingr, of the philosopher hiednch ICtlsche ( 1844-1900), whose Ma11 and upermc111 divided the world into masters and o;la,es and foresaw the com1ng of a great leader "ho would build a ne'' order of 'Uhermenschen', a number of German na£1onahst<, founded the Thule ociety m

116

117

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

heing a 'never-ending ta!>k which will iulh m:cupy the tenth or twentieth ReJChsfuhrer after me'. While paganism dominated rhe spiritual ~ide of hi aJult life, Himmler's first historical love was medtevalism. As a child rhe young Heinrich had followed in his father's footsteps by collecting small and inexpensive medieval arrefacts. At school, he read avidly ;1bour rhe arrival of Vikings 111 rhe Lake Ladoga area around the year 700, their adoption of the name Rus, and how their descendants, the Norse tribe known as Russians, repelled rhe Mongols and settled all across the east from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Ht: was also fa::.cinated by the tale of Rurik the Dane, founder of Novgorod and Kiev around 856. and the story of the Saxon king Heinrich I. 'The Fowler', elected King ot .\11 Gtrmany in 919, who had checked the mcursions of Bohemians and Magyars from the east and laid the basis of the German Confederation of Princes which became. under his -;on Otto, the Holy Roman Empire. The aspect of medieval history which captured the boy Himmler's imagination completely, however, was that of the Order of Teutonic KnightS, or Deutsche Rirterorden, founded by Heinrich Walpor von Bassenheim in 1198. Like the other hospital Orders of the rime, i.e. the Knights of Stjohn and rhe Templars, it was established to aid western kntghrs who hnd been wounded or fallen sick during the Crusades. HoweYer, unlike the: others. the Teutonic Order was djsringuished by the fact rhar it was exclusively Germanic in its recruitment. Jn 1211, rhe Golden Bull of Rimini entrusted to its knights the colonisation of the ~lavonic lands to the t::a t of the Elbe. Under irs Grand Master, Hermann von Salza. rhe Order immediately undertook a programme of German cxpansi<)n, extending domination over Prussia ~md the Baltic states. It reached its height in the second half of the fourteenth

century, bur was broughr ro a sudden end in 1410. On 15 july that year, the Teutonic Knights -.vere crushed at Tannenherg by a coalition of Poles, Lithuanians and Mongols. The power of the Order was broken, but the memory of its valorous deeds under the badge of the black cross never ceased ro haunt German dreams thereafter. It eemed to d1e adolescent Himmlcr that all of German medieval life had centred around the constant struggle between Norseman and Mongol, between Teuron and Slav, and he longed to continue rhe hjstoric mission of his forefathers. Even as a nineteen-year-old student, he wrote in his diary that he hoped one day to live his life in the easr and to fighr his battles 'as a German far from beautiful Gem1any'. Himmler eventually harnessed this romanric vtew of history to provide an :mracrive integrating factor for his SS, recnlited as it was from all walks of life. It was not by chance that the SS colours, black and whire, were rhose formerly worn by the Teutonic Knights, who simply handed them down rn Prussia. And when Himmler later talked about blood as the symbol of honour and fidelity, he was again appealing tO medieval tradition. The mysticism of rhe Blurfahne irself harked back to rhe chivalric initiation ceremony b} which the feudal suzerain was linked ro his vassal by sword, fire and blood. For the SS, the Fi.ihrer was their liege lord. When his power was consolidated in 1934, llimmler's early medieval fantasies could be: realised and given free rein. Obsessed by the old legend that a Westphalian castle would be the sole survivor of rhe next Slavonic assault from the east, the Reichsflihrer scoured wcsrern Germany until he found the ruint::d fllOUntain fortress of Wewelsburg near Padcrborn, named after rhe robber knighr Wewel von Buren, which had been a focus of Saxon resistance to the Huns and had been rebuilt in triangular form in the seventeenth century. Following the example of the Grand Master of the Teutonic

118

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

llrdcr \Vho built his headquarters at 'l.lricnburg, Ilimmler determined to convert \Vewelsburg inro the srronghold of the SS. The :1'\rl e was duly purchased and the architect ~ lermann Bartels, a Standartenfiihrer on tht l'crsonlicher Srab RfSS, was ~iven 12 milliun Rcichsmarks and set to work creating a :eremonial retreat for his masrer. Emering the finished complex in 1937 was 1ke stepping back in time. A grand stairca'>C was bordered by a banister of forged iron. lccorared wirh runic motifs, and rhr walls of he entrance hall were hung with huge a pesrries depicting Germanic and rural .r.. enes. All the woodwork was of oak and .:verywhcre stood marble statues of Heinrich 1. Friedrich ,·on Hohensraufen and other German heroes. Each room was furnished in medieval strle. The 100 x 145 ft dining room held a massive circular Arrhurian table in ,olid oak. around which Himmler and his cwelve senior SS Obergruppenfuhrer of the day regularly held conferences seated on high-backed pig-skin chairs bearing the names of their owner knights. A fire crackled m the monumental chimney, and behind each general hung his SS coat of arms, specially designed by Karl Dicbitsch. The dining room ... rood above a stone bast:menr with 5 ft thick walls, from which a flighr of steps led down ro a well-like crypt housing twdve granite columns and known as the 'Realm of the OcaJ'. The idea was that when each of the twelve SS lords died, his body would be cremated and his ashes entombed in one of these obelisks. Htmmler's pnvate apartment within the fortress were particularly sumptuous and adjoined a gold and sil ver strongroom, a hall for his extensive collection of medieval weaponqr, a library with more than 12,000 books and an awesome chamber where the Extraordinary SS and Police Court could be convened in special circumsrancec;. There were also magnificent guest rooms set aside for Adolf Haler, who never appeared ar

(Xi rorvifv feaiiJOOg oSWO!d, ~. steel helmet ond IIJI1(6, 1yJirol o1 the

psooOOmOOievol wdl decototions m adorned tfwnmlel's oostle orW~g

the castle, g1ving rise to rhe local village rumour char one day rhe Fuhrer would be buried there. Himmler intended that Wewelsburg should ultimately be used as a Reichshaus der SS-Gruppenfi.ihrer or SS Generals' Residence, but the outbreak of the war saw its conversion to SS-Schule Haus Wewelsburg, a staff college for senior SS officers. Its commandant was SSObergruppenfiihrer Siegfried Taubert, whiJ

119

HIMMllR'S BLACK ORDER

\vas former!} Heydrkh'o; chief of stJff <1nd "a~ f.1ther-in-law of Ern~t-Roherc C.rawirz, rhe S medical chtd. \ IJrge section of \\ewelsburg Casrle \\JS drdteared to rhe SJ'\on ruler Heinnch I. I he Reich:.fuhrer approved of rhe fact rhnr ht'i men nicknamed him ' King Heinril:h', and <.:ame to see himc,elf a::. rhe <;ptrirual retncarnarion of ' I he Fowler and the embodunent of h1~ ~ums ro <.:onc;oltdare C.erm<1ny agaim.t the hordes from rhe ea.,r. On 2 Jul} 1936. the thousandth anniversary of the King's death, Himmler inaugurated a solemn remembrance festival at Quedlmburg, once Hetnrich's sear, and in 1938 he tounded the K1n~ Heinrich \lemorial Trust to re,-i,·e the principles and deeds of The I owler.

umerous S badge~ were .,ubsequenrly srru<.:k to commemorate Heinrich as 'Ewig da~ Reidt· or 'The Erermn nf rhe Reich·. I o m:ml a general feeling of kmghthood in ,til his jumor offt<.:ers and men, the majonr~ of whom ncn·r e'en a\\ rhe splendour of Wewt·f.,hurg, Jlimmlcr rewarded them with rhe three less grandiose rrapp111gs of dagger, sword ;tnd ring. That my,ru.:nl combination, harkmg back to a warnor anstocracy and the legend of :\ibelung, wa., to symbolise the Rirrers<.:h.th of the new SS Order, at one and rhe same ttme both new and )'et rooted in the mo'>t ancient Germanic past. H1ntmler'!> crippling ~nrhu..,iasm for German ht-.rory, th~ ideab of which were to form the ha.,is of the ne\\ era, led to hie;

Htmmler delivering oeulogy on Helori
120

THE AllGEIHINE·SS foundation of the Ahnenerbe- For~chungs­ und Lehrgemeinschaft, usually ahbre' tared ro Ahnenerbe, the Socter~ for the Research and 1 eaching of :\nce~rra I H eritage. I t~ fi r~t President \\3'> Dr IIermann \X trrh, a university le~;turcr known for his conrrover~ial work on rhe Middle Ages and Germanic antiquity. Wirth had join ed the '\ISDAP in 1915, left 10 1926, and reenrolled in 1933. Ht book, \Vhat ts the German Soul?, '"a~ dtsmissed as claptrap by Rosenberg, but Wirth managed ro seduce Himmler with rhe promise that he could ~rudy and research 'ordic history for the purpose of verifying National Sociali rand SS theories by sctennfic proof. Obergruppenfuhrer Darn~ of Ru I lA alo;o hecame Interested in th~ <,~;heme. and his ac;stsrance was of enormous value since, a~ Minister of Agriculture, he had huge financtal resources at hi~ disposal. It was he who actually paid for the setting up and commissiomng of the ociety in j uly 1935, under the ausptces of his Mmistry. I he following year, however, differences of opinion appeared between Himmler, who saw the German a'> a nomadic warrior ever in search of new lands, and Darre, who .,aw him as sedentary and ftrmly rooted to hts O\\ n '>Oil. This conceptual argument was ro have a profound effecr on Ahnenerbe. In November 1936 ir was integrated into the Abtcilung ftir Kul turelle f orschung (Section for Cultural Re.,carch} of the Pero;6nlicher Stab Rf<; , and a few months Inter, when the split between H immler and Dam: reached breaking poinr. the Reichsfi.Jhrer appointed SS-Standartenfi.ihrer Brun o Galke as a special representative to the:: Society to undermine Darrc~'s influence. One of Galke' first measures "a., rota II} to discredit Wirth, who was Darre's eyes and ~:ars in the Socierv. Wirth was su bsequenrlr dism1ssed an.d replaced as Prestdent of Ahnenerbe by Prof. Dr Walther Wuc;t, Dean of Munich

121

After Ills speech (see p. 120) the Reidlsfirlwer laid o wreath on the Kilg's lOmb.

University, who o<.:cupicd the Chair of Aryan Culture and linguistics Jnd who had a much larger audience in academic circles. He w.p, al.,o an SS-Oberfi.ihrcr, \\hose first 10\ aln was to •lt mmler. · · Wtth Wtrth gone and Darre's power 0\er Ahncncrhc cancelled Otll, rhe Reichsfi.Jhrer· <;I) proceeded to rec;rructurl' the Society dunng the '>llmmer o( 193 7 , t:'>tablishing irs new and independent headquarter<; nt 16 PucklerstrC, Bcrlin-Dahlem. 1-ltmmlcr re'>en ed
HIMMlH 'S BLACK ORDER

Himmler solutes 'The fowler' after the wreatlrloying ceremony deptcted on p. 121, wi1h Karl Wolff, Goulerler Rudolf lo!dan and Reinhord Heydrich behind. The blank collar patch wom by the ss officer on me left indicates in this case not membership of me SO, as often enoneously assumed. but hrs attachment to lhe R~chsfUhrer's Pe~nol Stoff

Reich, and had many influential contacts among financiers and industrialists as well a-. access to rhe Sipo and SO. lie soon Cl>tablished a foundatton of companies which were prepared to make massive monet.uy contributions to the ociety. Other funds were found from the coffers nf the Sicherheirsdienst, thanks ro S1evers' fnendship with S-Oberfuhrer Prof. Dr 1-ranz S", who was re'>pom.ible ro rhe D for overseeing university policie . At the end of 19r, Himmler defined the purpo!.e of rhe recommured Ahnenerbc. It was to carry our research into ancienr history

b)' srudyrng facts from a scientific and ideological point of \' iew, in an objective manner and withour falsificarion. lr was also ro be re<;ponsible for rhe setting up in each Oberabschnitt of educational and cultural centres devoted ro German greatness and rhe Germanic pasr. T he first such cenm: was duly establi<>hed at Sachsenhain b)' Verden, with the reconstruction of a prehistoric Sa"on village which included in tt'i displays a 5,000year-old plough and runic rn criprions carved in stone. fhe whole idea WJ!. to show e\·eq German that rhe wealth of his land and culture were the makings of his own

122

THE AllGfMEINE·SS

ancestors, not things which had been brought in by the Romans or other outsiders. of German)"s archaeological All excavations were oon put into the hands of the Societ}. Their overall directiOn was entrusted first to S-Obcrsturmbannfi.ihrer Dr Rolf I Iehne, who was personally responsible for researches at Quedlinburg to find the remains of H enry The Fowler, then ro Obersturmbannfuhrer Prof. Dr H ans Schleif, who organised digs m the Teutoburg Forest where the Germans of Arminius (o r J lermann) had crushed the Roman legions of Quinrus Varus in AD 9. Schleif later reamed up wirh Oberstu rm bannfi.ihrer Prof. Or Herbert jankuhn ro excavate the Viking site of H aithabu in Schle wig, a wall built by King Godfred in the ninth century ro defend rhe Danes again t the incursions of the Ca r olingian Franks. In rime, Ahnenerbe organised simila r excava tions in Austria, Croatia, Czecho lovakia, Greece, Poland, Serbia and outhern Russia, and sponsored associated expeditions ro rhe Near Fast and Tiber ro look for ign of an ancient ordic presence in these are:~s . From 1939, the remit of Ahnenerbe was considerably enlarged. Himml er was no longer conrenr ro be resuicted ro Dark Age history and ~I iddle Age heraldry. lie now hoped to prove by scientific means rhe racial hypothesis of National Socialism. In conjunction with the SO, t he Society would also look into othe r matters, ~uch as astronomy, control of the weather, rhe extractron of petrol from coal, rhe occult and herbal remedies (Himmler's wife being a qualified homoeopnth). Ahnenerbe expanded ro include more rhan fifry departmenrs, employing over thirty universiry profe sors. The Reichsfuhrer showed evidence of quire a urprising amount of liberali m in their appointment, and drew a fairly vague line between research ability on the one hand and political reliability on rhe other. H owever, the

123

Willrich print showtog 55-Moon HollS Brun, a peosonr former from Grerhof The fronrol sryle of this druwing is intentionally reminiscent of med1evol Viking ond Norman sculptUte. Note olso the pseud
conrracr he required his academics w sign stipulated that rheir findings could never be published if they turned ou r ro be contrary ro SS ideology. One of the most controversial figures among the new researchers was Sturmbannfuhrer Dr Augu t Hirt. Professor of Anatomy at the University of Strasbourg, where SS s tudents were particularly numerous. With Himmler's support, it wa Hirr who collected thousands of human skulls ar Auschwitz for the purpose of making comparative anthropomorphic measurements. H e later roured variou battlefront where rhe Wchrmacht's foreign volunteers were deployed, to study the

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER

THE AllGEME INE -SS

In Ju~ 1938, on S$-sponsofed porode celebra~ng '2000 Ye01s of German Culture' was held in Munich. Pseudo-medieval ond Nazi symbolism mingled on on awesome S
performance and behaviour of combatants as a function of thetr racial categories. Other anatomical specialists from Ahnen~:rbe occupied themselves by examining body parts of different rnce'>, while SS-Sturmbannfiihrer Dr Ernst chafer was commissioned ro de..elop a spectal breed of horse on the Ru sian steppe-. for mthtary use in extremcl) cold weather. The "ar's pnnupal '>ector of '>Ctcnttfic research, that of '>et:ret weapons, fell under the authortt) of t\hnenerbe in 1944. Up to the middle of that year. the VI and Vl rocker development programme!> at Pecnemunde had been directed h} Prof. Dr Wernher Freihcrr von Braun, who wa'> loyal first and forcmO'>t ro the Wehrmacht even though he wa~ an SS

Srurmbannfuhrc:r on the staff of Oberabschnttt Ostsee. H tmmler knew that the Reich wa~ hy then Ia} tng all irs hopes on secret weapons, and after the army plot to assa~sinate H ider on 20 J uly 1944 he rook personal conrrol of rhe Peenemi.inde operation from 'on Braun and placed It under SS-Gruppenfi.threr Or Hans Kammler. The V 1 and V2 programme fully occupied the best mind of Ahnenerbe for the remamder of the war. Towards the end of the war, when llimmler was 0\erwhelmed by his military and police respon.,ibiltties, he said that reading Ahnenerbc report<; was his only real pleasure and his only relaxation . He revelled tn the discourse~ on ancestral tombs,

124

Aseries of plasm badges sold for the benefit of the Nozi Charities Compoign, organised by SS· Gruppenliihrer Erich Hilgenfeldt. They reproduce finds from SS archaeological digs tn Germany, Rome ond Greece, and pomay the use and development of the swastika in antiquity Such projects were deot to Himmler's heart.

125

HIMMLER'S BLACk ORDER

Pritz W;ichder, the head of the NS-Lehrcrbund or Nazi Teachers' League, wa'> given the rank of SS-Obergruppenfuhrcr. The ultimate aim was rhar the most c;electJvc schools and college<; hould be domtnared by the S. On 20 April 1933, Dr Bernhard Ru st, Reich Min ister for Science, Education and Culture, set up the first of a series of spec1al residential schools to train the future Germanic elite. They were termed Narional Political Educational In tirutes, or ationalpolitische Erz1ehung anstalren, common!~· abbre\'ia ted to N PEA or Napolas, although the latter term was unpopular because ir sounded roo Italian. Three were opened during the course of 1933, at Pion in Schleswig-ll olsre10 . Potsdam 111 Berlin and Koslin in Pomerania. F1ve more (Spandau, Naumhurg, Il feld, Stuhm and Oranienstcin) followed in 1934, with a furrher eight (Bensburg, Ballensredt, Backnang, Rorrweil , Klotzsche, Neuzelle, Schulpforte and Wahlstan) the next year. Fa,ourite locanonc; were old army cadet schools, requisitioned monasteries or refurbished 'astles. The motto of the NPEA was ' Mehr sein als scheinen', which is perhaps most meaningful! ) translated as 'Be Modest, but Alway Excel'. The end product of these chools was to be a polittcal soldier who could be entrusted with the leader hip of any type of public service acti\lty. Each establishment received an average of 400 applications for admission annually, of which around 100 were successful. A comprehenstve academic education encompassing history. geography, music, the arcs, languages, politics, mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry was provided for boys between the ages of ten and eighteen year~, and there was also a st rong emphasis on physical training. Spccialisarion, borh academic and sporting, was encouraged. Some Napolas aimed at producing scicnrisrs, others linguists, and a number of pupils were allowed ro concentrate

Germani' custom~> and marriage c:eremonic . In a long and crincal letter ro Wust and IC\ ers dated 17 A ugu!.t 1944, he referred ro rhe tradition of newl> married couples copulating on the tomb<; of their ance rors at the rime of the new moon, and sugge-;red that research on wild animals might prove whether or nor rhe new moon w:ts parricularly favourable ro fertilir). Himmlcr wrote: No good blood mu r be allowed to d•e without having been fruitful. Our SS must be sufficiently srrong and vigorous so that each generation can, without argument, offer up rwo or three on per family on the field of barrie without exhausting the torrent of Germanic blood. We are going ro create the chance for the Germank people and for Europe as a whole, directed by the Germanic people, to build an Order which will, for generations, be able to fight VICtoriously aga •n,t all Asiatic aggression. Woe ro us if thC' Germanic people c:annot win this battle. It will be the end of beaury, of culture and of creo tive thought on thi~ earth. We struggle for that future only so that we can maintain the heritage of our mo t noble ance rors. 1 consider ir neces ary for the hfe of our people ro teach all this ro our grandsons, so that the> may understand rhe difficulties of rh eir ancec;tors and willingly enter into the 55 way of life.

THE NEXT GENERATION H1mmler realised onlr roo well that ir was es!">Cntial rhat rhe best minds among the youth of Germany should be cultivated co ensure a continual pool of talent willing and able to fiU the htghesr positions m the hierarchic:, of rhe S and National ociallsr stare. Untver it) lecturers and school reachers were actively encouraged to join the Allgemeine-$ , and

126

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

on developing their skills tn rowmg, ho"ng, tcncing, riding, '>kiing, yachting, glu.l1ng, and so on. The boyc; came from all "alks of life, .1nd ,.. here parcnt!l could nor afford paymem of tuitiOn the fcc-. were usually \\.11\ ~d. On~ ot the more original iearures nf the NPEA wa'> the •mrortancc placed on practical education. Tht· younger bo):, had ro spend six ro eight weeks of each \'Car ,..,orking on a farm, while the older pupilc; -;ened down mines or in facrorie~. The 1dea wac; that they ~hould discm er the 'nobtl1ty of manual labour' and JvoiJ the tcmpratiom. of class exclusiveness. The knowledge and exrenence gained found their practical applicatiOn in '>pring and autumn paramilttary exercises, holtdJ~ hil..es and organised travel abroad. The ~tructure of each s1. hool \\as patterned after the miliru~. Some e!>t.\blishmcnts carried on rhc tr~1dtt1ons of \:crtain famous German army regiments, and rhe reachers lived in the schools with rhe pupil~. 1"\PFA boys were known as Jungmannen, .1nd were di,·ided mto Hunderr.,chaften, or ~:ompanies . of one hundred. ~al."h of these ,.,..•1s sub· divided •nro rhrce Zuge, or pl:uoom, wnh about rhirry boys. In rurn, each Zug w:h l>plit mro three Gruppen of about ten boy!> apiece. The Hunderrschafr.,fuhrer, Zugfuhrer and Gruppenfuhrcr wert.' pupils who fulfilled rhe combmc:d funcuon:, of a school prefecr and a md irar> academ\ CJdet '\JCO. NPCA graduates were highly sought after hy the \X'ehrmachr a' potential officers, and rho e who went on to university could rei) on rhe ' 0.-\P rn assist them fmanCJally. From the our er, control nt the ~PEA schonb "a' horlr conresred b) ''artous parry hodtes. The original menror of rhc t-.:PE.A c;y:.tcm, Joachim Haupt, was :111 SA officer. ;tnd he fell from favour after the 'Night of the Long Knl\ cc;.' •n June 1934. Dr Roberr Lev, head of the I ahnur 1-ronr, then trted openir ro attract the Napolas mto hts O\\ n sphere of tnfluencc, bur hi., project encountered such

127

Two schoolboys from NPEA Naumburg rokiOQ p!Cfures dUJing the win let

solstice celebrohons tn 1941. Note the SS..nspued Sig-Ruoe tnsignio worn on the left orm

\trong opposmon from the Mtnt!.tr) of Education that he relented and !>Ct up the rival Adolf Hitler Schnol with the support of Baldur von Schirach, leader of the H itler Youth. A':I alwars. I Ieinrich Himmler n~tcJ unobrru!.tvely bur wirh the utmost skill. From the t11ne of the f1r't publtc festivities org.1n1,ed b} rhe l\Ph\ 1n 1934. he rook pain, w !le im·ired along and presented ro the \taff as an honoured gue~t. Jn j uly of thnt year, the Reichsfuhrun~-S volunteered w asc;ume rhe re pun.,•hdity of paying tor ~apol.1 dothing and equipment, and alc;o began ro provide scholarships and tu1t10n fee> for ethnic German student\. On 9 .\!lar'h 1936, 55 commitment to th~ :.choob w,u

HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORO£R

replaced h) the study of pagan Cerman11.: rit~~- The celebration of Julte~t. the SS Chr1.,rma~. brought the puprf, rngerher ro worshtp the Child of the ~un . arisc:n from hts ashes at rhe "mtc:r c;olstice. :-.;e\' <;chool!>on~l> commemorated the struggle between daY and ntghr, and praised rhe eternal return of light. The: night of 2 1 June became the !\light of the Sun, when rhe boyc; mounted a 'j oyous Guard' awaiting the '\Un\ triumphal reappearance. Lectur~ .. \\Cre gt\en on racial )upenont)' and SS ideology, and emphasts was placc:d on duty, courage and personal obligation. The SS influence on the 1PF.A "al> Jlso apparent in tt., dre'iS. with the adoption of S-stylc dagger •tml insignia. After 1940, a ne\\ scheme of ranks "hich was cnnrd) s~ tn form \\as introduced for NPEA c;taff, as follows: J'robattOO
NPEA-U nrersturmfiihrer

Proficiency Badge f01 ten to fourteell"/eot-dds in rile Dell15dle Juogvo!k. the 1un•or bron
rc\\ .udcd '' 1th th~ appoantmcnt of ""'-

Obcrgruppcnfiihrer August 1-l ebsme) ~r a-. Inspector-Cc:ncrdl ot the NPEA. He set up hrs owrl HQ, the ll nuptarnt Dien~t~n.:llc llcl-.,meyer, and subsequently reqwred all :--..Pl A personnel ro enrol tn the Allgemc:in~ SS. Bv 1940. the ')'-; hild complete!~ raken 0\ er the ~apohl'-t, \\ 1th full po" er~ of deci'>ion 111 matters relating to curriwlum and t,ta ff .1 ppo i ntmenr!>. The selection of tiC\\ Jungmanneo wa'> detenmned bv RuSJI.\. <1nd the '\!PEA •.:omm.1nd<11m
W1th the needs of Lebensbom and similar SS organio;arions in mind, the first all-girl NPEA school was opened 111 194 1 at Achern in Baden, ro be followed shortly thereafter by two more. Some of rhe pre\ iouslr all-male schools -.uh-.equenrly admitted female pupllo; and st;l ff. No le-;s than rwent) -l>even nev. ~apoLn ,.,ere founded berween 1941 .lnd 1942, and with the enormou<. expans1on of

128

THE AllGEMEINf·SS

the NPEA programme durrng the war SS int luence became paramount. ~ or example, \'0\11 ensured that rhe school at Ruf.tch nduded a su h<>tarwal number uf } oltng \ 'olksdeursche from Bessarabia and Bukovma 10 rhe .,rudcm bod). Three schools known as NPFA Reichsschulen \\ere set up in rhe occupied western territories specifically to rake in non-German Nordic pupib, the future leaders of the: (,crmanic-SS. The Rctchs!>chule Hll1dern at Kwarreclu in Flander , opened in September 1941, "a equipped to accommodate some 800 boys. although it never managed to enrol more than 120. all under the age of fourteen. It was commanded br SSObersturmfubrer Paul Steck. The Reichsschule ~1cderlande fiir jungcn at \aiken burg in l lolland took Durch boys and was 'twinned' with its nearc!>t German l.OUnterpart, the NPEA Bensburg, with regular exchange~ of students and staff hcm·een the two esrablishmemc;. The closely Jssocia reJ all-female Rekhsschule :--:-iederlande fur ~ladchen \\as located at nearby Heithuijsen, and wa~ run by a pro- ~at.i Dutch barones~. In December 1944, by virtue of his <;ucces~es with the :--:PEA and Rc1chsschulen, and his posnion a~ Commander-In Chtef of the I lome Arm~, Htmmler was appointt·d b,· llitler ro be ~upen·1sor of all schools from which future Wchrrnacht and Waffen-SS officer could be recruited. In theory, that pur hun tn charge of almost ever~ educational c-;rablishment 1n the Th ird Retch and ~onquered countne-;! Htmmlers lnng-term plan made 1t dc'-trable rhat rhe SS o;hould control nor only JUnJor and secondarr schools, but also rhe cenrrec; of h1~hcr learning. Nai'i !>tudenrs· ~roup-. had been formed ar some German unrversities a-; carl~ a!> 1922, bur rhe e were .,1mply gathertn~s of srudent) who had enrolled tn the NSDAP. It was nor until I cbruary 1926 that a separa te stud enc

or~ant~ation, the N ..uwn.ll Socialist GermJ.n Students' League (~a[IOn.l l~oziali~tt.,che Deut~che Srudenrcnbund or ·so t.B), \\<1'> e tablro;hed at ~1unH.h Unl\·ersiry under Baldur \'On Schirach. H~ organised thc 1'-~DSr.B into ten th!>trtctl>. each under a Krci~fiihrer. and membership was extended ro include .,rudents at Technical Colleges, Trade School ,1nd Business Colleges. Ultimarel>, rhe proportion of 'SDSt.B members ar uniYer)Jt) was lower than that of rhose attending rhc other cenrrec; of further education. They were encouraged to join rhe A and take pan in military !>ports, bur less rhan half did '-O, man) balking at the thought of associating wirh the parry's rougher clements. By Januar~ 19 33 the I' DSr.B !.till l1<1d only 6,300 male and -so female member!>. l:.ven afrer the Na7i a!>!..umpnon ot power, enrolment in the organisation was not made obligatory for all studenr:.. On the contrar}, membership was deliberarcly sclecti\'e and restricted to S per cent of rhe student body. As rhe NPEA accepred only rhe cream of German school pupils, so the NSDSr.B would take on only the best and most reliable )tudcnrs in further educatton. Each university or institute of higher learning had an ~S D St.R tamm~lanmchaft, or regular company. limited to not more rhan sl.·..-t) indi\ iduals, all of whom had already to be members of rhe N Dt\ P, SA, S, NSKK or HJ. Ther signed on for at lea-;r a year, and their task was to act as polittcallcadcr among rheir fellow student'>. Both Himmler, who had a degree tn agriculture, and the NSDAP Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess. a history graduate and SSOhergruppcnfiihrer, rook a keen interest tn 1'-:SDSt.B matters. Hess ~poke of it as 'a <;()rt of tntcllecruaJ $5'. and 1-Jimmler hoped that It would furm:.h the future elite of rhe parry. The~ '>aw it as a narur;\l extension of rhe N PF A !>ystcm, which would continue rn ovcr.,ec those boy-; and ~~rl~ fTom the Napobs who had proved themselves capahle of further

129

HIMMLER S BLACK ORDER

t•duc:mon. The two were msrrumenral in rhe ~cmng up of a new offi~c, the "Re1ch tudem Leader~hip (Reichssrudenrenfi.ihrung or RSFI, in Ko,Tmbcr 1936. It had ulrimare conrrol O\ er both the :-\ D 1. B and the ord1n.n~ German Srudcnr th':>OCJation (Deut~chc SruJentenschafr or D r.) to which all German !>tudcnr~ auromaticallr belonged. Command of the RSF was gi,en ro SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Dr Gusrav-Adolf ched, "ho was nominared ReJchc;studenrenfuhrcr. From rhar rime on. srudcnr affairs began ro be heavily influenced b) rhe SS. SDSt.B members were oon kitted out in a dark-blue uniform derived from rhe garh of the Allgemcine-SS and the Hitler Yourh. ·heel set up rhc ~S-Altherrenbund der Deurschcn Studenten, a new :-\az1 alumm orgamsation. and forced rhc exi!>tlng ,ts-.ocJ::Hions of former srudenrs to affiliate With ir on pain of o rherwi~ (' be1ng barred from furrher participation in srudent affairs. Only the Catholic alumni bodies refused ro capnulare, and they were subsequent!) outlawed by Himmlcr. As a result. all financial contributions and leg.1eies from 'old boys' had ro be channelled rhrough the Altherrenbund, and so were conrrolled by the R r and , ulr1matelr, rhe S . Atter 1939, mosr i'-~DSr.B leaders deparred to J0111 the Wehrmachr and \X'aff~n - , thus lcavmg polirical indocrrinarion of !>rudcnr-, 111 the hands of lec;t. commirted indl\·iduals. Moreover, rhe actual composirion of rhc c;rudenr body was altered radically. Whereas before the war only a small percentage of srudcnrs had been women, by 1943 the~ accounred for more rhan 35 per cenr of th~ l'ttudent population. That f:1ctor alone grearly reduced the influence of the:~~. still hasicnlly a male organisation, over o;rudenr life. H immler a em ely encouraged porenrial Germanic-SS leaders from Flander~. Holland. ~orway and Denm:uk ro srudr at German unl\:er,irie.-; and rc<.hnical colleges through the Langemarck chol arshi p scheme, which comnwmorated

the young C..crman :.tudenr volunteers who had toughr so heroicJII} .lt the Bartle of Langcmarck near Ypres. m November 1914. However, rhc ~econd half of rhe Second \X'orld \Viar s.aw !\.lZi inreresr Ill, and domman~,;e over, the unh ersiries fall away, and in somc ca C!> they even becamc :.t:wnch centres of anri-NaLi re-.i:.rance. While rhe majoriq of ordinar~ German youngster!> never had an} a'\SOCiarions with the l\:PI:.A or :-\SDSt.B, mosr eirher belonged w, or had friend'> 111, the Hider ) outh (H1tlerjugend or Hj) and irs female equl\::dcnr the League of German Girls ( Bund Deutscher Madel or BDM ). After 19 33 rhe HJ "J<; a main source of recruitmenr for rhe Allgememe-S . and as rhe power and presrige of rhe SA declined <;O those ot rhe S and HJ increa!>cd. Jn 1936 it wa<; decreed rhat the whole of German youth was to be 'educated, outside rht: parenral home and school, in rhe HJ, physicall)', inrellecrually and morally, for service ro tht' nation and communi£)·'. The HJ ml£iJII) found ir hard ro meet rhe grear demand~ made upon It, and for that rea-;on obligarorr membership was delayed for St:Veral rear~. Even so, \Oiun rary enlisrment rc~ulred 1n the number of Hirler Youths reaching S million (i.e. 66 per cenr of rho!>e ehg1ble to join ) at rhe end of 1938. Compulsor) HJ senice for all male se.,enreenycar-olds woo; inrroduced on 25 ~larch 1939, and in Seprember 194 1 membership finally became obligatory for borh .,exe-; from the age of ten om\ a rd. ~lany of rhe acriviries, rrappmgs and in'\ignia of rhe HJ were demed from rhose of the S. "l£h much anri-Scmltl!>m, neo-pagamsm and use of run1c ... ymbolism, and co-operation between the S :.1nd the HJ became ever closer until br the end of rhe war rhe rwo had merged rh eir inreresrs alrno t completely. Br thar time, the ultimate atm of C\ery Hitler Yourh was acceptance mto rhe S. Th e elm~ branch of rhc H itler Yourh organic;arion was the H.J-Strcifendienst, or Parrot Serv1ce. created in December l936 . lr

130

THE ALLGEME I NE ·SS

Volvnree~ for the 'Hirie~jU9eOd' Division swear on oolfl of loyoJty bef01e rhe

Sig-Runes, lklnked by Hl1ler Youth flogs, ml944 The smart M36 miform of the helmeted oi!Ker contrasts sholply with the more basic M43 dress worn by the recruits.

A'H1rlequgend' MW teom alongside o'Ponrher' rook in Normandy, JUlie 1944 AI W!ill standard helmet cove~ ond smocks, with boggy trotm pollem comoufloge flousel5. The ponzer's number. '326', denotes !he 6th tonk of the 2nd ~otoon of the 3rd company, 121fl SS.Ponzer Regiment.

was in effect an inrernal police force for the HJ, and kept order at Hider Youth rallies and camps, conrrolled transport movements, !.u pervised Hj hostels and counreracred tuvenile crime. Each member was i!>!.ued with a special pass and an SS-s()·le cuff ririe and, as needs demanded, a small cal1bre nfle. In August 1938, under an agreemenr between H immler and von Schirach's Reich)jugcndHihrung, the I lj -Srreifendiensr was reorganised as a son of preparatory school for the SS. Irs training was placed enrirelv 111 S hands, and boys were expected ro g.raduarc inro rhe S or police after leaving che en ice. Anorher HJ formarion closel~ as:,ociared wich rhe SS wa!> rhe Landdienst or L1nd

Sen, l~.oc, the purpose of which was ro prov1de voluntary agricultural as isrance, parricularl)' in rhe eastern provtnces of rhe Reich. The Landdiensr was formed in I 934 and ~enr urban IIJ volunreers on to farms for one year, rhc o-called Landjahr, ro give them agnculrural experience. At rhe outbreak of war, the ~en· ice had 26 .000 members. Jn Fehruary 1940, the SJedlcrnachwuchsc;telle Osr, or Eastern Young cnlers Office, was created under a joinr agreement between rhe S and HJ to train young rers as Wehrbauern, peasant guards who would populare and defend rhe conquered easr. Volunreers were raciolly scrunn1sed by Ru SHA and had w register with the RKJ·DV. To furthe r rhis aim,

131

THE ALLGEMEINE SS

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER ~:omcripnon

Rosenberg in ~larch 1944 with a request that the youth of the occupied eastern territories '>houkl abo he enrolled a<; Flak H elpers. This would apph, a~ 10 German~. to boys and girh from thctr fifteenth birthday until they were old enough to be drafted into their respective ethnic legtons. Stnce these foreign legion were controlled b) the SS, the youngsters from rhc e.1st likewise came under Himmler's jurisdiction. Over 16,000 boys and 2,000 gtrls were e\encually recruited from the Baltic <;t,tte.,, Byeloru sia and the Ukratne. They were ftr~t ca lled SS-Hdfer, then LuftwaffenHelfer, and finally SS-Lufrwaffen-Helfer, and were required to operate throughout the Reich. ervice 111 the Flak batteries was fully combatant, with over forty foreign Flak auxdiarie!> being killed in action and two winning the Iron Cros . Each youngster wore the SS runes on a black mangle o n the upper left arm, in the manner of the standard HJ distnct insignia. The other area where SS and Hider Youth came 1nro doe conract \\as fire fighung. In June 1939, S -Gruppenfuhrer Dr Johannes .\le)'cr, commander of the 1-eucrschurzpolizei. met I IJ leaders to discuss rhe participation of the Hitler Youth in fire ddencc. The HJ -Feuerloschdiensr (Hj Fire fighting ervice) was subsequently csrabli~hcd, and the following December it wa<; integrated into the HJ-Srreifendiensr. In March 1941 its official designation was altered to IIJ -feuerwehrscharen ( HJ Fire Defence Squads), and the HJ uniform was replaced for members b)' a modified version of that of the Feuerschurzpolizei. As the war progre sed, the di tinction between the specially trained I IJ -Feuerwehrscharen and other IIJ units became blurred. By 1943, age rcstricttons had been jettisoned and all members of the you th services acted as \oluntcer helpers tn air raids. In mid-1943 there were 700,000 boys engaged in fire defence. and in the course of that year alone

Jmong German nationals, but if :-oung man could he persuaded to volunteer tor the \X affen- S before reachang h1s rwcnttcth year. the normal age for conscnpt servace. ha~ preference for thar branch of the hghttng forces was normally respected. The l) 1943, following the loss of the 6th Armr at Staltngrad, manpower .;horragcs became so acute that Hitler authorised a programme to encourage volunrary enlisrmenr of sevemeen-year-olds, boys who would nor have been subject ro conscription until 1946. 'l he S saw thi~ as a golden opportunity to build up its own forces. Negotiations hetween Himmler and the Re1ch )Ugendfi.ihrer, Artur Axmann. began at once, as a result of which it was decided to raase an entirely new Waffen-SS division from Hider Youths who had completed rheir LOur~e., at the \VE-lager. By mid-c;ummer the reqUired number of l 0,000 'olunteers had been mu~rcrcd. In October the division "a-. officially named 12th SS-Panzer Division 'Hirlerjugend' and it went into action follm\ ing the Allied invasion of Normand). Th e fanatical young soldiers, keen to demonstrate their worthiness to wear the honoured SS runes, threw themselves into hattie without regard for losses, which were devo-;tating. Over 8.500 of their number were either killed or wounded, and by the end of rhe war a smgle tank and 455 men were all thar remained of one of German} 's foremost armoured divt!>ionc;. The also made use of HJ volunteers on the home from. By the middle of 1943, there were some 100,000 young Germans in the Au,iltcH) Flak organi<>ation, run h} the I ufmaffe, but the demand for ami-aircraft ~unner and ~ea rchlight operaton was !>uch that Goring and Axmann approached Alfred ,l

Donng !heir 1~1 week of oclioo 111 Noonondy, these iluee so!Be~S of the 'Hi~' OMsion woo the Iron Cross

the Landdienst concept wa~ extended in 1942 to include youths from the Nordic countries of Flanders, llolland. J orway and Denmark, who 'oluntcercd for employment with the newly created Germanic Land Sen•ice, or Germani cher Landdienst. Irs badge was the Odai-Rune, and its morro was ·schwert und Schollr' ('Sword and oil'). With the rurn of the nde of war. however, the Germanic Land Senice was officially wound up in March 1944 and man) of its male personnel were rransferred to the Waffcn-SS. From 1936, the HJ ran weekend courses m field exercises (Gelandesporr) and rifle shooting. lnitiall}' it relied on its own penonnel and the Wehrmacht ro furnish tnstructors, but increasingly the SS became

tnvolved in llitl er Youth paramilitary training. ln 1939 toughening-up camps, or Wehrerruchtigungslager (WE-Lager), were establi~hed in which boys between the ages of si xteen-and-a-ha lf and eighteen were put through a three-week course culminating in an awJrd of the K-Schein, or War Training Certificate. Br 1943 there were a round 150 such camp , which included among their trameec; and mstructors volunt eers from Flander~. lloll.:tnd, Korway, Denmark and Latvia. There \\a<; a sound practical reason ''h) the S took a great interest in the WELager S)'Stcm. for it furnished Himmler with a mean<; of circum' enting the Wehrmachr's monopoly on m1litar} recruitment. The Waffcn-SS po.,~essed no power!> of direct

132

133

lHE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER rh1rt~·rwo

ktlled, 60- \\Ounded and 300 decorated wuh 1he Iron Cro-:.., or \\l:lr ~terit Crew•. Late in rehruar> 1Y4 ), when rhc ad\anc1ng Russi.111 Army W dostng in on Berlin, special 1tnir-. of ~abott:ur<, and partisan guer rill..h were tormed from the German populace lvr the purpow of harassing the apprnachtng enemv. In the event of the (,lpturc of the capttaL memher of the!>e unirs, known J'> 'Wehrwolf' or the 'Frcikorps Adolf J ltder·, were ro funcriun hehind Allied line!> tn rhc occupied zone~ creating wh.H h.IVOC they could. It fell tO ll immle r, a~ Commander-in-Chief of the Home Arm), rn set up rhe Wehrwoli organi~at1on and he put it under the command of \', Obequuppcnfuhrer llan!> PnHJ.mann. w1rh \", -Brigadefuhrer Karl Ptlaumer as hts depltl~. However, With all able-bodied per<;onnel already ar the front ltne or tn rhe Volkssturm, Wehrwolf had ro rely on very young members oi the HJ and BDM w make up its numbers. A \';met} of duties was entrusted to rhesc bors and g1rb, 10clud1ng the .,ahagmg ~nd c..oncealmt•nt of arms and .1mmunition, minor acts of <;a"orage such as puncturing ryrc~. and the conve} ang ot me~sage!> and di!>tributiun of Nat.i propaganda. Older Wehr\\ olves seconded from rhe Wa ffcn-SS and Allgemeine-$$ set up secret radio transmitter!., rouk parr in a~sa::.sinations and infiltrated enemy headquarters. Wtthout dounr, rhc Wehrwolf organisation tnflicted substantial damage and, e'en afrer the c;urrender, maraudin~ group ot SS and Hider Youth partiCipated tn ac..t'> of sabotage againsr rhe Amt'ric.:,ln, Briush, french and Ru)~i.1n occupation authurities. By it indo..:uinarion of youth through 1nreracnon with the NPEA, NSDSr.B, HJ anti BDM , the S en<.urcd rhar the id eal ot Himmler and H itler .. un" ed l<.lng after rhe11 demi e.

THE GERMANIC-55

\\NC

t>o<;sec;c;ed as hc Win· to arrract all the :-\ordic blood oi f:.uropc tnro rhe S, lltmmlcr envisageJ the ulnmate creation of a ne\' GermaniC provincc to be called Burgund1a, grouping rhe Netherland!>, Belg1um and north-east france, wh1ch would acr ;ls a buffer protecnng Germany from tn' a!>lon. Burgund1a wuuld e\•enrually be poltced :md governt:d b> 1he SS, and w that end the Rcichsfi.ihrer esrabli!>hed native replicas of the t\llgemeinc-S in Flander , I tolland and Nonvay ..oon after the conquest of chcse countries. At rhe c.>nd of 1942, these forma tions were removed from the influence ol rheir own n,Hi(lnal. collaborationist polmcal leader and amalgamated ro hecome a new 'Germanic-$ · under H1mmlcr's direct order~. \X.'ith the raising of a Damsh branch iu 1943, the Germanic· gre" ro encompass a tot.ll acrive mcmber-.hip <>f Jlmo~r 9,000 men. whose primary tn'lk was to support the local police O\ roo1ing o ut parnsans, ubver._i,cs and other anti·N,ui elements. ~!embers retatned their own languages and cu~toms, but there \\as no que::.tion that C,erman) pulled the ~trings. From the outset, H1mmler wid hi!> western \olunreers: Be certain of rim. 1 here \\ill be in all Eur ope just o ne SS - the Germanic-55 under the command of the Rcichsfi.ihrer· SS. You can resist. hut that is a matter of 10differem:c lO me for we will create it in anv case. We do not a~k }OU ro turn ag.unsr your ~.:oumn, nor to do anything repugnant ro anyone proud of his countrv. who loves it and has h1s self-respect. 'Jeithcr do "e expect you to become Germans our of opporruntsm. What we do cll>k is rhat you subord1nare your national 1deal ro a
134

Rom:tnic. O rt~ln rrom 1940. Hlrler pl.l) ni upon the long-stand1ng rest:ntmt:nr felt h) Flemings against the Walloon-dominated stare of Belgium, wlw:h had been created onlr I I 0 years before. l ie encouraged narionali,t d 1so;ension in rhe coun rq, su pportmg the Vlaamsch ~ationaal Verhond or Vl\!V ( Flcmi~h Nauonal Unu>n ) of Gustave ·Sraf' de Clcrcq, \\ h1ch ..aw 1-IJnders a!> a narural part of the ~erhtrlandl> rather than of Belgium, and which soon ah.,oroed .111 collaborationist parries in Flanders. Th~ 'v ~ V had its own version of the German ) ,\, called the Dietsche M1lirie 7wartc Br igade, and a network of other organisauons which paralleled the I IJ. NSKK. RAD and 1\; DAP polittc.:allcadcrship. In September 1940, cwo pro-German Flemings, Ward llermans and Rene I agrou, et up a Flemish equi' alent of the AllgemeineS m Antwerp. Herman~ was a prominent member of the V~ V, and began by enrolling 130 of his pJrty collc.tgues imo the c..orps, wb1ch he called the .\lgcmeene chutsscharcn Vlaanderen, or Flemish General SS. By March 1941 rhere were I ,580 a~.:tivc:: members with a further 4.000 Patron .Members ()r BeschermenJc Lcden. who contrtbutcd financ1all~. like the German Fordernde .\1irglieder. HO\o.e,.er, due to the constant loss of its men to the Lerman armed forces . pa rricula rl > rhl! ' WL·o;rland' and · ord\\ e<; t · Regiments and rlcmish Legion of thl! WaffenS , the strength of the Algernecne-SS Vlac1nderen fell away cvn)iderably during 1941, alrhouglt it wa~ ne\'cr less than 300. In 1942, veterans rcturmng trom their volunrar} service on the eastern front agam built up the numbers of the Flemt!>h S ·. That October, 111 accordance With Himmler's policy of bringing all German1c General ., formatiOns wnlun a ~ingle German orbit, the hod} was renamed the Gcrmaan::.chc-SS in Vlaandercn, or Germanic-S 10 Hander.,. Those who were roo old or not up ro the ph) Sic.. a I requiremcnr:-. of the Gcrm.tansche-S<; could

General n.•.,pmhthtllf) tor the upcn mon of the GermJnlc.:·SS and irs forerunner' rc't~d "ith rhe S Hauptamr. whtch asst!>tcd 10 rhe foundation and expanc;ion nf the n.:w body. Personnel were \OWl 1-tttcd our vvJth surplus black Allgemetne-~) uniforms imported from German~·. ro \\ hich ~uitable n.uional lll'il~nl:l were attached. A ~pecial Germanic I l.w. on Office. or C,erman1sche Letrsrelle, was er up, wirh headquarter' at 20 Admiral von Schroder Stras c, Berlm. and branches tn The Hague, Oslo and Copenhagen. The furu.:twn of these outpost" was 10 O\ ersee rhc whule poliucal propag:tndn and recruiting actiVIt)' of the S in the respecm c areas of we~n:rn Europe ;1nJ candinavta. Afrer a ume. it became apparenr that the GermarliC rcc..ruit' often needed spec1al hand ling and mdoctnn:won before rhey could be lull~ acce('ted 1nro the S . and to meet thl-. requtremem a Germanic-SS ' I raining Department wa" esra hlished, with four main train ing c..amp:. ;H Sennhcim in Alsace. Schooren in gelgium, H ovelre in Denmark and Avego<>r in llolland. The cmphasi~ in the camps' curriculum was on game,, !>port and political educ..anon. In addition . there wao; a German1c-S'\ Offic.:as' School (fuhrerschule der Germ.tnl:.c.hen-S<; ) at Htldeshe1m, the pu rpose uf wh1ch was ro prO\ 1de general training for lurure politi~.:.1l leader~ 1n the Germanic· S. In fa~.:t, rhc vast majurtr) ol appltcantr, ro join the Germanic·SS \\ere imnted1arely rcdtrccreJ wwards rhe Waffcn· ~~ . particularh rhe 'Wiking' and ·Nordland' Di\'ISIOn • for como.n ~ervtcc. l:.ach of the four nauonal lnrmanonc; which came m make up the Germanic- S had in, O\\n d1,t1nct lustol), and these are now covered 1n turn. So far as Belg1um W:l'> ~.:oncerned, the 1'\aLis had alway<, dr~wn J clear distinction berwet:n tts two people,, ar first favouri nl! the fleming of Flanders, who were GermaniC 111 bnguage and race, as against the Walloom. of \\'alloma, \\ ho were French-spe~ktng and of

135

HIMMLER S BLACK ORDER

Badge worn by PatTon Members, or Besdlelmende l.eden, of the GennollK·SS i1 Flondels.

enrol in irs reserve unit, known as rhc Vlaanderen-Korps. The poliq of the Flemish SS was very much ar odds with the cautious pro-Dutch attitude of the VNV, and it used its own ncw!>paper. De SS Ma11, openly to advocate total C.erman control over Flandcr!>. The nommal strength of the Flemish SS in June 1944 \\3'> 3,500. H owe,er, I ,600 of these were on military service with the Waffen-SS, 940 were with the NSKK and 500 were in the Vlaandercn-Korps, leaving only 460 active Genera l SS members in Flander~. of whom I 00 were still probationer!.. By the end of the year, most of Belgium had been

libera ted . There was 0nl> one significan t exception - the important port of Antwerp, birthplace of the Flemish SS, which remained 111 German hands. The Senior S and Police Commander in BelgiUm, SS-Gruppcnfi.ihrer Richard jungclaus, linked rhe remnants of the Germaanschc-SS in Vlaanderen and the paramilitane of the VNV inro a ecurity Corps, o r Sicherhettskorps. of some 1,500 men. A battalion of Lhis corps foug ht alongside rhe German defenders of Antwerp in a barrie which lasted throughout eptember- 'ovember 1944. lt was one of the rare examples of wec;tern Furopean SS being

136

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

used 10 fight against the Bnt1sh ,ltH.I American<>, mo!>t of rheir colleagues '>l'eing combat ~en tee onh in Ru,sia. So far as I loll.1nd wa:. concerned, over 50,000 Germans lived and 'AOrkcd there before the C..,econd \X'orld \\tar <>O 1t ~~ nor -.urpn:.1n~ thar .1 number of pro-'\,e was rhe 1\attonaaiSocialisri.,che Bcweging or "NSB, the ~ational ~octalt'>t ~1ovement of Anton Adnaan .\l usserr. The 'JSB was a highly orgnni,cd and tull) uniformed parry wirh it~ own paramilirar~ '>t:<.non, rhe Weer Afdeeltngen or Wr\, and in 1940 it '"as granted a polittc.ll monopolv in the 'cthcrland:. under rhc controlltng aurhonry of the <.ountn \ Relchskotnlni'>'>Jr, SS-Obergruppenfuhrt'r Dr Arthur 'ic}''·lnquan. In ~O\embcr 1940, following rhc Flenmh example. rhe .1\:SB rook the bold srep of c<,tahlishing its own SS "1rh1n the framework of the parry. The: inttJ,tttvc came from the former leader of \l U'>!>Crt's per,onal bod}guard , johnnnt''> 1-h:ndrtk f'Hcnk.') I eldmeqer, \\ho created whar ''·"' known simph .l'> the '\ederlandschc S. In October 1942, the Durch SS ceased ro bt• a paramiltt.tr~ formatton of the \.~B. It ,,a., renamed the Germaanc;che-SS en .1\:cderland and became a parr of the greater German1c-'iS under H1mmlcr\ orders. Mussen\ control over it cam~: lo an end. and all Dutch SS men had ro ~wear a perc;onal oath of lo)ah~ to -\dolf llirler. The Germaan,che-SS en ~ederland h.1d, on paper, a '>trengrh ot five regunenr-. plu'> an $$-Police n:g1menr, tn addmon to 4,000 Patron ,\!embers, or Begunsngende Leden. lr also supported It'> tmn journal. rhe ~torm \.~. However, It'> nominal active rnembc:r ... hip of 3,800 wa ... <.:onstanrl) depleted by 'uluJH•lfY enli-,tmcnrs in rhe Waffen-SS. An affiliated guard unit scr up b) the IISSPf Nordwc<;r, S\ Obergruppcntuhn:r Hanns Raurer, after rhc.:

137

Tunic of on Oppe&hoodeider, 2nd Srondootd !Arnhem), GeiJTIOOI(·SS 1 rile Netherlands, c. 1944. lhls is oIIOOfegulotion ttem, probably convetted ftom oDutch police Jacket ol ohme when block SS seM<e uniform tunics were 111 short supply.

dt~banding

of the '"\ord\\"e~r· Regiment, took the mle SS-\\ achbataillon :-\ordwcst. It had tour compan1es. one of whtch ''as u-.ed largclr for ceremontal duties ar SS Headquarters Ill 1 he Hague. The orhers acted as guards at the c.:onccnrrauon camps which were establi!>hcd ar I Jeuogcnbusch, Vught '>. A nc,.. bod), rhe Communal Police, replaced the VM1ous municipal forces .1nd \\'aS rrainLd under 51., direction ar the Police School at Sd1alkhaar. ~lembers \\ere kmcd out 111 a untform h.1scd upon that of

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

rhe Allgemeine-SS hut with a clo~cd coll.u. and any Dutch policeman who \\,IS .1lso a member of rhe Germanic-SS could we orbed the SS-Wachbataillon 'ordwesr, the <,taffs of vanous rrainmg escabli~hments and around 3.000 Dutchmen brought back from workmg in Germany, and becnme the 55-Grenadier Dtvi-;ion 'Landsrorm 1:'\ederland'. The divi~ion snw minor defensive fighting before 1r surrendered in ~lay 1945. Unlike the other occupied western countries, Norway had only one collion of rhe German SA ), saw service 111 Yugosla,·ia with the

Waffen-!>S Div1sion 'Reich·. Both received the Iron Cros~ 2nd Class. Afrer his homecoming a!> a war-decorated hero, Lie ar once ser abour inrriguing with Terboven agautst their mutual foe. Quishng. With German complicity, Lie foundc:d the Norges-55, a 1 orwegian equivalent of the Allgemeine-SS recruired from rhe cream of the Rikshird. Quisling, who had not been consulred or forewarned , was furiou" bur there was lirrle he could do, for Himmler had given rhe Norwegian SS his hle~<;ing. The Reichsfi.ihrer arrived in 0 lo to pres1de over the oath-taking ceremony, and duly appoinred Lie ro command the unit with the rank of SS-Srandarrenfuhrer. Before rhe Norges-SS could complete even irs basic traming, howe,•er, Hitler invaded Russia and 85 per cent of it:o. membership immediately volunreered for service with the "-Jorwegian Legion in the easr. The rest went into a Police Company under jonas Lie, which rook parr in the <;iege of Leningrad. In July 1942, many veterans returned from Russia anJ rhe orges-SS was rcactivnted. A fe\\ monrhs later, in accordance with Himmler's policy, ir became the GermanskeSS Norge. The former Rikshird insignia was :tbandoned and a common scheme of ranks, based on those of the Allgemeine-55 and rhe other Germanic-55 formations, was adopted. The Germanic-SS in >Jorwa) severed all connections with its Rikshird parent and ir was henceforth forbidden for members to helong to horh organisations. A new oath of allegtance was taken, to Hitler rather rhan Qui.,ling, and the German-inspired motto 'Min Aere er Trosbp' ('~1y Honour is Loyalty' ) w<.l'> authorised . 1\o Germanic-55 unit in Non\ay attained sufficient size to be regarded as a Srandarre. The largcsr that could be mustered was a Stormbann or battalion, of which there were twelve in ,·arious parts of the counrry. It is possible char at least five of these existed only on paper and that all the others were consistently

138

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

Himmler inspecting Norwegmo volunteers !01 rhe SS·Stondorte 'Nordland', 9 February 1941.

under-strength. This was nor the result of a lack of volunteers so much as the fact that the Germanic-55 in Norway, as elsewhere, was part-time and often merely a stepping stone into rhe Waffen-5$ or other branches of the Wehrmacht. So many Germanic-55 men did, in fact, volunteer for full-rime Waffen-SS service that they were able to comribure an enrire company to the ·Nordland' Regimt:nt in the spring of 1943. Ar rhe same time, the Germanske-SS 'orge established the SSP Wachbataillon Oslo, "·hich recruited another 500 o rwcgians to act as guards at various installations in rhe city and elsewhere. The concept of Patron Members, or Srottende Ntedlemner, was introduced mto Norwav as in the other Germanic countries. Offi.ci JI figures published in Germaneren, rhe Norwegian SS paper, in September 1944 gave

the strength of rhe Germanic-55 in Norwa}' as 1,250 of whom 330 were on combat dutv with the Waffen-S~ and "60 m police unit~, including SS-Wachbataillon Oslo. That left onl) 160 ~orwegians in rhe active GermanicSS, so many units musr have e\.isted in a skeleton form only. At the same time, there were 3,500 Patron Members. The ocher Germanic countrv. Denmark had several pro-Nazi political ~artie~ befor~ rhe Second World War, the mam one being the Danmarb 1a tional-Socialisti!>kc Arbejder Parri, or DNSAP, under hits Clausen. The DNSAP was highlr org,111i~eJ, with its own Corps of Political Leaders. Youth Section, Labour Sen•ice and SA, \\ hich it called the Storm Afdelinger. In December 1939 rhe Danish SA could muster onh, 900 men bur by the begmning of 1941 d~is had ri:.~n ro

139

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

2,500, many of \\hom were:- later st'nt on training courses w the Germank-SS camp ar Sennheim. I n April 1941, 200 Danes volumccred for savice with the \X'aHen-SS 'Nordland' Regiment, and .~fter the invasion of Russia a furrher 1,200 io•ned rhe hastily raised Freikor ps Danmark to fight in the cast. The freikorps wa!> commanded by Christian Frederick Counr ,-on Schalhurg, a Danish a r istocrat of Baltic-German o rigin anJ cmerimt! leader of the D NSA P Youth, who had until recently been serving as an SSrurm bannflthrer with rhe '\Viking' Divtston. The unit went into bat tle in Mar 1942 attached to the SS-Torenkopf-Divtsion, ;1nd rook parr in the celebrated act ion at Demjan k \>\here von Schalburg was killed on 2 June. Ill' was giYen a state funeral by tl1e Nati authorities in Denmark. The Frei korp~ ul rim:1tely suffered over 20 per cent casualt it!'>, and was officially disbanded a year later. Most of the Freikorps Hterans were transferred, without much regard for thetr per~onal w ishes. to the Waffen -SS division 'Nordland'. A few, however, including SSObersturmbannfuhrcr Knud ~l arttnsen, t he last commander of the fo rmation . returned ro the1r homeland to set up what amounred in all hut name to a Danish br anch of thl· Allgemeine-55. In April 19-B, with German support, Martinsen (;' tablished the Gcrmansk Korpset (Germanic Corps), which he shorth thereafter renamed the Schalburg Korpsct or Schalburg Corps in memory of rhe Freikorps hero. Se' era) eastern from vetcram formed themselves into the cadre of the nc'.\1 unit, "hich opened 1ts ranks to all young Dane:. of Nordic blood. ·1he Corps was divided inro two main groups, namdy the activt! unifMmcd personnel, in five companies, and tht! nonregular patrons who gave moral and financial support. The la tter came to be known as the Dansk-Folke-Yaern, or Danish People's Defence, and practised the use of small arms

I he Schalbur~ Corps adopted rhe Sltne technique~ as the parrisan groups which it

fought, and responded to each resistance a s~aJ>sination with one of it:. own. It was said

that every act of sabotage provoked one of ·~chalburgtage'. A so-c.:alled 'Schalburg Cross' bearing rhe Corps motto ·Troskab vor Aere' ('Our Honour i~ Loyalty' ) was insritULeJ and, according tO the Corps journal foetfrelulldet, ar least one posthumous award was made w a Schalburg man killed by partisans. After a general strike in Denmark in Julr 1944, the Schalhurg Corps was moved t o R ingstad outside Copenhagen and incorporated inro che Waifen-SS as SS-Ausbildungsbaraillon (Training Battalion ) Schalburg. Members were taught to use hcav) weapons, in preparation for thr:ir deience of Denmark against the Impending Allied inv.1sH.1n. Six months later the unit became SS Yagtbataillon Sjaelland, or SS Guard Barralion Zealand . I r never saw from-line combat, however, and was disbanded 10 February 1945. The Eftt!rrerning~ Tjenesten, or FT, the lnrelligencc Service of the Schalhurg Corp
140

THE Al l GEME I NE -55

Iniually. S', pc:rsonnel from ll:1nders, l lolland, Korway and Denm;trk were enmled ro compet<.' for and '"ear the p proper, the Allgemeine-$$ establic;hed irs own Germanischc Sturmbanne nr German1c

141

The Germomc ProfKiency Rune wos, in Himmler's words, intended f011flose who 'd~tlngUish9d ri\emselves 10 sports, the use of weapons and sp1ri1ual motvti~, demoosl!ating ovoluntary des11e to ottoin th& Germon.c!Oint desliny' Whne technically open ro 'ell German and Ge1m0nk men', no German ever won it.

Battalions tn rhe areas of the Reich where there were large concenrrations of workers impor ted from the Nordic countries. These foreigners numbered several hundred thousand by thl' end ot 1942, and posed a major problem for German internal security. To assist in their control, Flemish and Dutch SS officers and men, most of rhem fresh from from-line service in the easr, were employed by German firms ro tngage upon a propaganda campaign in the factories. They succeeded in perc;uaJing such a large number of their comparriors ro join the local Allgemeine-55 rhar seven Germanic Battalions were set up in Berlin , Br unswick, D resden, D usseldorf, H amburg, :\li.irnberg and Sturrga r t. Service in the Germanische Srurmbanne was voluntary and unpaid, and was performed either during after-work hour:, or at weekends. By the e nd of 1944, the C,ernunic-~~ in

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

Gtrman~ '''"' full\ organi,l'd as an lntt•gr;:d

THE AlLGEMEINE-55

cmbkm which endured throughout the htsror~ ol rhe orgamsarion .llld became firm!) .l'>!>OCI,Hed wnh It wa~ the death'<; head or lotenkopf, an n·ne motif compn '>~ng a skull and croo,<,ed bone-.. fhe dearh's head was rhe only badge common ro all SS formations, '' herhcr Allgemeine-$. , Germanic-55 or \X'affen-)~, German or non-German. It ha~ often ht·cn as~umed that the Totenkopf was adopted ~imply to stnke terror into the heart~ of tho'ie who ~aw it. H owe\'er, that was nor ,o. It wa~ chosen as a direct and emotional link v.1th the pa,t. and in particular with the elite military units of imperial Gcnn:llly. .\tcJ1c\ al German ltterarure and romanric poems were Idled with references to dark iorce-; and the o;ymbols of death and desrru~tton, a t~ p1cal example being the follo\\'lllg ~horr excerpt from an ep1c work br rhe fiftt•enrh-century wri ter, Garn1er \'On Susteren:

~ur

d1sUnttl\l' part nt rhe rt·gul.lr Allgemeine\\_ \l~?mht·r,hip peaked ar .1rounJ -,ono and \~-Ober-.rurmbannfuhrer \lax Kop1,chk!! held rhe pmt ol C hd der (,nnunischt·n-\S in n~utschl.lnd (Chlet of tht• Germanic-liS Ill C.ennanyl. Subordnltaff<., worked from the ht•,tdquurcrs of the Oberabschnme 111 "hich rhc hartahon'> operated. The culturnl Lcnrre ot the GcrnlJnJsche lirurmbannt· "·" the (,ermanJ~(ht· H.lU<;, or Gcrm,tn1c Hou.,e. 111 ll.lnno,er, ser up by tht' Germ.1nischc L l'it~relle of the SS Haupwrnr in ~!.1~ 1943 .md sub,equenrh rnmed ro Htldeshc1m under the ride ot H,w, C.crmanien. lr abo -,er,ed rhe soci.1l net•ds of ,l)'>OLItars and other .... elehririe~. l.opte-. of D.zs Sdul'ar~e KurJ1S were dismbutcd "1ddy by the HoL"c, along With Dt• SS \1.m. Storm SS. (JCW1.111t'rt'll and rocdrd.mdc!t. :\s the war -.nu.trion wor~ened, the Houc;c pLKed more emph;ld recruiting office: for rhe \X'a ftcn- ~-

Behold the knight In -,olemn black manner. \\ Hh a kull on h1~ crest And blood on his b,tnner ... rhat \erc;e could ha\e been composed with the ~~ uniform 111 mind ! In 174 0. a large right-facing ja" less dcath's head with the hones h mg. beh1nd rhe skull, embroidered in ~ih er bullion, adorned the black funeral trappJOg<, of the Prus<:1an king, friedrich \'V'ilhelm I. In hi'> ml·mor~. rhe Leib-l lusaren Regiments No!> I and 2., elite Prussian Royal Bodyguard unit'> '' hich wt·re formed the folio" 111g year. rook black as the colour of their uniforms and wore 3 massive Totenkopf of similar design on their pelzmtitzen or bu.;bics. The tate of Brunr;wick followed su1r in 1809 when the death 's head was adopted by ir., ll u"ar Regimenr 1 o. 17 anJ the third b.malton of lnfanrry Re~m1em No. 92. The Brum" 1~k Totenkopf differed slightly 111 design trom the Prussian one. '" irh the skull

SYMBOLISM AND REGALIA OF THE BLACK ORDER 1-rom 1934. the S \\as (:Ons~wu<:l) promoted a fJ(:IJl ehre but al~o n dark and '>c:l.rer Order. To that end. <;~ mbolic Jll<,tgnia and carefull) destgned un1forms were <.:re.1ted, .md these proved to be faral atrraC£iom which dre\\ rhnu~and!> ot ordinan L'ltllen<. uno the web-like '>tru(ture' of Himmler\ e!llplrc. Of all <;S uniform tr;lpping!>, rhe one

.v. not onh

142

The Gem1on deolh's head wos mt used by PrusSIOil CO'o'Oiry reQ~men~ 111 the eighteent!J century. The forenkopf feotured on rhe tel mltliron cops of the Sth Husso1s (the 'Block' or 'Death' Hussars), while the mui1IOO$ of the 91h Hossors bole o redining skeleton which fed to their bemg coiled the 'Torol Deot!J' Hussors. This busby dotes from around 191 0ond was w01n by o member of the 2nd lei!HiiiSOien Reg•ment based ot Oorwg{ongluht

facing for\\ard .:~nJ ~Jtuatcd dm:·crh· above the crossed bones. During the Firs~ World \X'ar, the dearh's head wa~ chosen ,t, a formation badge b> a number of crack German army units, particularly the storm troops, flamethro" er d!!tachmenrs and r.wk harralions. Several pilot-. of rhe Schutzstaffeln, including the air ace <..eorg von Hamelmann '' ho had '>cn·ed in the Dcarh'-; Head Hu~sar'>, also used variant-. ot it as personal emblem!>. Almost unmediateh after the end of hosrilirres in 1918 the dc,tth:~ head could he seen ag:lln, th1' t1mc pamred on the helmer~ and \Chide~ of ~omc of the

143

tJne-.r and most famous Freikorps. Bec,w~e of it-. as~ociation with rhec;e formarion~ ir bt·t-ame s~ mbolic not on I) of "art1mc daring and sell .-..u:nfice, but al~o of po twar tradition.d1-.m. anri-libcrali!>m and anriBobhensm. :"ationalist C\. c;en ~eemcn e\l:n h.1d death\ head nng,. cuff l1nb, tie pm~ and other adornment<, pnv.Hely mnde for wear \\ lth rhe1r Ll\ than clothe!>. lr i'> nnt surpnsmg, therefore. rhar member~ ot the Sro-.strupp Adolf lllrler eager!~ rook the Torenkopf a' rhe1r di'>tJnCtl\'e emblem tn 1923. miri,11l~ .l(l)uiring a )mall ~rock ol appropnatc arm} surplu-; cap

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMlH ' S BLACK ORDER

badges. Their successors in the SS thereafter contracted the firm of Deschler in Munich to rc~trike large quantities of rhe Pru sian-sryle jawlcss death 's head which they used on their headgear for the next ele\'en years. As H irler's personal guard!>, rhcy lihd to model themselves on the imperial Bodyguard Hussars, who had become known as the 'Schwarze Torenkopfhusaren', and were fond of inging rherr old regimental song, with irs emotive \t:rse:

end. It became an lll'>piration to those who were granted the privilege of wearing it. Along rde rhc Totenkopf, the SS Runen, or c;s rune ' represented the elinsm and brotherly comradeship of the organi<;atJon, and were elevated to an almo t holy ~tarus. Indeed, as SS men marched off to war in 1939, they sang their hymn 'SS Wir Alle' ('We are all SS') which included the line: 'Wir aile rehen zum Kampf beren, wenn Runen und Torenkopf fuhren' ('We all stand ready for battle, inspired b) runes and dearh's head' ). The word 'rune' derives from the Old Nor e 'run', meaning 'secret script'. Runes were cha ra cter~ which formed the alphabets used by the Germanic tribes of pre-Christian Europe for both magical and ordinary writing. There were three major branches of the runic alphabet and a number of minor variants, and some runes doubled as symbols representative of human traits or idea Is, much as the Romans used oak and laurel leaves to denote strength and victory. In AD 98, in his work Germauia, che historian Cornelius Tacirus described in detail how rhe Germans engaged in divination by runes. In rhe nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, runes began ro be re-examined by rhe fashionable 'Volkisch' or 'folk' moYemenr of northern Europe, which promoted inrere t rn rradirronal srories, beliefs and festivals. The Thule ociery was among these groups, and through his association with its activirres Himmler began to look back to the m ystical D ark Age Germanic period for much of his inspirarron. He had always had a fascination for cryptic codes and h1dden message , so it was doubly appropriate that he should rap many of the ideas in pagan symbolism and adopt, or ar least adapt, certain runes for use by his SS. All pre- 1939 Allgemeine-$ Anwiirter were instructed in runic symbolism as part of their probationary training. By 1945, fourteen main varieties of rune were in usc by the , and these are de cribed on pp. 146-7 and seen in the accompanying illustration.

In black we are dn:ssed, ln blood we are drenched, Death's I lead on our helmets. Hurrah! Hurrah! We stand unshaken!

The 1934-pottern 55 deotll's heod. This porticulor exomple wos produced by rt~a firm of Deschler rn Mumch.

144

In 1934, when the Prussian-sryle Totenkopf began to be used as an elite badge by rhc new army Panzer units which were, after all, the natural succesc;ors to the imperial cavalry regiments, the S dc\'ised its own unique pattern of grinning death's head, wrth lower jaw, which it wore thereafter. The 1934-p:mern SS Totenkopf ultimately took various forms, right-facing, lefr-facing and front-facing, and appeared on the cloth headgear of all SS members a nd on the tunics and vehicles of the SS-Totenkopfverba nde and To tenkopf-Division. lr was the centrepiece of rhc prestigious SS death's head ring and could be seen on dagger and gorget suspension chains, mess jackets, flags, standards, drum covers, trumpet banners and the SS and polrcc GuerriUa Warfare Badge. .\1oreover, because of it direct associations with Danzig, where the Pru!>sian LeibHusaren regiments had been garrisoned until l 9 18, it was selected as the special formation badge of the -H eimwehr Dantig and rhe Danzig Police. Himmler wanted hrs men to be proud of their heritage and there is no doubt that the honourable associations of the German dearh's head were well u cd to that

145

THE AllGEMEINE·S S

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

I 1JIIlcnkrcu~

~

D.Gcr-Run~

CStK-Runc

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Runic Symbolsl:sed b~ the SS

RUlli( symbols used by me SS.

A. The Hakenkrert::. The Hakenkrcu:r., or swastika, was rhe pag.an Germamc sign of Donner (or Thor), rhe god of advenrurers. During the nineteenth cemur~ it came robe regarded as svmbolic of nationalism and racial srrugglc, ,;nd in the posr-191 S period was adopted hy several Freikorps unit , primarily rhe Ehrhardt Bn~de. As rhe semor badge of rhe ~azr parry anc.l <>tate, it inevitably featured t>n many SS accoutrements, either static (i.e. srandmg Oat) or mobile (r.e. standing on one pomr to grve the appearance of an ad,ancing mo\emenr). .-\n elongated ver<;aon of the mobile swastika was used by rhe Germanic- S in Flanders. B. The onncnrad The onnenrad, or sunwheel swasnka, \\:l'i the Okl orc;e representadon of the sun,

.1nd \\..1 taken up.~ .. an emblem h the Thule '><x.tery. It wa., I.Her used a~ a rg.n h~ the \\,1 ffen·SS DIVISIOnS '\'\'iking' anJ ''-=orJl:lnd', m..1m of who~c members were Sc.1ndm.n ian nauonals, antl also b) the 'Xhalhurg Corp~. It formed rhe mam part ot the Jestgn of rhl' Germanic ProfiCiency Rune, and was worn by the Kom egian S. C. The Stg-Rrme The ig-Rune (al<.o known as the iegrune) W3> symbolic of dctory. In 1931, SSrurmfuhrer Walter Heck, who wa~ a grapht~o designer employed by the badge manufacrunng firm of Ferdinand lloffo;r:mcr 111 Bonn, Jrew two Sig-Rune!> s1de by side and rhus createJ the ubiqllltous ·s Runes' insignia w•del}' used by all branches of the organisation afrer 1933. The SS pard hun 2.50 Rcichsmarks for the nght to his design! Heck was hkewtse respon 1ble for the ·sA Runec;· badge. which combmed a runic ·s· w1th ,\ Gmhic -A'_ D. The Ger-Rtme The Ger-Rune \\as svmhnlk of communal spirit. ;lnd featured as a variant di' •sional si~n of the Waffen-S D1' IS ton ' , ordl3nd'. E. The W'olfsallgcl l he W<,lfsangc.-1, or \\olt hook, w.as ongrnally a pagan de' ice whrch supposedly possessed the power to ward tlff wolve~. It then became J heraldic symbol representing a wolf trap, and as uch :.nil features tO this day on the coat· of-arm' ut the city of Wolistcin. Adopted .l<, an emblem by ftftt>enth-cenrurr peasam sn their re,olt againc:r rhe mrrcenarres of the German pnnc:\!.,, the Wolfsangel was thereafter regarded 3'> being symbolic of lrbeny anJ rndependencc, although tt was also referred to as the 'Zeichen der ~illkur' or 'Badge ot Wanton Tyranny' dunng the Thirty ) carer, War. The Wolfsangel "3!> an early l·mbl~m of the >Jaz1 Part~, and was

146

F.

G.

H.

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IJrer rhe spcciali r badge ot th~ SS rec.:ruinng and rrammg hrand1. and an emblem of the \X'affen- S Divi.,inn · JO Januar' whKh ~:ompn ed )taff and pupilc; from vanou.s ~ rrammg ~hools. 1 . The Ht•tlsuicheu The Heil zrichen, or prosperity symbol , repre e11ted success and good fortune, and appeared on rhe SS death's head ring. :\L The H.1gaii-Rum! 1 he Hagaii-Rune srood for unshakable fairh, which ''as expected of all SS members. It featured on rhe SS dcarh's head rrng as \\ell as on ceremomal a~courremenrs used at S weddings. It wa:. also chosen 3'> rhe sij!n of the SSPoli7ei -Di' i ion, smce it resemhled the tradmonal ' Police tar badge. ~. The Odal-Rmtt' 1 he Odai-Rune o;ymboli)t'd kinship and family and rhe bringing rogether of people of Similar blood. It was rhe badge nt the !) Rasse- unJ Siedlungshaupramt and emblem of the Waffen-SS Di' ision 'Prin7 Eugen ·, \\ hr~.-h t:omprised mamly Volksdeur che from rht· Balkans.

later u ed as .1 srp.n b) the Waffen-) Di\ isiun 'Da~ Reich'. The \\'ol(san!(el (variant) A ~quat Vl'rs•on of rbe Wolfsangel wrrh hooked arms was the emblem of the Germanic-$$ •n the ~ethcrlands and was later adopted h) rhe Wa ffen-SS DJ\Isron 'Landsmrm Nederland', which comprr ed Dutch volunreers. lhe Op(er·RJme The Opfer-Rune cr,ymbolised self-sacrifice. It wa~ used after 1~18 by the Stahlhelm w.ar veterans' association and WJS later rhe badge which commemoract:d rht Nazi marryrs of the 1923 Munich putsch. lr at o formed part of the design of the SA Sport Badge for War Wounded, which could be won by di a bled Sex- erv1 emen. The £if-Rune The Eit-Rune represented zeal and enrhuc;rasm. It was the early ins1gn1a of ..,peCially selected SS adjutant~ as>igned personally ro Hitler and, as uch. wa worn by Rudolf Hess in 1929. The Lebe11·Rune The Leben- Rune, or life rune, s~ mboltsed ltfe and was adopted by rhr )S Lebensborn Soctery and Ahnenerbe. lt likewasc featured on SS documents ..:~nd grave m.1rJ...er to show dare of b1rrh. The Tot en- Rune The Toten-Rune, or death rune. rcprC!>Cnted death, and was used on SS documenr~ and grave markers co show date of death. J'hc T_vr-Rwte fhe Tyr-Rune, also knmvn as the KampfRune or barrie rune. was rhe pJgan Germ..tnic s1gn of Tyr, the god of war, and was symbolic of leadership in barrie. lt was commonly used b) the SS a a grave marker. replacing the Chnstian cross, and a TyrRune worn on the upper lett arm indiClted graduation from the A-Retchsfiihrerschulc, whu.:h tramed s~ officers until 1934. It W3!>

The ~ymbolism of dearh's head and runes wa' brought rogerher in one of rhe most potent ~ct mo r obscure of all SS uniform accoutrement<;, rhc Totcnkopfring der S, or SS dearh's hend ring, instituted by Himmler on 10 April 1934. The rin~ was not classed as a national de orauon since ir was in rhe gift of the Reichsfuhrcr. However, it ranked a a enior award wtthin the SS brorherhnod. recognrsing rhc wearer's personal achievement, devotion to dut) and loyalty ro Hitler and h1s ideals. The concept and runic form of the ring "ere undoubtedly adopted by Htmmler from Germanrc mythologr. which related how the god Thor po~~essed a pure ~•lver ring on which people could take oaths (much a Chri tians sv.car on rhe Bible). and how bindmg treaties were carved in runes on

147

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIMMLER S BlACK ORDER

The Sig-Runes collar potch, initial~ restncted to members of the Leibstondorte but eventual~ worn by oil Germon formolions of the Woffen-SS.

Wotan's spear. The Torenkopfring comprised a massive band of oakleaves deep!} engraved with a death's head and a number of runes. The award document presented \\lth each ring described the larrer and intcrpn•tcd them thu : The 1g-Rune in a triangle repre,enred membership of the S The swastika in a ~quare srood for ""\azi philo ophy The l leils1eichen 1n a circle -.rood for prospenry The H agaii-Rune in a hexagon denoted unshakable faith. However. the e were much d1lured meanmg~ in compamon to those mitially dra" n up h~ SS-

Brigadcfiihrer Karl-.Maria Wiligut-Weisrhor, an e'perr on rune!> and their coded symboli<>m, ,,hn designed the ring for H1mmler. Wiligut\X el'>thor's interpretations are g1ven below and, meeting with the Reichsfi1hn:r\ approval, give an interesting insight into rhc working'> of Himmler's mmd at the nme he was planning the future of h1s Black Order:

The Sig-Rtml' i11 a Tna11gle The triangle meam ltfe is eternal. The three .,,Je., stand for bmh/devdopmentldearh. or pastlpresentlfurure. Each dearh "' the way ro a new life and the triangle s~ mbolises the t>tcrnal cycle of creation. The Sig-Rune rcpre~ents the ~un and good health. It was ,1J.,o the pagan symbol of '1ctory. Hence it encompasse~ both the grecung ('Heil' or

148

Close-up of the Sig-Runes key which featured on SS rypewnters nom 1936 SS documents and printed pubhcotions invoriob~ used the Sig-Runes insteod of the ~I Ramon letters 'SS'.

stand~

'Good Health') and the battle cr) ('Sics( or 'V1ctory' ) of the Germanic an~.-e'>tors of the S. (This combmanon of anc•ent greeting and batrle -cr~ gave the Nazis their 'S1cg Heil'.)

for the c1rculat1on of di\ inlt\ m nature, which forged the human spirit ..It is the circle of life. The Sig-Runes stand for the SS and pro~pcrity. The T) r-Rune is the spear of Tyr, the !\orse god of war. This all means that death i.., powerless and should nor be feared. Tho,e "ho fight bra,ely to ensure the prospemy of their Yolk shall be forever remembered.

The Sw,1sttku m a Square The swastika compnses four 'U'-Runes. The 'U'-Rune repre~enrs the path of the sun and i., symbolic of fcrrilny. A split or halved SWtika results in the 'G'-Runc or Gibor· Rune, which me.lll'> handing do" n to one's Je~cendants. The total symboh-.m of this rune is man being at one \\lth god and eternity.

The H.ag,11/-Rune in a Hexugon \II eighteen rune!. denvc from the hexagon. Carrying rh"' symbol g1ves strength over adver~ity a'> it cncompas~.e~ the roral power of all the runes. The overall interpretation of thr., rune is to hehe,·e in your-.elf and you will hecome the ma ... t~:r of e\·crything.

The 1/etlszeichen in a Circle In the circle are t\\ o ig-Rune-. and one combmcd Tyr-Rune and Os-Rune. The: cin.. lt

149

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

It is clear that Himmler personally believed in all the foregoing, and he treated the nng with exrfeme reverence. Initially, the Totenkopfring was reserved for those Old Guard veterans wirh SS membership numbers below 3,000. In effect, this meant that the ring was restricted to officers, for on 20 April 1934 1:-limmler commissioned as Srurmfiihrcr all SS men with membership numbers below 3,000 who were not already officers. All of these thousand or so individuals had joined rhe SS prior ro September 1930, when the Nazis scored their first notable election success. Qualification for award of the ring was gradually extended, until by 1939 most SS officers with three years' service were entitled

to wear it. Entitlement could be postponed or withdrawn for anything between three months and three years if the holder had been punished under the SS discipline code. Rings wefe bestowed on set SS and NSDAP festival dates, namely 20 April, 21 June, 9 November and 21 December, and all awards were recorded in the Dienstalterslisie. When a ring holder died, his ring had to be returned to the SS Personalhauptamt, which arranged for irs preservation in a special shrine at H immler's castle at Wewelsburg. ln the spring of 1945, these returned rings were blast·sealed into a mountainside near Wewelsburg, to prevent their falling imo Allied hands. To this day, they have never been found .

The SS deoth's heod ring. The first such rings were presented by Himmlerto the SS Old Guard on 24 Oe<ember 1933, four months before publication of the 01der which elevoted the Totenkopfring to the stotvs of on offidol SS oword. It is noteworthy that those who eventual~ qualified for the ring ho
150

THf AllGEMEINf-SS Between 1934 and 1944, around 14.500 death's head rings were awarded. As at 1 January 1945. 64 per cem of these had been returned ro the SS on rhe deaths of their holders (i .e. those: to be buried at Wewelsburg), I 0 pt:r cent had been lost on the battlefield, and 26 per cenr were either still in the possession of ring holders or otherwise unaccounred for. Thar would mean that, in theory, about 3,500 rings might have been in circulation at rhe end of the war. The Torenkopfring became so sought after an honour that many SS and police officers and men not entitled ro wear it had a variety of unofficial 'skull rings' produced in gold or silver by local jewellers and even concentration camp inmates. However, these lacked the runic symbolism and were rather vulgar representations of the real thing. The powerful and symbolic SS uniform of the late 1930s and early 1940s developed from very humble origins. The earliest Nazis wore normal civilian clothing and were distinguished only by their crudely homemade Kampfbinde, or swas tika armbands, worn on rhe left upper arm . With the advenr of the paramilitary SA in 1921, however, it became necessary to evolve a uniform specifically for its members. Ar first, their dress Jacked any consistency and was characterisricallr Freikorps in sryle, generally taking the form of field-grey army surplus double-breasted windcheater jackets, waist belts wirh cross-straps, grey rrousers, trench boors, steel helmets and mountain caps. .Many SA men simply retained the uniforms they had worn during the 1914-18 war, tripped of badges. The swastika armband was rhe only constant feature, sometimes bearing a metal numeral or emblem to indicate unit identity and a metal 'pip' or ~:loth stripes to denote rank. The Commander of the 1st Company of SA Regiment 'Yliinchen', for example, wore a Brunswickstyle dearh's head over the numeral 'I' and a

151

single ptp on his armband. fn 1923, members of the Stos:.trupp Adolf Hitler wore similar garb with the addition of a Prussian-patrern Totenkopf on the cap, usually surrnounred by the ' Reichskokarde', a circular meral cockade in the imperial colours of black, white and red. After the failu re of rhe Munich putsch and the banning of the SA and Stossrr upp, the men continued to wear their old uniforms as members of t he Frontbanne, adding a steel helmet badge tO the centre of rhe swastika armband. At the end of 1924 Leumant Gerhard Rossbach, former!) one of the most famous of rhe Freikorps and SA leaders, acquired a bargain lot of surplus German army tropical brown shirrs in Austria. T hese items, which had been destined for t he Reich's colonies in Africa, were not in fact shirts at all, but blouses wtth collars and pockets which were worn over an ordinary collarless shirt. When the NSDAP was reconst ituted and the SA reactivated in February l925, H itler kitted his men our with these readily available shirrs and had ties, breeches and kepis made to march. Thus by chance circumstances rather than design , brown became rhe adopted colour of rhe SA and the Nazi party in general. When the SS was formed in April of the same year, its members roo were issued with brown shirrs. To distinguish them from rhe SA, however, they retained their Stosstrupp dearh's heads and wor e black kepis, black ties, black breeches and black borders to the swastika armband. By the end of 1925, the brown shirt with black accoutrements was firmly established as the 'traditional uniform' of the SS. The vasr majoriry of SS men, who were also members of the NSDAP, wore the Nazi parry badge on their ries. On 9 November 1926, the rapidly expanding SA introduced collar patches or Kragenspiegel to indicate unit and rank, replacing the badges and tripes formerly

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

denote rank and unir. As with the SA, rank was shown on the left parch, or both patches for Standarrenflihrer and above, with unit markings on the right parch. However. the SS system was much more simple rhan rhar of the SA. All SS collar patches were black in colour wirh white, silver or grey numerals, pips, bars and oaklcavcs. Moreover, the unit collar patches were resrricred ro indicating Standarte, specialist or staff appointment. To show Sturmbann and Sturm membership, the SS devised their own complicated system of cuff titles or Armelstreifen, narrow black bands worn on the lower left sleeve . Within every FussStandarre, each Srurmbann was assigned a colour which bordered the upper and lower edges of the cuff tide. The prescribed Srurmbann colours were: Sturmbann Sturmbann Srurmbann Sturmbann

The plain SS traditional unifoon os worn by Himmler in 1929 (see p. 12).

I II TIT IV (Re er ve)

Green Dark Blue Red Light Blue

The number and. if appropriate, honour name of rhe wearer's Sturm appeared embroidered in grey or silver thread on the title. Thus a member of the 2nd Sturm, 1st Sturmbann, 41st SS Fuss-Standarte would wear a green-bordered cuff title bearing the numeral '2' in conjunction with the number '41' on his right collar parch . A man in the 11th Srurm, 'Adolf H oh', Jrd Sturmbann, 30th SS Fuss-Standarre would sport a rededged cuff title with the legend '11 Adolf H oh', and regimental numeral '30' on the right collar patch. All members of the Allgemeine-55 cavalry units had yellow-edged cuff titles, while those of signals and pioneer formations had their titles bordered in brown and black, respectively. A relatively small number of cuff titles bore Roman numerals or designations relaring ro staff or speciali t appointments.

worn on the armband. The right parch bore unit numerals and the left patch a Stahlhelmrype system of rank pips, bar and oakleaves. By contrasting the colour of the parch with that of the numerals, an attempt was made to reflect the state colours of rhe district in which rhe unit concerned was located . For example, Berlin SA men wore black and white patches, H amburg SA men red and white, Munich men blue and white, and so on. This arrangement proved difficult ro sustain and rhe colour combinations ulrimarely underwent a number of changes. SA unit patche were particularly complex, accommodating not only Standarte, specialist and sraff appointments, but also Srurmbann and Sturm designations. ln August J 929, the SS likewise introduced collar patches to

152

Aunique oil pointing of Heinri
..........

Oeorh's heods were not worn solely by 1M SS during 1M Third Reith. The Prussion style on the leh was lMd by the 01my's Srh Covolry Regiment, wh~e the BrunswlCk poHern, nght, was sparred by members of the 17th lnfnntTy Reg.ment. Ponzer UOI!s, rhe Novol Kusrenschutz Oonng ond the luftwaffe's S
An Austrian 191 biloHern steel helmer wrrh hand-poutted deoth's heod, as worn by vorious Freo OfJJS lormohOnS c. 1919- 20.

HimtrJel pnzed the plain ond simple Blu1orden, 01 Blood Order, above alhls othet de<01ollonS 1lvs medal, also known as the 'Eivenze«heff wm 9. November 1923'. recognised NSOAP mermen who rod po~tqxlted in the Bee! Hoi pu!Sdl 01 reOOeled ou1Wodmg services to the Nan party dim:! 115 lormotTVe years The oword ~orne steeped in odetiberotely oAiivoted mystique which guorOflteed the wearer speool privileges whereve~ he went.

2

Block sernr:e riorm as WOII1 by 111 S~ in the 12th Sn.rm, 3rd 51\.mixm, 881h SS Fuss·SIOilcbte
3

Tht: SS re.yspope~ fXrs 5
The SS deolh's head nng This porllculor exom~e wos awarded to Ss.HouptWmrufuer Kurt TCISChner on 9 November 1942. TCISChner. on odministrohve officer in both the Allgememe-SS and the Woffen-SS. served at vorious rimes in the 6lsr SS Fuss·Standorte (AIIensteinl, the 11th SS.Tatenkopf Regiment, 'Dos Reid!', 'Oeu1Wllond', the WVHA and fmly the lotvion SS Brigade.

The 1936-jxlnem SS chorned dogger was oo Ofnole rtern of dress weoponry, and rs depicTed here olongs«<e the 19331mtern With hooging sl!op. Ever( fo<et of their design harked bock to the medievol and Oork Age Germanic post.

llvee lMlolfKill rilgs, beOOng deoth's heads ond rooes These were popub among SS officers ond men, ond are known ro hove been monufoclaed to Ofda by concentrahon camp inmates who were jeweUers by node.

4

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An ook casket carved with Sig-Runes, oswastika, o Hogoi~Rune, ookleoves ond acorns. The symbolism apparent on this artefact is okin to thot used on the SS deoth's heod ring. The casket was employed ol SS wedding ceremonies as ocontainer f01 the presentation copies of Mein Kampf which every newly morried couple received.

The SS Covolrymon was one of Alloch's eques1rion su~ects. It could not be purchased on the open market. but was reserved f01 presentation by Himmle1 to notable personalities of the Third Reich.

Allgemeine-55 man's peaked cop, c. 1935. It sports the 1929"j)Ottern N50AP eogle over o 1934"j)Oitern SS Totenkopf.

The rectangular belt buckle for SS NCOs and other ronks, alongside the circular version for officers. These were designed personal~ by Hirler. who was olso responsible for the 55 motto 'Meine Ehre heisst Treue'.

llis ~ foored llodlsim:l JXWf wos o1)'licd ~of the SS !XJCeOO fooory ot Abh, tn! is s00¥m here~ omodel 55 rrol il hodi!Xrd rionn. A rt1YJ& d Nazi toy~ dIlls~. rro!e fran 0 SOWllst tn! rp nlxnfe, were nmioctlll.'d lr( the fims rJ EkJstt*l tn! ~for the rooss mel M"J the 1930s.

6

7

This omote wine cooler in hommered silver plate WOS given 1o 0 membe! of the signols platoon, 2r.:J OOitoOOo, 3rd 55 regiment OS 0 twenlyseventh birtlxloy present h001 eight cll'ls colleagues. The 55 rooes hove been finely efYJroved into the centro! body of the piece. Aselection of documents induding Allgemeine-55 identity cords, o Woffen-SS SoldbU
TypeWTiters with spe
8

1lis ~ \rix1 d the M42 steel In!, illirl M1h vAlle Sledd i9}1l, i:s the my koo,o,u.Mt)J ~ d ils kill. ft 1rof ro..e been WOOl~ by o soom d the Gerroi·SS, rx by ~ss ADnWme lrils etYpJed il frml. me defoo:e !Wjl!PJ v.ith the Vcbtnn ~ the ~ li 194S.It i:s cerllri( o krte W(J item, lmnJ 0 lllhel1o lnbamenled loon d the 55 1\fleS b»Je.

Documents signed by Himmler, his adjutant Wolff ond Heydrich ore dis~ed beside a sheet of the Reichsfuhrer's official headed notepaper ond o New Year cord from Adolf Hitler to SS.OberfOhrer Ulrich Grot, who saved Hider's life during the Munich putsch.

9

The Germanic Proficiency Rune in Bronze, less than twenty of which ore still known to survive. The slliking design is fine~ executed in plated zinc and enamelled bronze, ond typifies the high quality of Nazi decorations even during the latter stages of the war.

M42 Woffe~ss steel helmet, dearly showing the regulation SS runes decal and distinctive sharp silhouette. The leibstondorte motorcy
Police field service uniform os worn by oHauptmann of Gendmmerie, r. 1944. This outfit features breast runes denoting fuU membership of the 55. It ako Sj)OI~ the Old Campaigner's Chevron, adjuton(s oigumette, the Gerrnon Notionol Sports Bodge in Silver, Wor/Aeril (ross ond, interesting~. the basic NSOAP membership bodge pinned tothe left breast podet, ofairly common proclice among the civil police during wartime.

Recruiting poster for the Norwegian Legioo, doting from 1941. It reads: 'With the Woffe~ss and the Norwegian legion ogoinst the common enemy -against Bolshevism'. Such exhortations persuaded 6,000 Norwegians to sign up with the SS for combat service on the eastern front.

10

194(}pottern tunic with field-grey collar, os worn by on artillery Rottenfuhrer of the 'GOtz von Berlichingen' division, spring 1944. The ribbons ore those of the Iron Cross 2nd Closs ond Russian Front Medol, and the Generol Assault Badge ond Wound Bodge in Block ore ako displayed. The dress bayonet and knot were carried when walking out.

BfV(}pottern woven cuff title introduced in 1943 for men of the 16th 55-Ponzergrenodier Division 'ReichsfUhrer·SS', nomed in honour of Himmler. Since 55 units were normally coiled offer deod, rather then living 'hefoes', Hirnmler's ron~ wos used in preference to his OCTUOl nome. The division is best remembered for its massacre of 1,200 11ar10n civilians at A\orzabotto in September 194 4, in reprisal for the octivities of opartisan brigade in the Apennines.

11

The other ronks' 194(}-pottern S
of bii

•• het VRIJWILLIGERSLEGIOEN VLAANDEREN IISAfZKOMMANDO flAHDlRH Ofl WAFRN -

If -

ANTWIIU'IN,

KONINOIN WS.UfTHW,

22

Recruiting poster lor the Flemish legion, dedoring 'Flemings Rise Up!' II depicls oWaHen-SS soldier os the direct descendant of onotional hero, orheme common 10 recruiring drives in rhe Germaniccountries.

SS subjects feotured on onumber of pos1oge stomps during the Third Reich. The red exom~e on the leh de~cls oWoffen-SS mortor crew in action, while the block one was issued in the Prole
12

13

The field-grey fez with dark-green tassel wos issued to members of the Muslim SS divisions 'Hondsch01' ond 'Komo' insteod of the Einheitsfeldmiitze. Troditionol~. Muslim rmops WOie the peokless fez, ond even brimless steel helmets during the First World Wor, so thor they could press their foreheods to the ground during p!oyer without removing their regulation heodgeor.

1944i)Ottern comoufloge drill tunic, os worn by on infantry Obersturmliihrer of the Woffen-SS.It was nor un
14

15

.. THE ALLGEMEINE-55

WAFFEN·ff EINTRITT NACH VOLLENDETEM 17. LEBENSJAHR

AWoffeii'SS offi<er's dossi< 'old sryle' or 'crusher' field cop, which was rustonrmode in Ito~ in 1943. It bears the hade molk 'SU
l1is WoffertSS reoWing ~by 0. Anton was lhe best koown Genron poster of rhe Second W!Ykl Wll, beiYJ pmred in orunber of difle~ent klngtxJges ond dis!*Jyed I)Ofllilently in IXJb5c pkKes tlvoughoot rhe ex~ territOOes.

SturmboMflihrer Hermonn Buchner of the SS.Totenkopf.l:livisioo was one of the 'heroes' of the Woffe!I'SS, wiming the following owords before he was kiHed in action outside Warsaw in Novernbell944: (o) Knighrs Cross of the Iron Cross; (b) Germon Cross in Gold; (c) Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Classes; (d) Close Combor Clasp in Gold; (el Wound Badge in Gold; <0 Infantry Assault Badge in Silver; (g) Oemionsk Shield; (h) War Merit Cross 2nd Closs with Swords; [I) Russian front Medal; (j) Czech Ocwporion Medal with Prague Castle Bor.

16

forty SA belt buckle, worn by the SS unrill93l.

During rhe autumn of 1929, ar rhe same rime as rhe nc\\ SS collar parches and cuff rirles were heing manufactured and disrrihureJ, a small sharp-" inged ~:aglc and '>Wa\trka badge. or H oheirsnbzeichen, was Introduced for wear on the SA and SS kepi 1n place of rhe Reich.,kokarde. SS band~men 's uniforms were further modified by rhe addic1on of black and whire mrlitary-sryle ·-.wallow's nesrs' worn at rhe shoulder. Ar rhe end of 1931, the SS adopted rhe morro 'Metne ~hrc hcisst Treue' (' ~1 y Honour is Loyalty') follow1ng a wellpuhlicl~ed open lcrrer whtch Hitln had senr ro Kurt Daluege after rhe ~Hennes pu tsch, dt·claring in h1s praise: 'SS Mann, de1ne Ehrc hcissr Treue'. Almost immediately, 3 heir

buckle rncorporaring rhe motto inro irs des1gn was commissioned and produced by the Overhoff firm of Ludenscheid ro replace rhe SA huckle hitherto worn by all members of the S . The new belt buckle was circular in form for officers and rectangular for lower ranks, and continued in wear unch3nged until 1945. [n Ma y 1933, shou lder srraps, or Achselsrlicke, were devised for wear on the right !>houlder only. Th ese straps were adornmems ro be used in conjunction with rhc collar insignia already in existence and indicated rank level onl)' (i.e. enlisted man or NCO/junior officer/intermediate officer/ !tcnior officer) rather than actual rank . In ~·cbruary 1934, 3 silver Honour Chevron for the Old Guard (Chrcnwin l...el fur Alre

153

THE ALLGEMEINE-SS

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

Red-edged cuff hrle iod"IColing membership of the 12rh Sturm 3rd SIIJimbonn of on SS fuss-Stondotte. SS men 10 formofised troditioool un1f01m mount oguord of honou1 over the11 com10de Fntz S
Kampfer ) wac; aurhorisrd for wear on the upper nght arm b~ ,\II members of the S who had joined the . :--:SDAP or any ot the other parry-affiliated or~anisations prior to 30 J anuary 1933. Qualiftc:Hion was later ex tended to include formrr membl·rs of rhr police. armed forcer, or rahlhclm who fulfillrd certain condHion-. and rrano.ferrrd inro rhe SS. The rradinonal brown 'htrr uniform of the S therefore de\'doped almu-.r continually O\'er ele\'l'n year-. and incorporated many ;~ddirion'> or :lltcrarions ,lt specific rimes . Thc"c r.:an be of great assisranr.:e in daring pcnod phorogra phs. r he rr;ldtrional uniform wa gr,tdu;1lly phased out after the ' ali assumpnon of power .tnd "a'> nor generally worn alter 1934, exr.:epr on_ <;pccial ceremonial occa.,ions by mcmhcr'> of

rhc c; Old Gu.ud. -\t such C\ enrs. ~ome ot rhe AIre " ,tmpfer e\ en '>ported rheir homemade .umbands from rhc I 921-l em . A maJor r.:hangr toSS umtorm "·'~made in 1932. in rc'>pomc ro a govcrnmenml demand that rhe S \ ,tnd S should adopt a more 'resper.:rahlr' outfit a!> a cond_mon of rh_: lifting of thr han on polincal umforms. 0~ jul~. a bla'-1.. rumc and peaked hark~ng back ro rhe garb of the impertal LetbHusaren. \\'l're introduced ior rhe SS ro replace rhe bro\\ n shirt and kepi. ~hesl· item~ "ere made a va ila ble fjr<;t ro off1cers, then lower rank'>. ,tnd were worn s1de-b~-.,1de with rhe tradinon.ll uniform during 19 B whtle all member"> were being l..irrcd our. By the beginn1ng of 1914, suffir.:ient qu.:~nrities of th_c black umform h.td been manutactured ftlr 1t

'·'P:

154

to he in gcnrral uloc. During rhc remainder of the 1930s, the black sen·ice uniform "al> organisation expanded. developed as the Greatcoats were produced and a scric of specialist arm diamonds, or Armclraure . devic;ed for wear on rhe lower left sleeve. On 21 j une 1936 ,l ne" and larger S cap eagle replaced the old J 929-parrern, and whire hirrs were aurhorised for weu under the runic, m~rcacl of brown hirrs, l>n ct·rcmonial occasions. For evening functionc; c;uch as parries, dancec; and l>O on there were black mess jackets for officers and \\h1re 'monkey uirs' for waiter • all bearing full 1m1gnia. As from 2- june 1939, officer<, were pro,·ided with an all-whne \Cr ion of the service uniform for walkmg our during rhe '>ummer

155

period. officiall~ dciincd as 1 Aprd ro jQ eptember each year. Full-t11nc SS men were regularly issued with item~ of uniform and equipment. o far as part-rimers were concerned, however, all uniform arricles had to be purcha ed by the member., them eh-e ar the1r own cxpen e. The only exceptions "ere rcplacemenrs for nem lo~r or damaged during rhe course of dury, which were provided free of charge. If an man wished to acquire a new runir.:, for example, he could either buy it direct from a tailoring ~hop which \\as an appro,·ed ale~ outlet of the Retchszeugmeisrerei der :-.:SD·\P, 1.c. ,,n authon<;ed dealer in ~azi parry uniforms and equipment, or else place a prepaid order with his lor.:o.d Trupp or rurm

THE ALLGEMEINE -55

HIMMlER ' 5 BlACK ORDER

An Allgeme1n&-SS Schol on porode, 1933. Note lite mixlllre ol traditional ood blod uoif01ms SA ond SS men porodiog duOOg me bon on political mifoom., 1932.

whtch "(>Uid, tn turn, arrange ro requisition a tuntc on ht behalf from one of the clothing ~rores run by the 55 administrative Jeparrmenr. The latrer regularly produced price listl> which were circulated ro all S formation!> for the attention of would-be buyers. The following small selection of price'> is taken from rhe extensive AJigemeine. price list of January 1938, and give~ a general ide
Black sen tce !llntc. Black breeche., Black rrou~er) Blad. O\ crcoar

Pnce in Re1chsm.1rks 34.80 18.00 19.90 45.40

Peaked C
156

4.90 7.50 7.80 2.30 L2.30 30.00 18.90 3.75 5.50 0.85

r ..so per pair 23.-o per pair 7.10 12.15 0.50 1.25

houlder strap 0.33 Collar piping 0.05 per metre Collar parch 0.60 Swa<;tika armband 0.80 Cuff ririe 0.75 leeve diamond 0.55 Old Guard chevron 0.10 Engle for peaked cap 0.25 Ocarh's head for peaked cap 0.10 Vehicle pennant 1.20 Command flag 47.40 The reduction in the numher of active partrime Allgemeine-55 men becau e of the enhancement of con criprion ar the outbreak of war, led ro a urplus of black uniforms butlding up in stores after 1939. In J942, rhe po li ce collected mosr of the unwanted black Allgemeine-55 uniforms in Germany

Sig-Runes embossed rn gold oode. the celluloid sweot shield of oo Allgemetne-SS pecked cop, inOICotiog lholtl wos mooufoctured to comply With SS ooif01m regulations ood supplied through SS chome!s.

157

THE AllGEMEINE·SS

HIM/HER'S BLACK ORDER

_ _ _ ...... 11

II·-

_....

-- ---

II·-

~~-

11-

Styles of Allgemeine-55 unaorm. From leh to right: standard 1932il(lnern bkKk sel'lice and parade una01m for 55-0berschorlUhrer; 'troditionol unnorm'lor SS· Unterschorfiihrer. This was the frrsl formotrsed SS uniform, worn by oil ronks unnl1932-4, and donned on selected ceremonial O
and senr them casr for distribution to Schuma units, or west for i-.o;uing to the Germanic-$ . Those destined for the chuma had their badges removed and di~tinctive bright green lapelc;, c;houlder <;trap , pocket flaps and cuffs added . Similarl), the Germanic-$$ attached their own pecial in •gnia to the e uniform~. A a result, very few black Allgemeinetunics survi\'ed the war with their original German badges inracr. In 1938, the Allgemeine-55 introduced a very eleganr pale-grcr uniform for its fulltime staff, thuc; bringing the SS into line with the genera I \\a r footing of the o th er uniformed lien 1ces. 1 he new ourfit was

Identical in St)'le tO the black uniform, bur bore .tn 55-pattern shoulder srrap on the left c;hou lder as well as one on the right, and replaced the swastika armband with a clorh version of the 1936-patrern eagle. The idea "a!> to gi,·e the appcar.tnce of a military rather than polancal uniform. rhus lending <;ome .1uthoriry to full-time .-\llgemeine-5 officer "ho were, b) the nature of their employment , exempt from service in the Wehrmacht. Th e pale-grey uniform was iso;ued first to H auptamr personnel and thereafter ro other-. qualified to wear ir. The 40,000 or so acriw parr-rime members of the Allgemeine-$ , who were almo!>t exclusi"ely

158

The Honour Chevron ~or the Old Goord. This come robe regorded os the badge of the 'die-hard' Noli, even though on eighteen-yeor·old 55 recruit in 1939 would hove been en~tled ro weor if hod he been olell'Yeor-old Hitler Youth in 1931.

RIM Iobei inside on Allgemerne-SS peaked cop, iod,cohng thor the monufocture1 was approved by the NSOAP. As ol16 January 1935, oil Nazi uniform items were ~bilged by low to cotry these logs. Unauthorised producllon of NSDAP equ,pmenr wos slridfy forbidden, and there wete severe penalties for noncompiJOnce w1th the regulotroos. The RZM hod the outhouty to close down offending firms, and the ownets were lioble to be rmpnsoned.

159

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

THE ALLGEMEINE·SS

RZM Iobei on the reverse ol on SS ormbood. It con be decoded os follows: RZM - approved by the RZM; SS - approved by the SS; 0- 'Oienstkleidung' or se1vke un~orm division of the RZM; A4- doth insignio monulocture~; 275- maker's number, allocated by !he RZM; ANo. 293333- serial number of !he

ormbond, ollocoted by !he RZM.

engaged in reserved occupations, were never issued with grey outfit and continued to wear the black uniform proudly while on duty in Germany. By 1945, however, that most impressive of all uniforms, which had been such a catus symbol in the prewar days, had become an object of derision since its wearer were increa ingly thought of as shirking military service. Although the SS became one of the most complex of all azi paramilitary organi arions, irs rank structure remained relati,·cly stable and underwenr few major alteration .

Until 1930 there were basically only two S - ~!ann and S- raffelfiihrer. rankc;, namely That year, with the evolution of ti.irrne and turmbanne, nine grades began t o be employed br the S, based on those of the A. These were: -Mann S- charfuhrer S-Truppfi.ihrer - turmfuhrer - turmbannfuhrer -Srandarrcnfuhre r

160

Hrmmler wearing !he elegont pcJe.grey Allgemerne-SS unr1oon inllodu<ed 10 1938.

161

---

THE AllGEM£1NE SS

HIMMlEf. 'S BLAO ORDER -------------------~-------

ffiongabadd)en tier aul bell\

e.-';li. unb e.-e.

Ont~n ~ClgfrtiOifgfl

t. ntt~r/ithrer (X COs. \0..,- Umcrs\hclrruhrer

\ '-1- \t urmh.1 uptt uh n:r S -Obc:r,turmh;lflnilihrcr

In -\uguo;t 1934, I hmmlc:r "a' ele\.JtcJ ru tht nc" r.tnk ol RctC.h,fuhrer-) .Jnd g1' en rmtgn1a un1que t\) hi' po,trion. n:pi.H.rng the \S-Obl·q~ruppc:nfuhrer hndge~ he: "on: pnor ro that rimt!. On 15 October I IJ34, furrher revis1on~ were lll:tde w rhc S\ rank ::.ym:m: $5-Bt:\\Ctbcr \\';l., .1ddcJ J'> rhe lowt:st rank SS-Anwiirrer was charfuhrer ~~-Ohc r-.ch;ufi'rhrer bt:Lamc SS-~ch.ufiihrer -Truppfi.thra hcLame '> -O herc;charfuhrcr S, -O herrruppfuhrcr hc:c.1me SS-llauprsch.u· fuhrer ~ - rurmti.ihrer became " -Untcr..curmfuhrer -\rurmh&HIJ'IIuhrcr became SS· H.w pr~rurm fuh rl'r Rook~ of rile SA aod SS, c. May 1934 AI ltlis 5111Se, io11e1 rcnk$ hod

Y.ilile piped colot patches will~ iU(ll(ll offi<ers' porches ,o,e~e P'ped io bloc~ ood Sll•et ond !hose of selliOI of!Ke~ rn ~oin sil~e1. Eo!ly terms such os Srurmhouprfulve1 stillleo!Uie, and lhete IS no $J*iol insiQiltO !01 Himmler who, e~en !hough he held the posl of Reithsfiiluer det SS, wos ronked srmply as on S)Obe,gtUjlpenfliiuer. (ReprodU<ed f1om fM Uniformen dor Brounhemden. 1934 I

S- charfuhn.•r 1 chaf.) ) -Oher..,~harfuh rer (Oo;chaf. ) S-llaupt clurfl.ihrcr IH ch.1f.)

~erge.1m

)taff ergeanr ergeam-.\ IJJOr

t 'nterr• f-uhrer f}11mur 0(/'icers) )~·Unrcrsturmfi.ihrer

1 nd Lieutenant

(Usru f. J ) ·-Obersrurmfiihrcr

Lieutenant

( O~ruf. )

-1 lauprsrurmfi.ihrer

Captain

(l l smt. )

Mtttlere ftihrcr {lntamt•drate 0/ircersl ~\-

turmbannfuhrer I rubaf.) S -Ober rurmhannfuhra tOsruhaf. l

\l.lJor Lteurenant·

Colonel

R.1nk lll"l~llia remaincJ un...ll;lnged from tllJt point unrrl - Aprrl I ~42, ''hen ne" cnlla r parchec; \H'rc Introduced for:

I raf. )

SS Oherfuhrt.'r

-Obcrft1hrer (Oberf. ) SS-BrigdJduhrer ( Brrgf. \

Scmor Colonel Brigadier

~S-Bng,,Jdi.ihrl'r

~~· Cruppenfuhrer

~tajor-General

S -Gruppcnfilhrw "1)-0bcrgru ppcn liih rcr

(Gruf.J !:>-Obergruppenfuhrer (Ognrf. ) S -Obcr!.t-GruppenfUhrer (Ob tgruf. ) Reichsfuhrer-5 ( Rf J

Ar rhe same nmc. a new and senior rank ot S -Obcr... r-(;, uppcnfuhrer was created. Thl· fin.1l .1nd dclitHllve \llgemcinc-S) rani-. ::.vc;rem, Jarrn~ from Apnl I ~42 and lasnn~ unnl rhe enJ ol the ,,·.u. wno, ,1o; tollows:

S -Ohcduhrer ~~- <.. ruppen tuhrer

<; -Obcrgrllppenfiihrer

On 19 ~I a~ I YJJ, .J furrher etghr rank "ere ~re.ned to .1ccommodate the gencr.1l t.:-.:p.1n,ion ot the . n.Jmcl~:

S

Corporal

(U._~ha l. )

S-Brr~aJduhrcr

\l,mnsdJ.l/tcn (Oth(•r R.111ksJ ""·Bewerbcr (. andtdate

CJdc:1 Prl\:ate

-~rurmmann

'>'i- Rnrrenfuhn:r - turmmJnn (\trm. l

-Obc:r-.charfuhrer -Oberrrupptuhrer 'i 4\-0h~r..,turm lu hrer

S-Rotrcnfuhrer I Rocl.l

162

l .am:l.' ( orporal

emor Lall\C Corporal

ss ~ tmJes. t f
Hiihere fuhrer ( emo1 O({icersl

-St<Jnda rrcntuhrer

Colonel

Liemena orGeneral General

rhar of the S so far as ordinnrr day-to-da} a lt air~ were concerned. However, in official SS cor respondence and publication s rhe Allgc:meme- rank :tlways rook precedem:e over ,, 11 mher de ignations, even gO\'ernmcnral nrles. l'or example, ·oas )t.hwape Korps' consr ,l nrl~ referred to the Ge-rman Foreign .\l ini tcr br h~:. honorary posirion as • SObergruppt!nfuhrcr \on Ribbenrrop' rather than b~ hi') mrn1sterial appointment. imilarly. Allgemcrnc-~ rank:. rook precedence mer tho e of the \X affen- ~ and police. In :\priJ 1941. llimmler arr.:~nged for a biJnket appointment of all liS Pf to rhe ranb of GeneralmaJOr, GenerJIIc:urnanr or General der Poli tei and.

Supreme Comm.1ndcr

A with all KSDAP formarions. Hrtler w.l'> Commander-in-Chief of the S and held the per~ona1 tttlc of ·oer Ober re 1-i.ihrcr t.ler chut7Staffer. During the ,,ar, ''here:: an Allgcmeme-SS memlx•r temporaril~ ~rving m the \X'ehrmacht ~m.lilll'd a miliran rank higher than hi rank tn rht- • the Wehrmachr rank general!) prccetkod ultimatcl~

163

HIMMUR'S BLACK ORDH

Dance of Death' on lh ~cabbard. Worn b~· all rank-, of the \llgemeu1e-SS '"irh ser. ice and '' alking ou r Jres~, the . <., dagger was presented to it ownt'r on I~ at the specia I 9 l\:(1\ ember ceremon~ when he ~raduatcd from . -An" arrer to 5 -~l:lnn . lr was nor issued ar :tn~ other rune, or en mJssr like rhe dagger of the plc-b1an A. Lach -AnwJrter paid rhe full cosr of hi dagger, usually in small in mlmenrs, prior to it presentation. On 1- February 1934, S -Gruppenfi.ihrer Kurt Wirrjc, Chief of the -Amt who was disnli~scd the following year for homo cX'ualiry, io rbadc rhe private purchase or 'trading in' of S da~ge r~ on rhe o pen marker. H enceforth, daggers could be o rdered onl)' from manufacturer~ through the ·s-Amt, for i sue via the three mam uniform di tribution c~ntrc~ at Munich, Ore den and Berlin, which regularly proces ed requ1 ttions recei\·ed from the various Oberab hnirrc headqua rte~ . ~loreover, ir was made a di ciplinar) offence for an man to d i po.;e of or lo e hi dagger, on the grounds that it w ;l!> ,\ !>) rnbol of his office. In rhat way, it was assured th;.tt no unauthori ed per on could buy or orhcrwiSl' acquire an S dagger. A. of 25 .January 193-, member dismissed from the S had ro o;urrender their daggers, even if they were personal prope rry paid for from their O\\'n fund s . In ca~cs of voluntary resignation or normal retirement. however, daggers could be retai ned a nd the person in question was given a ccrrificarc smting that he was enri rled to possess the dagger. T he S. dagger was uspended at a n angle from a inglc lea the r strap until ovemhe r l lJ34 , "hen Hunmler introduced a vertical hanger for \\ t'.tr '"i th cn ice dres during crowd control. ll owcvcr, the vertical hanger, while more table. was roo rcmini cent of the humble hayonet frog and in 1936 rhe single <;trap wa!> retntroduced for both rhe walking out and ~crvu;c un1fo rm . Thereafter, the vcrri~:al hanger wa~ re rrict<.'d to u e on route marchcc; and military exercises.

the I9331JOnem SS dogger, showmg the Slll~e mop hanger (leh) ond me vemccl hanger (nght).

after 20 July 1944, the HSSPfs were also made generals of the Wnffen- . o a man who was nominated to he a general in the Allgememe- S, the police and the \ XIaffen-S would be entitled ' S-Obergrup penfiihrer und General der Waffen·SS und Polizei', in that order. The symbolic unifo rms and excl usive ranks and titles of the were further enhanced by th e Black Order's usc of decorative ed ged we:l ponry. T he S service dagger, or Oicnstdolch, was introduced a long with irs SA coumcrpnrt by the interim Chief of taff of the SA and Himmlcr's then supe rio r, Obergruppcnfi.ihrer von Krausser, under A Order o. 1734/33 of 15 December 1933. g(ack and silver in colour, it bore the SS morro etc hed o n the blaJe and runes and eagle on the grip, and it~ general des ign was based on that of a evenreenrh-eenrury German hunting Jagger known as the ' H olbein', which bore a repre en tati on of H olbein ' painting 'The

164

THE AllGEMtiNE·SS

fn "'eptemher 1940, due to nJtlon;tl , the 1933-panern dagger " as Withdrawn from production for the duration of the war. daggeJ; ro be worn onl) b) A more omar~ officers and b) rhose Old Guard X CO ami othl'r rank<; "ho had joined the organis.uion prior tO 30 j.tnuary 193.3, was introduced by Hirmnler on 21 June 1936 . Generally known as the ·chained dagger', it wa<; ver) similar to the 1933-partern hut wall ~u:.pended by means of linked octagonal plate'>, finely embo sed with death's heads and SS rune!>, a nd fearured a cenrral scabbard mount decorated wuh swastikas. The dagger could be worn onl} with the black uniform unril 1943. when \V.1ffcn-SS and security police officers were permitted to sport it with their field-grey walking out dress, and were allowed to attach knors in the .1rmy style. Pruducnon of the chained dagger had m be dtc;conrinucd at the end of J 943 because of material shortages, and irs wear was ubsequend~ forbidden for the duration of the war. ln addition to the smndard 1933-partern and 1936-ra rrern daggers, se\'eral pectal pre enr.uion varianrs were a lso produced. The fir t of these was the o-cnlled Ro hm S H o nour Dagger, 9,900 of which were di trihured in February 1934 ny SA Srabschef Ern)t Rilhm ro members of rhe S Old Guard. It rook the form of a basic 19.13-pattern dagger with the additi o n of the dedication ' In hcrzlicher Kameradschaft, Ernsr Rohm' (' In heartfelt commdeship, E.cnsr Rohm') erchecl on rhe rever. e of the blade. Following the 'Night of the Long Knives', 200 si milar dagger!>. etched ' In hcrzlicher Kameradschaft, H . Himmler', were presented by the R eichsfuhrer to S per onnel who h.1d participated in the bloody purge of the 'A. A very omate .tnd expensi,·e SS honour dagger, with oakleaf-dccorated cro ~guards, leather-covered scabbard and Dama cu~ c.teel bbde. was created b) Himmler in 1936 for award to high-rankmg officer in recognition of !>pecial achievement. Wh~n o ne wa'> pre enred to rhc NSDAP Treas.urcr, Franz ~(..onom•c

165

the 1936-ooltem chooed 55 dogger, with regulation portepee knot outhonsed 111 1943 for weor by offiCe~S ol rhe Waffen-55. Sipo Olld SO.

x,l\ c:r chwa rz, he responded by secretly commi:.~ioning

rhe Eickhorn fi rm ro produce an even more claborare e>.amplc, wirh fittings and chain hanger in solid silver, which he then gave ro Himmler as n birthday present! n uring th e 1933-6 era , SS o ffi cers and NCO~ engageJ in ce re mo nial duti es were permitrc d ro we.tr a var iety of pri a re ly purchased ar my-pattern sabres, often wirh could sport the SS runes on

THE ALLGEMEIN£·SS

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER

rhe pommel of their police sword. Personnel arrached ro SS Reitersrandarren retained the traditional curved sabre for use on horseback. The SS officer"s sword, which was rcferrt"d to as rhe Ehrendcgen des Reichsfi.ih rers·SS, or Reichsftihrer's Sword of Honour, was given an elevated status and could not be worn automatically by eYer)' SS officer. lt was bestowed by Himmler only upon selected Allgemeine-$$ commanders and graduates of the Waffen-SS J unkcrschulen at Bad To lz and Braunschweig. Each presentation of the Ehrendegen was accompanied by a citation in which the Reichsflihrer instructed rhe recipient: 'lch verleihc Ihnen den Degen der SS. Ziehen Sic ihn niemals ohne Nor! Srccken ie ihn niema ls ein ohne Ehre!' ('l award you the SS sword. Never draw it wirhout reason. or sheathe it without honour!') . A"'ards of rhe officer's sword, like those of the dearh's head ring, were recorded in the Dienstaltersliste, which re\ eals that only 86 per cem of even the mo~t senior S commander were entitled ro wear it. That percentage can be broken down as follows:

The Ehrendegen des Reichsfuhrers·SS, or Reichsfiihrer's Sw01d of Honour.

tandartenfi.ihrer Oberfi.ihrer Brigadefi.threr Gruppenfuhrer Obergruppen fuhrer Oberst-Gruppenfiihrer

58 % 83% 90% 91% 99% 100%

~lanufacturc of the Eh rendcgen ceased on 25 january J 941. Still more exclusi,·e were the so-called 'Geburtsragsdegen ·, or 'bi rthda y swords', gi\'en by Himmlcr to SS generals and mher leading Nazi personalirie~ as birrhda~ presenrs. They were made to o rde r by Germany's master swordsmirh, Paul Muller, Director of the SS Damascus School at D achau, and featured hallmarked silver finings and blades of the finest Damascus st eel with exquisi tel y raised and gi lde d personal dedications from Himmler. The sword gifted to von Ribhenrrop on his birthday in 1939. for example, bore the golden legend 'Meinem lieben Joachim von Ribbentrop ..:um 30.4.39 - H. H immler, Reich~flihrerset between tWO swastikas. Hider recei,·cd a simi lar weapon, the blade inscription of which exrolled rhe virtues and loya lry· of the entire SS officer corps. M liller con tinued producing Geburrstagsdegcn on commission from H immler unril 1944. The regalia of the Allgemeine-55 also tncluded an exrensi,·c range of flags and banners. From 4 Jul>' 1926, rhe SS had the distinction of keeping the most revered flag in the T hird Reich, the Blutfahne. which had been carried a t the head of the Nazi Old Guard during the ~l unich pursch v.•hen they were fired upon by the police. ft was splattered with the gore of those shor during rhe encounter and was thereafter considered to be somerhing of a 'holy relic'. SS-:vtann Jakob Grimminger from the .\llunich SS detachmenr, a vereran of the first World W(lr Gallipoli campaign and participant in the 1922 ' Battle of Coburg', was accorded the honom of being appomred the

first official bearer of rhe Hlurfnhne and he:: retained that position throughout his c.ueer. Grirnminger Wcl<; a wood-carver by trade, and haJ no particular qualification as rhe Reich's 'number one standard-bearer', orher than the fact that he had bec:n a 'rail-end' marcher when the shooting starred at rhe Feldherrnhallc. By April 1944, when rhe Blurfahm· made its last puhlic .1ppearance at the funeral of Adolf WJgner, Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavana, Grimminger had arrained rhe rank of SStandartenflihrer, h1s a sociation with rhe IH) srical flag h:nin!! assured him a stead)' succession of promorions. Everr Allgemeine-55 Standarre was represented h> a banner, nr Feldzeichen, which was it elf known as the regimental 'Standarte'. Somewhat reminiscent of rhe ancient Roman

vexillum banner, ir rook the torm of .1 wooden pole surmounred by a metal eagle anJ wreathed S\vastib, below which was .1 black and silver boxed nameplate. The plate bore the SS area name (e.g. 'Kassel' or 'Giessen') or regimental honour tide (e.g. 'Julius chreck' or ·Loeper') on the front and the initials 'NSDAP' on rhe back. from the box was suspended a red silk tlag with a black static swastika on a whire circle. The motto 'Deutschland Erwache' ('Germany Awake') was embroidered in whire rhread on the ob,·erse, with ·~at. Soz. Deutsche Arbeiterpartci - Srurmahteilung' on the re\'erse. The whole item was finished off with a black/white/red fringe and tassels. Apart from the black name box, the SS Feld7..eichen wa identical ro that of the SA . When an S unit achieved roughly regimental proportions, it was awarded a

s·

166

Himmler plociog a wreath ot the feldherrnholle on the ele~enth anniversary of the Munich puts(h, 9 November 1934. The Blood Bonner, held by Jakob Grimminger in traditional brownshirt uniform, stonds in the ba
167

> HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

THE AlLGEMEINE·$$

Area Name

Feldzeichcn in a mass pst·udo-rcligiou5 ceremony known as rhe Fahnenweihe which took place each eptember a part of the annual NSDAP celebrations at Jurnberg. During rhe proceedings, l litler would presenr many new standards ro regimental commanders and touch them with rhe Blurfahne which Grin1111inger was carrying alongside, so linking in spirit the most recent S member with the martyr of the Munich putsch. The table below show:- all rhe area names which fcarured on Allgemeine-55 infantry Feldzeichen (i .e. those not bearing honour tirles or the name of rhe regimental HQ town) and the Standarten to whjch they referred. SS Rciterstandarten carried simi lar but distinctive Feldzeichen which had the 'Deutschland Erwache' flag hanging from a wooden bar fixed at right angles to th e standard pole. In place of the name box, these cavalry standards featured a black patch. or Fahnenspiegel, on the flag cloth, bearing crossed lance and the unit numeral in si lver. Each S Srurmbann was represented by a Sturmbannfahne, or Battalion Flag, in rhc form of a swastika flag with black and silver twisted cord edging. In the upper left corner

Allgemeine-SS standards. Top: The 'Deufsdllond Erwoche' standard or Feldzei(hen, of the lst SS fuss·Stondorte 'Julius Schreck'; bottom left battalion flog of Sturmboon Ill of the lst SS Fuss·Stondorre; bottom right: cowlry stondord of the 15th SS Reiterstondorte. (Rep~oduced from the Orgonisotions/Juch der NSOAP, 1938 edition.)

STA NDA RTF. ARF.A NAMES Area Nmne SS Fuss-Standt1rte No.

Area Name

Alt Bayern Baden Brandenburg Braunschweig Burgenland Charlortenburg Dithmarschen Franken Friedland Gorha land Gross-Beeren Hanauer Land Harz Hessen

Karnren Lippe Marien burg Masuren Mecklenburg Mirtelfranken ,\ ;fosel Neisse Nicderbayern Niedersachsen icderschlesien rordschlcswig Ob der Enns Oberbarern

Oberfranken Oberhessen Oberpfalz Obersch lesien Obersreiermark Osrfriesland Osrmark Ostpommern Osrpreussen Ostsee Pfalz Pommern Rhein-H essen Ruhr Saale Sauerland Schleswig-Holstein

92

32 15 49 11 6

53 56 66 14 80 86 51 2

168

SS Fuss-Staudarte No.

Area Ntlme

41 83

Schwa ben chwarzwald Sredingen Tempelhof Thiiringen Thi.iringer Wald Tirol Uckermark Unrer-Enns Unrerelbe Wartburg Weichsel Weser Wesrfalen-Nord We~tfalen- lid Wlirrremberg Wi.imemberg Stid

68 )~

_.)

94

24 27 39

18

74 10 9

33 25 84 69 4

SS Fuss-Standarte No.

29 65 88

75 14

57 87 44

52 16

67 71

55 19

30 13

63

SS Fuss-Stmzdarte No. 90 72

64 61 22

73 5 45 31 12

8 50 37 34

The Feldzeichen and Sturmbonnfohne of rhe SS.VT on atsplov ot NOrnberg, September 1937. AJI the standortJ.beorers weor gorgers and bandoliers.

169

-HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

or canron, a hlack l"ahncn~pregel \\":1'> embroidered in silver thr~aJ, '' 11 h the maller versions, were flown from the front m·,trside mudwing of staff cars. The) "ere squar10, rectangular or rrianguhtr in form depending upon designation, and w·cre n1ade of black and whirc waterproof doth with rustproof silver thread. Command flags were usual!,· covered an :1 rranc;parent celluloid casing during im:km~.:nr weather. E.Jch <;_ Oberab,chnirt was required to keep on h;1 no one off1ci::tl veh1cle flag and one command pennant for the Reichsfi.ihrer·SS, for use in the event of a ·flying visit' by Himmler. Other Kommandoflaggen indudcJ those ror the heads of S H auptiimrer, S Oberabsl·hnitte .111d Abschnitte commanders, rhe leaders of Srand::tncn, Reirersrandarren, Srurmbanne, 5 scores and inspectorate~. and senior members of the f M organisation. In 1934. 1 limmler nored: ·A sworn oatJ1 is not enough. lr is e sential rhar ever~ SS man he commirred to rhc very roors of hi!> betng'. The )yrnboli m :tnd regalia of the Allgemcinc-S~ went a Ions way to achie,•ing char end, instilling a feeling of superiorit}' and 'belonging· in every member of the Bl,tck Ordtr.

Allgemeine-55 tommond flogs. 1. Reich.sftihrer·SS; 2 heads of the SS Houptomter; 3 henri of rhe Personlichar Stab RfSS; 4. heads of SS Amter; 5. Fuhrer of SS Oberobschmu Sud, 6. Fuhrer of S$lbschnirr I; 7. fuhrer of the 34th SS Fuss·Stondorte; 8 Fuhrer of the 1st SS Reiterstondorte; 9. FOhrer of Sturmbonn Iof the lsi SS fuss·Stondorte; 10 Fuhrer of SS Pioniersturmbonn 1, 11. FUhrer of SS Nochrichtensturmbann I 12. SS officers, 13. offinals of the FM Orgonisorion. (Reproduced from the OrganiSotronsbuch det NSOAP, 1943 edition.)

3. THE WAFFEN·SS ORIGINS AND ORGANISATION OF THE WAFFEN·

ss

When Hitler a sumed rhe Chancellorship on 30 J anuary 1933. he fe lt char he could not rely enti rely on rhe traditional Reichswchr and police guard appointed by the smrc ro pror~n him. Consequentlr, he quickly issued msrrucrions for the formarion of a new full time armed ~~ unit whose sole function would be to escorr htm at all times, whether in Berlin or on his official journeys rhrough our German}. The ra k of form ing the unit wa entrusted ro 'Sepp' Dietrich. who by rh.H time had l'ic;en ro rhe rank of SSGruppenfiihrcr rhrough his position JS one of Hitler's closest personnl friends . By 17 March 1933, Dietrich had handpicked 120 loyal SS \Olunrl'Crs. including a few former members of rh~.: Srossrrupp Adolf Hi tler. to becomt' the nucleus of a new headquarrers guard c:.:tlled the SS tabswacht' Berlin. They were armed with rifles and iniria ll; quartered 111 rhc Alexander Barracks on Fricdrichstrasse. not far from Hitler's official residence. the Reich Chancellery. In May, rhe Srabswache was enl arged .anJ reformed ab the SS Sonderkommando 7.osscn, with rhrce training companies ' hich had their instructors drawn from the armv and police rarhcr rhan rhe All gcmcine-S . In addition to guard durieb, this 'Special I-oree' could now a lso be used for armed police and anri-rrrrorisr r.ac;ks. The following month three new companies were recruitt'd,as rhe on derkom mand o J iiterbog, nnd a t the NSDA P parry rally tfl September 1933 both

SS

170

171

dcrachmenrs wert~ mergc:d Jnto a l.inglc form:Hi <m and renamed tht.: 'Adolf ll itlcr Srand ..trre'. On 9 November, in front of rhe Munich Feldherrnhallc, rhe Standane rook a persona l oaLh of loyalry ro Jts Fuhrer and was renamed the Leibsrandarte· S 'Adolf H itler', or LAH, which may be~r be translated as the ·Adolf H irler· Life Guards. im•oking. memories of th e famed Imperial Ro yal Bodyguard Regiments . There could now be no doubr that chest' men, unlike the soldiers of the Rcichswehr, w~.:re Hitler's personal rroops. As all S unit, t'he Leibsrandarre theoretically came under Himmler"s overal l conrroL Ho weve r, in practice, Hnler considered hiauself ro be rhe ultimarc director of irs act1ons. I hat facr, combin ed with Dietrich's friendship with ll ider, wh1ch the: gu,Hd ~.:ommander t:xploired to the full. ensured thar the Leibstandarre enjoyed a fair measure of independence within rhe S organis.Hion. lnd ceJ, rhe prewar I eibsranclarre, vvhkh was on rhc narionnl budget rather than char of the :-.JSDAP, ulrimarel) became in H immler·s own words 'a complete bw unto irsclf'. Dietrich frequenrly argued w1rh tlw Rcit;hsftihrer, whom he addre!>sed as an equal. a luxury enjoyed by very few S officers. At rhe end of 1933, the Lt\ H moved into quaners :\t Bcrlin-Lichrcr felde from where squad of troops were scnr ro the Reich Chancellcr~ on ,, rora ba is ro provide a marr, impressi\>c and effecrh·e bodyguard for rhc Fuhrer. Thry were given rheir o-.vn, then very d1stincrivc, insignia of un-numberl·d ~

--THE WAFFEN SS

HIMMLER S BlACK ORDER ~lost

Fonf01e twmperers of the leibsrondorte ot the opening ceremony of the Berlin Hooe Show in 1934. The bonne~ were p10duced berween September ond November 1933, when the unrt wos coiled the 'Adolf Hitler Stondorte'. lr is noreworthy thot the man rn the f01egroood has otttxhed the boooer to his trumpet !he wrong wrrf roood, mak.mg the deolh's head oppeot ro face bc
leibstondorte sentries nt lhe courtyord ennonce ro the new Rekh Chon< ellery, November 1938. The lAH, being oguards regiment, spenl much of irs p!ewor rime on ceremooiol duties for which distinctive whne leather equ1pmenr comprising woisr belt,
rune on the right collar patch and a cuff title bearing the name 'Adolf Hider'. Th e Leibstandartc came to be in ex<..lusrH~ prominence around Hitler, irs men '!>en 1r1~ not onl~ a' hie; gu:lrdo:; bm also as hi' adjutant), dri' er,, 'en ant and waiters. Their ceremonial activiric) ulnmatel~ hecame alma t legendan, and their perform.1nce on the drill c;quare and at 'azi rallie , where they con!>istently hdd the place of honour at the end of the par;ldl;', wa' -,econd to none. By 6 March 19 H, the Leihstantl.:trre comprised 986 men. of whom 45 were nor members of the ~.l7i parry. ha,·ing been

recruited direct!} from the military or police. T he unit also included a number of nonGermans, such as thirt)' Ausrrian Nazis "ho:.e political beliefs had obliged them to lea \ ' C thetr homeland tor Germany. On 24 .\lay, Himm ler agreed to Dremch's request that the LAH should u e arm~. rather rhan <\, terminolog~ to dec;cribe ire; constituent components. Thu ·Baratllon' .:md ·Kompanie' began to replace • turmbann' and ' wrm'. On 30 June 1934. the l eib)ttmdarte helped to quell rhe Rohm pur-.ch and was la rgely respon'>ible for rhe killing of man~ of Hitlt'r\ enemtes in the ' 'ight ot rhe Long KniYes'.

172

of rho'>c arrc~tcd were taken ro the Lichtc.>rtddl· Barracks which be~:ame ' snw :1 dramJtic change rake place, not only between the ~A and the S , but between the Allgemeine- and rhe armed S detachment'>. One of the ftr'-t ourward signs of rhr-. ">hift wn-. the changing of rhe guard outsi de Gestapo HQ, where rhe A-Fcldjiigerkorp and Allgemeine-$ entries were replaced br men of the LAH. imilar change~ rook place at other important location acro~s the Reich. Early 1n October 1934, ir wa!> decided that the Leib randarre -,hould be motorised, a rare honour in da~ when most of rhe Reichswehr wa c;till hor e-drawn. By rhe beginning of 1935, the strength of the LAH had rrscn ro 2.5-1 men, and it became a regiment tn fact as well as in name. di,·ided into:

ceremoni.1l balkgrnund, tt '" o;urprising JUSt how qutckl) rhe I AH developed into a fim · class m1lir.uy unit .wd how far ir as'>imilated ir.:;elf within rhc rest of rhe a rmed SS. On I March 193- the )th Company, under SSIi auptsrurmfuhrer Wilhelm .\lohnke, marched into ~anrbruckcn on the return of the Saarland to Germany. Three year latl'r, the I eihstandnrrc took a prominent parr in the annexation of Au tria. It mo,·ed through Linz, where it provided a guard of honour for Hitler. and on tO Vienna, taking p:Ht in the triumphal celebrations there . The Austrian opnation saw the LAH covering no less than 600 miles in some: 48 hours in full cooperation wtth the army, a high milirnrr abil ity which earned the favourable recognition of no lec;s .1 commander than General Guderian. In October 1938, the Leib tandarte pnrticipated in rhe occupation of the udett·nbnd. and again the whole e\·enr proceeded smoorhly. All elements of rhc Leibstandarte, except fnr rhe ceremoninl Guard Battalion and a replacement unit, were ro rake pnrt in the opening stage of the econd World \XIar. As the urm. the LAH was de tined to first armed hold a proud place a'> the oldest and ..marte t torm,Hion tn the '\ affen- , and was to earn itself a formidable fighting record at the from. Ar the same rime as the infant Leibsrandnrte wa being formed to protect Hitler, other !>mall groups of armed men were sct up all over Germany as a meanc; of bolstering the ne\\ regime in the e\'ent of civil unrest or counter-revolution. As a general rule, each S Ahschniu recruited it'> own Kaserniertc Hundcrr<;chaft of l 00 or so barracked troop!., and several of the e were amalgamated in key areas ro become company- or even battalion-sized Polrri chc Bereirschafren, o r PBs, Pofirir.:al Rc erve quads. The entire ~:.ountr) was eventually covered by a nem ork of PBs. some of which played a significant parr in the 'Night of rhe

I ·>< taff 3 )( motori~ed infnntry battalions 1 :... moron:~ clc company x mortJr compam· 1 Y -,ignal plntoon 1 ~ armoured car platoon 1 ' regimental band

It was a relarin~l}' shorr step from being equipped and trained for
173

HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN·SS

Abottolion of the SS.VT StaMorte 'OeuMllond' motching post Hitler 10 1937 Swollow's nesrs dis1lOgoish the tegunentol bondsmen in the foregroond. ALeibstondot1e bottor1011 porodes post Hitler on his IO!Iy1linlh birthday, 20 April1938 Note me white leothet gooorlers worn by rhe oifl<e~ in the
The pil.:rure of a new and elite force atrracred many ex-ofFicers inro rhe ranks of the Verfugungsrruppc. A- tandartenfi.ihrer Patrl Hau er, a former Reichswehr general, was rccruitcJ by Himmler ro organise the SSVT and in ril ome military know-how inro the fledgling S solclrcr~. In October 1934 a cader school wa s o pened at Bad Tolz, and early the following year H ausser rook per onal charge of a second officer rraining establi hment ar Braunschweig. Hausser's solid groundwork attracted a c;ufficienr number of ex-army and police officer , redundant Rerchc;wehr o;ergeanr-rnajors and young military enthu iasts to form the officer and 'CO cadre of rhe future Waffen-SS.

Long Knives'. On 24 cprember 1934, Hirler announced that the Polirische Bereirschafren were ro be brought rogcther and expanded rnro a n~w force to be called rhe S Verfi.igungstruppe or S-VT, political rroops ar rhe special disposal of the Nazi regime. The -V r would be formed on the basis of rhrec ~ranclarten modelled on army infanrry regiment!>, each tO comprise rhree battalions, a motorcycle company and a morrar corn pan~. In addirion, an -VT rgnal barralion would act in a supporting role. The ne\\ formation was to be under rhe command of rhe Reichsfuhrerfor internal security dunes. excepr in rime of war "hen ir would be at the dr po al of rhe army.

174

The cadre were di tributed to the scattered SS-VT barraliom and these were graduallr formed into regiments. In ~!funich, three turmbann e amalgamated to become Standarre lNT, organised and equipped as a hor e-drawn infantry regiment. It was given rhc honour tirlc 'Deutschland' ar the Ni.irnberg Rallr in September 1935. Member!> sub equenrlr wore the SS rune:. along:.ide the number 'I' on the right collar parch, and a 'Deut chland' cuff title. In Hamburg, another three Srurmbanne dulr came together ro con tirute - tandarre 2NT, which wa named 'Germania' at 1'\i.irnberg in eprember 1936. The regimental uniform was characterised by an 'SS 2' collar parch and 'Germania' cuff ride. On 1 Ocrober 1936, Hausser was

appointed lnspecror of Verfugungsrruppe wirh the rank of S-Brigaclefuhrer. He created n clivi ional !>taff to supervise the equipping and training of his troops and avidly welcomed newcomers ,.vho brought the promise of a certain dynamism co the SS-VT. Foremo'>t among these was SS-Srurmbannfiihrer Felix rciner, an ex-Reich \\ ehr officer whose experiences on th e western from in rhe First \Xlorld War had turned him again r the con~er\'ative doctrines of Hausser and rhe army. H e favoured the tactics of as aulr detachments, shock troops and mobile barrie groups, ro escape from rhe dea dl) immobilrty of trench warfare wirh one ma !> army facing another in a mutual b,nrle of attrition. remer was given command o f rhe -VT tandarte

175

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

· teiner'c; troops co,·ered almost two miles in t\\cnt;. minuter, in barrie order, for such a thing war, unheard of. teiner implanted in his men rhe idea that they \\ere a milirary cine. and the ucces of hi modernisation was so ob,·ious that the Verfugung rruppe began to look upon him as thei r r eal commander. According to a somewhat jealou H ausser, ll immler considered Steiner robe 'his very favourite baby'. After t he annexation of Austria in March 1938, in which 'Germania' pa rricipa red alongside rhc Leibstanda rre, H itler ordered rhn r a new -VT ta n da rte be formed entirely from Au trian personnel, either newly recruited or transfer red from o ther SS units. The resultant regiment w as given the honour ririe ' Ocr flihrer' at the Niirnberg Rally in eprember that year, and members were dt nngu i hed by an appr opriately named c uff title and'S 3' collar parch. During the mobilisation preceding rhe occupation of the Sudetcnland in October 1938, ' Dcut!>chland' and 'Germania · were placed under rhe command of rhe armr and took parr in the operation. All rhe SS-VT randarren became motorised regiments at the end of the year, and in the spring of 1939 were u ed ro fill the gaps in a number of armoured divisions which invaded Czechoslovakia. In May, ' Deutsch la nd' wen t on exercise at rhe Miinsrerlager training a rea where it carried our ex t remely rough a nd hazardous manoeuvres using live ammunition. H ider, who wa presen t toget her with rhe Reichsfuhrer, was so impre sed rhar he gave hi pcrmis ion for the expansion of the -Verfligung truppe into a full di,·ision. The idea wa!. temporarily postponed, ho\\cver, ac; units of the SS-VT were integrated w1rh those of the army in preparation for the attack on Poland. By rhe outbreak of rhe econd World War, the SS-VT compri ed not on ly the ' Deutschland', 'Gcrmania · and ' Der Flihrer' randarren, bur

HalllOI WOckerle, commander of SIU!mbonn I, 55-VT Slondorte 'Gerroonio', os depKted by Wolfgong Willrich in 1936. Note the 'SSjsmaft 2' collor patch. Wiickerle hod formerly been the guord commonder at Do
'Deutschland', and he tried out his reforms with one of irs battalions, the rraining of which centred on sports and athletics. Officer , COs and men competed in reams against each other, ro promote a spirit of comradeship and eliminate differences in rank. F'perimencs were carr ied our with camouflage clothing, and Steiner replaced the army· regulation rifle with handier and more mobile weapons, primaril~ submachine-gun and hand grenades. Soon even t he Wehrmacht' eyebrow rose as

176

THE WAFFEN·SS

__

--

-..... ..........

,....,....._

14-

-"·-

Styles of SS.VT uniform m1937. From left to right field service ~orm f01 SS.SturmmoM; spom kJt. porode uniform for SS.SchorfUhrer; parade uniform with greotcoot for Ss-oberfulver. (Reproduced from the Orgomsotionsbtxh det NSOAP, 1937 edltron.l

NCOs ond men of Sturmbonn Ill, 55-VT Stondorte 'Germonio', outside their borrocks ot RodolfzeA Ul 1938

177

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

also an artiller~ reg•menr; -Regimenr z.h.V. 'EIIwangen' for ~ptcial deployment; a signal barralion; a pioneer harralion; rhe so-called SS-Srurmbann ' ' which was garrisoned at Ti.irnberg and prO\'ided a guard at the annual Nazj part}' ralliec,; a reconnaissance battalion; an ami-aircraft machine-gun barralion; and an anri-rank battalion. There were al o :1 number of repbcemenr units, or Er attcinheiren, \\h ose purpose was ro make good any wartime lo.,t;es c;uffered by rhe SSVT. The -Verfi.igungstruppc provided valuable mi lit•lr)' experience for many officers who were bler tO become prominent personalirie in the di\'isions of rhe WaftenSS. Alongs•de the Leibstandarre and -Vl grew a third militan ed branch of the wirh a somewhat darker purpo c. In ~ l arch 1933, Himmler et up rhe first -run concentration ca mp at Dachau to accommodate 5,000 of the 27,000 porcnrial 'enemies of the tare' arrested by the SA and after the Reich rag fire. Men of the local Allgemeinefrom Munich were e onded to a new Waclwerbande, or Guard Uni t, under Oberfiihrer Thcodor Eicke ro upervi e rhe inma tes of Dachau, who were ro be incarcerated on a long-term basis. Br the ummer of 19.34, most of the semi-official and often ad hoc A detention ca mps throughout Germany had been closed, and as a direct result of the 'Night of the Long Knives'. during which Eicke personally killed Ernst RCihm, the remaining camps were remo,·cd from the juri diction of the SA 3nd civil authorities and were permanently taken over by the Ar first, rhe SS-\XIachverbande staffing the concentration c3mps were lighrly armed and were used by the Allgemeinea depositories for poor qualirr and unw3nted personnel. Eicke. however, turned Da chau into a model camp, and in J uly 1934 he wa

THE WAFFEN·SS

promoted tO -Gruppenfuhrer and made Inspector of Concentration Camps with the task of improving rhe di ciplinc and morale of the S -\Xfachverbande. This he accomplished with ..ome con<;iderable succe s. By ~ larch 1935, with nc\v camps opening up on a regular basi to accommodate more and more prisoners, the Wach\'erbande had e'1panded ro incorporate the following compan~·- ized unit~, each a igned to a particular camp:

S -\Xfachtruppe 'Oberbayern' at Dachau S-\XIachrruppe ·osrfrie'ila nd • :u Esterwegen SS-Wachtruppe 'Elbc' at Lic:htenburg -Wachtruppe 'Sach en· at achscnburg -\XIachtruppe 'Brandenburg' at Oranicnburg and Columbia-Hau -Wachrruppc 'llansa' at llamburg-Fuhlsbi.irrel During 1935, these formations were complctclv removed from rhe conrrol of the Allgemeine-55 and reorganised into five independent battalions, namely: S-\Xfachsturmbann I 'Obcrhayern' at Dachau -Wachswrmbann II 'Eibe' at Lichtenburg SS-Wachsturmbann Ill ' ach en ' at achenburg -Wachsturmbann IV ·Osrfrie land' ar l:::!.tcrwegen S -Wachsrurmbann V 'R rande nburg· at Oranienburg and Columbia-llaus By December 193 ·, Eicke wa

somewhat prematurely styling h11n elf a:. 'Fuhrer der Totenkopf,·erbande', or Commander of Oe ~~t h ' Head Units. lr was nor unril 29 ~larch 1936 that the '\ achsturmbanne, with a trength of 3,500 mt:n, were officially renamed the S-Totcnkopfvcrbiinde, or STY, and allocated distinctive new collar parches bearing rhe death's head . On 1 July l937, they were regrouped inro rhe following three regiments, comprising 4,500 men:

178

Himrnler, Hifler and Hoossar 'liew the 'Deu1Wllond' regiment on exercise ot MOnsterloger, May 1939. The offi<er on the r~ht is Jochen Peipe~, theo seMng as oide-de-
179

HIM/HER ' S BlACK

SS-Torenkopf!.randartc I 'Oherbayern' Jt Dachau -Totenkopfstandnrte 2 ·Brandenhur~· Jt Sachsenhauscn SS-Totenkopfsrandartc ~ ·Thiiringen· :lt Buchenwald

ORO~R

concentration camp. Pn,oners who cried ro could be ;.hot "lthuut warning, as could an} inmate who :.w;aulted a guard. The main forms of punishment in the camps were beatings, hard lahour and rying prisoners ro trees, and there were several instances of inmates being killed by SS-1 V guards, whose h:Hred of rhe prisoners was con!.ciou I~ cultivated. F.tcke made a poinc of recruiting 'btg sixteen-year-olds' direct from the Hider Youth, and most Torenknpf men were under rwenty years of age. Almost 95 per cent of them were unmarried, with few o r no personal tics. They were ideally suited to be moulded according w hcke' doctrines for the -TV. B> 1939, the S -Totenkopf,·erbande had grown ro include -Tocenkopfsrandarre 'Dietrich Eckart'; a medical battalion; an ami -rank demomrrat1on cum pan); a motorised signal platoon; and a semi· mororised engineer unit. Whatever Eicke may h::\\'e intended, his SS-TV had developed inro a truly military organisation, and on 17 August H itler recogmsed that fact by ordering that in the e,·ent of war the Totenkopfsrandartcn hould he u ed as police reinforcements (Totenkopf-Polizel\er rarkung) Wlthm the frame\\ ork of the \'\1ehrmachr. In other word , rhe} "ere to be deplored a!> occupation rroops. Their ra<;k of guarding the concentration camps would be taken over by older Allgemeine-55 reservists formed inro new SS-Totcnkopf-W
fHf WAFFEN·SS

J

e~cape

In 1938 n fourrh regiment, S · Torenkopfstandartc 4 ·Ostmark', was formed 10 Au tria to staff the new com:enrration camp at .VIauthausen. Eicke, a former paymaster of the impcnal army, had an undyang hatred of the professional offi t·rs whom he saw in command of th e S· Verfi.igungstruppe and one of hi!> primary objectives was to turn the Totenkopfverbiinde inro a sort of brutal "orking-class counrerforce tO the - T. Himml er had given him almost complete autonomy in hi' appoinrmenr as lnspekreur der Konzcntration,lager, and Eicke kept ,, jealous watch to ensu re that no senio r ex· officers infiltrated his organisa tion co rhre:uen his position. While his troop!. were heavily armed on army lines, albeit with rather outdated wcaponrr, Eicke continually warned them again:>t any ateempt to ape a military organ1 a rion, and he frequenrly Impressed upon them that they belonged neither to the army. nor to the police, nor to the Verfi.igungstruppe. Their sole task wn to isolate the ·enemies of the s tare· from the German people. F.icke drummed the concept of dangerous !>ubver ive o forcefully and convincingly into his men that they became firm ly convinced of their position a" the Reich's true gua rdinns. They were the only oldiers who even in peacet1me faced the enemy day and night , . the ~nemy behind the wire. regulations governing the r he Totcnkopfvcrbandc became ever stricter. An)' member a llowing n prisoner to escape would himself be handed over to the Gestapo, and would p robabl) end up being incarceran:d i11

180

Ss-Gruppenfilhrer Albert Forster, Gouleiler of Oonzig.Wesr Prus.slo, reviewing rhe SS·Hetmwehr Danzig in August 1939. The offker on the lefi is SS. ObetsturmbonnfOhrer Fnedmonn GOtze, commander of tile Heimwehr, who was killed by oBritish sniper of Le Paradis on 28 May 1940 while serviog with rhe SS· Totenkopf1l1visioo. Giifze'sdeath come the day after 100 unarmed British ptisooers of the 2nd Royol N01folks were murdered by Totenkopf !loops under

frill KnOchlem

Polize1ver!.tJrkung. The link between the S-

non-German auxiliaries. Dearh's Head rroops. on the orher hand, entered a new phase in their unit's srory and were soon to gain a reputation all !lome of rhe hardest and most rurhle~s soldiers of the war. Conditions ot c;en 1ce in the a rmed were distinct from those applica blc ro other formations . Volunreer~ to join rhe prewar ~ VT and S -TV had to be between the ages of sixteen and rwcnry-rwo. at least 5 ft 11 in tall and of the highc r physical fitness. Entry requirements for the Lcibstandarte were even more stringent, wirh a minimum height of 6 ft 1 in, and it was no idle boasr of H immlcr' that unrd 19 36 e'en a filled tooth "as

Totcnkopfverb~inde and concentration camp

guard dtHie~ wns ;lll bur being dissolved. When the ccond World War broke our tht' following month, the plan ro u e Eicke's men a) occupation troops was qurckly moddted. Dachau was cleared of inmates and tht' Totenkopt t,1ndarrcn. augmented h~ the young Allgcrncme· conscripts and some police personnel, \\ere mustered there and formed inro rhe S-Totenkopf-Divis10n for combat servJce alongside the Leib rand.ute and · VT. rhr guarding of concenrratwn camp-. nuw fell to the older men, unfit for front-line duf}-. and to 'green' recruits and

181

THE WAFHN·SS

HIMMlER S BLACK ORDER

JdtuJged .\ .,ufticient deiormi~ en Ji.,qu:\lif, .l ~ nung man frum entr) Into thl fuhrer\ (,uard. '-. t•t·dl<~"~ to c;av. J "Hh ordinan mt:mbt•r!- uf the t\ll~cmcmc-.) , :\f)iln pedtgree had w he <>porless f rom I 9 H. mcm her.,h ip ol the I eih-.tJndarrc and S - Vcrfugungsrruppe counrcd ·"- mtlttar~ c;er\'lce. anJ rares o f pay corre.,pnnded ro th mc ot the \'fehrmathr. I lo\\ ever, terms w~rc h.ud. l:.nlt~teJ men had ro ~~~n up for a mmunum of fou r yl'MS, ~CO~ fnr mchc )'Ca rs and officers for rwemy-five y"·an•. v\orctl\'er. they were all suhjecr to rhe . S legal ~yo;tcm nnJ Jisciphne code. and were ohliged to sccurt> rhe Reichsfiihrer'<> pcrmis ion hcfure the~ could marry. Membership of the 'l or~nkopfn~rhande. while simi lar!) demanding m tl'rm~ of -.crvtee conJirions, diJ not counr ac; fulfilmenr of milirar) du~· until tht~pring. uf 19 ,9. Before rhar rime. S - rv volunteer~ had w complete rhetr sratutof\· rerm of mtl1tary cons~:nptlon either tn rhe '\ ' ehrmachr or 111 the ~ -\'~:rfugungstruppe. FiLke preferr~d hi" men to do their sen icc in rh~· um~. na' ~ or air force, as he was ... tm~·crncd th.u a( the~ "ere ro j01n the SS-VT the~ mtghr \\ clnr ro rematn tn thar hmnch oi the rather than return ro what he called rhe ·onerous anJ demanding task of guarding COIKCntr atiOO C,llllp '. On1.c: tn rhc .nmt'd !-IS, recrUJts \..ere moulded inro vcrr adapmble solclier-arhlere~ capable o f much herrer rh an a\'eragc endurance on the march and in combat. Great cmpha~i~ was placed upon tdenlogicill indo~.mna non, ph}sical t<Xt"rcisc and sports, v. h ich ''ere made i nregra l pa rrs of rhe tr.ltntn~ programme Jnd datly life. .\lore rime wa -;pent in tht' field, un the range and in rhc da sroom le.1rnmg tht rheor~ of tactics than was the practtcc m the arm~. "htlt: considerahh le .mention was gi,·en w drilL e' ~·n 111 the Leibstandarre .:lfter 1938. Tht rc.,ulred tn a o;randJrcl of battlefteld mo\'cmenr and -.hooting rhat wa:. appreciahh htghcr than rhar of rhe W~:hrmacht.

\I.Hloeu\ rc. sn rhat e\'ery ~-VT m.ln hec:Jml tulh accuc;romeJ to handling .1 ' 'ariel\ ol \\c.lpnn, and al-.o to being within I 00 yard-. uf ~'plo-.10n s trom his own arrill.:ry fir.:. 1he ~nd produc.r was a htgher sr.1nclJrJ of ~oldtc.·r, J man who wa:. ~ !>torm trooper in rh~ he~t traditions of the rcrm. Unltke rhe1r .:ounrerparr~ in the army. rank -anJ -tilt.> \H'r~ taught to think for rhemsehcs and not rt·l~ too heavily on the jo;suunce uf order!> from abo,·l·. Cunsequenrly, the~ heulmc \en self-relianr. E\'ery S man w~~ looked upon as a potential :-.JCO, anJ e'er) NCO ..1s ..1 porential offtcer. Officer cadet , irrespective of backgruund ur c;ocial c;tandtn~. h..1d w ~ervc eighteen monrhs in rhe ranb bl'forc hem~ commie; ioneJ. A ver~ wugh rraming pn.•gramme w.1c. run b~ rhe mtlit.u~· acJdemtcc;, or Junkerschulen, ar Bad T617 and Braun-.cln\ eig, and by 1938-9 around 500 off~r..:er'> \\ere betng produced annually. The a,·erJgc \-VT· otiicer "'·' tnnc;ider:lbly more aggre '\ ehrm.tcht colleagues, which t!> highltghr~:J hy the fact rhar nearl) <111 of the fir .. r fifty-four cadets who pa .,t'J out of B.H.I Tnlt in 1934 were killed in barrie bcrwccn 1939 :111J 1942. A '>tgnificanr factor which cunrribured ro tht' unique nature uf tht- Jrtned S was rhe atmosphere of c.amarJde ri e and 'heroic realism' "''hich pnmc<m•d II!> ranks. oldier, of rhe S were r<1ughr w be fighrcr~ for fighring\ o;akc, and ro Jhandon themsel\.cs ro the trugglc if o requtrcd for rhc greJtt:r good. The rradicional soldier!~· concept wao, rurned 1nro one of pure belligercm:c. '" trh rbc lulriv.uion of a fatalistic cnthuc;iac;m for combat which far exceeded rhe nonn.tl <;elf-<;acnftce rhar nughr he expecred of a .,old1cr. fhar etho-. "cnt a lung wa~ ro c-.:plaining the parncularl~ he,I\'Y casualtiec; l.1ter sutfcred h\ rhe \X'affcn-S dunnl! the "ar. and the determinanon of irs :.un i' ors. ~ldier ol th~ Lcib~randarrc, S -\rr and SpO!>'>tblc.:,

181

TV \\Crt: elig1hlc for the whole range ot m1l11.1~ nrJcrs. mctlals and a\\ards trt!a[ed h~· the '\:ati r~tmc.

ln addition to these nar1onal honour·, a of decor.uion ''a!> m~titutcd spectficall~ for the miluari-.t'J formarion!> of the ~. Tile <., Dtenst.1U'>7Ctchnungen, or S. Long ervtce A" Jrds, fir~t announced on )0 Janu a~ 19 3 and moddleJ on thetr Wchrmachr equi\'alenr , comprised medab for four and eight years' service .tnd brgc swastika-shaped 'crm.,ec;' for twelve and rwenry-five ye:lrs·. f'ht! larrcr rwo grades bore SS runes cmbroidt'red inro rheir cornflower-blue n bbons. Tbc Dienst:! u 7etchnungen were produced in some quantit} during 193!:1 by Deschler of Munich and Pcrz & Lorenz of Unrcrreichenbach. bur the) were nor widely disn-iburcd o;incc tht: Waffen-SS became eligible LO rt:cci ve the Wehrmachr long erv1t:c aw.ml tmrcacl from carl} 1940. \ foM Waffenofficer and men during rhe 1940- • period purred ilrtn) eagles, nor runes, on rheir sen ice ribbon bars. Indeed, phorographic t'\ tdence re\'eals onJ~ one prwnmenr Waffcn-S officer, Orro Kumm, consistently wearing the runic nbhon of rhe rwehe-}ear dt'\:orarion during the war. Runic nbhons were ne\·er seen on the nmics of :111~ other Waffen-SS generals, Dietnch, HJu ~c r and remer included . although rhey mu r have been t.>ntirled to wear them, parricul.uly as senicc before 1933 and Jher 1939 counred a~ double for rhe purpnc;e uf prt.' cnratton. , o phomgraphs at all Me known w cxi t sh o"~ ng rhe four- or etghr-ycar SS medals being worn, and no-one e,•er qualified for ;l rwenn -five-year Jecorarion. [r i~ imercMing ru nme rhat Himmler wore the rwelve-year award, to which he was nor srncrl) speaking entitled as he was nor an active member of rhc Lcih tand.lrte, -\TJ' or S -TV! An .• -VT .\larksmanship Badge, for proficiencr in rifle and machine-!!un hooting. wa!> apprO\cd hy Himmler prior ro the outbreak of the econcl \'V'orld War. However, rhe decuramm wa<, never put imo producnon. <> why had rhcre been such .1 r.1p1cl s~:ne

183

mthrarisanon ol large <;ct.-rions of rh~ S. ? The rca-,on W;l .l irnplt• one. The S was pnm:1nly a Ll\11 polJLc force "hkh Hitler hoped "ould e' enruall} matntain Mder nor onh in (,ermany bur throughout 1az.t-occupted [urope. To do ~o. ho"C'l'r, it would firq have ro \\in trs '>purs on the barclcfield. Onl~ then could rhc S po . e s the moral a uthority necessary for tt:!> future mle in rhe :-\ew Order. /\'!. earh ac; 1934, Htrler rold I limmler: In our Reich of rhe furure, rhe S and police will need a soldierly ch.-lraltl'r if rher are ro have rhe desi red effecr on ordinary citi?Cil . The Germnn p~ople, through rheir pasr expl·ricnce of glorious military evenrs and rheir pre cnr education by rhC' NSDAP, ha\'e acquired l>uch a warrior llll'ntalirr that a far. JOvial, friendly police ~uch a.; we had durinl! rh~ '\ eimar er.l can no longer e>..ert authority. l-or rht~ reason. ir \\til be necessary in furure "ar for our ~', and police, in rheir O\\ n clu,eJ unir • ro pro,·c rhemselve:. at the front in rhe same way 3S the army .md to make hk1od ~acrifices to rhe same degree as any othC'r hranch of rhc .lrm~:d fon:e ,

fn rht way, ir couJd be aid rhat the \\hole rel:ltion'>htp between the Allgemeine- , rhe \l atfcn- ·s and the pol1ce, as mtegral parrs of the projecred r:l•H~~chutzkorps, epitomised rhc enrlit!l>t concepro; of policing, a~ voiced by the British philosopher I !erbert pl•ncer in 185 I: ' Policemen are soldters who acr alone; soldiers are po ltcemcn who acr in uni on·. All member~ of the Allgemeine-SS w~:re subJect to rhe normal term of miliraq ton-.cripritln into the '\ ehrmacht, which !>Wallowed up the majority of men afrer the outbrc.tl. of war. I lowe\ er, it w,l the action .. nf rhe Lcib tandarre-5 ·Adolf Hitler·, rhe -Verfugungsrruppc and rhe lotenko pf, erbande which personified the early ba ttlefield accompli hmenrs of the m rhe C) es uf the German public.

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

recognised ririe. About the same rime, army designations such as ·Bataillon' and ·Regiment', which had been used by the Leibstandarte since 1934, generally replaced '5runnbann', ' randarre' and the other 55 formation titles throughout the Waffcn-SS. In some units of the SS-VT. ann~· rank rerms, for example Oberleurnant instead of SS-Obersrurmfiihrer, were even utilised for a short period, bur that was quickly forbidden by Hirnml er. The purpo~e of all this was to assimilate the new force and make it easier for the army ro accept the Waffen-SS as a legitimate fourth branch of the Wehrmachr, and one completely separate from the Allgemeine-55. The consolidation of the Waffcn-SS during rhe so-called 'phoney war' brought 'Sepp' Dietrich's Leibstandartc up ro rhe strength of a

superbly equipped armoured regiment, and the three SS-YT regiments were formed into the first full SS division, rhe SS-Verfugungsdivision or SS-V, under the command of Paul H ausser. The 55-Torenkopfsrandarren amalgamated to become the SS-Torenkopf-Division or SS-T, under Eicke, and a third combat division, rhe Polizei-Division Jed by SS-Brigadefiihrer Karl Pfcffer-Wildenbruch, was created a lmost overn ight by a mass transfer of uniformed police personnel strengthened by cadres of 55V and SS-T troops. The Polizei-Division was, however, intended to be very much a , econdline security unit, and it was organised on rhc basis of horse-drawn infantry equipped with outdated Czech weapons. The campaign in the west estab lished beyond doubt the fighting reputation of the

At the end of the eighteeniloy Polish campaign, Hirier visited German troops ot the botrlefront, accompanied by his hood-picked 55 bodyguard detochment, the s
most of the four-week campaign, 'Deutschland' was heavily engaged in the Baule of Brest Lirovsk. The Leib randarre al o had a particularlr hectic rime, taking parr in the drive on Warsaw and the encirclement of Szura with the 4rh Panzer Division. Despite rhe obvious fighting conuninnent of rhe 55, their disproportionately heavy casualties were criticised by rhe army which claimed that the lo'l<>es · resulted from poor leadership. 1-l au~ser countered rhe e accusations b~· indicating that, in order ro operate efficiently, rhe armed SS would need ro be organised into full divisions. The army binerly opposed such a development, but Hitler was persuaded to allow it in rime for rhe wesrern campaign. At the end of 1939. the term 'Waffen-SS' began ro be used in official correspondence when referring ro rhe armed SS, and in February 1940 it became a

THE WAFFEN-SS AT WAR When German troops marched mto Poland on 1 September 1939, the am1ed SS units were split up among regular army formations dispersed a long the invasion front. The 55-H eimwehr Danzig immediately secured rhar city. while o ther Totenkopf personnel cur through rhe 'Polish Corridor'. The Leibstandarre, supported by the 55-Vf pioneer battalion, was attached to General von Reichenau's lOth Army. The SS-VT 5randarre 'D eutschland', together with the SS artillery regiment and the SS reconnaissance battalion, joined Generalmajor Kempf's 4th Panzer Brigade, while 'Germania' became parr of the 14th Army under General Lisr. The ·Der FUhrer' 5randarre was nor yet fully trained and consequently did nor participate in rhe fighting. Although 'Gem1ania' remained in reserve for

184

Assault engineers ond artillery of the SS·Toren~opf-llivision crossing Lo Boss6e canol, 23 Moy 1940. Camouflage clothing hod nor been widely distribored tossTnoops ot this early stage in the wor, ond field-grey army pattern tunics w1th matching deoth's head collor patches were the order of the day.

185

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER

Massault squad of lhe 'Germonio' regiment in F10nce, Mrst 1940. Collar patches hove been remO'Ied f01 security reosons, and lhe men cony smo
Waffen-S . When rhe Blitzkrieg began in Nl n) 1940, the Leib tandarte and 'Der Fiihrcr' were deployed on the Dutch frontier and had little difficulty in sweeping through Holland, ecuring man~ viral ri,·er crossings as the~ went. On 16 ~ta}, S-T wenr into action in supporr of Rommel's -rh Panzer Di\'ision 111 ~ourhern Belgium and ca tern France, dul) commimng one of rhc first recorded S atrocities when I 00 unarmed Briti!>h prisoners of the lnd Royal ~orfolks were machine-gunned at Le Paradis by inexperienced and panicky Totcnkopf troop who had been thrown into disarray by the ferocity of a recent British counter-attack.

The German ad,·ance -.oon drnded the Allied torces inro rwo , '' nh brge numbers of Brrmh, French and Belgian c;oldier'> separated from the main bulk of rhe French army to the ~outh of the 'pan1er corridor'. The Leihc;tandarre, S -V and S -T were in rhe forefront of the sweep, and 'Deutschland' distinguished itself parncularly well in ome fiercely contested c an tandarte had linked up with arm~ panzcr~ as far ~ourh as Vichy. The STotenkopf-Division advanced on Bordeaux
186

THE WAFFEN·SS

Ale1bstondorte mochin81Jun teom marching through the French coonllySide, June 1940. By this hme. the camouflage helmet CO'Ier hod become o disnnchVe mark of the Waffen-SS.

187

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER totally incorpo rated the ·Germania · regimenr of SS- V. Initiall y adopting the name SSDivision ·Germanta', the new unit was retitled 'Wiking' ('Viktng' ) at rhe end of 1940 and placed under the command of Feltx Steiner. It was ro become one of the finest di,·isions in rhe SS Order of Barrie. To make up for the loss of rhe 'Germania' regiment, the S • Verfiigung d1 vision was assigned a Torenkopfstandartr and in january 1941 it wa!i renamed $-Division 'Reich'. The other Totenkopfsrandarren were reorganised ro play a more active role as independem form:Hions. Two Death's J l ead regiments, plus artillery and support units, were formed into SS-Kampfgruppe 'Nord', and another Standarre was sent to Norway for occupation duty as SS- lnfanrry Regiment 9 . The five remaining Torenkopfsrandarren went to the Waffen-SS training ground at Debica in Poland. where the~· were re-equipped and designated as $$-Infantry Regiments. Finally, the existing Dea t h's H ead cavalry unit5 amalgamared to become SS-Kavallerie Regiments l and 2. During the spring of 1941, Germanr prepared for the impending invasion of the Soviet Union . When Mussolini's surprise arrack on Gn:ec.:e went disastrously wrong, and a new anti-German rcgirnt: ~eized power in Yugoslavia, Hider ordered immediate action to secure his southern flank. On 6 April, a Blitzkrieg was unleashed on Yugoslavia and Gn·ece. SS-D1vision 'Reich' was in the forefront of the arrack and a small ass au It detachment under SS- H auptsturmfi..ihrer Fritz Klingenberg audaciously capmred the Yugoslavian capital, Belgrade, on 13 April. By using a motor boat, Klingenberg and his men were able ro slip through the city defences and force irs surrender from a confused and bewildered mayor. In Greece, rhe Leibsrandarre was engaged in a series of more hard- fought battles against nor only rhc Gn.·eks but al o

An Unters!Urmfohrer of on SS·V oncillory unit, denoted by his lock of o

regimental cuff tirle, during olull in the westem Blitzkrieg, Moy 1940.

barracks in Metz, and H ider rold them: ·You, who bear my name, will have rhe honour of leading e\·ery German atrnck in the future'. The Waffen-SS had won its spur in convincing style. Germany"s StH.:ce!>s in western Europe opened up a new re~enoir of pro-Nazi Volksdeutsche and Germanic peoples whom the Wehrmacht had no authority ro conscript and whom Gotrloh Berger's SS Hauptamr set about recruiting into the Waffen-$5. With the consequent increase in S numhers, the Leibstandarre was upgraded ro a brigade ami a complete!} new di,•ision was amhorised, the bulk of its personnel being Nordic volumeers from Flanders, Holland, orway and Denmark. The leadership of the new division was drawn from existing formation , and it

188

THE WAFFEN · SS

55-Totenkopf troops celebrate alter the foil of France. The monon the right wealS the white 'Hi~s·Kronkentrtiger' ormbond of on ouxiliory sl!etcher-beorer, and o lypicol mixture of clothing and insignia is evident from the oppeoronce of the otheiS. One soldier even wears caniTodictory ronk insignia, i.e. the blonk leh-llond collar potch of on SS.Schutze in conjunction with the arm chevron of on 55-Sturrnmonn. Anomalies such os this were usually the result of field p!omotions.

Knight's Cross. A propaganda film, Der Weg der LAH, exrolled their exploits. At dawn on 22 .June 1941, H itler ordered his force~ into Russia ro begin rhe epic conflict of ideologies which became a war of extermination and was to change forever the hirherro generally chivalrous characrer of the Wa ffen- S. The rigours of the eastern front, encompassing everrrhing from bitterly cold winters ro sweltering summers, and from endless steppes and wamps to mountains and forests, brought our rhe verr best, and the very worst, in H imm ler's men . The German deployment for Operation Barbarossa extended from the Baltic ro the Black Sea and was organised inro three Army

British and . ew Zealand troops. Afrer suffering heavy losses ar the Klidi Pass, the LAH reconnaissance battalion commanded by SS- turm bannfi..ihrer Kurt Meyer rook the stra tegically crucial Klissura Pass and almost II ,000 prisoners into tbe bargain. On 20 t\ pril. General Tsolakoglu of the Greek Ill Army Corps surrendered ro 'Sepp' Dietrich and a week later Athens fell to rhe German forces . By the end of the monrh, the Balkan campaign was effectively over. It had been another ,·icrory for the Waffen-SS. Klingenberg, M eyer and Gerd Pleiss, commander of the Leibstandarre's 1sr Company which had been most active at Klidi. became the latest recipients of the

189

HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

ignominiously roured on 2 July. The unit had to be withdrawn and completely overhau led, and ir was thereafter reinforced with seasoned veterans from rhe TotenkopfDivision ro become SS-Di,·ision ·Nord'. Ar rhe end of 1941, the great German offensive came to a halt, totally exhausted . Blitzkrieg techniques had met their match in the vast expanse of the Soviet Union and the sta mina and apparenrly endless manpower reserves of the Red Army. The force of t he Russian counter-offensive during t he winter of 1941-2 shocked rhe German Army H igh Command, which argued for full-scale withdrawals. Hitler over ruled the generals, however, taking personal command of the army, and the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS had their first opportunity ro exhibit their steadfastness in defence. German troops began ro find themselves cut off in isolared pockets, rhe most notable being that at Demjansk which contained six divisions, including 'Totenkopf'. The winter campaign was so harsh, with temperature regularly falling below -40°C, rhar a special medal was larer authorised for participants. The honour of designing it fell to SS-Unrerscharfuhrer Ernsr Krause, an artist serving as a war corre pondenr with the Leibstandarre. fn rhe spring of 1942, the Germans opened a new offensive in rhe south, to reach rhe oilrich Caucasus region. During the course of the year rhe Waffcn-SS divisions, still uffering from the battles of rhe previous winter, were withdrawn in turn and refitted wirh a srrong rank component plus assault guns and armoured personnel carriers . ln May, the upgraded 55-Division 'Reich' was renamed 'Das Reich', and in eptember rhe S -Kavallerie-Divi ion was activated for amipartisan duties behind rhe lines . November aw 'Das Reich', 'Totenkopf' and 'Wiking' officially redesignated as SS-Panzergrenadier Divisions, now equal in terms of equipment to many full panzer divisions of the army.

The leibstondorte-SS ·Adolf Hirler' took port in lhe Berlin vidOf'( porode on 19 Ju~ 1940. Some participofing soldiers were alreody wearing coll01 potches wilhout lhe block/aluminium IWisted cord piping. which wos official~ abolished lhe following monlh.

Groups designated orth, Centre and South. The SS-Torenkopf-Division, the Polizei Divi ion and Kampfgruppe 'Nord' were assigned ro Army Group North, 55-Division 'Reich' to Ar my Group Centre and rhe Leibsrandane and 55-Division 'Wiking' to Army Group Somh. The latter two formation particularly impressed their army counterpartS by their aggression and skill in arrack. ' Reich' was heavily engaged at Minsk, Smolensk and Borodino, where Hausser was severely wounded and lost his right eye, and the division came within a few kilometres of Moscow at the end of the year. The only real SS failure occurred on the Finnish from when rhe second-rare troops of Kampfgruppe 't ord' were rhrown inro a mass panic and

190

THE WAFFEN·SS

Himmler aod SS.Br~adefuhrer Knoblauch reviewing Totenkopf cavalrymen in Russio,Ju~ 1941. At !his stage of their development, lhe Woffeo-SS Reiterstondorten were mounred on bicycles os often os they were on horses! The officer behind Himmle1, wearing asteel helmet, is Hermann Fegelein.later commander of lhe cavalry division 'Florian Geyer'.

Himmler greefing Waffeo-SS cavalry officers on the eoslem front, 24 July 1941.

191

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

The face of rhe SS ot wor: tJoops of the 6th SS·Totenkopf Infantry Regiment operofing ocaptured Czechoslovakian 1853 machine-gun in Russia during the autumn of 1941, when German spirits were still high.

German forces in the Caucasus abo faced the grim possibility of being cur off by the speed and depth of rhe Soviet penetration . Field Marshal von Manstein, commander of Army Group South, managed to withdraw his forces from the Russia n trap, howe\·er, and sen ing that the Soviet t hrust had become dangerou ly over-extended he: launched a rapid counter-attack in rhc Kharkov region. Kharkov was a prestige target, a prewar showcase for communism, and to spearhead the assault ro retake the city an SS-PanzerKorps comprising the Leibstandarte, 'Das Reich' and 'Totenkopf' was formed under the overall command of Paul H ausser, who had now gained something of a celebrity srarus on the eastern front a ' the SS genera l with the

The Leibstandarte achieved similar status, with the new division being entitled 'Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hirler' in commemoration of Hitler's bodyguard, which was its nucleus. The Fuhrer was increasingly impressed wirh the combat performance of the SS, and in December ordered rhe formation of two completely new Waffen-SS divisions, named 'Hohenstaufen' and •frundsberg'. By the end of the year, WaffenSS troops in the field numbered around 200,000. The Soviet offensive of December 1942 proved disastrous for the Germans. All attempts to capture Stalingrad failed and by early 1943 General Paulus' 6th Army was rotally isolated and forced ro surrender. Other

192

THf WAFFEN·SS

Heavily armed Totenkopf IToops toke omeal break during the invasion of lhe Soviet Union.

eye-patch' . For the first rime, a substanrial body of \.Xla ffen-SS troops fought rogerher under their own generals and the result was a resounding victory. The Soviets were thrown into disarray, rheir lsr Guards Army was destroyed, Kharkov was recaptured and rhe Germans were ab le to restore order in the south. The SS suffered 12,000 casualties in the process. To H itler, who was becoming increasingly disillusioned with army failures, it was proof of the capabilities of the WaffenSS . Decorations were showered upon the victors of Kharkov, and no less than rwenrysix Knight's Crosses, four Knight's Crosses with Oakleaves, and one Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords went ro the men of the SS-Panzer-Korp . The city's Red Square was

renamed ·Platz der Leibstandarte' in honour of Hitl er's guards. 1\iloreover, the Fi.ihrer arranged for his old favourite, Th eodor Eicke, who had been killed during the c:arly rages of the offensive, ro be buried in the sryle of the ancient Germanic kings, wirh a ll the attendant pagan ritual. The period after the German recapture of Kharkov was relat ively quiet, as both sides prepared ro resume hostilities in the summer. The Soviet salient around Kursk became the focus of events, and when battle commenced on 5 Jul y H ausser's SS-Panzer-Korps, wirh 340 ranks including 'Tigers' and I 95 assau lt guns, was deployed on the southern flank. The Germans made reasonable progress in the first few days, bur the nature of rhe war

193

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN·SS

SS so&s lie where they feR, killed in the Soviet cooolel-offensive whidt took place doting the horrendous winter of 1941-2.11 is lil:~ that the Russians staged this shor to show os many SS insignia os possible. thereby llldKo~ng that the Woff~ss wos not the invino'ble Ioree which Nazi propogondo hod porfloyed.

A!fled Wimenberg wearing the po&ce &rzen color pokhes used 1rt the PclizeiDivism betweeo 1939 en! 1942 Tlis pho~ is also illeresling lor its poflroylll of the common wortine press ploy of 'rouchR] up' old piciUres to ~re them l01 propogcnlo reasons. WiiooeOOesg won the Knighrs Cross on 1SNovembe! 1941 as opolice Obem ot lerllllglod, ond thor is when this photograph wos originolly lOken. On 23 April1942 he wos oworded lhe Ookleoves os on SS.Srigoderuhr01, ood l01 the purpose of on iiOIIIeOOte press announcement the old photo wos dragged oul of the n1es and hod the Ookleoves pointed on. Thrs type or olte1o~on con ohen be seen on surviving press pictures, cod extends to rank badges os well as decorolions.

enrned them repeated prai e from tho e army generals who were fortunate enough to have them under their command. In November, the Leib tandarre returned to t he eastern from reequipped with la rge numbers of rhe la te r 'Panther' rank , and rogerhcr with army panzer division it cru hcd a Soviet armoured corps in the Ukraine a nd retook Zhitomir. While the Waffen-SS was locked in barrie on the eastern front, H itler continued ro

aurhori!>e rhc formation of new SS divisions, including ' H irlerjugend ·. T he German position in Ru!> ia underwent a drastic deterioration on 14 December 1943. when the oviers launched another massive offen i'e in rhe Ukraine. The barrie lasted for four month and culminated in rhe expul ion of the German forces from rhe south. The speed of the R u sian ad\·ance led ro rhc encirclement of large number!> of Wehrmachr

ALe1bstondorre motorcycle combinohon moves through oburning Russ1on town, Ju~ 1941 The divisional emblem of oskeleton key or 'Dietrich', dear~ opun on the nome of the lAH commander. was 1n11oduced or the suggestion of Wilhelm Keilhous and con be seen on the rear of the sidecar.

iniriJti\C and from then on were forced ro rcacr to Sm ret mo,·cs. l-or the rest of 1943, rhe Germans fell back wc~rwards across the Sm,rer Union. The three elite S division . now rede-.tgnatcd a' full panzcr d" isions, ~pent rhc-.e hard months acting as Hitler's ·frre bn~ade', being em from one flashpoinr to another a., the srruanon demanded. The dcusrveness wtrh '' hrch both 'Das Reich· and 'lorenkopf' threw b
had changed and greatly impro\'ed Red Ann) force~ held rhe enemy ar bay before c;ucccssfully counrer-arracking. The S -PanzcrKorp , ultimately reduced ro 200 ranks, agam fought "elL despite being weah>ncd by rhe rcmo\'al of the Leibstandane which "as transferred to bolster rhe German army m lraly following rhe Allied inva ron of Sicily on 10 july. Kursk was a srrare{!ic farlure for the Gernuns. They lost rheir chance ro gain rhc

194

195

....... HIMMlER'S BlAO ORDER

JHE WAFFEN-SS

Amotorised column of the Leibstondorte entenng Khrukov, 14 March 1943.

troop~. '\'Vikrng·.

110\\ under the command of S-Gruppcnfiihrer ll erherr Gille, and Leon Degrelle's Belgian <; · Bngade ·Wallonien· \\WC caught in the Korsun-Cherkassy pocket in a scene remim~cent of Sralingrad, but managed ro sma h their wa} out suffering 60 per cenr casualric~ in rhc proce,:.. Degrelle rccci1ed the Knight\ Cross, and Gille th e "night\ Cro~-. '' ith O.tkle.wes and Swords, for this action . In a ~rmtlar engagement. the lerb~tandarre and clement'> of ·oa~ Reich' were trapped around " amencts Podolsk~ and had to be re'>cued IH ' H ohenstaufen' and 'Frundsberg·. \'\'orn dm1 n .tnd e'hausred. the \\affen-SS formation~ were now increasingly un.1hle to rem rhe aJvancing Russian tide. In the spring of 1944 , rhe bartered Leibstandartc and ' D Reich' battle groups were c;em westward'> to rcfir and prepare for the e'
1'1;'\\'IE\

DE:, DEUT~( l iE\\ OLKE'-, \ ErUEIIIC lUI

llC'r IH)I)(IUolllll'l)f,FI.JIIHEH l" ll (o("\(1~\li)Eil\\ \FFE"\-1\

SEPP DIErnaJ'

f)\'-1 EIClti::>IL \UI\ 'ItT-,( 11\\ EtHEl(\

Z ll 'l HIITEiti,I{ElJZ I> E.., L l"'f;I<'L' "Hllllf"'

ru•u•r•m \111'11111 lilliE~< llt'K~\M.Z

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ll(lt lliiiHEH 11'11 01\(lhf( IIEFliiL'-11 \IIlii

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On the some doy as the SS.Ponzer-Korps retook Kholkov, 'Sepp' Oietri
196

Amotorcyclist of the 5th Re
197

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

iotenkopf personnel watching Russion positions on the southern se
former went to Belgium while rhe latter went to southern France. They were joined by ' H itlerjugend' and the ·Gorz von Berlichingen' division, which had been formed in Fran~.:e a few months earlier. ' H ohensraufen' and 'Frundsberg' were relocated in Poland in anticipation of another Soviet attack, along with the emaciated 'Wiking', while the long-suffering 'Torenkopf' remained in front-line service in the east. When rhe Normandy landings rook place on 6 june, 'Hirlerjugend' was rhe fi r st SS formation to engage the enemy. The fero<.:ity of the SS assault, combining the youthful enthusiasm of the rroops with the barrie-

hardened experience of their officers, shocked the Allies. However, th<:: latter's command of the air prevented proper deployment of the SS division and the attack ground ro a hair. Two mont hs of bloody fighting ensued. The Leib tandarrc and ' Hitlerjugend' were grouped together to form a new corps, the l st SSPanzer-Korps under 'Sepp' Dietrich, and were immediately as igned the task of defending key posmons around Caen. 'Gotz von Berlichingen' was hindered by constant air attacks on irs journey north from irs base in rhe Loire Valley, and did not reach the invasion front until 1 I June. 'Das Reich', travelling from Gascony, rook even longer, being subjected to a series of ambushes carried out by the French Resistance. Fru trated at rhe consequent delays and loss of life, the clivi ion wreaked havoc upon the local population, whom it suspected of sheltering the partisans. The village of Oradour-sur-Giane was systematically destroyed and 640 of its inhabitants were shot, and the little town of Tulle was also devastated. 'Das Reich' eventually reached irs positions north of St Lo at the end of June, ro join up with Willi Birrrich's 2nd SS-Panzer-Korps, comprising ' H ohenstaufen' and 'Frundsberg', which had been hurriedly transferred from the east. Throughout Jul y, the six SS divisions struggled ceaselessly tO contain the Allies in their beachhead, taking a heavy toll of British and American armour. In one not able engagement, SS-Obersturmflihrer Michael Winmann and his Leibstandarte 'Tiger' crew destroyed twenty-one British tanks and rwenty-eighr other armoured vehicles in a single hour. However, the Germans were overpowered by the sheer weight of Allied numbers and wer e frequently reduced to operating as ad hoc battle groups. By the middle of August, nineteen German army divisions had become trapped around Falaise, and only determined effons by 'Das Reich', ' H itlerjugend' and 'Hohenstaufen' kept open

198

THE WAFFEN·SS

The PzKpfw Ill command tonk of 1st bonolion. 3rd 55-Ponzer Regiment. 'Totenkopl' Division, in southern Russio during November 1943. The officer on the left is Houp~turmliihrer Erwin Meierdrees, holder of the Knight's Cross with Ookleoves, who wos killed in action near Dunoolmos. Hungary, on 4 Jonuory 1945.

I

.

Asoldier of rile Belgian SS Assault Brigade 'Wollonien' under shellfire ot Chetkossy, December 1943. Of the 2,000 Walloons rropped ln the Korsun{herkossy packer, only 600 survived unscathed.

199

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

a gap long enough for rhem to escape. lncrcas111gl), while ordinar) German soldiers ''~n: prepared ro urrender ro rhe Allies, •r \\3'> lcfr roth~ \\o:tffen- S to fighr on. .\ leanwhile, 111 the e.t..,r, rhe Red Army had ... rruck again on I ~ j ul} and ripped Army Group Centre apart. Once more, rhe SS panzcr divh,ions were thrown into the breach. 'Wiking' and 'Totenkopf', grouped together h airborne assault at Arnhem wa countered and defeated by In oS<ene reminiscent of the fust World Was, on Ss-Sdliilze shelren in his trend! lllgoot oo the eastern hoot, spring 1944

SS ponze~grenodters ennen
200

THE WAFFEN·SS

'Hohenstaufen' and 'Frundsberg' in a barrie noreJ for the mutual respect held b) each ide fo r the fighttng abilities and fair pia} of the other. Thr victory, and the general slowing down of the Allied advance across France due to over-extended upply and communication line , per uaded lli tler ro launch a major offensi\e in the west, in an arrempr ro repeat rhe '>Uccesscs of 1940. Two panzer armie "ere :t!>!>Cmbled to spearhead the arrack, the )rh Panzer Army under General H::~ !>O von Manreuffel, and rhe 6th SS-Panzer Army, the larger of rh e two force s, under ·Sepp' Dietrich. The nucl eus of rhc larrer a rm y comp ri ed rhe Leibsrandarre, ·oa Reich ', ·Ho hen ra ufen' and ' Hirlerjugend ', now equipped with some of the latest 'King Tiger' rank . On 16 December the offensi\'e began rn the Ardenne , bur rhe hill y and wooded terrain naturally favoured defen ivc acrion and after o nlr fi,·e dars the German advance gro und ro a hai r. S frusrration agai n tra n Jared ir elf inro rhe committing of atrocities, thi time rhe massacre of SC\'enry 'Sepp' Diellleh otlhe tvne of the Ardennes offensive, weoring his cob American pri oners by men of J oachi m potdles as Ss.obem~uppenli;hrlll uod Ponz!ll Generoloberst der YloffenPerper 's battle group ar J'vlalmedy. A SS, the seoo octrve ronk mon nl the hoor. Alrhough p10moted to !his rook ub idiary offensive in Alsace, led br 'Gotz oo 20 ApnJ 1942. Welvmocht Jllessure p~evented him from using it or \'On Berlichingerf, also ca me to nothing and adopting the OPPfOp!iole insignia onhl he hod serured commond of o rhc division ended up trapped in !\leu:. With suitably lotge force, whitalemate in the we r, I Iirler pulled of the 6th SS.Ponzer Army. hi!> S divisions our and sent them eastward , where the situation had once more become desperate. On 12 j anuary 1945, a grea t Soviet however, and it fell to the Ru s ia ns on J 3 offen ive was launched across Po la nd in Feb ruary, wirh o nl y 785 German soldi ers preparation fo r the final assault on Berlin. e caping from the o riginal garrison of 50,000 Eve n so, Hirler's main concern was ro men. The 6th SS-Panzer Army wa afeguard the ten uo us ho ld he still imrnediarcl r moved in from the west and on maintained over the Hungarian oilfields. TI1e 6 March a Germa n counter-attack began. It ca va lrr divisions ' Florian Geyer' and wa conducted by the largest aggregation of 'J\ laria There a' were besieged in Budape r, Waffenforce ever witne ed during the and in an effort ro relieve them 'To tenkopf' wnr, comprisi ng the Leibsrandarre, ' Das and "\ iking' were transferred from their key Rei h '. 'Totenkopf'. 'Wiking', ·Ho henposi tion on rhe German-Po lish border. A raufen', ' Hitlerjugend' and ' Reich fiihrer-SS ', monrh-long barrie failed to save rhe ci ry, the latter divi ion ha,·ing been transferred

201

HIM/HER ' S BlACK ORDER

recorded killed, wounded or m1ssing in rhe 'Torenkopf' division (60,000 ) and ' '\' iking' division (l9,000) giH• a tartlingly different loss ratiO. inct: both d1\'isions en·ed for the mo-.r part alon~side each other. rhe onlr rea<.on for uch horrendous lo es must have been the mishandling. or at least rough handling. of 'Totenkopf' rroops by their commanders. Certainly, Eicke and his succec; ors were not renO\\ ned as humanitarian and ir i known that 'Totenkopf' had more requcl>t for· 'transfers ou r' than an)' orher Wnffen- • divil>ion . A large proportion of rhe men who volunteered for service in the S paratroop force!> were 'Totenkopf' rransfercc!>, and it wa widely recognised rhat the paratroop battalion was ,·irrually a uicide quad. The fact that many hardened ~oldier ch<)~e to e cape from 'Totenkopf' by signing up w1rh the paras gives an indication of the se\'erity and long-term namrc of the o,uffering wh1ch ·Totenkopf' troops had to ~:ndun.•. Among other Waffenmen, Death's Head unit-. bec.tme known colloquiall~ as ' Knochensrurme' (Bonec; Companies). or 'that lo r lm'. B) 1944-5, SS soldier!> were normally in their late reens. and the a''erage age of a Waffcn-S junior officer wa twenty, with a life expeccancr of two months a t the front. Moreover, it was n ot uncommon for di v1sional commanders to be in their early th irrics, men like Kraas, Kumm, Meyer, !VIohnke, Wisch and Witt who haJ joined rhe LA H or , ~-VT around l934 and progressed through rhe rank . The combination of youthful cnthu iasm. political indoctrination and hard- bitten experience was a winning one, and goes a long way to explaining how a division such as ' Hitlcrjugend' could suffer 60 per cent ca ualtie over a four-week period tn 1944 and yer srill retain it aggresc;ivc spi rit, thereby gaining for the emire Waffen rhe admiration of friend and foe alike.

frotn norrhern Italy. At first the 5 did well, bur there "ere in ufficient back-up resources dnd hr mid-~larch their ad,·ance had been haired. fhe failure of rhe Waffen- in Hungary, followtng on from rhe collapc;e of rhe Ardenne" offen i,·e, had a devastating psy,hologi~:al effect on Hider, who had come ro t:Xpccr rhe impo ihle from them, and he opcnl} accused Dietrich and his subordinates of betrayal. Despite that, SS troops carried on fighting a~ loya lly as ever as they slowl y retreated into Germany, bowed under the weight of superior Allied numbers and equipmen t. By now, thou ands of grounded Luftwaffe personnel and 'beached' s:-ti lors from the Kricgsmarine had been pressed inro an infanrrr role ::dongside the Waffen-SS. During rhe lac;r week in April. when So,•ier force broke inro Berlin, Felix retner led a barrie group of hard-core Waffeninduding clements of rhe ' Polizei', ' Frund sberg' . ·~ordland'. 'Wallonien', ·Charlemagne' and '~ederland' di,·isions, as well a!:> ~orne 600 men from Himmler's personal e!>corr banalion, in a life and death struggle to defend rhe Fuhrerbunker. Howe' er, most other S units had by then accepted the reality of the situation and were pushing westwards to surrender ro the AngloAmerican Allies. rather than risk capture by rhc Ru'lsians. It is e tima ted rhar some 180,000 WaffenS oldiers were killed in action during the econd World War, with about 400,000 wounded and a further 70,000 listed ·missing'. The entire establishment of the elire divil>ion~. Le1b randarre, ' Das Reich' and 'Totenkopt', were casualties several time o '•er, wirh only a fc''' battle-hardened \'eterans sun i'•ing ro train the continual tn1ccrion of young Germans and Volksdeut~che fl"d in .ts replacements \'ia the divisional tra1ning battalions. A clol>c compart on benveen rhe number of men

202

THf WAFFEN·S S

The FlemiSh SS.Sturmmonn M101d ·~emi' Sc:lumen of 3rdCompany SSfrerw~ igenSrurmbrigode loogemord', being paraded befole his feftow soldiers nem Prague oftet receMog lhe Knight's (ross on 21 Seprember 1944 He IS occompc111ed by Kontod Sc:he~ the brigade commander. ond OOIIJ!Unl WiJy Teichert.

Ultimately, more than half rhe membership of the Waffen-S comprised non-Germans. In line with H immler's intention that the . S should develop as a Germanic, rather rhan a German, organi!>ation, small numbers of suitable foreign nationals had been admitted even before rhe war, ro the ,Hmed 1ncluding at least one oldicr of dual Gcrman/Brinsh na(lonaliry who er\'ed wirh the 5- VT Standa rte ·Deutsch Ia nd'. Documenrar) proof of Aryan de cent was inirially a prerequisite for acceptance. bur with the rapid expansion of the \X1affen- afrer 1940 rhe racial rule became something of a dead letter. Durtng th e war, the hard-prn ed Ru HA .wthomics were conrenr to accept ;1

203

<>ignetl dcdararion of Aq an dcsccnt from enJi.,rcd German and west European WaffenS men. which could be investigated later when nece~ it) demanded or when the opporrunit} presented itself. With the German conquest of wesrern 1-urope, the door to a huge pool of manpower wh1ch the Wehrmacht had no authorit} to com.cripr was opened to Berger's recruiting officers. Large numbers of proGerman), anri-Bol he,il.~. members of local p~euJo-~az1 polittc.1l parries, athenrurcr
HIMMlER ' S BLACk ORDER

leon Oegrelle and men of his Walloon Otvislon in Pomerania, 9March 1945 Degrelle y,ears the Close Combat Cbsp in Gold ooclllls UtiiQlK! Wol1onien' cuff hlle ~mlwoldeted 111 Golhic script. The SS. Untoothorfuhrer in the foreground rs oFreO
·~ordland', trom !\orwegians and D::~n es . It was oon jorned b) the Standarre ·we~rhtnd', comprrsrng Dutchmen ,tnd Flemings, and in Decem her 1940 1he:>c rwo formation combined with the -VT . randarte 'Germanra' to become . -Division ' Wikrng', a truly European force . The main impetu" to

rhe r~aunrnt-: oi furrh~:r ~ O-L not prepared to accept rac1,tll~ dubiou!> \ olumeer into the SS and c;o rhc ea tern legion , such a~ the French, Walloon Belgian and Spam.uds, were assigned to the army. During 1940- 1, the ~ - ponsored legions ·Flandern·, · ' icderlande'. 'Norwegen' and ·frcrkorps Danmark' were rar c;ed . Their troops were distinguished from those in the German SS proper by special national badge and by their oath, which (Ommirred them c;olclr ro rhe "ar against communism. The legion!> were categorised as bcmg ·artachcd ro· rather than ·parr of' the Waffen-SS, and were designated by the new title of 'l-rcrwilligen' or 'Volu nteer' units. fh e recruitment programme oon ran into dafticulties, howe\'er. \\hen rl1l' legionarie found that man) of their German colleagues held them in low regard. Dl'!>pire promises of free land in rhe conquered east for all ,•ictorious o;oldin!>, and the be towal of full German cni7enship upon every foreign volunteer after the war, morale plummetted. particularly when ' Fiandern' wa<; decimated rn Russia earlr in 1941 and had to be <.11-.banded. The other three legion were relflforced and, :lt the end of 19 42. amalgamated ro form rhe ' ordland' d1vision. A yea r later rhe Dutd1 contingent was sufficienrh strong to be removed and gr\ en the t;Hu of an independent brigade.

204

THE WAFFEN ·SS '' h1ch e\·enruall~ developed into the '-eJerland' di' is ion. Both '1\:ordland' and · ederland' fought well on the ea::.rern fronr, p.uticularlr in defence of the Baltic tate'>, and, together with the rest of rclix Steiner's Jrd (Germanic ) SS-Panzer-Korp!>, rhey rook part in the celebrated 'Bartle nf rhe European ~- at 1arva in july 19 44 before being destroyed in the final struggle for Berlin the tollowing year. Other western S formations o ( note included the ' Wallon1en' Division, \\ hich wa tr.tmferred from the .trmy a a brigade in J 943 and fought with distinction under the Bel gian fascist leader Leon Degrelle; and rhe French 'Charlemagne' Divi'>ion, again transferred from rhe army, which wa one of the mo r redoubtable defenders of Berlin. A fifty-eight-strong ' Britic;h Free Corp ·' was drawn from former Rrirish Union of Fa cisrs memhers and other di affected individual in Briti'>h prisoner-ofwar camps, but wa of propaganda \'alue on I)'. De pite the good fightin~ reputation quickl~· gained by the western volunteer<>, the) ''en.- simply roo few in number to meet SS requirements for replacing barrie casualticc; and o Berger rurned tO the Volk deut che !>Catrered throughout central and eastern Europe. ln jusr three countrie , namely Romania . Hungary and Yugoslavia, ir wa!. cc;timated that there were ome 1.500,000 Volk dcutsche in 193 9, and this wa~ dearly ::r rich sou rce of potential manpower. Recruitment of Romanian Volksdeutsche began as early ao, the spring of 1940, our a sudden influx of volunteers from Yugo lavia after the invasion of April 194 J led Berger to suggec;t to Rimml er the formation of an enure dr\'ision of Yugoslavian o lksdeursche. The re ult was the raising in the ummer of 1942 of the ~S-Gebirgs Divi ion ' Prinz Eugen'. designed for anri-parri an duties agarn t Tiro's mountain-based resistance movement. Later that year, fac ed with an

205

Ss-obergruppenliihrer Artul Phleps, founder of the 'PrinzEugen' dMSIOO and commander or !he 51h Ss.Gebi1gs-K01ps an 1944. Phleps wos on ethni< German hom Romon10 who hod setved on the Gene1ol Stoff of the lmperiol Ausllo1100Q01101l 01my during the frsr World Wo1 and later os on inslruct01 ot the Budroresl MifiiOfY Acodemy. Unlike most of his V~ subordinates, Phleps wos granted Full SS membership os iodi
evcr-wor!>enang manpower cri is, J i itlcr ~ave the S formal authorisation to conscript the \'olksdeur che, who fell ourwirh the remit of the Wehrmachr as the>· were nor German nationab. In that way, an imprc~-;i"e numerica l le\iel of recruitment was maintained, hut man~ oi the conscript<; were poor in quallq and con equenrly olksdeutsche units tended ro be second rate. Th ey soo n earned for them elves rhe reputation for being s pecialists in perperraring massacre-. against ci\'ilian population., and other -.oir target<;. Th e

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

In Moy 1944, H~ Amin oi-Husoini, rhe self-sty'led Gmnd Mufti of Jerusalem ond spirrtuolleoder of Bosnia's Muslims, re'llewed !loops of the 'Honds
206

THE WAFFEN·SS

.w.ociated policy of recruiting Croatian and \lbanian .M uslims inro the ' Hand ,char', ·Ka ma· and · kanderbeg· Oi,·isions, to take on the Chri tian erb from whom many of ruo' partil>an were drawn, was a total Ji-.a ter and all three di,·isions had to be di banded in order to free their German officer and 1\'COs to fight el ewhcrc. In the oviet Union, the Germans mad e better u e of local nationalist groups oppo ed ro talin's government, successfully persuading large numbers of the native population to enrol in the Schuczmannschafr for counter-guerrilla operations. The breakthrough for the Waffen-SS recruiter ca mt· in April J 943, when no less than I 00,000 Ukrainians volunteered for a new S division, of whom 30,000 were duly accepted . Over 80 per cent of them were killed the following year when the Ukrainian division was trapped in the Brody-Tarnow pocket. In the ummer of 1944, after the fai led July bomb plot against Hitler, Himmler was given unprecedented military powers a Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army, which effectively gave him control over all reser\'e and replacement forces in the Reich. He rook the opporrunit)' to enhance hi per onal status still further by transferring many Armenian, Baltic, Caucasian, Cossack, Georgian and Turkestani volunteers from the hastily mustered foreign legions of rhe German army inro the Waffen-S . H owever, while the wide range of nationalities involved undoubtedly had some propaganda value, the actual performance of rhe eastern troops in combat left much to be desired. The Baltic SS clivi ion~, grouped together under S Obergruppenflihrer Walter Kruger ac; the 6th Waffen-Armcckorps der SS, lived up to modest expectations and were particularly ferociou when defending their homeland , bur the remainder were poor at best and at worst a complete rabble. H immler regarded them merely as racially inferior au"
207

efft:n C"
ne\'cr considered for S membership proper, and \\ere prohibited from sparring the SS rune . Although th<.'y wore a sorr of diluted uniform for con\'enience, the~ had their own c;eric of di tincti\'e badges o that there would be absolute!> no po sibility of their being mistaken for 'real' SS men. ~or urpri ingly, the loyalry of the easternerc; \\'a alway!> in question, and their horrific behaviour when set loo e among the civilian population of Poland during rhe Warsaw uprising of autumn 1944 led to frequent demands for their withdrawal, even from other commanders. Several units had ro be disbanded, and some of their leaders were tried by S courts martial and executed for looring and other exce ses. Non-German national ultimately made up the greater parr ( 7 per ccnr) of the Waffen. It i c timared that 400,000 Reich Germans served in the Waffen-SS during the war, ac; oppo ed ro 137,000 pure west European , 200,000 pure cast Europeans and 185,000 Volk deut che. A derailed breakdown of non-Germans by nationality is hown below:

\Y/est Europeans Dutch Flemings Italians Walloons

Dane French orwcgian paniard I wi!>!>/Swedes/ Luxembourgers/British

cast Europeans Cossacks l.at \ian Ukrninian F tonian Croatian

50,000 13,000 20,000 15,000 11,000 8,000 6,000 4,000

50,000 35,000 30,000 10.000 20,000

THE WAFFEN·SS

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

Pr~av Cossock voluntee~ OOIOQ undet llle &g of rhe deolh's lleod,

erbians Byeloru ian Turkesranis Romanians Albanians Bulgarians rinn Volksdemschc country of origin) llungary Czechoslo\·akia Croatia We~tern Europe Romania Poland erbia Scandinavia Soviet Union I· ranee Grear Britain

15,000 11,000 8,000

5,000 3,000 1,000 1,000

1944

China , outh· \XIe<;t Afric:t outh-F.n r Africa ourh America Spain Palestine Japan um:ttra ~texico

USA

.:>'

2 1

2 2 2 2 1

Australia India cw Guinea

( ~y

Bra7il

"'

.)

RO,OOO 4-.000

s.ooo

l 16,000

While the majority of Waffen· men were rlon-Germans, the wartime Wnffen-S officer corps consisted a lmosr entirely of German national , who held all of the most cnior posts. The vast rnajoriry of non-German officer in the foreign division of the S had thejr rank!. prefixed by 'LegJon-.-· or''\ affcn-· rather than 'S -· (e .g. ' '\ ' affen- randarrenfllhrer der S ') and they, like their men, were nor das ed a members. Because o(

8,000

·,ooo

5,000 15 100 g4

10

5 4

208

this . e\'en 'heroic' figures such a-. Leon Degrelle, holc.kr of rhe Knight'~ Cross with Oakleave., and firc;t recipient of the Clo~e C..ombummer of 194 1 saw the Waffen-SS nfficer corps in it besr condition. and \\ irne<; ed an influx of recruit from rhe pollee, transferred Wehrmacht officers. parry and !.tate officials, Jocrors, lawyers and routh leaders eager ro serve ""ith the new elite before the anticipated victoriou cessalion of hostilitic:.. However, the subsequent blood· lening in Russia dciorroyed the cream of rhe earl~· graduatei> of Bad Tolz and Braunschweig, and their replacements hore -.carcely a token resemblance to them. By I july l94 3, the officer corps numbered 10,- 02. E\en so, only 4,145 were designated as career or profe sional officers, with ahout l,OOO of them hoiJing ranks of S in 1941. The great bulk of rhe remainder related ro banlef1eld commission granted ro Wafft·n-SS NCO:. who had proved themselves at the from between 1942 and 1945. ~ lanr thouc;an&, of officers were thus added to the corps in a fairly shorr period. men whose nes with the SDA P t~nd prewar S were tenuous or even non-cxi rem. The ·military elite' commanding the European of 1944 was, therefore, far removeJ from rhe politically motivated SS·vr officer corps of rhe late L930s . During the last year of rhe war, Waffenenior officers' conference aw elderly former Wehrmachr and police officers tanding shoulder ro ~ houlder with the younger generation, maur of whom had been co or

suhalrerns in 1939 and were nO\\ hJrd-bmen and highly dccorart>d colonels and brigadiers. The member of rhis new officer corp were dubhed by rhe S Old Guard as· 'ur- oldaten', or ·onl) soldil'rs', men whose responsibilities "'ere limited ro fighting and whose remit did nor include the eventual poli~ing of a conquered l:.urope. The result wa a fragmentation of the officer corps berween the 'poliricals' and rhe 'fighter '.a split which grew e' cr wider as rhe war drew to a close. The Waffen -SS uniform never upplanted the Allgemeine-55 membership ca rd in Himmlcr's mind, and by 1944-5 the typica l W::tffen-S officer at rhe fronr identified far more with hi hloodied Wehrmachr colleague, , and e\•en with hi long- uffering enemic , rhan with his burc:HJcrat.lc 55 seniors in Berlin and Munich. Although g1\Cil suitably heroic name from an early date, Waffen· divisions were not numbered until 15 I ovem~er 1943 . Unit ririe and de ignarions were frequenrlr altered, either to acknowledge a change in rarus or, particularly late in rhe war, to camouflage a formation's true idenriry and confuse enemy intelligence. The ' Das Reich' Division was a typteal example. Jnd had irs nomenclature altered no le<;s than eleven rimes: eprernbcr 1939 Pam.erverband Ostpreussen September 1939 Panzer Di' ision 'Kempf' 10. J 0.39 S-VerfiigungsrruppeDivision (Motorj cd) 4.4.40 SS-Verfiigungsdi\'i ion 1.12.40 -Divit.ion 'Deutschland' 28. 1.41 55-Division (Motorised ) ·Reich' Ia~ 1942 S-Division ( ~lororised ) ·I)as Reich' Kampfgruppe 'Osrendorff' M ay 1942 14.11.42 SS-Pamergrcnadier Division 'Oas Reich' 2nd SS-Panz.er Divisi1m 15.11.43 'Das Reich' 24.2.4) Ausbildungsgruppe' ord'

209

HIMMlER ' S BLACK ORDER

Dt\'ISJons srafied by Germanf. were known a -Division'. while those comprising m.unlv Volk deur che or Germanic personnel, whether ,·olunreer or con-.cripts, were called -Frctwilligcn Di\ tSton'. Units compu!>cd primarily ()f easr l:uropeans or Russians came tnro the category of 'Wnffen Divi'>ion dcr a rcrm of infcrtorit) which denoted attachment ro, rather than actual membership (If, the Waffcn-SS. W't \FFE -.

S /)JV/~10\!,

TH E WAFFEN ·SS

r\11 the \'V'nffcn S d1v1:.101h ..vbich had been mu rered, at le.tsr on pnp~r. b) 1945 :HI! lic;red tn rh~ table belcH\. ~1any di\'ision numbered above 10 were rnerelv upgr.1ded regimenr~. flung together in 3 burr) usmg any ·.,pare' per!>onnel available and given g randi ose t itles. Th e number of Knig ht''Crosses aw;.trded i a good indication of rhc effecm cne' and battle experience of t-Jch divi)H.)fl.

1939-45

7 If f£'

(and DiL'isional Strengt!J at Beginning of I 9-1")

----------------

K11igbt's Crosses Art•arded

Gr<111ted J>rimclT)' Divisicmal CompustttOil Stell US

German volunreer with l larler's ~ bodyguard regiment J rh~ nuclcu<.

)8

German volunteers wtth the SS~:rfugung rruppe as the nucleus

69

1939

Gcrn1.1n '<)lunrcers wich rhc · I m~· nkopfverbande

4-

4th S -Polizei P.mtcrgrcnadier Divio;ion (9.000)

lYJ9

German poltce tran ferec

_ .)

5rh <;S-Panzcr D1Vi<;1on ·Wiking·

1940

1:.r 5-Panzer Di' 1<>1on ' l eibsrandane- Adolf Hider· 122,000)

1942

2nd SS-Panzer Divi ion ' Dac; Reich'

1939

( J 8.000) ~rcl

~- Pan zer

Di,·i ion ·Torenkopf'

( 15,400)

., -

Ttr!e .md VILJ/SI OIIt11 Strength xt Beginnmg of 194 · )

Granted fnmarv DtL·tsion.rl Compos1tton Status

I Oth -P.1n1er Dl\ ision ' Frund ht:rg' 1~.SOO J

1943

t.erm:tn \'Oiunrt•er and co nscnpr-;

13

11 rh S~- Frciwilligcn Pnnzcrgrenadicr Oivi ion ·NordbnJ'

1943

West r uropean Vl)lulltecr~. manv from the disbanded ~ foreign · legton ')'.:iedcrlande', ·l':orwegcn ' and 'Frctkorps Danmar~ ·

25

1943

l.crman Hider Yourh volunrcero,

14

I hh \Xfaffcn Gcbirgs Dh tsion dc.:r \) •J landschar' 12,"'00)

1943

Y11~nslavian

J ~rh Waffen Crcnadtcr D1vision dcr SS

1943

1Jkr.tin1an ,·olunrecr:,

I 'th Wafft:n Grenadier Dh ision der 116.800 )

1943

l.1tv1Jn volunteer • man) tr:tn:.ferring from the churzmannschah Jlld Police Rifle Regimenrs

16rh SS-Panzcrgrenadicr Divbion 'Rt>ichsfi.ihrer-SS'

1943

Germ:lnNol kscil·ursche volunteers and conscripts, wirh H immler's e!>corr barrauon a. rhe nudeus

9,000)

12th -Panzer Hi rlerj ugend' ( 19,500)

l)j, i~ion

European

S)

volunteers

( 14,800)

11rh -Gebirgs Divi!>H.lll 'Nord· ( 15,000)

194 1

German volunteer with Torcnkopf regiment~ a:. the nucleu

4

7rh <; -Freiwilltgen Gebirgs J)h ision ' Pri n7 Eugcn '

1942

Yugo"l3' ian Volko,deur chc

6

volunteer~

Srh S -Kavallene Divic;ion ' rlonan Geyer' ( 13,000)

1942

9rh SS- Pan:ter Di' i ion ' Hohensraufen'

1943

1943

I 8rh SS-Freiwill•gcn Pamergrenadier Di,·ision ' Hom Wessel"

1944

Hungarian Vol~sdeur chc 'olumeers and conscripts

1944

larvtan volunteer~. mnm transferring from the . chur1mann chafr and Police Rifle Rcgimeuh

12

1944

l )tonum \·olunreer~. mam· tr:tn fcrring from the . churzma nns~::h afr and Police Rifle RegimenL

)

Germ~111Nolksdcursc-hc

\'Oiunreers

4

and conscripts

2

( 11,000)

German volunteers wtth S~ - K J\ allerie regiments JS rht· nuclcu:.

12

(9,000)

German volunteers and con cripr

Il

20th Waffcn Grenadil·r Divi ion der SS ( 15,500)

( 19,000)

210

.Yluslim ,·olunreers

I7th -Pan1ergrenadicr Division 'Gi)t'z von Berlichingcn· (3,500)

19th Wa ffen Grcnadtcr Division der ~

(20,000)

CrosSL'S Awarded

(22.000)

( 14,000) Germ:tn/wc~r

Knight's

211

r

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

/'illt> (cmd Dit•ismnal trength ~~~ Beginni11g u( 19-1_.: 5)_ _ _ _ __ 2 1~r '\ affen Gcbirg Di,·ision der S ·~kanderbeg'

Gr.wred

THE WAFrEN ·S S Knight's Crosses Awarded

Pnm.1r\

DII'IStOIIul Compostttcm St.IIIIS 1\lh.lni.tn ~ lu-.lirn

1944

\'olumecr~

1944

Brd Waffcn (Jebirgs Oiw;ion der

1944

German/l lungarinn Vulk,dcur~cht' volumcer1> and conscript"

Und S-Freiwilligcn Grenadier Di\ i ion · 30 J.muar'

6

~ \rd Waffen Ka va llcrie Di'.ision der SS (destroyed soon Jtrer formation, and number . ~ r given to next divrsion)

Dutch 'volunteers, m:tn~ formerly of the ~ foreign k~inn 'Nicderlande'

1945

hnh.1r' fa ci r volunteers

1944

0

{3,00())

Hung.uian volunreers

1944

0

Hungarian

194 5

volunreer~

I)

1944

rlemish volunreer!>, mauy formerly of tht S forci~ legion 'Fiandcrn '

1944

Walloon volunteer , m;~ny formerly of the German army\ Wall o ni ~c h e Legion

(7,000)

28th SS- Frci-.,,illlgen Grenadier Division ' Wallouien'

\7echo5lo\·akian Vnlk c.lcutsche volunteers and con~cript!.

0

1945

Gc-rmo1n conscripts and '~ rra ming school pcrsonnei/Volk dcutsche volunteers nnd conscripts

n

194)

Hungn rian volunteers

0

French 'olunreers, m:ln)' of them forme r!'' of the German army' hanzoslst.hes Lcgjon or LVF

2

Durch v<)lunreers. manr formerly

3

Grt.:n:~dier

'Charlemagne'

("',000)

Hth S-Freiwilligen Grenadier Div1 ion · Landsrorm Nederland'

(4,000)

29th Waffcn Grenodicr Div1sion dcr S (di!.bandcd l:lte 1944 and number '29' given ro next division)

1944

19rh Waffen Grenadier Oi' il>IOn der ( l5.000)

1945

30th Waffen Grenadier

1945

1945

n( the Landwacht Nederland

,-,(}00)

-Polizei Grenadier DivisiOn

1945

GermJn police transferees

1945

German/cast European volunteer , including a l.1rgc number of comtctt.:d criminals from the Dirlcwanger Br~gade, a terror unit used ag:1inst civilians

1945

()

( 1.000)

Hungariau Volksdeutsche conc.criprs a nd remnant~ of thc' Ho rian Geyer' and ·.\I! aria Theresa· divi~ions

JSrh $-Grenadier DlVIsJOn 'i'\ibelungcn • ( 1,000)

German volunteers, con'\cripts .tnd training school per onncl

0

(6,000)

3

.Prh ~ -Freiwilligen KJvallcrie Dr vi ion 'Lutzow'

Russian conVICt volunteers

1rJ11Jn

fa~CISt

R u~.,ta n

volunteers

volunteer . manr trnn'ifernng from the chuWl\:11111 chaft and Poltct R iO~!

Division der (4,500)

Regiment~

212

0

()

0

( ),000)

36rh Wnffcn Grenadier Oivi-:ion der S

( 13,000)

27th SS-Freiwilligen Grenadier Divis1on ' Langemarck'

3lrd Waffen 01\ i ion der

l )rh

~,000)

26rh Waffen Grenad1er Di vi ion der

l\111ghts Crosses A.warded

1945

Yugo!.lnviar) Muslim volunteers

Division ' cderl.tnd' ((;,OOO)

(I

Pnmm)• Compost/tOll

1.11115

(2.000)

5S ' K:lma' (disbanded late 1944 and number '23' given to nexr diviSion)

25rh Warfen Grenadier Di\ ision der . S ·Huny.tdi'

,u Be}?nmmg of 1945)

/Ju•tSIOIUif

I I 1.000)

llnd . -Freiwi lligen K.tvallerie D1vi-.ion 'Maria There a' (8,000l

24th W.tffen Gebirg1> 01\ri ion dcr $10,

Granted Vwts1011al 'trength

' Isr , -Frel\VIIIi~cn (,renJdll'f Dr vi~;ion

0

[5,000)

23rd S-FrciwiUigen P:unergrcnadic;r

Itt /e ~tmd

Durrng the latter parr of the war, ir was nor uncommon for ad hoc S batde group' to he dra'' n together from divisional troop , or for l>maller unit rn be absorbed by b rg.:r one which ju-.r happened ro he lo 'ared nearby.

1 here were also hundreds of replacement formation<;, such a the La r' 1a n S Er.,a tt bng.tde which alone accoun ted fo r forty full companies of men under training, and 'omc 'err ohc;ctr re units such as the

213

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

fndischc Frciwilligen-Legion der 5!>, mndc ur of anri-Brirish lndian prisonet·s-of-war who had been carrureJ in ).ionh Africa and Ita I~ . One of rhe strangest of .111 wa~ rhe Osnurkischer Waffen -Verband dcr ~S, composed of three Muslim w·affengruppen der S recruited from Caspi:m and Black Sc" farrar:. under the command of the Austrian S -Standartcnfuhrtr Wilhelm H inrt:rS<\t4. He had been converted to Islam during service alongside the Turks in rhe first World War and took the n::~me of J larun-ci-Raschid Bey, under whi.;:h he was listed in the S Dienstaltersliste! It was all a far cry from rhe racial elire of the J930s.

WAFFEN-55 UNIFORMS I he perennial imerest in rhe Waffen-SS rends to be concenrrared on ItS uniforms and

insignia, and for that reason these merit derailed coverage. T he manufacture of Waffen-SS uniform clothing was undertaken either hy private firms or, increasingly after 194 1, by the 55owned ~.:contwl'lic enrerpriscs operating under the auspices of rhe !> Wirrschafts- und Verwalrungshaupramr. The first SS clothing factory, or 55-Bekle!dungswerke, \\as established in Dachau concentration c.1mp, where the main Waffen-S clothing depot wa~ also located. In 1939 a training school for tailors and eamstrcsses opened at Ravensbruck, and after the occup:Hion of Poland and Russia rhe S Eastern Industries Led, or Ostindustri~ GmbH (Osti ), used local Jews ro manufacture winter uniforms and various trems of equipment from property :1nd raw materials ~eized hy the German , Civilian clothing confiscated fron1 concentration camp inmares was commonly reprocessed and dyed for transformation into Waffcn-SS uniforms. Uy 1944, the vasr majority of S and police clothing was being manufactured in-house ar the following establishment:>:

Ba yreuth labom camp, in l):w:ma Dachau concentration camp, in B,1varin Orantenburg concentration camp, near Berlin Poniatow created such a c.;ri!.is in rhe uniform industry that even rhe concentration camps could not meet che clothing needs of rhc Waffen- S. The rcsttlt WJ S that newly recruited front-line SS soldiers ended up wearing captured uniforms, parrirularly Italian items raken after rhe fall uf Mussolini. Older veterans tended ro retain their better 4ualit>' early issue rumcs, caps and boots for as long as possible. ofrl'n until rhey quite literally fell apart, and there were: at least three fully mororised pl.Hoons, rhe soca lied SS-Bekleiduogs- Jnstandserwngsziige 500, 50 I and 502, whose sole job ir was ro rravel from unit tO unit repairing uniform dothing.

l:.ach Wa Hen- SS forma£ ion regu larl~ su bmitted requisition form!> to rhe SS Fuhrungshauptamt ordering. specific uniform needs. If app roved, rhe SS- FHA would in sr rucr the 5 Wirr chaftliund Verwaltungsh.:tuptamt to make the nece sa ry issue. The ~S-WV H A in irs turn then arranged despatch of rhe material ro the unit, either direct from rhc f.1crory or via one of irs

214

THE WAFFEN·SS

rwdve main c:urf"IY depots . the Ha uprwi rtSl.hJ rl~l.lgt'r. !\ltern3 ti vel)', the umform items could be made .wailo.hle to the un it at the nearest convenienr SS-WV Ht\ subdepot, or Truppenwirtschnftslager, of which chere were rwenrr spread our acros the Retch. On rhc eastern fronr, S .;upply cnmmat\ds or l achschubskommandanrur were established at B ourUt~k. Dneproperruwsk, O ulu and Riga as links between rhe 55-WV H A and rhe local sub-depMs. Each supply command was empow~n:: d w place contracts wirh, or make purchases from, privare firms in its area. Moreover, \\here field formations of rhe Waffen-SS were hkely ro be operating in a particular zone for a prolonged period, for example 'Prinz Lugen' in the Balkans, special ad hoc suppl} bases or St iiczpunktt· were ser up at convenient points. All Waffen-S off1cers were expected to purchase their own uniform itt:ms, a nd newly commjssioned officers re,eived a special grant of between 350 and 800 Reichsmarks ro th:.lt ~nd. Once in possession of his clothing grnnr the officer was supposed ro buy his uniform fro m one of rhe ·. clothing counrer , or Klciderkasse, J[ Berlin, Kiev. Lublin, Munich, Oslo, Pari!>, Prague, Riga and Wac aw. These establishments carried exrenstve srocks ~1 f cop quality tailor-made items, including runics by Mohr & Speyer and 11 olrers, boots hy Breitspecher anJ caps by Robert Lubstein, who e trade mark 'EREL' wa f<1mous worldwide. H owever, hoth rh~ means and oppo rtunity for fronr-lin e officers ro k.it rhcmselvec; out with expensive uniforms were 'omewhnr hmired during rhe second half of the war, and most relied on their unir stores to provide rhem with irems of field uniform against payment. Standard issue tunics were generally worn una ltcred by most officers, although some had them modified co suit individual raste. The mos r common Jlterarions were tc) pocket flaps and collars,

215

repla ci ng rhcrn with smarter ones. From Augusr l 94.3, c;econd-hand railor-made articles began tO bl· collected and re--sold ro officers at three rime the listed pnce of their tanda rd issue equivalents. In tht'lt war, rhose who still retained a desire to look 'a cur above the rest' could do so. When a Waffcn-SS soldier wa-; kilkd or invalided out of the service, all issued items of uniform clothing and eqLupmenr had ro he rerurned ro his unit. Those pieces still suitable for use were retained intact, and slightly woru items were re-issued ro replacement and tntin,ng units. Any old or damaged clothing wa sent to the concentration camps to be pulped down for reworking. Broken metal articles such as belt hooks and buckles were dismanrletl and sent ro rhe armaments industry for smelting. In thar way, rhe SS mainrained a complete cycle of manufJctureissue -wear -pulping - re-manufacture - reissue in respect of uniform clothing. fhe development of the main componenrs of Waffen-S uniform, namely headgear, wnics, equipment and insignia, gave the S soldier his own unique appearance, and this devdopmcnt is now covered in detail. T he s tandard headgear of the armeJ SS formations continually evolved (rom 1933 until the end of the Second World Wa r, with every year seeing either a nC'w pattnn being introJuced, an existing style being modified or an outdated item being withdrawn. In March 1933, members of rhe SS Stabswache Berlin were issued With heavyweight 1916 and 1918 model e~-army sreel helmets, handpainted or sprayed black, for wear when on guard duty. These plain Stahlhelme, which did not bear any 55 insignia at rhat rime, were the first distinguishing items of headgear to be sported b~ the armed units, and set the latter apart from rhe AJJgcmeine-SS. During the surnmer of the same year, field &;.tp~ of the peakless 'por k pie' type, known as 'Krarzdwn ', were pu rchased from army

HIMMLER ' S BLACK OROH

Men of the Sonderkommondo Zossen enjoying obrenk hom the11troining of ~enfossen, summer 1933. All weor blade 'kriitzchen' fleld cops ood lhe grey colton drill fotigue uniform.

the supply of new SS helmets which were slightly different in form, weight and appearance from their army counterparts. The RZM-parrern helmet was made of a lighter steel alloy, had standardised 'one size' ventilation lugs and a wider quick-release chinstrap. There were two inspection marks die-stamped inside the neck of the blue-black helmet, i.e. S runes on the left side a nd the RZM symbol on the right, and rhc liner generally bore the unit property sramp in ink, an example being '11/SS 2' for the 2nd Srurmbann of the ·Germania' Standarre. The RZM helmet was popular, and was distributed for par<~de and guard duty until

surplus storage, dyed black, and distributed ro men of rhe SS Sonderkommando Zossen and SS Sonderkommando Ji.iterbog for wear during rraining and fatigues. Standard SS badge were pinned ro rhese exrremely unpopular and shorr-lived caps. At the end of t933, it was suggested that che 1916 and 1918 model steel helmets were unnecessarily heavy for the armed S, whose main role was then one of internal security racher than open warfare. A small number of rhe army's experimental 1933-pattern vulcanised fibre helmets were duly disrribured, but were excessively ugly and immediately rejected. Consequently, during the early part of 1934, the Reichszeugmeisrcrci dcr NSDAP, or RZM, the Nazi parry's contracts office, placed an order for

1939. On 23 February 1934, s pecial insignia were introduced for wear un all SS steel

216

THE WAFFEN·SS

helmets, hand-paimed at first and rhen in Jecal form. The Leibsrandarre, with irs unique status, was authorised to u e white SS runes on a black shield (soon replaced by black SS runes on a ilver shield) on the right side of rhe helmet, and an army-pattern shield bearing the national colours of black, whjte and red in diagonal bars on the left side. Troops of the Politische Bereitschafren, and thei r successors in rhe SS-VT, wore whitebordered black runes within a whire double circle on the right side of the Stahlhelm, and a whi te- bordered black swastika on the left side. On 15 December 1934, sreel helmets began to be painted in so-called 'earth-grey', a grey-brown shaJe, for military manoeuvres, and ar the same time a new other ranks' field cap in an identical colour was introduced to replace the black Kriitzchen . The 1934patcern cap was again intended for drill use on ly and was shaped like an upturned boar, hence its nickname 'Schiffchen', or lirtle ship. lts design was based un the army forage cap, \Vith a scalloped front and side panels which could be lowered ro protect rhe wearer's ears in cold weather. The first chiffchen were i
217

SS steel helmet insignia. The5e were worn by soldiers of lhe following units: A-leibstoodorte-SS 'AdoW Hi~er' (23.2.34 1o outumn 1934); 8leibstondorte-SS 'Adolf Hide( (ouf\Jmn 1934 to 11.8.35); C- Potrlische Bereitschohen and SS·VT (23.2.34 to 11.8.35); 0- oil SS f01motions (12.8.35 to 1945).

black swastika ro be worn on the left side. The original order decreed that these badges were to be painted on, but on 14 August it was announced that they would be available in decal form from the firm of C.A. Pocher of li.irnberg, at a cost of 25 Reichsmarks per 1,000 pairs. SS units were instructed ro have the decals applied to all their helmets in time for the NSDAP rally tbar September. Towards the end of 1935, an eanh-grey version of the black SS peaked cap was introduced for officers of rhe Leibstandarte and SS-VT, ro be worn on all occasions when a steel helmer was nor required. The new Schirmmi.irze had an earth-grey top with a black velvet band and white piping for all

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

•

An NCO of !he leibstondorte weoring the M35 steel helmet outside Khorkov, March 1943. The SS runes decoiiS deor~ shown.

rime, particular!) by officers and during parades. On 31 ~[arch 1936, the other ranks' field cap began to be manufactured in a black version for wear with the black service uniform when walking our, and in ·earthbrown' for SS-TV personnel on dury wi.thin concentration camps. Insignia remained the same, although rhe 1929-pattern eagle was replaced by the distinctive SS rype later in rhe year. A new field-grey combat uniform was generally distributed ro all branches of the armed SS in 193 7, with consequent changes in headgear. The earth-grey and earth-brown Schiffchen were replaced by a ubiquitous field-grey version, and the officer's peaked

officer up ro and including SSSrandarrenfUhrer. Higher r;~nk had sih·cr piping. Officer acting as judges and umpires at military exercise wore detachable white cloth bands on their caps. On 1 r ovember the same year, a supplr of the new lighter model army steel helmet, with shallow neck guard, less protruding visor and simple venrilarion holes instead of protruding lugs, was set aside by the War Ministry for distribution to the armed SS. The Leibsrandarre and 'Deutschland' received theirs on 11 May 19 36, and the other S -VT formations followed suit. Neverrhcless, the traditional 1916 and 1918 models still continued to be worn for some considerable

218

THE WAFFEN·SS

ca p also began ro be made with a field -grey cop . On 25 February 1938, a new field L'ap was crea ted for t COs. lr was similar in ;tppearance to the Schirrnmi.itze, bur the peak wa~ made of the same cloth material as the rop of the cap and there was no chin trap or crown stiffener. It could be folded for storage in rhe back-pack or in a tunic pocket, hence irs nickname 'the crusher'. Many COs who later became officers continued co wear this very popular cap throughout rhe war, and some individuals hired private tailors to make \'arianrs of it wit h leather peaks, velvet bands ar1d silk linings. The regulation SS badges in white metal were prescribed for the NCO's field cap, but photographic evidence illu trates a wide variety of insignia, both metal and cloth, being worn with ir. In 19 3 9, a less elaborate version of rhe field-grey peaked cap was authorised for wear by NCOs in rhe vicinirr of their barracks. It was only after the black uniform had ceased to be worn as walking out dress that orher ranks were issued with, or allowed ro purchase, the field-gre)' peaked cap for walking our. It was similar to the officer's Schirmmiirze, but had a black leather chinsrrap rather than aluminium chincords, and a simple cloth band instead of a velvet one. In J une l 939, officers were permitted to purchase a non-regulation white-topped peaked cap for wear wirh the new summer uniform. The outbreak of war in eptember J 939 witnessed the first use by some rear echelon S units of the so-called Edelstahlhdm, which had previously been issued only to police and firemen and was manufactured from a thin gauge steel. Soon afterwards, following army practice, an inverted chevron or soutache of braided piping in the appropriate branch of service colour began ro be worn on rhe front of the other ranks' field cap, above rhe death's head button, which was thereafter

219

Ss-Gruppenfilhrer Gille wos !he firsr Woffen-SS re
painted field -grey. Armed SS officers still had no regulation field cap of their own, and during the firsr few months of rhe war manv of them purcha ed the 1938-model army officer's forage cap and replaced or covered rhe national cockade with either a metal SS death' head or a small silver one remo,·ed from an army panzer collar patch. This obvious shortcoming in SS headgear was remedied in December 1939, however, when a new field cap was authorised specifically for Waffen-SS officers. Ir was again boar-shnped

HIM/HER ' S BLACK ORDER

1916, 191 ' and R/.:-.1 model steel helmets, and any old stock of earrh-gre} cloth headgear still in u.,e, were ordered ro be withdrawn from !>en•ice, and senr to the concentration camp and prison workshops for processing and re-ic;c;ue ro \'(lehrmacht reserve units. The winter of 1941-2 ~aw the first widespread uc;e of fur cap , parricularl}' captured Russian ushank.1s, by rhe \'\7affenS. An almost indc!>cnbable rnnge of official, emi-official and unofficial winter cap<; quickly developed, and the insignia utilised was enrircly dependent upon what was avai lable at the rime. !VIetal chirmmi.itze badges, cloth Feldmiitze insignia, sleeve eagles and even death 'c; heads cur from Torenkopf-Divil!ion collar parche have been ob en•ed in photogmph!>. On 1 August 1942, the smooth inward crim ping of rhe steel helmet rim wa abandoned for economic reasons, giving the model 1942 helmet a much sharper silhouene. The next month, the soutache was dropped and no longer featured on field caps. By 1943, practical expenence at the front had hown the chiffchen ro be ~lmosr useless in comparison ro the Bcrgmtitte. On 1 October that year, therefore, a new field cap wa.; introduced to replace all it predecessors. Known as the EinheirsfeiJmiirze, or standard field cap, it wa very similar ro the mounrain cap but had a longer peak and lower crown. On I ovember 1943, the runes helmer decal was di)continucd for the duration of the war. The year 1943 al. o saw rhe Introduction of the fe7, or larbusch, for wear m~tead of rhe field cap hy members of the ~ l uslim units. I he fel wa made from heavy field-grey felt, with a dark-green silken ta'isel and standard wcHen insignia. The unlined interior had a thin leather sweatband. A version in maroon \Vas sometimes sported by officers when wnlking our or on parade, bur this was an unofficial variant, obtained by com·erring the tandard ctvthan (eL, and

bur did nor have a !)CaiJoped front, and rhc side panel were gcndy sloping in the style of the Luftwaffe fliegcrmiirte. The top of the flap was piped in aluminium cord . and in ignia consisted of the SS eagle and Totenkopf machine-woven in aluminium win~ on a black ground. A Waffenfarbe su11tache was worn over the death's head. All officer were instructed to equip themselve with the new field cap br I January 1940. On 2 1 March 1940, the gaudy black, white and red swastika decal was ordered to be removed from SS steel hcl mets for the duration of the war, for camouflage rcal!On . At the same time, helmets began to be painted in a darker !)hade of field-grey and given a rough urface rexrure which was less prone to reflecting the light. In June, an order prohibited further manufacture of the whitetopped summer peaked cap. On 15 October 1940, the other rank ' 1934-pattt:rn field cJp was replaced by a new style Schiffchen identical in cut to the officers' version. It became known ac; rhe 'Felclmiitze neuer Art', or new model field ca p, and featured a machine-woven eagle and death ·s head on the front of rhe cap instead of the TotcnJ..opf burton and side eagle. On 1 December the sa me rear, the fledgling '\ affen-SS alpine units received a field-grey Bergmiirte, or mountain cap, to be worn instead of the Schiffchen. It w~ of basic ski-cap design, with a short peak ro provide sufficient shade from the glare of the sun and now. The scalloped ide flap could be lowered to cover the ears, and fa-.tcned at the front by means of two <>mall button . Officers' caps had :1luminium piping around the ..:rown. ln'i1gnia compric;ed a woven death ·s head on the fronr of the cap c1nd an eagle on the left side. In February 194 I, the manufacture and retai ling of Waffen - peaked cap wall freed from RZM control, and from then on the Schirmmiitzc could be made ro individual order by private hatters. Four week later, tht•

220

THE WAFFEN·SS

On 7O
Wall a temporary expedient pending il>l.ue of the field -grey type . Albanian Mu lims had their own conical fez. In 1944, Italian SS formationl> m01dc widespread usc of former Italian ~rmy field caps, peaked caps and reel helmets, with the addition of appropriate insignta, nnd in 1945 some Indian volunteers transfe rred from rhe Wehrmachr wore turban with Waffen-SS uniform. For l-limmler, that mmt have been the •final straw· in the development of SS headgear! As wirh S unifor m in general, rhc aforementioned dares in the tory of headgear can be invaluable in daring period phorographs of \Xfaffen-SS rroops. The same can be c;aid of tunic , so they also merit ornc

221

detailed coverage. Member of the first armed SS units wore the 1932-parrem black servi c uniform on all occasions. It was identical to the outfit issued to the Allgemeine-SS, but while it was impres ive when worn on parade or when walking our, it proved totally impractical for u~e in the field or when performing general barrack dutie . fn order to protect the black uniform in uch circum ranees, tunics and trouc;ers manufactured from .1 lightweight grey-white cotton drill were produced in rhe summer of 1933 . Officers and NCOs sub equcntly wore a drill jacket which wa cut very much like th e black runic, :llthough sometimes with concealed button , and on which co llar

HIMMLER'S BlACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN·SS

The Happy, bonie-worn appearance of the 'crusher' cop mode it opopular item of headgear right up until the end of the war. Here it is worn by two NCOs of SS· Ponzer·Aufkl1irungs·Abteilung I ot Koiserborrocke in the Ardennes, 17 December 1944. The schwimmwogen driver has killed himse~ out with ocivilian leather motoring helmet.

brown version of the uniform was produced for eve r yday w o rk wear for SSTorenkopfverbande personnel on duty within the confines of concentration camps. lt was not to be worn by sentries at the main gate, who were on view to the public, or as a walking our dress . The earth-brown runic sported collar patches, a shoulder strap and rhe SS armband . In 1937, the earth -grey a nd earth-brown uniforms of the SS-VT and SS-TV were replaced by a new s tandardised field -grey uniform . It was based on that of the army, but the Feldbluse retained the typically SS features of slanting slash side pockets and a black- and silver-piped collar which was the

patches and a shou lder strap were worn. Other ranks had a less attract ive, shapeless, badgclcss tunic with a standing collar. At the beginning of 1935 a new ea rth-grey uniform, identical in style ro the black crvicc outfit, began ro be distributed ro soldiers of the Lcibstandarte and SS-Verfi.igungsrruppe, although it was not referred to in official orders un t il 25 lovember of that year. Enlisted men's tunics had five buttons down the front instead of four, and could be worn closed a t the neck . Since the standard SS armband with irs bright colours was clearly unsuitable for field use, it was replaced on the left arm of the earth-grey runic by an eagle and swastika. In M arch 1936, an earth-

222

Three SS.HouptsturmfOhrer attached to the 'Hondschor' orvision ot the end of 1943. Their decorations indicate that they ore German notiono~. The officer ln the middle, o veteran of the SA/ SS roily ot Brunswick in 1931, wea~ the blank right-llond collor patch sported by some 'Hondschar' perwnnel prior to tile introduction of tile divisional scimitor and swastika patch. Note olso the early use of maroon fezzes and Styrion goite~.

223

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN·SS

Aleilsmndorte Obemunnfiihre1 is dwarfed by 1wo reuuils weoring the lighlwe1Qht fatigue uniform, ouMnr1 1934. The ofOCer 00s oImbed grey d~ jacket, used in conjoodion with the cop ond breeches of the blod seM<e uniform. Note olso the 2nd ponern lAH helmet decals.

when rher should be buttoned or unbuttoned at the neck, and o on. These order were genera II y ignored by a II concerned, a nd the result was a fair mixture of dress worn simu ltaneously within even the smallest units. By May 1940, army tunics had begun to make their inevitable appearance in the rankl> of the S ·-Verfiigungsdivision, and they soon became universal throughout the Waffen-SS. During the wurse of 1940, their dark-green collar · were pha!>ed our in favour of fieldgrey ones, and that August the black and iher collar piping was discontinued. From 1942, purely for reasons of economy, patch pocket were made without pleats and in 1943 the lower edges of the pocket flaps were straightened. The wool content of the model

ame colour as the rest of rhe runic. The following year, the Leibstandarte began to be issued with army tunics, distinguished by their unpiped dark-green collars and pleated parch side pockets, for wear during training. At the end of 1939, the sudden formation of the SS-Totcnkopf-Division and the PolizeiDivi sion necessitated rhe widespread and general use of army-issue runic~ si nce there were insufficienr quantities of the $-style field-grey uniform to go round. Because of rhe basic differences in cut between the two patterns, and Himmler's desire for uniformit} of dres , various conrradicrory orders were issued during the winter of 1939-40. prescribing which outfits should be worn by officer as opposed ro 'COs and ocher rank ,

224

lAH, SS.VT ond SS.TV offke~s on parade outside the Fiihret Building in MunKh, 9Novembell938. OOOng !Iris period, the block uniform was sift used by the ormed SS on ceremollKII occasions, here being worn wrth the olominium wire oiguillenes ond blocode belt of cornlllJSsioned ronk. Most of these men hove been essued with the M35 steel helmet, although ofew stillretoin the traditional M16/ 18 pattern.

1943 runic was also drastically reduced, whit:h resulted in poor therma l insulation and J low tensile trengrh. On 25 eptember 1944, an entirely new style of field service runic ha cd on the Rrirish army barrledress hlou<;c was introduced for wear by all German ground combat units, including member of auxiliary formations <;uch a the RAD and NSKK. This uniform required con 1dcrablr less cloth than the earl1 er model , and the normal triple or double belt hook location holes were reduced to onl~ one

po ition. 11orcover, the internal field dressing pocket was omitred. A universal colour called 'Fcldgrau 44', which was more slate-greygreen than field-grey, wal> devised for the new outfit in an effort to standardise the variou milirarr and par;~military uniform colour hitherto een on the battlefield. H owever. in reality, man} different shades of it emerged. The 1944 field uniform was very unpopular, and wa<; nor issued in sufficient quantities ro change the appearance of the \Xfaffen-SS radicallr.

225

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN-SS

srip ulntcd that officers' field tunics were henceforth ro be identical in sryle to those of o ther ranks. Throughout the remainder of the war, Waffen-SS officers generally wore either privately tailored field blouses like those of their army colleague , or basic issue tunics purchased from their unit stores . White summe r versions were also produced, although these were officially prohibited in June 1940, and the olive-green waterproof cotton duck from captured Soviet groundsheet s was often made up into lightweight unlined fie ld tunics for hot weather usc on the eastern front.

Acoptured SS.Sturmmonn of the Leibstondorte is quesliooed regarding Russian bonknotes found in his possession, autumn 1944. He weo~ the model1943 tunk with stroight pocket flops, and olote war round-headed orm eagle.

The victors of Khorkov: Rolf M!lbius, 'Sepp' Dietrich, Rudolf Lehmann ond Hubert Meyer in April 1943. MBbius weo~ ostondord issue ormy pottern field blouse, which is rougher in oppeoronce thon the prlvote~ toilored outfits of Dietrich ond lehmonn. Meyer's tunic is oconverted prewor 'Rock', and still bea~ the 1936-&styie SS orm eagle.

having ro buy a field blouse for combat wear by having their existing tunics converted, with the addition of rand-and-fa ll collars which cou ld be closed at the neck. Others had dark -green open-necked collars fitted, even though that was expressly forbidden by Himml er. A number o f simila r stop-gap measures were taken until the issue of a general order in December 1939, which

The uniform regulations for Waffen-SS officers differed somewhat from those for other ranks . Until 1939, officer s in the Lcibstandarre and S -VT had o nl y one fieldgrey runic, the ' Rock", which was identical in cur ro the black SS service runic and was always worn open at the neck with a brown shirt and black tie. At rhe beginning of the war, some SS officers avoided the expense of

226

Three WofferrSS medico! officers ossist personnel of the lSth (Scottish) Division ofter the liberation of Neuengomme concentlo~on comp, April194 5. The Untersturmfohrer on the left wears the 1944 field un~orm, whi
227

HIM MLER ' S BLACK OR DER

As tumcs developed, so roo did rheir marching trousers. The 1937-pattcm S field trousers, or Feldhose, had srraight legs for wear with jackboots, whereas the Keilhose, or wedge trousers, of July l942 had tapered bottoms designed ro fir inside the new ankle boors and gaiters. Officers on duty in the field generally wore riding breeches, with grey bucksk•n reinforcements on the sear and inside leg. In A ugusr 1944, however, they were ordered tO wear only long trousers, to show a degree of unifornmy with their men. 1 eedless to say, that order was seldom adhered to. While most Waffen-SS units were issued with one or more of the foregoing serie of uniforms, depending upon their dates of formation, the Italians alone were nor. At the end of 1943, SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff, rhe H SPf in ft aly, successfully bargained with the army's QuartermasterGeneral for the suppl)' of 100,000 captured Italian army uniforms for wear by his S and police ami-partisan forces . Many of rhese items were subsequently used ro kir our the 24th and 29th SS divisions, whose members duly sported a hodge-podge of ltalinn garb in grey-green, colonial khaki and Mediterranean camouflage, with theLr own unique insignia. The creation of standardised camouflage clorhing was the most significant contribution of rhe Waffen- S to rhe history of military uniform development, and had a profound effect on the appearance of all modern soldiery. ln February 1937, SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Wilhelm Brandt, who was a Doctor of Engineering and commander of the SS-VT reconnaissance battalion, began work on the design of camouflage clothing and equipment for use by hi troops. He shared his task with the Munich professor Johann Georg Orro Schick, and their prototype camouflage groundsheets and helmet covers were successfully rested by the SS-Srandarte 'Deutschland' in field manoeuvres the

followmg December, dunng which it wa'> estimated that they would reduce barrie casualties by J 5 per cent. In June 1938, patems in respect of these items were granred to the Reichsfuhrer-SS. .:;o that they could not be copied by rhe army, and by 1 Kovcmber contracted production was under way using the firms of Warei, Forster and Joring. By January 1939, despite great difficulties in obtaining sufficient quanririe$ of waterproof cotton duck and the facr that printing had to be done by hand, 8,400 groundsheets and 6,800 helmet covers had been supplied tO the SS-Verfugungsrruppe. Smocks were also in rhe course of distribution, and H ausser instructed that at lea t rwenr:y of these should be held by each company for the cxclnsive use of assault troops. Camouflage clothing was nor widely worn during the Polish campaign, bur even so the revolutionary SS groundsheets and helmer cover earned high praise from Generalmajor Kempf, who sent samples of them w the Army High Command in Berlin for evaluation. By June 1940, hand-printing haJ been superseded by a much faste r machine process using · Anthrasol' and ' lndamhrene' dyes, which allowed the mass production of 33,000 smocks for delivery ro all field units of the Waffen-SS. 'J'he ever-present problem, however, even at rhar early dare, was the shortage of raw materials. It was c~lculated that over 42,000 metres of waterproof cotton duck would be required every month tO produce sufficient numbers of groundsheets, helmet covers and mocks, and by Januarr 1943 supplies had all bur run our, resulting in it replacement by drill material which had no waterproof qualities. Many styles of camouflage were ultimately manufactured simultaneously, including rhe so-called 'oak leaf', 'plane tree', 'palm tree', 'burred edge', 'flower' and 'clump· patterns. Four colours were generally used, and rh ~ tendency during rhe war wa rowards

228

THE WAFFEN · SS

1ncrea inglv spotted des1gns m lighter shades. \lost garments made from waterproof cotton d uck were printed on both sides .md were reyersible, wirh one side predominantly green and the other brown for u e as local and seasonal variation dictated. The later drill o utfits were printeJ on one side only and could nor be reversed. All of rhe c patterns were issued indiscriminarelr throughout rhe Waffen-SS. The groundsheet, or Zelrbahn, was the fi rsr item of camouflage uniform ro see widespread distribution among SS units. It W:lS triangular in shape, measuring 203 em x 203 em x 240 em, and could be worn as a cape or poncho, or buttoned rogcthcr wirh three others ro form a four-man tcnr. l n fact, any number could be combined ro make even larger shelters. When attaching Zelrbahnen in such circumstances care had tO be taken to use idenrical, or ar least similar, pattern groundsheets to maintain the camouflage effect, and to that end identifying numbers were printed along their bases. Even when combining helm· quarters of differenr tlcsigns. 'paving slabs' of colour were provided along rhe edges at regular intervals ~o that the various camouflage patterns would merge into each other. Tu December 1943, it was decided nor ro issue any more groundsheets ro men on the eastern front for economic reasons, aud by September I 944 their production had ceased completely. The sreel helmer cover was produced from segments of Zelrbahn material, and SS ossuull troops weoring newly issued camoulloge smO
229

HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

Acaptured SS.Unters
fmr parrern had no pockets. on I~· rwo 'crtical

conjunction '' irh rhe helmer cover and smock. lr comprised a cries of rrings fined ro an ela ricared strap and hung like a curtain over rhe face. The mask was very effective when u ed in bushy o r grassy terrain, and was much prized br niper . On I J une rhe same year, a camouflage field cap, again made from '' arerproof Zeltbahn material. was introduced. It was shaped like rhe Bcrgmi.J\L.e and was generally unlrned and reversible. From December 1942, !.pccial in ignia wo,·en rn green and brown artificial silk were produced for wear on the cap, bur they do nor appear to have been widely adopted. On 1 March 1944, a camouflage version of the drill uniform wa introduced for borh field and working drc!> . lr comprist:d a runic

openings at the front which gave rhe wearer access ro his rumc underneath. During rhe Wtandard manufacturing process, being cut our from a long c;rrip of Zelrbahn material, with a central hole for fining over the head. Production ceased in January 1944, although smocks continued to be worn widely until the end of the war. On 15 April 1942 a camouflage face mask, which had initially been rejected b~ H .w~ser during pre'' ar trial , was issued for use 10

230

THE WAFFEN·SS

Woffen-SS infontry advancing through the Aldennes, December 1944 The man in the foreground, armed with on MP40, weors the camouflage drill jacket on top of ostorrdord field-ijrey tunic.

and trousers in the same cur :t!> the model 1943 field uniform, bur made from lightweight unlined herringbone rwill with a stand ard i ed "POtted or ·pea' pattern camouflage primed on one side on ly. It could be worn on irs own during the ummer, or on t op of a randard field uniform in cold weather. and was designed ro replace rhc smock and, ultimately. the normal field and drill uniform . Only rhe eagle and swa rika and special rank badges were intended to be worn on the left sleeve of the runic, bur shoulder strap and other insignia were also occasionally ccn. Between 1 November 1944 and 15 M arch 1945, distribution of the camouflage drill uniform was su pended because of intolerable losses during rhe

winter months. In effect, ir was never reissued. While the vast majority of Waffen troops wore one or more of the foregoing camouflage garment , there were many instances of non -regulation items being adopted. It wa!> nor uncommon for tunics to be tailor-made in rhe field using pare Zelrbabn material. and large quanritie of caps, tunics and rrou ers in German cut were manufactured from captured Italian camouflage cloth in 1944. There were also isolated cases of Waffen-SS personnel, particularly members of rhe 14th S Oivi ion, wearing German army-pattern camouflage smocks. A photograph even exists apparently showing the capture of an SS sniper in

231

HIMMlER'S BlACK ORDER

On 9 July 1940, !he re
distribution during rhe Third Reich, bur was ro form rhe basis of the camouflage patterns adopted by most post-194- armies. -Vl armoured troop& received their own black panzcr uniform in 1938. Irs special he;1dgear rook rhe form of a floppy woollen beret. or Ba'>kenmuue, fitted over an internal era h helmet, rhe chutzmiit1.e. which compri ed a hea,·ily padded liner. A large embroidered eagle and a uniquely designed Torenkopf, not unlake rhe army's panzer dearh· head bur wtth a lower jaw in rhe style. wa sewn on ro rhe from of the beret. The Baskcnmucze was di continued in 1940

Normandy who is wearing the one-piece c amoufla ge overall issued ro U troops serving in t he Pacific theatre. However, thnt may well have been a propaganda shot staged by the Allie . By the spring of 1 945 it had become apparent that both the Wehrmacht and Waffenshould ideally have one common camouflage pattern. After \'arious rests and trials carried our b)' Schick and three officer from the Bekleidungswerke at Dachau, a new de ign incorporating carbon-black egments which had the effect of protecting the wearer against infra-red detection wa introduced. It ne\·er aw

232

THE WAFFEN·SS

SSUn~toonliihreJ Mi
after proving impractical in combat. It was replaced by a black version of rhe chiffchcn field cap, which in rurn was superseded by a black Einhei csfeldmurze in Ocrober 1943. The Waffen-SS tank tunic, or Panzerjacke, was a shorr, right-firring double-breasted black jacket fastened with concealed buttons. lr differed from irs army counterpart in char the front was cut vertically instead of being slanted, rhe lapel were smaUer and there was no central eam down rhe back. The collar of the jacket was piped in silver for officers but wa unpipcd for orher ranks, a nd only NCO of the Leibsrandarre were permined to port their regulation collar rrcsse.

In the spring of J 941, a field-grey version of the panzcr uniform was issued to members of the Leibsrandarte' SrurmgeschutzAbteilung. By August 1942 this outfit had been dic;rrihured 10 other assault gun units, and four month later irs wear was extended to all Waffen- S anti-rank formations. On 15 fanua r y 1943 , S panzer crews received a one- piece combi nation work uniform made of camouflage waterproof cotton duck, identical ro rhe material used in the manufacture of the smock and Zelrbahn. At the same rime, a winter combination made from rwo rhickne. ses of cloth, white on o ne side and field -grey on the ocher, was

233

HI MMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

mtroduced and WJ'> worn "1dcly dunng rhe Bardc of 1-,. h:trko\. These coverall com binarions "ere ne'er \ ery popular, simplr because of rhc (Mficulrr of gerring in and our of them . T hat fact, allied with rhe ucce ot the denim ge:H then on is ue and the extreme shortage of waterproof cotton duck, led ro rhe decision being made 10 January 1944 to discontinue the camoufl,1ge combination and produce instead a lightweight \'er ion of the panz.er uniform in camouflage hcrringhone twill. It duly appeared two months later, at rhe same rime as the camouflage drill uniform introduced for all ocher Waffen-SS units, and it was in rhe a me standardised sported ·pea' pattern, unlined ::~nd primed on one side unl~. The camouflage panLer uniform aw "1despread er\'ice, particular!~ on the wesrern front. On I 1'\o,·embcr di tribution ceased for the winter, and the camouflage outfit was never re-i sued . While the clothing of Waffen-SS armoured personnel remained fairly randard. there wa~ one major initiative at di,•isional level which drastically al tered the appearance of man~ panzer crews p3rt1C1pating in the :-.;ormand~· campaign. Dunng the aurumn of 1943, rhe Leibsrandarte had been im·olved in di arming capitulated Tt.111an forces and in fighting partisans in norrhcrn Italy. In the proccs!>, the division had confisc.ncd huge quantities of abandoned Italian motor transport and uniform e4uipmenr to su pplement irs own limited upplies. Among the uniform item;; eized were large numhers of German U-boat leather jackets and trou er!>. ong1nall~· old by Hitler to ~ l ussolmi's navy. and va t stocks of Italian arm~ camouflage material. The latter was quickl) u cd ro produce caps, runic and O\'eralls in the German sryle. which \\ere disrrihuted to soldier of the Leih tand:ute and ' Hirlerjugend' in France. The U-boar clothing went almoc;t exclusi,·ely to rhe }'oung tank crews of ' ll irlerjugend'. and duly prorecred man) of them against serious burns.

\X!affcn- paratrooper al o had their 0\\ n order of dress. -1 ,lll.;chirmjager Baraillon mo was formed for '.,pecial duties' at the end of 1943, in the wake of SS-1Jaupr turmflihrer Otto korzeny's much -vaunted liberation of the deposed ~ l us!>olini that cptcmbcr. which had had to rely on Luftwaffe glider and paratroop support. Conrraq to "idespread bchef, the battalion was nor a penal unit. lr was compo ed entirely ot \'Oiuntccrs, full~ trained in a paratroop role, and all its officers and NCOs were profc<:sion,d oldiers with a great deal of from-line experience . T his expertise. comb1 ned wirh the Waffen -SS ethos. produced parntrooper of outstanding ability. The first major action in which the barralion was deplored, Operation 'Rosselsprung·, or 'Knight\ ~l ove', invol\'ed tt'i being dropped b~ glider rtght on top of .Mar!.hal Ti ro's \'a t partisan headquarters complex at Bastasi. ncar Drvar in Yugoslavia, where Winston Churchill's son, Major Randolph Churchill, w:u, head of the British military mission. The plan wac; to capture Tiro on his birrhday. 25 ~ I a) 1944, and hold him until support could arri"·e from the 'Prinz Eugen' Di\'i!.ton and ot her nearby com enriona I ground forma nons. HoweHr, rhe S paras were too mall a force to take on the partisan brigades entrenched in rhe mountain forrres'>, .md they were surrounded in Drvar cemetery and almO!lt wiped out. The un i\'ors were reformed as 55Fall chirrnjager Bataillon 600, under korzeny·s command. and tramed for a drop on Budapest to capture the son of the recalcitranr H unganan leader Admiral Horthy. who duly capitulated to the Germans. ome SS paratrooper were later involved in the Ardennes offensive and the remainder fought a!. infantry on rhe eastern front, going into caprivit~ .tr rhe end of the war. Of all the branches of the Waffen-SS, least

234

THE WAFFEN ·SS

SS porotroopers entrenched in tile defensive positions around S
i known about the clothing and equ1pment of the parachuri ts. ~o official uniform orders have come to light. and almosr tor~ll reliance has to be placed on a few extant wartime photographs. It appear that the Luftwaffe as umcd responsibility not only for rhe training and transportation br a1r of the para , but also for supplying. them '' irh speciali t dress and equipment. When Skorzeny and hi<; mall jointS and Luftwaffe commando force rescued ~I ussolini from his imprisonrnenr at Gran asso, rhe~ all wore regulation air force tropical clothing with full Luftwaffe insignia. At a celebratory rail)' held in the Berlin ports Palace soon afterwnrds, however, the S men reverted to their normal field-gre) uniforms. The member of rhc S-

235

Fallschirmjag.er Baraillone 500 and 600 wore 1940-pattern S chiffchen field caps. bclr buckles and ~tandard Waffen-SS fitld-grey tunics wi t h the in,ignia of t heir previous units, since rherc: were no speciali t S paratroop badge . The L ufrwaffe supplied all their protective cloth1ng. which comprised: the normal paratroop ~reel helmer. with or without the ctir force eagle decal and geometric ·splinrer'-patrcrn camouflage cover: rhe ·splimer'-partcrn camouflage paratroop smock, With or '' irhout Luftwaffe breac;r eagle; blue-grer or field-grey paratroop trousers; cam·a~ gaiters: and ankle boors. One surviving photograph . hows two German paratroopers wearing c;randard -i~sue camouflage smock~, but these are thought ro

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

re~J()n and rh~: real need lo• hot \\Cather clorhmg agalll hecamc apparent. f ollowmg upon I !Jmmh:r' proh1biriun on rhc wear of the a rmv \ oil\ e-green rrop1ca I uruform. omc '\\ 1king' personnel adoptt'd rhe Luftwaffe's \'l.'r 1011 imtead. lr was made from light ran cotton drill and comprised an unlined fourpocket rumc, "ichiffchen field cap and b.tgg) uouscrs. All Luft\\ affe in<:.•gnia were removed and repla ed by !:ltandard badge.:; trom r.he field-wey un1form. On 1 - Februa ry 1943, SS chcV"ron in l,ln-brown on black were created fur wear with the rropical runic br personnel of rhe ranks of Sturmmann and Rotrenfuh rer. Ar the same ume, rhc usc of ~.:oll ,1r parches with the tropical runil. ''"a forbid J en. ln cptembcr 1943, a wholly new and, for the first time, formali-;ed Waffen-SS tropical uniform "a introduced and disrrihured on an entire unit ba IS ro rh~;: rurmbngade ·Reichsfuhrcr- · on Corsica. The uniform was a srrangl.' hybrid .tnd ma\, in face, have been m.1de hr com ..:rring JraiJan clothing wh1ch had recenrlr been cit.eJ h} the German . T he: wnic had ple,ueJ p.ttc..:h pocl...ers in rhe arm~ ~tyle. "as coloun·d li}!ht ran in the Luftwafft' ~t~ le, and featured a cap~;:J effect acrO!>S rhe upp~r .,ectiun in the: Ira han S.th.mann st~ lc, the peak!. of the ·cJpe' forming rhc upper pocket flaps. Insignia was nfficia ll y restricted w 5houlder stra ps. tropical sleeve chcvrom and .1 specia l ran brown woven version of tht· S arm e:lgle, but normal col lar pnrche<. were al o occasiona ll~· ..ccn. An tropical field cap, to accompany the ne\\ runic, was 10 the same shape as rhe hnhe•rsfeldmurt:e, bur wirhout the flaps and burrnn~. Cut lll..e the . <; camouflage field cap. it was again light ran 1n colour and sported a tan-brown WO\ en engle .1nd death 's head. Phorographic C\ idence )ugge~l thar rhe 194 3-pattern WaHentrOpJC.ll runu.: wa onl} ever Js.,ued 10 quantity to rhe . rurmbrigade ' Reichsfiihrer-SS', and e'en then wa not worn by members of that

be Lufn,affe I •ll(.,,h,rm)ager personnel 1n lr..tl), \\ho \Vould haw haJ rhe opporrunir) ni obrain•ng S ~mocks from the 'Hermann Gorin~· P.ln£er Di' ic;ion, '' hich was ktned our wHh thl.'m. Another unique picture illu'>trate an p.uatrooper apparently weanng the 'pea' pattern camouflage drill tuni~.: anJ trou er while fulfilling an infanrrr role on chc eJstern lront near the end of the war. Whde \1 affen- S troop never served in N(lrth Mrica, rhere wa a pecial SS tropical uniform. A •n•mher of units. primaril} the Leib<;rantlarre, ' Wiking', ' Prinz Eugen' and ' Re~eh fUhrer- s·. aw action ul rhe Balkanc;, ~n urh ern Ru ssia and Italy, where the ..weltcrtng 'ummer conditions made the weanng of c.:onq•nnon.tl uniform irems 'ery uncomfortable indeed. The demand for hor "eather clothing wa u~uallr localised and tempomry, howe' er. so rhe de' clopment of a tropical uniform for the Waffen- · wa~ gradual and on an ad hoc bac;i . The fir t requirement for rrop1cal clorhing wa~ H>Jced in -\pril 194 t, during the hasril} orgau1 cd inv:~ ion of Greece, but on 15 pril H immlcr pe,if~~.:.1llr prohibited his off~~.:crc, from u ing rhe recent!) Introduced army rrnpu.:al ourf1t. C..omequently, troop of rhe LeJbst:-~ndarte and 'Reich ' completed their race through rhe country wearing heav~ regulation tunics and heaJgear, which proved far from ideal. Some members rook to wearing the baste port:, kit, comprising ve r and shorr , when nor engaged in combat, while other went lure-chested. A shorr-tcrm partial ~olurion was achJe\ed by the issue of German, Italian . Dutch and captured British pith helmet!., or Tropenhelme. di,erred from rhe arm}·~ )th l ighr Di' ic;ion. H owe\·er. the<.e 1rem \\ere gl·nerJII) unpopular and were not worn in any grear numberc;. "\X' hen sponed b~ the S , rher hMe no in~•gnia. During rhe aurumn of 1942, SS-D1' hi On 1 ' \'\ ik111g' ad\anced deep toto the Cauca<;uc;

?36

THE WAFFEN·SS

formation after rhe) left Cor'ill.:l ro become the nucleuc; of the 16rh S-Pan1ergrenadier Di\'lc;JOn. 1 he ~turmbrigade, a torce ot JrOund 2,000 men ,.,·hich gre\\ from ll immler'!> c (Ocr harralion . appear-. ro ha,·c been dlO!>en to tield-rest and ev.1lunte the new runic nn an e'perimenral ba i . Whether it w:~., reported upon .tdverscl~, or wheth er economies and the lack of tropi al camp.ugn!> after 194 J dictated that no more stock~ of rhc runic wouiJ be manufactured, is unknown. In any event. 1t was nc,•cr issued in large numhcr~ ;~gain, although a few jackets were used by officers of the • kanderbeg' Diviskm and by men of rhe 8th SS-Pantcrgrenatlicr Regimenr 10 Greece. The SS tropical firiJ c:tp, on rhe other hand, was widely di rributed .tmong various units fighting in Jral) during 1944-5, and was a popul.:tr item of drc s. During the last year of the war. member of<;$ formations fighting in Traly, Austria and tht• Balkan reverred to wearing a mi~ture of 'i chrmaclu and lraJian tropical clothi ng, a a\ ail:lhllit~ and climate dictated. Luftwaffe item were most prized, particularly the tunic Jnd Sch.ffchcn. and rbe larrer could ofren he een sparring meral S badges removed from the peaked cap . \lt o r cov~r. despite rhe vers.uiliry of rhe camouflage helmer cover, it was nor um:ommon for Waffen-SS men ro paint rheir sreel helmets sand-ycllt)W while scn'ing in rhe Mediterranean area. Various items 1Jf protective clothing were witlel~ distributed ro Waffen- . per~onnel, irrespective of their hranch of ervil.c. As early as jul y 1935 , rhe Leibstandarre was i -;ued \\ •rh an earth-grey double-brea red gre,ttcoar, o r ~lantel, which hore col lar piping and ful l insignia. Thi item wao; super eded by a field-grey version in 193 7, and w1rh rhe milirarr development of rhc VT ,md -TV rhcre was a rendenC) to follow dosel) army greatcoat fashions. which led ro the grJdual adoption of a dark-green collar and the ad hoc removal of ~:ollar parche'>. B~

237

'Sepp' Oiel!ich's ~1ey leother g1ea1c001, WJih S~1e1 ~ st10ps. h been the mckel's Iobei of 'Schochon & Tschodl,

lke5den'

rhe outbreak of war, rhe Sltu:nion a~ rcgnrds grearcoar in,•gnia wa<, muddled and \'ariou order were 1 !:>Ucd in an attempt ro clarify the po... ir•un. rhc dark-green collar was officially approved in December 1939, o nl y ro be cancelled a fe,., mo11rhs later. Collar piping for mhcr ranks became obsolete in August 1940, and a ll su rvi\·ing examples of the old c:mh-grcy coat were recalled in March 1941. Officer wirh the rank of S~-Oberfi.ihrcr and .tbove werr permitted to wear rhe greatcoat wirh the rop three burrons undone, 111 order ro expose rheir distinctive sil~er-grey lapel~. and from 194 1 holder!. uf rhe Knight's Cross Or anr other neck c1Ward were also allowed tO do '>0. for the purpose of displaying Lheir decorations. As rhc war progressed. mnnr offi er countered rhe declu1111g quahty of rhc i ue ~ lanrel O}' ha, ing greatcoat tailor-made

r HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

Asoldlet of !he 5Ist (Highland) ~ wrth two Wolfe!)-$$ cophvus in Nommly. The offke. in lite middle wm lite regulotton mor01cydsrs coot. Note olso the unoffl(l(l) onochmenl of c01ds tohis 'crusher' fieldCllJI.

afford it. There were !)ewral variants, both in cur and in rhe u c of insignia . As an alternative to the l edermantel, many junior officers and NCO bough t rhe much cheaper 1938-parrern field-grey raincoat, the o-called Regenm:~ntel, made of rubberised cotton twill with a leather-like appearance. Others used rhe regulation mororc~clisr's coar, or Kradschur7manrel, which was firsr introduced for army de parch riders and cvenruall) c:tme ro be widely worn by a ,·arie~ of \X1chrmachr, \ affen-SS and police personnel dunng inclement weather. Early examples had a dark-green cloth collar, bur Jfrcr 1940 the whole coat was made from rubht:ri ed f::thric. The skirr could be divided

ro thetr own <.pecifications. Th ese items incorporated !)UCh rdinemenr as remO\·ahle blanker linings, reinforced buttons, exrra pockets ~1nd detachable sheepskin or fur collar<;. The re~ulr of all this was rhar dozens of varia ti on~ <>n the basic Waffcngrearcoat came to be produced and worn ide-by- ide, many of them in conrravention of regul.lnon . ~loreover. a massive \Crsion of the ~lanrel, called the surcoat or Uhermantcl. wa dc,1gned ro be worn on top of the o rdinaq greatcoat b) dri\'ers of open motor 'eh ide<. or rho e on sraric sentry dut~. Ofitcer'> had the option of purcha ing a ficld-grc~ leather greatcoat, but this item wa~ extremely expen~i,·e and few subalterns could

238

THE WAFFEN ·SS

and burroned around the legs for ease of u e on the mororcycle. f-ollowing rhe disastrous winter camp<~tgn of 194 J-1, when no adequate warm clothing \\'as pro' ided for German soldier!> fighnng on rhe Ru .,ian front, preparations were made ro design and supply appropriate uniform 1rem with a dew to averring a similar cri 1 . Various fur. sheepskin and lambswool w:1i tcoats and caps were issued in the horr term, and !>now anoraks originallr intended for mountain troops in Norwa} were di,•erred and shipped east. Wherever shortage!> were !>till apparent, captured oviet winrcr clothing wa~ i !>ued, augmented by civilian items collected in Germany. Throughout 1942. rhe Waffendeveloped irs own winter combat uniform, or Winter-Sonderbcklcidung, mdependent of the Wehrmachr. It consisted of a he:n·y, fur-lined parka-type coat 1n a wa tcrproof cemenr-grey ga bard ine, wi rh marching overrrou ers. 'J hen snow lar on the ground, an undyed whirr corron hooded mock and trousers were is ued. Thec;e wen:: designed to be worn on mp of rhe parka and overrrou ers and were readily washable. At the end of the year, a padded reversible parka in a waterproof rayon, whire on one side and wn or reed-green on rhe other, wa~ distributed for use as a windchearer. The definitive Waffen-S winrer uniform did nor e nrer service until 1943-4, and compri sed a hood, jacket, trousers and mittens all made from two layers of windproof material with a wool-rayon interlin1ng. The whole outfit was reversible, being white on one side and aurumn camouflage on the other, and was de!.igned to be worn o\·er rhe normal field uniform. The white -;ide tended to get filthy very quickly, which defeated it purpose, so troops were o rdered to wear the uniform with rhe camouflage side our unless they were actually fighting in snow-co,·ered terrain. During l 944, a small number of similar garments

239

Totenkopllloops 10 Klxrtov. Match 1943. The IDIIk COflliTIOildeJ <whose cop's deoth's heod hos olmosl fallen off! I sports on unofficiol sheepsk111 woistcoot, wht1e his colleogues hove been issued with !he fwitoed cemeor· gfey potko.

were made utilising rocks of captured lralian camouflage material. The manufacture of furlined item~ for the W:tffen-5 was generally undertaken by the Ostindusrrie GmbH, and wa~ a !)pccia lity of the S -Bekleidungswerke in the Lublin area, primarily ar the Poniarowa and T rawniki lahour camp . fur garments removed from concentration camp inmares throughout the Reich were ordered ro he collected and forwarded ro Lublin for reproceo; ing. It i~ a -.ad fact that many Waffen-S oldters wore winter uniforms lined with fox-furs and stoles raken from old women who had died at :\uschwit7, ~ latdanck. obibor and Treblinka. Awa~ from the fronr line. rhe basic S "POrt kit comprised a white ,·est, black

THE WAFFfN·SS

HIMMLER S BLACK ORDER

Even lfJe lUI-tilled winter {Offibol unaform could not olwoys p~OVIde suffi<~t~~t warmth. This miSefObleblking WoHen·SS rnodun&ijunner on ostoli< position in the loropez f01~t of the end ol1943 has hod to re~ort to wroppiog oblonkel around hiS I~ ond Feel.

~horr , white socks and black shoe!>. The

of the vest bore a large black woven badge featuring thl' · rune within a cm.lc. A black vc t with rever c 1n ignia colour wa" al!>o available a~ an alternative for wear during ream events where the opponent would be in white. Member~ uf the Leib tnndartt: haJ thei1 own shield-shaped spores vest badge, compri~i ng an eagle's head surmounted by the ' I AI I' monogram. A r.vopiece black tracksuit wirh white S runt:'> wa~ is~ucd fur 'warming up' exercises, while fencers had stlver runes within a black diamond stitched ro rhe upper left ~lecve of the padded fencing Jacket. port wear \Vas fn)llf

not generally i.,.,ueJ to the Waffen- · after 1941, for rca!>on!- oi economy, and ''a thereafter reserved fur mcmhers of sports reams ,\nd lor wounded soiJter' engaged in exercise~ .md phy imherapy a soci:ned with their recupcrat1on. The standard footwear of the earl) armed S troops comprised rwo pair of high marching boor or 'jackboots', nne of whu.:h was for Jady u e and rhe orhcr for parades. From 1934, Le1b tandarte non-commissioned personnel were also issued wirh a pair of the s.horrer army field service man:hing boot , rhe so-called Knobelbecher, or ·dice-shakcrs\ and a pair of lace-up ankle bootc; for barrack duries. Officer general!~ "Me high black riding boors which were privately purchased and so were nor of a stand.ud pattern. The fir r wartime economy mea . ure to hit S foon·vear was the rcductit1n in the height of rhe marching hoot in :--.lovembt·r I 939. The distribution of Knobelbechcr to replacement and rcsenc.- units ceased completely in November 1940. and from lui ~ 1942 a standard lace-up ankle boor was issued to most Waffen -SS per onnel instead of the marching bCim. However, the very concept of shorr boors and gaiter wa hated b) the majorit) of German soldier • "ho spoke of 'rerrear gairers' and retained their traditional high mJrch1ng boor for as long as possible. In fact, the latter made rhe wearer veq• prone ro developing \'aricosc vein , and many a Wa fft!n -). infanrryman had cause to curse hi prized jackboots in larer life. The bootl> l)l>Ued ro mountain troop had a <;pec1ally designed lace-up ankle and thick <:tuddcd oleo; ro aid climbing and skiing. In rhe summer of 1943, the \ afft•ndeveloped it' own '>tyle of mountain gaiters based on the old J\ustnan army ·Sryrian' pattern. Thec;e were made from \'arious types and olours of leather and canvas. covered rhc top oi the boor like spat , and laced on rhe ours1de. ~tynan gaiters were widely

240

disrributt:d

ro the 'Print Eugcn ' .ltld Oi\ision in the Balkans during 1943-4. A number of hca\'}' duty uems of fo(lrwear, Including o\·erboo~ 1n compressed and moulded fdt, leather or rhick layer.:; of planed srraw, were de,·ised ro combat rhe sub-tero temperatures which regularly prevailed on rhc l'astern fronr. During J 944-5 . rhe qunlir~· of i ue footwear declined dramaticallr. and by rhe end of the "ar ir wa nor uncommon ro ee Waffen-SS )Oidiers wearing captu red enem) hnot . While Waffen-SS uniform were in many ways di riner from chose uf rhe other Wehnnachr force , rhe Waffen-)~ was issued W1th the same weapon~ and equipmt:nt ,ls the German arm~ dunn~ the econJ \ orld \X'ar. This equipmenr encompassed everything from belt leathers, traps Jnd sma ll arms, ro mortar, armou r :tnd hea''Y artillery. Ininall)', ordnance and vehicles were pa111red field-grey or slate grey, bur by 1943 rhes~:: ·hades had prO\·ed 1mpracrical when used on front.:; wirh d1fferenr terrain<;. Con equendy, a dark s:llldyellow was universally adopted throughout the \Xlehrmachr as the standa rd base colour for metal equipment. During the remainder of the war, tank • assault gun , Panzerfau'itS and C\ en hand grenade, left d1e facrory p:unrcd dark yellow, rhe idea being rhar a ...econdary coat of any appropriate camouflage painr could he applied locally JS required . 1\ 42 mm-wide black learhcr wai r belr, or Koppel, with 1911 -parrern S ' box' buckle in nickel -pl tradirionally removed for safery reasons when a soldier was placed under clo c arrest (111 case he han~ed himself v. irh it). it~ absence came ru be regarded as a degradation, and the only non~commi sioned per onnel allowed our of barr.tck without wearing their belts were th()se in milirary hospitals or conva lesci ng. The S~ officer's 'H,md~char·

hl1ckle, which was circular in .;hapc. was devi.:;ed for peacetime u~e .1nd tended to breal.. or come undone 1n action. However, all attempt'> ro modi() it were rejected outright hy llimmler on the grounds thar ir hJd been ·de~igned b) the F-uhrer him~elf, and ba~ed on hi~ own ~kerches'. A a re ult, many officcrc; adoprcd either the rurd1er rectangular orher rank ' ~ buckle t)r rhe basic two-pronged open-fact' army buckle when in rhe field. ~l osr enltsred per onnel in front-line S unit<, were armed with 7.92 mm Kar.98k rifles and M84/98 b.lyt)lll't), while CO!> nnd as~ault squad leader had MP38 Jrtd MP40 submachine-guns. Other semi-automatic and auwmatic weapons on common issue ro rhe WJffen-S) included the MP28, ~1G J 4, ~IG42, NIP43, ~I P44 and \rC44. £nrrenching rool ·, gas masks, bread bags, back -pncks. fighting knives, map cases and binoculars were standard army issue, albeit some item<: of field equipment were made for the ~ in their ov. n concentration camp and prison factories. Pistol holsters were usually bought or issued wirh rheir accompanying weapons. The service pistols of the Waffen-S~ wrre the 9 mm 'Luger' Parabellum P08 and rhe Walther P38, although ar rhe bc~inning of rhe WJr IJrge number!> ol obsolete weapons such J rhe 'broomhandle' Mau er and captured Czech :1 nd Polish pistols were frcquenrly carried as well. The preferred officerc;' side-arm was the h<111dr 7.65 mm Wnlthcr PPK. which could be purchased from rht:: local KleiJerkasse on present.mon of rhe officer's identity papers. According ro nn o rder 1 !>ued by Himmler 1111 I January 1q4J, rh e pi wl had to be worn on rhe left hip, barrel facing ro the back, when in the operationa l zone and on rhe right hip, barrel facing ro rhe front. when on home territOr} (I.e. when rhe sword or chained dagger might be worn on the left side). In October 1944, officers were i nsrrucrecl ro carry lo.Hled pistob ar al l rime when in public, and

241

Ia

HIMMLER ' S BlAO ORDER

THE WAFfEN·SS

R/.~,J mark . Tho~c of rhe Waffen- S, however, "htch was in dfclt J • tare arm during rhc war, 'ery seldom did. \\7affeninsignia. hke rh.u of the SS 111 general, fell into several dl'itlnct categoric'> accordmg ro manufacture. ~ l eta! badges such as eagle nnd dearh's head for the peaked cap, Torenkopf buttons for the L934-panern field cap, houlder trap ciphers and rJnk pips were made m a varietr of material!., dependcm primarily upon date of producrion. The most common combination!> were:

remmded tO take e•ara care ro ensure rhar rhc\' \\ere not ~to len when frequenting rail~, J~ . On a cord around hi neck, every S!> old1er wore an o' al tine identity di~c which wa) d1v1ded in half h) perforated hole and bore dcmilc; of his . en·ice number, unit nnd blood group (rhc latter also being t:mooed under his arm). In rhe evenr of his dearh in action. the di!>C was broken in half, the portion on the curd rem:.uning with the bod~· and the other half being taken awa) for recording purpose . \XFhile the majorir~ of wartime Waffen- S uniforms were made h)' S -owned economic entt•rpn!>e , the insignia arr.tched ro them tended ro be manufactured h) longt'Stahlished German pri\'ate companie . That Jrrangement nece Sltated o;tricr stand.ud1~ar10n and qua(jry control, the admini rratitln of which wa) entrusted to the Reich zeugmei terei, or RZM, n bod)' which had bcm et up as earl~ as 1 April 1929 to upent e the production and pricing of all :-.=ali parry uniform 1tem . The basic functions of the RZM "ere to see that NSDA P contracrs wenr ro Arran firms and ro ensure rhar final products were of a high standard yet priced to suit the pocket of the average parry member. lt al o acted as a 'clearing house' between manufacturer-; on rhe one hand and whole alers and retailer~ on rhe o ther. On 16 ,\ hrch 1935, contract numher~ were inrroduccd and awardee\ to e\cry R7~1 -approvcd company, and after rhat date R Z ~1 numhers replaced maker ' marks on all ;-.: DAP accoutremenrs. Thu ~ the burrons, belt hook and so o n of the Allgemeine-55 . which alwa) s remained an organ of rhe azi parry. consistenrl y fearurcd

8

I. Pia red brass or Tombakbronze ( 1933-6) 2. Copper-plated aluminium "ith a surfaCl~ wash ( 1936-4 ~ ) 3. Bare aluminium (1936-4 -) 4. Plated or paimed steel ( 1939-451 5. Plated or painted zinc ( 1942-5) 6. Bare zinc ( 1944-51 In general terms the qualit~ of metal u ed declined a the war progre sed. bur despirc that a good tandard of ovcr.1ll ftnish and appearan c wa alwars maintained. Cap eagle and dearh's head:., whiCh were common to both the Allgemeine- S and Waffen-. , normaU> bore RZ~ I marks, either indi,·iduall) stamped on to the badge re,erse or embo cd into it as parr of the die- triktng orca ttng process. Typical examples "ere ' RZ,\1 !\11 /52' (Deschler & ohn of ?\l{unich ) and ' RZ M M I/16 T (Augustin l licke ofTyssa bei Bodenbach). Some item also bore the 'VA' inspecrion stamp of the SS Verwalrungc;amt. During the war, the format of RZ.\1 codes used on metal S insignia changed, deleting rhe ' M I' prefix and adding a year suffix, e.g. ' RZM 499/4 1'. No list of these later codes is known ro have survived, and ~o the~ have ne,·er been deciphered. The enrlie t S cloth badge!> were handembroidered, and this form of in!>tgnia was worn by oldiers of rhe armed SS during 1933-5 . Hand-embroidery cou ld be in white

242

c D

Asele
or 1her-grey cotton thread. fine alum•n•um wire or he~H' ) l>ih er bullion . wirh rhe larrer two styles normallr being reserved for officers. However, in September 1934 noncommissioned and enlisted rank of rhe LA I-I and S -VT were al o authorised ro wear aluminium wire insignia wHh rhe black uniform, to set rhem apart from their colleagues in rhe Allgemeine- S. To rwo

hand-t•mbrmdered badge were C\'er 1dcnucal, si nce rhey were individual!) made. Badge companies ~enerally employed women ro do rhis work, or farmed ir our to lc,cal seamstre ses. In 1936, hr which rime rhe RZ.\1 had become effecti,·cly organi ed under Retch zcugmci!>tcr R ichard Buchner. machineembroidered insignia began to be produced

243

THE WAFFEN·SS

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER

Reverse view of the ins~nio shown on p. 243. Note the typicol RZM paper Iobei affixed to the pr~l940 'deoth's heod/ 13' collor potth. Such lobek did oot oppeor on later wartime pie<es

sm a ll black and white woven labels was devised speci fica ll y for SS items. Each bore rhe RZ1\Il symbol and SS runes together with the maker's contract number and year dare, an example being 'RZM 21/36 $$'. Where a firm was engaged o nly in embroidery work, the letters 'S r", denoting 'Srickerei' or 'embroiderer', were incorporated into the label, for example ' RZM St 459/36 SS'. It was not uncommon for two such labels to be arrachcd ro a single badge. particularly a cuff ririe, if tl\' O separate firms were involved in itl> manufacture due to sub-con rrac ting. One

and widely distributed for wear b) SS enlisted men and NCOs. This form of embroidery was cheap and quick to execute, and had a rightly formed and raised appearance. The producers of machine-embroidered insignia were normally fairly substantial firms, as only rher cou ld afford the expensive equipment involved in the manufacturi ng process. Such companies wt:rc rig1dl y controlled br rhe RZM, and their products had ro carry labels bearing rh e re leva nt contract numbers. In a dditi011 ro th e standard R Z.M paper 1ags used by all SOAP formations, a sy!.tem of

244

label would refer to the maker of rhe ba,kn1g clorh, and rhe orher to the embroidc:rer. lr was also quire common to find rhc addirion of :lllorher ra~ rcJding 'Vom Reichsfuhrer-S bdohlent• Aushihrung', indicadng rhar the ircrn in quL·srion was made in acco rdance with S uniform regulations. Because of all rhe foregoing, ma hine-embroidered insignia has come m be known as the 'RZM style'. Nl.achinc:-woven badges were produced from 1939 , using arrificial si lk and ei ther cotton or fine aluminium win.•. They had a very flat appearance and the manufacturing process. which could result in hundreds of identical insignia being run off on a singk cominuous smp of ribbon - like material, a llowed for rhe incorporation of vert fine detail into the design. The principal producer of these badges was the \Xluppertal·Barmen firm of Bandfabrik E" aid Vorl>rcher, whose trade mark ·BEVO' has become synonymous with machine-woven insignia. Th e usc of si lk-screen printing 10 rh e manufacrure of cerrain Waffen-SS badges was introduced in 1944, but w.1s primarily resrncred ro foreign volunteer s hields, war auxiliary a rmband s and the spet:ial rank insignia for camouflage c lothing . Low production costs were mor~ than outweighed by the poor quality of the finished arricle, and printed badges were very unpopular. The procedures go\'erning the approval and manufacture of Waffen-SS insignia were very comp licated. Various SS departments, particularly the SS H aupramr, th e SS 1- uhrungshauptamr and the S Wirrschaftsund Venvalrungsh:wpr:tmt were continuall~' at each other' throats over who was respons1ble for this marrer. and the process by which new badges were proposed anJ inrroduced was nor serried unril May 1944, when rhe following wa - :1greed: I.

The SS-H A bl>'came primarily responsible for 1hc design and proposal ro the

245

Reichsfuhrcr-SS of 'political' SS 111Slgnl~l, i.e. national emblems, collar parches, arm shields and format ion badges. J lowever, the SS-IIA had fir t ro get the opinion of rhe SS-FHA before submitring samples to IJimmler. 2. The SS -FH A became primarily responsible for the design and proposal to the Reichsfiihrer-SS of 'non-political' tn signia, i.e. rank badges, cuff rides , qualifica tion badge , branch of service insignia and specialist badges. If political considerations a rose in respect of any o f these, rhc SS-FHA had t o obrain the opinion of the SS-HA before submission ro Himmler. 3. T he SS-H A wouiJ, after obtaining rh e appro\•al of rhe Reichsfi.ihrer-S . cede badges listed at I. a hove to the S -FHA. The 55-FHA was then responsible for the execution and issue of the badges in cooperation with the -WVHA. The SSn lA and SS- WVHA would collaborate unril rhe completion of final amples of d1ese badges. 4. The method of wearing new types of badges would be d ecided in relation ro rhe method of wearing existing badges. If change in the method of wear were necessary, the S -FHA was responsible for making them. H owever, if insignia under I. above were involved, the SSFHA had to obtain rhe opinion of the S- H A firsr. Suc h wa rhc: case in 19 44, when it was decided to move foreign ,-olunreer shields trum th eir traditional location 1.5 em above the cuff title ro a new position furrher up the left sleeve, 1.5 em below the SS arm eagle . The S-HA was besieged with complaints fro m foreign volunreer units whose member regarded this as a slur, uborclinating their n a tional flags and coat-; of arms t o rhe Nazi e.1gle!

HIA\MlH 5 BlHK ORDER 1(1 compltc.ltc the ic;,ue ~rill furrhcr, Himmll'r htmst>lt also !.li£!J!c'ited tht: imroducwln n( ~r~:CIllflply the required qunnrir)'. The RZ,\ 1 tlwn placed a conrract with o ne of ire; approved firms :.111d thl' fuu hcd badges \\ere Jeli\('rcd to one of the ~ dothtng dcpor..,, u~uJII) Oa hau, from wh~n.• the) " ould fmall) he supplied ro rhe unit concerned. o . in the production of a <;ingle new b:ldge, no le!>s than tour departments. tht: -HA, S-FI IJ\, $5-\XIVI lA and Per.; . rab Rf~ m1ghr, an d probah l) would, he lll\'oh·ed! B~ cpremher 1944. pre sures on the RZ.\1 h.1J de\ eloped ro uch :1n cxrcnr rhar 1r "as forced to rermin<1tt: It <; 1n,ohemcnr in rht' supply of 1nsignia to the \XI'affen -SS. l'h e folluwmg D e~cmber It ::w no un ced rhar \'X'affen-~ caglec; . dearh 's head<;, collar p.trchc , houlder srrap-. JnJ cuff mit: could hencdnrrh he manufJcrured, \\ irhour a conrracr. tor direct !>:-de to aurhorist:d whole alcrs Jnd rer:Jilerc; for the Juration of the war. B) that 5tJge, nn lc rhan t\\ enty four tirm were producmg dmh instgnta for rhe '\' Jffen-SS:

llcn'>cl & )chuhmann. Berl1 11 ll inn:rlt'itner. Br unn~H:I-c1

THE WAfFEN ·SS

Lo.,

\'\'eissc nbur~

E. Kohler, \ nn.tberg Kru.;e &. "ohne. \'\ uppcrrai-B:umen ~tgrnund Lend\ ay, Vienna Lucas & Vorsreher. Wuppt:rtJI -H::trmen 1-. .1\li.illcr, Rm'> hach R. ~irz chc, Ltben!>toCk j.F. Rteleder, 1it:1lhronn Juliu., Rte'i'>, Erfurr Frant. Ronnefahrr, Brandenburg Hermann chmuck & o .. '\ ' ci!>!>l"nburp. Thiele & Srcincrr. Fretberg Trolrsch & llansclmann. Berlin [\\'aid \'or~teher, Wupperrai-BJrmcn Ferdinand Wmter, Treuchrlingcn ln common '' irh other Third Reich miJita~ formation.,, the Waffcn-~S l·mpl<1ycd certain colour in the des1gn of irs uniforms and acwurremem; a:. a means of unit idcnrific.:cttion. J'hc:.e colnur "hit~. sih cr or mit. red black and silver. like thm of the Allgemeine- S. However. 111 December 1939, clu e to rhe incrca:,ing mihtar"otion of the Waffen-SS and irs newfound as,ociJtions with '\ ~hrmachr forces. shoulder srrapt. piped 111 army \XIaffenfarbe were introduced. A fc" o fficer<; also began to equip them elvc with Waffcnfarhe-p1ped peaked caps and lon~ rrou er • made t<J urdcr through rhcir local Klcit.lerkn-.c;e, hut Himmlcr immeJ iarel~ (()rbade char pract1ce, instructing that the piping on rhese items wa ro remain white. o me confusion rhcn ensued. for in Ma' 1940 rhc Reichsfl1hn:r ha~krracked b~ md ica ring rhar peaked ca ps could thereafter he ptped in Waffenfa rbc. although all walkin~ out dress trou se r~ were no w to b~: piped in grey. fhc

GehruJcr Aucrhammer, \'\'cis cnbur!! Alhrechr Bcndn, Wei senhurg :VIa-.: Oorfel, Eibensrock Lo rh a r 'on Dreden & Lo .. Wuppcrra 1Eibcrfcld Oskar Frank, Eihensrock Ge,.,.,ler & Hasr, An h<~ ch Augu..,t Gobels ohnc. C.ro~.,-Scho nau t:. Gunther, F.ibenstock

246

following ~ovcmber H im mler d1..1ngcd hi., mi11d y.:r ag:tin, directing th:u Waffcnbrhc was once mon· co b,· rc ... trictcd to !>houldcr straps and rhc suutdc!Je on rhc field c.tp, wirh all orher piping re\ erring w "hire '" .llumltlllltrl depending on rank . It I" cleu rh3t 1h ~ Reichsfiihrer wont~cl hi-. ~oldicr., w rcw in their O\\ n unique appearance. distincr from rhar of the army, bur a number of \XIaffen· officers and men continued to \\ear \ affenf::trbe on their peaked ca r~ umd the end tlf the \\ ..lr. 111 ddi.:mcc of I hmmlcr's orders.

I he Waffcnfarhe colours t~ffl cta 11 ~ .1urhomcJ for use h) rhe Watfen-SS hrJih:he-. are ho\\'11 111 rhe ta hle below. H h.Jble, a situ.lli on compounded by v.ui:Htonc; in manufacturers· J~ cs, the hlcaching df.:ct of rhe sun and rhe gcncr.:d weathering uf p1ping under f1eiJ conditions.

S \VAJ-H:.NIARDL \Vtl{fen(tJrbe

\'('a((en-SS Bra11ch of en•ice

I.

Black

Con rrucrion units Engmeers

2.

Dark ('cornflower'! blue

J\lcdical units

3. Light blue

4.

~kr

blue

Field post office (from February 1943 l ,\ {oror Tedmtc tl ~hool (uncd J ul> 1942 1 upplr unirs TrJnspo n units (until August 1944 ) Administration

5. Copper brcm n

Rcconn.-ti!.so.tncl' unm (unrii .Junc 1941)

6.

Ltght brown

Conccnrrarion ca mp raff

I .

Dark green

Re en e offict:r<; (di cc>ntinued 194.2.) pecinlisr perc;onnel (unril June 19421

S.

Gra.,:. green

Mountain troops (from .M a \' 1942) Po lice-Division (d1 cnnrinued 1941.)

9.

L1ghr gre)

(,enera l offtcer.,

Himmler\ Per!>on.11 raff (unril June 1942) 10.

Dark grey

Himmler'c; Personal rnff (from .June 1941.)

1 I.

Orange

~l ilirary police unir.. G.:trrison troop') ..\loro r Technical School Cfrom July 194.2 ro August 19441 Recruiting unir Technical units Welfare personnel

247

THE WAFfEN·SS

HIM/HER ' S BlACK ORDER

W.'a{(en-.\S Rr.wch n( ert•tu

Motor Tcchn1cal chou! (from August 1944) Tran pon unit<; (from August 1944 l I 3. J 4.

Rose pink almon pmk

Panzer units :\nri-rank unm ~l ilirary

geologist

I 1.

Bnght rt'd

Aruller) unirs Flak unit Rocker units

16.

Claret ('Borde.lllx' ) red

Legal personnel

17.

Crim on red

Vct~rinar)

IS.

Red & g.re} tWISt

19.

\Xfhtre

lnf.mtrr un1t.,

10.

Golden yellow

Cavalry unit'> ReconnaissancL unit.., (from June 1942)

ll.

Lemon )'ellow

Field posr office (until rcbru;H) 194 3) ignals unit~ War correspondent<;

peciali~t

per onnel pc.:r unnd (from June 1942)

T he \XIaffcn -S rank rrucrure wa., \'eq similar to that of the Allgemeine- ·s, with a fe\\ spec1fic e-r ro SS- Hauptsturmfi.ihrer were kncnvn a~ company officer , with those from S~turmbannfiihrcr to S -Oberfi.ihrer being termed field officers. l ligher ranks were cl.ls ed ,t~ general officers. All \Xfaffen-

generals were a\\ arded rhe1r corresponding .trmy rank title in 1940, and were thereafter

d1.· ignated a

tollow~:

-BrigaJduhrer und Generalmajor der ~ a ffen - S -Gruppenftihrer und Gcnemlleutnam der Waffen-SS - ~ - Obergruppenfuhrer unJ GcnerJI der Waffen-SS -Obersr-Gruppcnfuhrer und Cencr.1lobersr Jcr Wa ffen- . ~on - German

n:ltlonals from Gcrmamc countries sen·ing in forc1gn lcg1on ra1sed b~ rhc Waffen-55 replaced thl· r,lllk prefi>.. ·ss-' with ·Legion" ' (r.g. ·Lcgions- Hauptsrurmfuhrer'), while tho e in non-Germanic units u~ed the- prefi, 'Waffen-· (e.g. ·waffcnHauptsturmfuhrer der S'). These denoted

248

anachmenr ro the Waffen- . rather than member hip of rhc S proper. The regular Waffen- officer candid.ue, or 1-uhrerbewerber (FB), distinguished by J doub le lace bar on his shoulder 1rap1., underwent four months' ba ic training afrcr which he.: became an officer ~;aJcr, or fi.ihreranwiirrer (FA), and received the title of S -junkt.'r with rht equi\·alcnr rank of <;S Unrerscharfuhrcr. He then arrended .1 sr' monrh military leadershrp cour e which culminarcd in his promotwn ro S~­ Standarrenjunker, equal ro an SS-Scharft:1hrer. Ar rhe end of 3 further six months' officer training he w::u, elevated to rhe position of SSt.Jndarrenohcrjunker, equating to an SS· llaupt charfuhrer, and wa allowed tn wear officer'!> cap cords, belt buckle and aluminium collar parch piping. He wa~ then sent hack ro hi!> unir where. after a minimum period of rwo monrh , he received promotion to SS-Unrersturmfuhrer. Officers who did nor plan a milimry career and intended to ·erve in the Waffcn -S onlr for the d!Jr3tion of rhe w.1r were gl\-en reserve commis!>ions .1nJ were known as Re erve-Fuhrerbewcrber IRFB), Reserve-Flihreranwi:irrcr (RFA). $-Junker der Resen c:, S ·Unrersrurmfi.ihrer der R e~en·e, and so on. Potential NCOs, or ~~-Unrer-fiihr­ erbewerber, were gencrall r rra1ned a r a company level, progressing tn S Unterfi.ihrcranwarrer and chen ro SUnrcrscharfuhrer. During their training, they wore a single l.tce b:~r on their houldcr straps if ther hJd signed up for rweh·e ye,u or more, and a thin twisted cord 111 rhe appropnate '\ affenfarhe if rhey had signed up for les than tweh e years. The Waffen-S also cmplorcd civilian specialists (interpreters, docrors, Ia\' yers, and so o n) known as Sonderfuhrer, and later 1-achfuhrer, who were given appointment<; in relation ro the1r ta~k'\ . They could hold the rankc; of:

249

Ss.Gruppenliihrer Wolfer KrOger, commander of 'Dos Reich' in Seprember 1943. He weors the heov1~ embroidered collor patches ood shotJlder snaps or on ss general

S -Unrerscharfuhrcr SS-Hauptscharfuhrer S -Unrersrurmfuhrer 55-Ha uptstu rmfi.i hrer 55-~runnbannfi.ihrer

( ) or (F) ($)or (.. ) (S) or (f ) (5) or (F) ( ) or (f )

The 55-Fachftihrer wore .t blank right collar patch and shoulder srrap piping in dark-green unti l june 1942. After that dare, piping\\ as in a red and grey rwi r. If a specialist howed thar he was capable of commanding a military unit corresponding ro his 1-achfuhrer rank, rhe larrer ceased and he conrinued in his durics a~ a full officer or NCO of the Wa ffen- S. Waffen- S ranks were indicated by a wmbination of collar parches a nd shoulder

HIMMLER'S BLACk ORDER

gi\t~n

c;rr:tps. The carhc!>t .umcd ~!-> units were rechnkall~ on rhe local J\b chnirr o;taff. anJ ail such membn' "ore blank right coll.tr patche .Jn Ma~ 1933, officers' parches b.:gan to he piped in a black/alunHntum rwi'ited cord. and those of other ranks m white corJ. Wirh the rap1d expam.ion of th.: milirui~ed S formation ·, it ~oon hecnme clear thar <;nmc kmd uf disrinctt\C collar insignia ·wa required for the I eib randarte .tnd Polirische Bereitschafren, .1nd towards tht' end of rhe >e:.u parches bearing double Sig-Runes. handembmidered in silver bullion for officers and wh1te or silver-grey cOttiJn fnr orher ra nks, were i sued ro oldier<; of rhc t AH . In J une 1934. the PB~ attached ro Oberabschnme i.id. Sudwesr and ~l me were authonsed to "car runic ·s I' · S 2' and ·s. 3' parche), re pecrivdy, '' irh rhe numhcrs a!> large .lS rhe rune . and three months later noncommissioned ranb tn rhe LAH and SS-VT were further distinguished by being allowed ro u e aluminium wire embrotdl·ry on their collar parches. In October, the p1 ping on officers· patche., wa!. changed ro the ddinitiH.: pl.lin aluminium cord, ">\' ith the black/aluminium rwi!>t now be1ng .1dopred by mhcr ranks. The rest uf the pr~:' Jr period wirnc ccl the introduction of machme-embroidered collar parche for rhe field uniform, death\ heads ,1nd uther de~ign~ for · -TV and specia li st unit!>, and rhe ,,Jopti()n of the 'SS I', '~ 2' and · 3' patches, thts rime wirh sma ll numher, hy the 'Dcur~chland' . 'C.ermania' and 'D.:r Fiihrt.>r' randarren. When army-pattern shoulder srrap \\ere introduced for the armed in ~larch 19 ~R. it was apparent that the wearing of dual rank badges tlll bmh rhe left collar pat h ( rnnk) and shoulder straps (a rmy eq uivalent) wac; unnecessary. 1-lowe\'cr, Himmler decreed thJ t <;S ranks should still be displayed. The ~muation wa e'
pecific roles Jlong ide rhe \'fehrmacht. fhc ordmar~ German o;oldier wa bemu~ed by rhc SS rank system. and was at a loss tiJ !..nov. which SS men he wa-. upposcd w "alute and whose order~ he \>\aS obliged m obey. lr therefore became .lbM>Iutdy essennal, for practical and dic;c1plinar~ reac;ons, that Waffcn-S rank badge '}hnuld corre pond to tho'e in the armed forces and be easilr rccognt ed as such. Consequcnrl~. during rhe formation of the fim .. fteld diu!>ions in the .1urumn of 1939, Jt w.1~ decided thar their personnel should not wear <; r.\nk parches. l n~teaJ, they rece1ved marching collar patches wirh the runes or death 's head on borh side . Their ranks were indic.:.ned solely br shoulder o,l rap , in the army ~tylc. However, prewar \X'atfen-<; officers and men jealou ly rerained rheir existing collar patches, c;,howing rhe1r ~ ranks. The increased usc of camouflagt: smo ks, which co"ered rhc shoulder strap~ a nd , indeed, all instgnia except thl· collar parches, led Himmler ro fl'Scind rhe marching collar p.Hch order on I 0 Ma' 1940, and remrroduce rhe rank par~h for .111 Waffenmcmher . At rhe same time, the need for security dunng the ill\ asion of rhc Low Countries and rrance n:nJered ohsolert' <JII ~ - VT and S -TV collar patches hearing numcrab o r letters, wht h were ordered removed. f he result \\'as thar for a short rime during rhe we tern c:.tmpaign-personnel in the -Verfugungsdivision wore no collar parches ar Jll. From then on. rhe bas1c runes collar patch became sr:wd.1rd for all (Jerman and Germanic Waffcnform:mons except 'lorenl..opf unit , whose mcmberc; continued ro weJr the death 's head, now produced in a horizontal ver<>ion more suitable for use on the dosed-neck fidd runic. In August 1940. rhe black/aluminium twisted cord bordering other ranks' parches wa abolt<>hed. leaving the~c patches unbordered for tht: rest of the \\ .u.

250

THE WAFFEN·SS

With rhe increa 1ng recruitment of nonGermans inru rhe \'(/affen-SS after 1940. Himmler became concerned ahout the use of rhe • r11ncs insignia by those nor racially sui table for full SS membership, and he ln'>l rucrcd that such recruit hould Wl':Jr some orher form of badge on the righr coii.H parch. The S thcreafrcr designed and i ~ucd a range of appropriate (.tnd ome times inappropriate) collar parches for irs foreign units, and pending rbe distribution of rhe~l' insignia blank p.:~tches were often worn in new units :lS an interim measure. German S o ffi ce r:; and NCOs serving in foreign formations were still entitled ro wear the $ rune collar parch and, from J uly 1943 . if rhev. cho e to identify. with rht:ir men bv wearing the Jistincrive unit parch, rher were J obliged ro sport the runes embroidered f01e~gn SS rolb ponhes. lhese were designed, but neve~ approved by below rhe left breast pocket instead. The latter insignia was identical rn rhar worn by Himmler or issued to the unils of the armed • wore standard machine-woven version of the ~5 run.: and t\llgemeine-S shoulder ~t raps on the right horizo nr,d dca th 's head parches were side only until 1935. when rhe earth-grey produced, bu t rh~: ea rl ier embmidered uniform Wa!. introduced. Jn July of thar year, examples were still bt:ing issued at the end of SS-VT officers were Mdered ro wear rh eir rhe war. Recruits under rra1n ing often wore Allgemeine- S srraps on borh shoulder<; of the no coll.u parches ar all. g rey unifonn. Orher ranks recei\·ed armyThe table on p. 253 ltsrs all S -VT, -TV panern strap~ made of plain earrh-gre) and Waffen-. untt collar parches which have material, o r earth-brown for -TV troops. In been confirmed by conremporar>· phOto1936, these enli red men's houlder str:~p<; graphic or documentary evidence as having were replaced firsr hy a round-ended black been worn. They ' ere produced tn version piped 111 black/alumin ium twisted e111broidered version:. onlr, unless otherwise cord , then by an unp1ped black rype with indicated. poinrcd ends. one of rhcse early straps A number of orhcr strange parches were iden ti fied the wearer\ rank, as rhat was designed for foreign SS formations, primarily hown by his collar parche . rhe e.1srern divisions, hut these were never In March L9JR, army-parrern srraps with

.

251

THE WAFfEN-55

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDH

W \HI-'-''< fJII \R P\n

\\\\\\ A

D

c

8

F

G

K

J

N

a

0

L

s

T

\1\ v

u

Woffen-SS collor potdle5. llHlS8 01e known 1o have been ~wed ond WOIR by the folo.v1119 lllliiS dunng the Second WOI!d W01 A- ol Gelman oOO Germntl1C Woffer!"SSfoonolions, 8- SS.Vl Srondone 'DeuMiond': ( - Torenkopl ufllls, 0- SSfolizeHltvision nnd polke regunen~. E- Spe
porchdoling nom O
252

6bnk

19>3-45

C,peciali ts/deparrmenral or HQ raff/units not yer allocated patcheo; LAH. then from 1940 .11! German and German1c lllllt' not allucarcd other parchco; SS PB ' illl' \ PB '~iidwesr' S PB 'M irre' Dach:w Guard Bart:tlion Concentration camp sraff Dachau training <.:arnp Bad Tolz officer~· chnol )S-VT Pioneer Bntt.tlion S-VT ignab Barmlion •()eut chland" Braunschweig officerc;' ~chool dminisrration '> <.: hool Torenkopf unitl> S-TV Barta lion sraff SS-TV Companies SS-TV Medica l Bnrrnlion ·Germanin' S -Vl- Medical Battalion

')S/Iarge J /large 2

1934

SS/Iarg~

11n 4

l

1934

1934-7

K

19 14-'"'

0

1934-7

/pr<.:k & !>ho\'cl SS/lightning holt I mall I ~

P

m

A

L"uit/ W/om Ry

ssrr

UABUI'A M

Pa10d l sed

D

H

'

I

Destgn

1933-45

au a B • E

HI-\

/B

SS/V Vertrcal dc:uh's head Verrical Jcarh 's head/1- V Vertical de~ll h \ hea u/J -26 VerncaI dea th 's head/ Sf,malll Sf':> IK Verrit;.:l I dc.u h\ hcad/1-.. /c;mall 3 Police litzen Po lice llrz~n (woven} Horimnt::~ l death ·s head Lion wirh axe Lion wirh axe /metal ) Wolf angel Trilos

1934-40 1914-40

1'JJ4-l0 191.-40 19U-40 1935-40 1936-42 1936-..,. 1936-40

1936-40 1916-40 1936-40 1936-40 191---40 1938-40

1919-42 1939-42

19-10-5 1941 -3

·~urnberg'

Con<.:enrranon ca mp raff ·Der ruhrer' Pohce-Di' i io n Police-Division 1orenkopf unit'> Norwegian I egion

J94 1-3

orwegia n Legion

1941 - ) 194 J--

Lyre

1941-'i

Danish flag Od.1l-Rune Open ~o nnenrad S (woven)

1941 1942-5 19-U-) 194~-5

Homoncal J eath':. head (woVl'n )

t94J- S

Dutch

Lc~ion/'>Jcderlnnd"

o rdwe r'/Freiknrps DJmnark!Fiemish Legion/'LJngemarck' .\I u rc schoo l frcikorp Danmark ' Prinz Eugcn' 'Nordland' All Gcrmnn :tnd Gcrmamc un1ts nor .lllo<.:ared other parches I(Jtcnkopf unit ·1

253

HIMMlER ' S BlACK ORDER

Design

Period Used

Unitf Wiorn /Jy

cimi tar & swastika Lion rampant Swastika

1943-1943--

Sun & stars E & mailcJ arm/sword Cornflower

1944-5

•J-Jandschar· ~~ 4th Division Latvian Legion/ 15rh Division/19th Division 15th Oivis10n 20th Divisi()n ' Maria T heresa' ' H unyadi' Orrlewa nger Brigade/36th Division British Free Corps Non-SS conccnrrarion c<:~m p guards ' Landsrorm Nederland·

--~------------------------------

1943--

II Crossed rifles & grenade Three lions passant Double-armed swastika ~laming grenade

1944-5

1944-5 1944-5 1944-5

1944-5 1944-5

1945

t HE WArFEN ·SS

\VAl-l-I-

H OUl D£R STRAP IMDGf~

Badge A

A (Gorhic)

AS/I AS/II Cogwheel D OF EJRoman numcr,\l fl G

.I

/B

J 'IT

c

Aselection of Woffen-SS shoulder stTOps: A- M38 strop with obsolete blockjolumioium IWisted cord piping, for on Ss-VT Srurmsdlorfohrer; 8M39 sllopwith white woffenforbe Plptng, for on SS.UntersturmfOhrer: CM38 sllop with choin stitch 'I', for oSchoriuluer In SS·Totenkopfstondorte I 'Oberbayem'; 0-M40 sllop with white woffenforbe piping and mochin&embroidered 'LAH' slill'On tob, for on Unterschorfohrer '" the leibstondor!e; E - M40 sllop with dloinslitdl •4' sliJl'On tob, foro SchorfOhrer 1n the 4th 55-Totenkopf lnfontTy Regiment.

254

bl ack underlay and gilr sta rs were issued to

I

all a rmc:d S officers, an d NCOs began to

L (Gothrc) L<\H Lyre MS N

wear aluminium lace, or Trcsse, and whire metal ·pips·. Rank was t hereafter clearly indica ted by rhe srraps . Fro m D eccrnher 1939, officers spo rted coloured Waffenfarbe piping between the aluminium brai d a nd bl:1ck underlay, and other ranks received rheir definitive Waffentarbe-pipcd black s uaps wi rh rounded ends. A large number of unit idcnrification insignia were worn on thc sho ulder srraps. For officers, these numerals and ciphers were initially in gilt metal, then bront.c after 1940. Other ra nks had them embroidered directly on to thdr straps or on to removable slip-on tabs from 1940. The mble on p. 255 lists t he various idenrificarion badges known tO have been used on Waffen· S shoulder straps. ln Ocrober 1943, Himmler cancelled the use of rhese ciphers fo r the duration of rhe war, on sccu rity grounds. In any case, units a nd specia li st perso nnel were still readil y identifiable by o cher badges. The only excep ti o n was rh e Leibstandarte, wh ose members were permitted to retai n their LAH monogr;tm as an honor;tri11m. Cuff titles, woven black ra pes about 28 mm in width and 49 em in lengrh which were

Unit

----------------------

P (Gorhic)

Scrpenr Serpent & staff SK/0 SKIP US/L USIR

w 1-1 7

SS-\IT Artillery Regiment . S-VT Reconnaissance Barralion Artillery School I Artillery School II Technical units ·Deurschhlnd' ~randartc 'Der Fuhrer' Standarre Recruiting Offices SS-VT Ami-Aircraft Machine Gun Barralion ' Germania· randarte Junkers..::hulc Braunschweig Junkcrschule T olz Motor Technical School T raining establi hmt:nts Leibstandarrc·S ·Adolf ll irler· 13ands Musikschule Braunschweig ·Nordland' Standarre S-VT Anri-T11nk Battalion Veterinary units Medical units Dachau garrison Prague garrison Unrerflihrcrschule Lauenburg Unrcrflihrcrschulc Radolfzell 'Westland' StanJurre Torenkopf Standarren

worn on the lower left sleeve of the tunic and greatcoat, became very distinctive features of SS tlnifo rm an d, apart fro m identifying the unit of the wearer, were partly responsible for t he remarkable esprit de corps of rhc WaffenSS. All prewar regiments and most ancillary formations of the SS-VT and SS-TV had rheir own cuff rides. which were handed over as part a nd parcel of rhe dorhing issue. Each man received four, o ne fo r each of his uni forms, 011cl they were cxpe<:tcd to last him nine month . l'ht:se ea rl y c uff rides were

embroidered in Gothic lettering w irh rhe exception oi the Leibsrandarre·s ' Adolf Hitler' rns1gnia, which featured the old German fo rm of script known as Sii rrerl in , officially reserved for the Fi.ihrer' gua rds from 1936 . T his archaic handwriting st yle had been promoreJ by Berlin graphics reacher Ludwig Slirterlin ( 1865-19 17) and wa:. widely taught in German schools until1941. On I September 1939, the Gothic used on certain cu ff titles was replaced by a runic \' crsion, anci three months later all Gothic

·s .,

255

THE WAFFEN·SS

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

final!~

the 'Das Reich' ririe from cprembcr 1942. As the war progrec; ed, cuff rirlec; rook on a new significance and were presented ar olemn ceremon ies during which unit commanders would remind recipients of the great honour being besrowed upon them and that the> should do nothing w di grace the name which their cuff ririe~ bore. The exact criteria for awarding name and cuff rirles are nor known, hut what is certain is char many S. divisiOns, such as the 14th and 15th, were never named, while StlmC of thuse which were, such as 'Hnndschnr' and 'Maria Theresa', never received cuff titles. H immler apparently judged every application on irs own merit . refusing some new units on rht: grounds rhar a cuff title had ro be earned on rhe field of banle. and turning down others hecause they had been formed as a temporary wartime expedit'nf frorn pt:r onnel considered racially unsuitable for~~ membership. Any Waffen-SS soldier transferring from one unit ro another had LO remove his old cuff title and replace it With that of his new unit. l lowever, if the latter had not been awarded a cuff title, the man was permirted ro continue to " car rhe ririe of his former un1r. That expla1ns \\h) ' Adolf H1rler' and ' Ocr Ftihrer' cuff title fenrured among the officer cad re of the 24th ~~ Division in northern Iraly ar rhe end of rhe war, and why mt-;cellaneous cuff Lirl es were worn by SS paratroopers. On occa~ion . two cuff tirk could be worn together. Officer cadets being trai ned at Bad Tolz, for example, were initially allowed ro wear the ' - chule Tolz' cuff title above their own rcg1mental or divi!>tOnal rides, while war correspondent and military policemen often wore the 'S Krieg berichrer' and 'S -Feldgendarmerie ' ride-. below those of rhe regiml·nt nr divisiOn to which they were attached. rhc wearinb of more than one cuff ririe 1n rht fashion was forbidden in August 1943.

The leibsrnndorte's 'Adolf Hilier' cuff lirte. hond-emllloidesed in SUtterlin script This photogroph of ocaptured runic wos mken by o British WOJ cooespondent in 1945. lhe Cnmecl compoign meld has ~ placed f01 effect only, ond woold 1101mafly be sewn on to me upper sleeve.

script was discontinued in favour of srandan.l Larin lettering. In May 1940, rhe cuff titles worn by a ncil lary W;1ffen- S units, for example • -Pionicrsturmbann' and ·~ · 1'\achrichrensturmbann', were abolished because rhey con rirured a ecuriry ri k. Regimental title'> ~uch a., 'Deur chland' continued ro be used, however. even after the introduction of divi~ional title . The laner did nor materialise until 1942, and were worn by divisional personnel nor entitled to regimental cuff rides . ~o a member of the signals barralion of the S-Vcrfugungsdivision wmrld wear the 'SS-Nachrichrensrurmbann' title unril .\'Lay 1940. rhen no cuff ride ar all. and

256

styles are alc;o knm\ n w have existed, one example being · epp' Dietrich's wartime 'Adolf llitlcr' cuff ririe~, which he had embroidered in gold bullion in the manner of a Wehrmachr genernl officer. The table on p. 258 lists all SS-VT, -TV and Waffen-$ cuff rides wh1ch have been confirmed by contemporary photOgraphic or documenr.H) e\ idence as having been authorised and worn. A small number of unapproved localiM:d cuff titles, such as rhe • arwa' and ' Esrland' rirles worn by orne members of the 20th SS Division, have abo been confirmed from phorographs. The cuff ride in rhe rahl e below were authorised during the war, bur were never issued for a ';Htery o f rea~ons. The SS arm eagle also came to be a d1snnctive pare of Waffcn-S uniform. The eagle and swa tika was established as rhe national emblem, or Hoheirsabzeichen, of the Third Reich on 7 M.uch 19 36, bur the first SS runic eagles were sported by 'Sepp' Dietrich and others as early as the summer of l 935, with the newly introduced earth-grey uniform. The u e of ca~b on rhe right breast was restricted by law to the army, na\ > and a1r force, so members of the Lo\H and S~- VT rook ro wearing theirs on rhe upper lcfr arm ,

Cu {( title., fell inro four categoric' according ro their method ot ~on~rruction:

Hmui-embrnidered in alumin11tm tiJJrt' or threud Prod111.:ed from 1933 umil June 1942. For wear by all ranks until 1936, and thereafter by officers only. 2. Machme-embroidered in white lJr sih·ergrey cullon thread 1 he !>o-called ' RZ\tt style'. Produced from 1936-4 3 for wear by other ranks only. 3. Machine-wouen 111 aluminium thread Produced from 1939-4 ~ for \-\Car by officer!> only. 4. Mc1clnne-111ot•en in (Tnt grey cotton or silken lhr£'
While the foregoing derails th e intended recipicnrs of the va rious manufacturing styles, it was nor uncommon for officers ro usc other ranks' cuff title on their field uniform , or for ::--!COs ro acquire officer qualit)' ririe for wear on their dress tu nics . •Vtoreover, old rocks of some earl) cuff title~ continued to be worn long after they had been officiallr discontinued. A few rare or even unique UNISSUED CVH T/ ILf.S

Title

Author~sed

Arrur Phleps Charlemagne Finnisches Frw. Baraillon der '\ affenH jnrich chuldr 30 Januar Land torm ederland

Gebirgs Rgr. 13, 7rh Div1 ion 33rd S Division Finnish Volunteer Barralion Grenadier Rgt. 43, 19th Divic;ion 32nJ Division 34th Division (n.b. rhi title already existed for the Dutch Germani~.:- S unit of the same name) 2nd Brigade, 19th $$ Divic;ion Tartar SS Regiment Grenadier Rgr. 42, 19th SS Di,·i ion

Latvija Osrriirkischer Waffen-Verband der SS Woldemars Ve1~s

257

For

HIMM LER ' S BlA CK ORDER

/.'i\( 1 {) \\~-\f-1

u,.s

CL' f-1- f'ITL ES

Title

Yc.1r

F.

srrv

Floriah Geyer Fre1korps Danm,uk Frunth.herg Frw. Legion Fbndcrn Frw. Legion ederland Fn\. Legion Kicderlandc Frw. Legion Non\ egcn General eyffarJr Germania Gorz \'on l.krlichingen Hermann von ~nlza H1dequgend Hohen,taufen Hor t Wessel Kdrr. U.L. Dachau Kurr Fggers L.lngcmarck Legion ' icJcrlande Legwn Norwcgen ~lu.:h.td Gai mair :'\:cclcrl:uld Nordland 'ordwesr Nor~e

IItle

\'ear lntroduct•d

U m II W'n m lh

introduced

Adolf Hirler Brandenburg Brirish t-ree Corps Dan mark Da Reich Dc:ath'~ head (ins1gnl.ll Den 'orske Legion Der Fiihrcr De Ruiter Oeut chland Elbe

THE WAFFfN · SS

Ll·ib,randam:/ I H S Di' i ion -Torenkoph:mdanc 2 British 1-rt:c Corp , II th Di\ i'iinn C.rcnadier Rgt. 24, J J rh S Dh ll>ion 2nd $ Divi ion SS-'Iotenkoption Oachau rrain10g ti.1111p War Corrco;pondenr Reg1mcnr Infantry Rgr. 4, 2nd Divi~ion; .1nd 27th '\ D1\'i ion Du tch Legion Norwegian Legion Gebirg Rgr. 12. 6rh Dh·ic;ion 23rd S Di' i'lon J I rh SS Divic;ion; and Grenadi~.:r Rgr. ' l nrdland', -th S Di,i.,ion ·i'orc.lwe~r' Standarre ki Banaliou, 6th S Divi:-.10n: ~md Grenadier Rgt. 23, I I rh <;S Divisilln

1933 1937

1944 1943 1942 1938 1941 1938

194J 1935 1917 1939 1944 1941 1943

194 1 1941 1941 1941 lq43 1936

194.3 1944

J 94 3

1943 1944 193' 1943 t942 1941 194 1

1944 1944 1940 1941 1943

258

Oberl"!ayern

t9r

Osrfrie~land

1~3 7

Ostmark Police eagle (insignia ) Prinz Eugen Reichsfi.Jhrer-S

1':138 1942

Reichsfiihrung-S~

Reichs chulc-SS Reinhard Heydrich Sach en Sanitars.lbteilung Skandcrbeg SS-Arztliche Akademic SS-Fcldgendarmenc S -Heumvehr Danzig SS-In pcktion SS-KB-.\br SS-Kriegsberichrer SS-Kriegsberichrer-Kp SS-Mu 1kschulc Braunschweig SS- achrichtensrurmbann SS-Pioniersrurm bann SS-Poli7ci-Division SS-Schulc Braunschweig SS·Schulc Tolz S-Totenkopfvcrba nde S~-Obungslager DachJu S -Unrerfiihrersc.:hulc SS·Verwnltungl>s huJc Theodor [ickc Thule Thi.iringen Totenkupf Wallon1cn W.B. Dachau Westland

Umt/ \Vom I:Jy

-·1<>rt:nkopfsr.1ndarre I S-Wachsrurmbann IV S~·Torenknpf tandarre 4 4th S Dh·1sion 7rh SS Division 16th S Division ~S high command staff ~chool for female SS auxiliaries Gcbirgs Rgt. I J, 6th S Dn·i-;1on SS-Wachsturmhann liT SS-VT and SS-TV :\tJ.ed~eaiBatralions 11 St s Di\ IS1011 ~ledical Academy MilJtary Police SS-I lcimwehr Danzig -VT I nspecror:He War Correspondent Bartalion War Correspondents War Corre pondem Company Braunschweig t\lu<>ic School $- VT Signal~ Barra lion --Vf Pioneer Battalion 4th • Di' ision Brnunschwcig officers· school Bnd Tolz off1cers' chool SS-TV Sraff and Police Rcinforcemenr!> Dachnu 'I raining Camp 'CO School Admin istration chool Grenadier Rgt. 6, 3rd $ Division Grenad1er Rgr. 5, 3rd S Divi, ion SS-Totcnkopf. tandarre 3 Jrd Division 28rh Division Dachau Economic Enrerpn l''> Grcnndicr Rgt. I 0, -th ~ - Dn'l'iiOil

J941 1943 1940

1943 1942

1937 J936

1944 1939 1942 1939 1916

1941

1940 1940 1941 1937 1931

1942 1935

1934 1937 1937 1940

19.35 1943 1942 1937 1942 1944 1935

1940

in lieu of rhe gaudy Allgememc-~S armband which was clearly unsuirnble for field U'i~. The pattern of sleeve eagle officially adopted by rhe armeJ SS in May 1936 was rhar introc.lu~:c:d simultaneously for the railwa~

polit.:~, with a right-facing c~gle w1th d1pping win)!~.

lr wa di connnued after only two years, bur was !t£ill being WClrn by orne • S vetera ns as l ~ne ,J<; 1943. Th<' second and defimrivc p:mern of national emblem. w1rh

259

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

headed 'T) pe I' eagle can regularly be seen in prewar !.hots and pictures taken during rhe western and Balkan Blitzkriegs of 1940-1, while rhe round-headed insignia never features in these photographs. Conversely, the round-headed 'Type 3' eagle is consistently seen on camouflage drill tunics during the Normandy and Ardennes battles, with the ' Type 1' badge being conspicuous br irs absence at that stage of the war. ln 1939, a BEYO machine-woven version of the 1938-pattern SS sleeve eagle began tO appear, in flat grey cotton or silken thread for other ranks and fine silver wire for officers. It was widely worn on al l rypes of Waffen-SS uniform throughout rhe war, and was even used as a cap badge by female SS auxi liaries. The BEYO eagle was also produced in ranbrown from 1943, for the tropical uniform.

a left-facing eagle and straight wings tapering to a point, was devised in 1938 and was eventually produced in everal variations. The commonest manufacturing method was machine-embroidery, in white or silver-grey cotton thread on black, and these RZ.'v1-sryle eagles came in the following three types, depending upon period of production: Type 1 Type 2

with a pronounced sq uare heaJ (1938-41 ) with a less pronounced curved head

(1942-3) Type 3

with

a

shallow

round

THE WAFFEN·SS

head

( 1944-5). Ph otographs confirm rhese t ypes time and time again as period, rather than manufacturers', varia tions. The square-

An Obersturmfohrer of rhe SS·TV Medical Bottonoo temporari~ se
standard SS sleeve eagle, he wears the army eagle above his right breast pocket. This is rhe on~ known photograph showing borh of rhese insignia being worn simultaneously.

The BEVO machine-woven version of rhe SS arm eogle for other ronks..

260

261

... HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

THE WAFFEN·SS

YBB a

c

... d

e

f

•a •• s • •

.

g

!1J

••

"'

,

Aselection of f01eign volunteer shields, mcny ofwhlch were Wehrmocht issue ond confinued to be wom when the uni5 COil{erned were obsolbed by the Woffen-SS during the lost yeor of the wor. Those shown ident~ied: (oJ- Ukroinions; (b) -Armenians; (c) - Terek Cassocks; (d) - Flemings; (e) - Russians; (f) - (roots, (g) -Don Cossacks.

more readily available ro them . The use of army eagles was particularly common during the rapid expansion of the Waffen-SS in 1939-40, when SS eagles were in short supply and army-style Waffenfarbe piping and matchtng collar parches were the order of the day. A few SS-VT and SS-T V men on secondment to army units even wore the army eagle on the right breast while <~till sparring the SS eagle on the left arm ! The Italian SS had their own version of the sleeve ~:agle, which was right~ facing and clutched a fasces instead of a swastika, and between August 1942 and Ocrober 1944 the Germ:m

Officers frequently h.ld their arm eagle hand-embroidered in silver bullion, and ·Sepp' Dietrich again highlighted his unique ~>tatus by having his insignia executed in gold wire. In addition to rhe various regulation types of the 1938-panern SS Hohcitsabzeich<.>n, other eagles were sometimes ' orn on the left arm of the Waffen-SS runic. A number of exarmy officers who transferred to the WaffenSS, and foreigners who had pre,•iously served in Wehrmachc legions, wore the army breast eagle on rhe sleeve, either to emphasise their origins or simply because the army eagle was

262

police eagle in orange thread was wo rn lw members of the SS-Feldgendarmerie. ln addition ro rhe foregoing insignia, which were common ro most Waffcn- S personnel, a number of related badges exisred which merir only brief coverage. A range of arm shields was created for foreign volunteers in the Waffen-SS, and generally took the form of machine-embroidered national flags on a black doth ground measuring around 60 mm x 50 mm. These were standardised in 1943, and most were produced by the Berlin firm of Trolrsch & Hanselmann. The shields were at first worn above the cuff ririe, and later beneath the arm eagle, and gradually repla~:cd the army versions hitherto worn by many foreigners. The flags of Belgium. Denmark, Estonia, France, Grear Britain, Holland, Larvin and orway featured on rhese shields, while the badges for Albantan, Croatian, Finnish, Flemish and Ukrainian volunteers bore suitable heraldic motifs. A series of trade badges ro identify skills and specialities was designed in the shape of black cloth diamonds for we.tr on the lower left sleeve. Each badge wa awarded after the successful completion of the relevant SS training course, and those \Vho graduated from army schools were obliged to wear the army trade badge in lieu of the SS one. From October 1943, mountain troops sported a machine-embroidered edelweiss on the left side of the Bergmi.itze and on the right runic sleeve, above the Honour Chevron of the Old Guard if the latter \Vas also worn. Uniformed female SS auxiliaries had a unique badge consisting of a black oval containing silver SS runes, which was sewn to rhe left brea t pocket. Other civilian employel'S were given embroidered, woven or printed armbands bearing the wording 'Waffen-SS' or ' l m Dienste der Waffen -SS' when on duty, and brassards featuring national colours were worn by the young SS Aak helpers from the east. During rhe Second World War, Waffen-SS

263

oldicrs were eligible tor rhe whole range of , azi military decorations, including the Iron Cross, the German Cross, the War Merit Cross, and su on. Participation io rhe Crimea, Demjansk and Kurland battles earned the appropriate campaign distinctions for men of the Leibstandarre, SS-Totenkopf-Oivision and 6th Waffen-Armeekorps der SS, while troop of all units wore Infantry Assault Badges, General Assault Badges, Flak and Panzer Bartle Badges, Wound Badge , Tank Destruction Awards and the Close Combat Clasp. Among the plethora of Third Reich combat decorations, however, only the Guerrilla Warfare Badge was singled our as being of specific relevance to the activities of the Waffen-SS, and for that reason it deserves some derailed coverage. Hitler's invasion of che Soviet Union in J une 1941 soon resulted in the Wehrmach r facing an entirely new type of enemy, profess ional]>' o rganised partisans who attacked in large groups capable of taking on and defeating German units of battalion or even regimental strength. T he partisan movement stemmed from the presence in German-occupied territ ory of whole Red Army units which had been t:ut off by rhe rapidiry of the German advance. As early as Jul)' 1941 the C~:ntral Committee of rhe Communist Parry called upon Soviet citizens to join these units and take up arms, and the following year the Sovier H igh Command rook sreps t~') co-ordinate guerrilla activity by e tablishing the Central Staff of rhe Partisan Movement. Liaison officers, wireless equipment, weapons and supplies were provided in ever-increasing numbers and partisan operations were fully integrated into Red Army strategy. ln addition to widespread attacks on German communications, partisans made specific efforts in support of Soviet offensives, notably at Kursk, and were able ro ease the progress of conventional forces by securing bridges and key

HIMMLER ' S BlACK ORDER

rn \lharua. I he large<>r German ami-parrisan of rhe war. ·Oper.uiorl Conbuc;', which wok. plac£' in B~ cloruc;~ia in June 1943 . involved nearl~· 17,000 German troops a.nd wa' conJucreJ so hrurall) and ruthlessly that nothing, human or Jnrmal. wa lefr alive in the 1one of operation!>. evcrrhclcs5, as w~\'i rypr al in this sort of ''arfarc. ·corthult· failc:d to tr&p Its quarry and \\aS a major scrbad. for the Germnns. The struggle herween the aLic; and the parti.,am wa!> alwa~., nne where no quarter wa a!>kcd or gin·n. Atrocities commirred agaim.t captured German o ldiers were mer wrth a polic)' of exterminatio n on the p increasingly ried down large numbers of German sold il.'rs from ull d1 e fighting ervicc , and vast tracb (If German-occupied territory soon became virtual no-go Jrt•as, aiiO\\rng even bener co-ordrnanun of parri an acriviry. The 1.<1mpaign again!>t this 'im i.;ihle enem~ · rook a ignificanr rurn when Himmler was made responsible for all anri-parti!>an opt:rations in October 1942. In a speech given shortl y afterward, , he tated that rhc new enemy did n~,c d c~e r\C rhe riri e ·pn rrisanc;', which had patriotic connotations. a~ the> were simpl~ member!. of what he called outlaw gang<:, or 'Sanden'. He ordered that in every case thc ...e gang ter guerrrllas were now ro be rooted out Jnd l"-.:ecutc:d '"'thour trial. Hirnmlcr appointed )Ohergruppenfiihrer Erich von dern Bach as his counrcr-guc:rrilla chief, a man who was such a pathological !:>bv-hater that he had dropped 'Zelewski' from the end of his name in 1'\o"emher 1940 becau:.e he felt it soumkd 'roo Poli,h'. Hirnmler and von Jern Bach

~\H.•ep

SS !rode badges. These we~e worn on the leh ~eeve, obove the cuff tirle, and denoted the follow!og spe
rnsrallatious rn the JMth ul therr advance. The vastncs of rhe .Hc:t bchrnd the GermJn line Jnd the terrain of forests, mountain:- and marshes lenr them ekes to gucrnlla arrack"> and the partisam Wl'IU from srrength to strength. They evenru::rlly numbered around 400,000 in Warsaw, 390,000 rn Yugoslavi;l, 230,000 in rh c Balti c stares, I 50,000 rn Byelorussia, 50,000 in non:hern lral)'. 40,000 in the Ukraine, 40,000 rn Greece and 35 ,000

264

THE WAFFEN·SS

arrJngcd fur rh~: formation of larql' nwnbtr~ (lf S-Pot.,c: rc:~tmenrs. pollee ri fie regiment<;

and chuma hattJiions to combat the partisans. rhu' rele:tsrng the army for from· line ..,en il...:. In August 1944, rht> p<~rri<~an 'Polish Home Arm( rose up in \X'Jr!.aw, in antrupation ot appro:1clllng Rt:d "'.rm>· .~ ·w,r.tnce \\ hrch never materialised. The rebels tniri:~lh g.uned conrrol oft\\ c)·third' ,,f the ct~. hut rhc fcrrn.•rr oi rhe and police re pon..,e. which levelled Po land\ capital, force-d the guerrilbo; ul\derground. uuo the sewers. where rhe) were gradua lly reduct>d and deteated by forces equipped with :1rmour and fl.llllethrowcr , supported hy Luftwaffe rub squadron ... Among the S troops mo r acti\e in '\ Uf'\JW \\ere the "-amrnsl..t Jnd Dirlewan~c:r Brigade-;, terror unirs cornpo ('d of convtert:d l·riminals special!~ clt'...:ted for the1r brut:tlity ami expendability. The crushing of rhe Warsa'" upmrng wa rhe mo t notable ami-pJrri~nn vicrorr a~.:hieved bv rhe Germans dunng the war. Von dem Bach, who per~onall~, c()mm.lnded a b;nrlt' group rn the .t~:tion. rccci,ed the J...night'!> Cro)S after the !>ucCc)sful concJuc;um of rhe fighting. The feroun of rhc war waged ag;lrn<;r rhc partisan<- ~'enruall~ necessitated tht> creation of J nt>\\ decorJtion w reward tho~e who had been l'ngnged upon st for a prolongt!d period. On 30 .J anuary 1944, Hitler insritured the Bandenkarnpfabzeichen, litera l!~· ' B.1n dit B;mle 1\:-rdgc' bur more accurately 'Gucrri lb Warfare Badge'. lr wa officially de ignated as a ' Ka mptah/ Cilht:n dec Waffen-S. und Pol1zer', or '\'V':-rffcn- ~ and Police Bartle Badge·, and wa the onlr miltrM~ decoration o( tht' Third Reich auribured specifically to rhe ) . Award of the badge was nor made in the name of rhe uprcmc Commander of rhc Wehrmacht,
265

I. The Guerrrlla Warfare Badgt' rccogmc;cs rhe bran~ry and mcmorrous conduct of rhe rccipiem. 2. It i awarded in three grades, Bronle. ilver and Gold. 3. The Guerrilla Warfare Badge can be awarded to all officer ·, COs and men engaged in ami-guerrilla operanons. 4. The quallfic~tti is reckoned co be unt> during which rhc recipient has t.tken parr in d o~c c.:umbat (man against mon) wirh gut'rrilla!>. 6. Combat day'> may be reckoned a from l January 1941. 7. The Guerrilla Warf:nc Badge may be worn on rhe ltfr hre.t r pocker of all SS. police and • SOAP uniforms. The Bndge is awarded with a crtarion. 9. Posth umous presentations of awards in res peer of tho. e who have qualified for rhem prior to being kilkd in acrion wrll be made tO their nl'xt-of-kin.

-o

Qualification for award wa thercforl' very high, making rhe Bandenkampfabzeichen far more difficult to achieve chan similar decorations su.:h a the l nfamr r Assaulr Badge. The dcsrgn of rhe Guerrilla Warfare Badge was based on thar of rhe ins ignia of the ilcsian Freikorp nf 1919 and fearureJ a wrearh of oaklea' es enclosing a swMd wrrh sunwheel swastika (reprec;eming the German and auxiliary force'i) plunging inro a hydra {the panisans). The Hydra was a fahulou multi-headeJ ea scrpenr of Greek mythology. and was almo t impus ible to destroy since it head!> grew quickly again if rhcy were cur off. The parallel wirh the pnrti~an forces. which ~prang up ,·igorously rune and rime agnin, ic; ol1\ ious. At the '>word' poinr was a death·~

HIMI.HH ' S BLACK OROER precaigtous Close Combat Cla.,p in Gold rwicc. The Viilkischer Beubuchter of 21 February 1945 reponed that: ·The Reichsfu hrcr- ~ yc'>terda~ presented the first Guerrilla \X arfarc Badge rn Gold to four members of rhr \X'affcn- engaged in the fighting on rhe Adriatic Coast'. The first recipient \\a S -Obersrurmfuhrer £rich Ki.ihbandner of the 24th SS Di' i<.ion, which had been rai ed pccifi~.all~ ro combat partisans in the Carso and Julian Alp . Gi,·en rhe lare srage tn rhe "ar. ::tnd the time taken to process ::1\\ ;1rd ;:~pplicarions ,tnd arrange preltenrarion ceremonies. ir i~ unlike!)· that an~ further awards of the gold badge wert.:' made. £,·en the bronze and sikcr badge'> \\ere highly prized br the Waffen- and police, and were seldom be rowed since the chances of sur\'1\'ing more rhan a few day.,· close combat wirh partisan were slim indeed. In many wayc;, the design and story of the Guerrilla Warfare Badge repre enr the desperate and friendless str.m~ rn '' hich the Waffen- iound ir elf in the In t rear of the war. h i!> <,ttll difficult ro reconcile the '>ubsranrial b~mlrficld adtre\'emerm of the S with the undoubted atrocities which some of irs unit committed againo;t '-Oldters and ci,·ilians alike.

lhe Guern11o Worfore Badge Ill Bron1e The first OWilrds of this rore decorohoo were mode to SS officers and men duung the second half of 1944.

head. which was doubt~ .1pprorriare since ir symboli ed borh rhe im oh cmenr ::~nd rhe deadlr nature of rhe srrugglc which wa being carried on. H immler rcscrn:d the nghr ro award rhc gold bad~e personally, which is not surpristng 111 ~: H ''a~ the equi' alent of winnmg rhc

266

EPILOGUE B~ rhe aurumn nt 1944, rhe Black Order ~~:cured almost roral political. mrlltan

had and economic power m Germany, and rhere were onl> mo men wh martial mea~ured up ro Hirnmler's se\WC tand.Hd . In November, rhe Reichsfi.ihrer's power reached irs peak. for on che 9th of the momh he '' J) gran red rhe umque and o,ymbolic pri' ilegc of rakmg Hitler's pl.tee for cht deli\er~ of the traditional beer hall speech commemoraring rhc .\ lunich put~h. In the background, ho\\'C\'Cr, lurked a !>hadowr ri,·al 111 rhe power struggle . .\ lart1n Bormann. Head of the Parry Chanceller~ ,1nd Hitler\ do ·e r ~ DAJ> ad,·iser, wore the Blood Order nor bccau e of any in\'olvemenr in rhe J\ lunich pursch, hut because h<: had sen·ed a

267

year in pn~on as a polmcal murderer. lie was an • S-Ohergruppenfuhrcr, but felt onlr jealous hatred towards Himmler and longed for h1s downfall. Bormann knew rh,u rhe Reich~fiihrer wa<; no military tactician, and in a wil) effort ro discredit hun pt•rsuadcd Hitler ro nominate the chief ro the 'acant post of Commander oi \rm~ Group Upper Rhine in earl\ December. This, in effect, gan~ Himmler rh~ respon<,1biltrie of J Wehrmacht Field .\larshal ar rhe critical rime when the armed force were collapsing on all from . A' t'xpecred, H immler

The Re,chsluhrer·SS in Novembell944 by which hme he hod become accepted ns Hmer's hei111ppcrent.

HIMMlER ' S BLACK ORDER

EPilOGUE

Hilfer gree~ng 'der lfeue Heinrich' ol FOhrer Heodquorters, while Martin Bormann lurks in the background. On his left breast pocket, Himmler wears the Pilor Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds, which was opersonal gilt from Hermann G6rtng. The abandoned Woffen-SS re
the arch-policeman completely buckled in hi new soldierl y ro le a nd did no better when reassigned to t ake charge of Army Group Visrula in January J 945 . Haunted by the spectre of defeat, unable ro cope with his now massive personal responsibilities, and no longer sure of Hitler's favour in these volatile times, Himmler went on extended sick leave with 'severe influenza' and took refuge in rhe SS hospital at Hohenlychen run by his old friend Karl Gebhardt. On 20 March, a disillusioned Fuhrer relieved hjm of his army command on the Visrula. Bormann's cheme had worked perfectly, and had made him the new favourite ro succeed Hitler a head of the NSDAP. H aving suddenly losr face, and consequently a ll realistic hope of the succession, Himmler now determined ro save his own skin and that of his S comrades by opening secrer peace negotiations with the western Allies, using

268

negotiations with the Allies in Switzerland. The siruation worsened dramatically when other notable SS leaders panicked and began to abandon the si nking ship in considerable numbers. Three SS-Obcrgruppenfuhrer, namely .Felix Steiner, Curt von Gortberg and Richard Hildebrandt, seriously considered a plan ro assassinate Hitler as a means of swifrly purring an e nd ro rhe war. and even Ernst Kaltenbrunn cr of the RSHA plotted the surrender of Austria w the Americans. The genera l consensus among the SS was that their postwar interests would be best served if Himmler was H ead of State and ab le tO negotiate on their behalf. On 19 April, SS-Brigadefuhrer Walter Schellenberg, Kalre nbrunner's subo rdinate, implored H immler for the last time, on behalf

of a growing secrion of rhe SS leadership, ro depose Hitler an d make peace. The Reichsflihrcr wavered, bur his courage evaporated once more. The following day, he journeyed tO the Chance ll er~' Bunker to pay his respects on his master's birthday, and tried unsuccessfully to persuade H itler to quit the capital and continue the battle from an alpine redoubt in outhern Germany. After the meagre birthday celebrations. Himmler bade a final farewell to Hitler and lefr Berlin for his field headquarters at H ohen lychen. On 28 April, news was relayed tO rhe Flihrerbunker that Schellenberg, upposedly acting on behalf of the Reichshih rcr- , had offered the western Allies the conditional capitulation of Germany, which they had duly rejected. Himmler had probably never official ly !.anctioned

269

HIM/HERS BLACK ORDER

Schellen herg·s offer, bur Hirlcr was none rhe less paral~ !>ed by the appilrcnt rc,·elation of ·der rreue Heinrich's' berra~ .\I. He immediately ordered 5 personnel in the room to lea\"e h1~ pre ence and thereafter IS ued Bormann With instnH;tion for H immler's arre~t, simultancou ly expelling the Reichsfiihrcr from the NSDAP and all his government office!>. H ider then appointed S Obcrgruppenfi.ihrer Karl Hanke, Gauleiter of Lower ilc!>ia, as the new Reichsfi.ihrcrHowc\·cr, Hanke never received word of h1~ promotion, having alreadr abandoned hie; pO'-t

EPILOGUE

in the besieged city of Breslnu and flown off in one of rhe fe\\ helicopters then in operation. forry-e1ghr hours later, Hitler wa dead and rhe Thrd Re1ch "a" at an end. In irs read. confusion and chaos reigned. Grand Admiral D6ni£Z. head of the rump \t7i gO\·ernmenr, confirmed that he had no pbce for Himrnler in hi!. '>horr-lived administration. S officers and men from all branches of the organi arion, fearful of rhe reprisals which they were ure would be directed again t them, burned their uniforms, files and identity paper'>, cast aside their daggers, sword and death's head rings, gathered what loot and

SS offi<ers ond men dearing deod bodies ot Belsen, 17 Aprii194S. At the end of 1944 ond beginning of 1945, the pnsoners at Auschwitz, Mojdanek and the other exterminotion camps were fllCllched wesfwords in front of the Russian odvonce ond deposited at COilCentrotion camps in Ge1mony. These we1e the 'human skeletons' whom the British ll1d Americans freed at the end of the wo1.

One of the veteran Tolenkopf NCOs of Belsen being searched by British soldiers after the liberotion of the camp, 17 Aprtl194 5.

270

booty they could, and fled inro hiding. Tho e caprured were pur ro work clearing up the m~ then herded inro Dachau and other camps pending a de-Na11fication proce and possible crimina l proceedings. The dreaded day of reckoning had arrived.

r or ll immlcr. rhe cease-fire concluded b~· Donit7 on - :\lay 1945 marked the end of the road. All the Wehrmacht officer who had hasrilr gathered around the Grand Admiral, de pera te ro avoid charges of war crime being levelled against them, now shifted the

271

HIMMLER'S BLACK ORDER

SS.StoodooenfUille~ W olrhet Roulf Oehl, heod of the se
blame for Nazi Germany's conduct totally on to the S and the person of the Reichsfi.ihrer. On 6 May, Himmlcr mu tered his remaining faithful enrourage including his brother Gebhard, l lans Prutzmann, Leon Degrelle, and various Hauptamr chiefs, police generals and Waffenlea der , and gave a fin a l farewell speech. He ended by handing o ut prepared fa lse idenriry documents , and advised his follower to 'submerge in the Wehrmachr'. Each rhen wenr his own wa r. Himmler furni hed him elf wirh the papers of a former military police scrgeanr named Hein rich H irzinger, who had earlier been executed by rhe for defea ti m. He al o ca rried a phial of cya nide, and had a ho le

drilled in o ne of his molars ro accommodate it. There wa no doubt in hi mind about his fare and thar of hi chief accomplices should they fall inro enemy hands. On 10 May, llimmlcr scr out on foot from Flensburg to Bavaria. He was escorred by SSOher rurmbannfi.'1hrcr Werner Grorhmann and -Haupt rurmfUhrer Hei nz Macher, both in a rm y uniform. Grorhmann, o nl y twcnrr -nine years o ld, had been th e Reich!>fu hrer'!> per ona l aide-de-camp si nce 1943 , and was one of hi mo r loyal subordinate . Macher. a lthough four years younger, wa<; a hardened combat \'eteran and had won rhe Oakle~l\e ro hi Knight's Cross in 1944 "h ile serving "irh ' Das Reich' in

272

EPILOGUE

lelbstondorte and 'De! FUhre!' officers attached to the 14m SS OMsion SlKrender to the British neor TreVISO 10 northern ltdy, 7 fhrt 1945. The ObefsturmfUlve. on rile left, with the llopicol field cop ond shom, wm the Goemllo Worfore Badge 10 Silve! above his othe! awards.

Ru ia. lr was i\l::tcher who had blown up Wewelsburg Castle the previous month on Himm ler' direct instructions, ro prevent ir cn ptun.! by the Allies, and he had also hecn charged wirh rhe ra k of burying the castle's treasure , including over 9,000 dcath 's head rings held in rhe shrine ro commemora te men killed in action. Protected by rhe e rwo talwarrs. Himmler intended to join the many orhcr and DAP leaders who had fled 'iOuth-ea t to the Alps. On 21 May, howe,•er, the rhrec men were arrested by the British at a rourine check-point between Hamburg and Bremen. Two days larer they arri ved at an in terroga tion cen tre at Bar feld, nea r Liineburg, where the former Reich fu hrer· iJenm~ wa confirmed. As his elated captorc;

began ro que!>tion him, Himmler bit o n the cya nid e cap ul e and was dead within minutes, rhus escaping the humiliation of a show trial and the certain fate of a hangman's noose. He was ubscqucnrly buried in an unmarked grave on Llineburg H eath, and his fal e idcnrity disc, pectacle and few other meagre posse sions were distributed among the arrendant Allied intelligence personnel a ou' cnir-.. Only a small number o f S leaders followed Himmler's example by committing uicide. Among them were Hans Prlirzmann, Phil ipp Bo uhler, Herbert Backe, Leo nardo Conti , Odilo Globocnik, Friedrich-Wilhelm Kru~er and Ernsr-Roberr Grawirz. the latter blowing horh him elf and his family up with

273

HIMMLER ' S BLACK ORDER

EPILOGUE

H1mmler after his suicide, 23 /krf 194 5.

Achart depiCting rhe organisofioo of lhe RSHA is disployed ot Niinberg during the trials ol SS aod SO men, 20 Decembel1946

charges of war cnme!>. Ma arrest followed .tnd 32,000 C\. · S men were incan.:erared at Dachau alone by the end of rhc year. franz Breithaupt died at Prien soon after being taken into British c.:ustody, and ,\ tlaximilian von H erff uffcred a similar fare at Curnshc ~ld Prioq POW camp on Lake Windermere in cptember, the same monrh in which Walter chmitt exprred in Dablice as a C;lpti\'e of the Czechs. Tho c who were duly pur on trial at l\:i:rrnberg and elsewhere during 1946-7 received a \'ariety of enrence . Ern!.t KJitenbrunner. Oswald PobJ. Arthur Grei cr, Karl I Iermann Frank, Kurr Daluege, Karl Gebhardt, Friedrich jeckeln, KJrl Brandt and Albert Forster. along ,,·irh a further eighteen less well -known SS and police generals, \\'ere condemned ro death

hand grenade . Christian Weber, the old toll rrupp 'ereran, wa killed in action in Btl\'ari:l :lt rhe end of the war and Karl H anke, the Ia r Reich fuhrer- , was beaten ro death by Czechs a couple of months later. Many S officers, including the Gestapo chief H einrich t'vl i'dler, rhe Concentration Camp lnspecror-Gcncral Richard Gli.icks, and the infamou Dr Jo ef Ylengele, simply disappeared underground as Himmler had recommended. During the econd half of 1945, rhe victorious Allies engaged upon a concerted effort to root out and round up all former members of the , which they declared had been an sllcgal and terrorist organisation. Their primary objective was to pur rhe leader!> before a military tribunal, to answer

274

and executed for their im·oh·ement in the azi extermination policy. Large numbers of more junior personnel w ho had staffed concentration camps, served in Einsatz· gruppen or raken part in Waffen-SS atrocities were o;imilarly dealt with. Gorrlob Berger wa sentenced ro twenty-five years' imprisonment. \'\Ierner Lorenz and Hans Lammers each received twenty year in jail, '\' ilhclm Keppler got ren years. and Walter Buch was condemned ro five year · hard labour before commirring suicide. Gu tavAdolf cheel and Walter chellenberg were each gi,en fi,·e years· imprisonment, and Otto Dietrich one year. Erich von dem Bach, a prime candidate for rhe dearh sentence,

-.a,·ed his neck and avoided extradition to Polantl b)' acting as a wirness for the pro ecution :H Ni.irnberg. The majority of the e men served out their terms of imprisonment, which were often reduced on appeal or for good behaviour, and went on to enjoy comforrahle live in postwar West Cermany. Indeed, for year thereafter, Allied intelligence ngencie frequenrl~· sought the advice of chellenberg and his former R HA colleagues, and paid handsomely for the benefit of their expern e in espionage and interrogation techniqut . Ao; for the other former S commanders
275

HIMMLER ' S BlACk ORDER

Otto Ohlendorl pleading 'not guihy' ot Nurnbe!g, I 5Septembef 1947 8ehind him sit his forme~ RSitA coleogues Heinz JOS1, Erich Noumonn, Werner Braune ond Wolter Honsch. As one-lime commooder of £insotzgruppe ·o· i1 RUSSKJ, ond duel of the SOil Germany, Ohlendorf was seoterKed to death.

rt tng tO the po t of Burgermeisrer of Wesrcrland in 1958. Hi · close police as. ociate, Alfred Wunnenberg, died in Krefeld in I 963. Karl Wolff, always a 'smooth ralkcr', built up a successful public relations bu in(:!. until he received a belated ren-year prison sentence in J 964, following revelation-; at rhe Eichmann trial. H ans Jiirrncr Jied ar Bad T olz in 1965, and in 1966 four former Waffengenerals, namely 'Sepp' Dietrich, Georg Keppler, H erbert Gille and Felix reiner, all s uccumbed tO ,·arious illne es anJ were buried after funeral s1.·rvice!. openly attended by hundreds of Waffcn- S veteran . Juliu . chaub pursued his profession as a Munich chemist until his demise in 1967, while Karl Fiehlcr and J akob

Regemburg internment camp in 1947, while Ulrich Greifelt died in Febru::try J 949 at Landsberg, also aft er a lung illness. Ulrich Graf perished ::t pauper in Munich in March 1950, followed by Richard Hildebrandt in 1951. Richard Walther Darre expired from li ver failure rwo years later, Rud olf Diel s accidentally shot and killed himself during a hunring expedition in November 1957, and Max Amann died in poverry rhe same year having had all the wealth which he accrued from publishing Mein Kampf confiscated by a Je-Nazificarion tribunal. H einz Reincfarth, the first member ro win the Knight's Cross and commander of police unit involved in crushing the Warsaw uprising, was luckier, raking up a career in local government and

276

EPILOGUE Gnmminger hmh died in obscuritr in 1969. l- mtl ~Iaurice, the part-J ewish holder of $<; member!>htp number 1 (Hitler held number I ) li\·eJ unril 19-2, the same ~ear as nincry-rwo>·ear-old Paul llau er. rhe re,·ered ·father of rhe WJffcn-!>S', was laid ro rest in rhe pre encc of his old comrades. \\7erner lorem died in 19-4, Gorrlob Berger in 19T, and August H eissmeyer in 1979. The Ia t urviving Hauptamt chief, Karl Wolff, gave up the ghosr at Rosenheim in 1984. With his death, the former top-ranking <;S leadership a nd the lingering Old Guard of the organisation were finally extinguished. H owever, while rhe majority of the very highc~t S leaders were roo well known ro avoid detection and arrcsr by rhe Allies at rhe end of the \var, rher~ were many more anon) mous and rather faceless individual who quite easily e\·aded capture. Promtnem among uch men were H einrich Muller, Richard Gluck and Dr josef ~lengele, who e associ:ltton!> with the exrerminarion programme earned them death sentence 'in absentia' from the Kurnberg tribunJI. I Jundreds of junior S officer ami 1'\COs from concentration camp guard units, poltcemen who had served with Einsarz.gruppcn in the east. and foreign \Oiunrecrs o;uch a Leon Degrelle who were regarded a!> arch·rrairor in their own countries, managed to flee ro rhe safety of sympa th etic nations and !let up new and comfortable lives for themselves after 1945. Their ability to do so wao; due almost entirely t o the assistance prov1ded b) a vast and trpicall)' efficient e cape network organised by rhe in ir' rerminal rages. At rhe end of 1944, H tmmler ordered rhe R HA to prepare false identic~· documents .md pa ports bearing fictitious names which were subsequently distributed to ,elected leading member of the SS and NSDA J>. After rhe surrender was igned, many top Na.Gi!l wem inro htding or operated openly under

277

rhetr new JhCudonyms. In front of the very of the Allied administration, valuable contact were establi hed between highranking azi in prison and new underground groups outside, using secret codes devised hy the SO before rhe collap e of the Third Reich. The initial overall organtsarion which co-ordina ted these activiric wa, called • pinne', or 'Sptder', and was resrricred ro operating within Germany itself. tvtosr important ex-SS men did nor want to hang around the H omeland for too long, however, and by 1946 rhey decided that rhc time h::td come to set up a worldwide e cape network. As a result, the ODESSA (Organisation der SS-Angehorigen, or Organisation of SS Members) came into being the following year. In a urpristngly shorr rime, using the cxperti e of its R HA veterans, ODE SA built up an efficient srsrem of courier who managed ro smuggle wanted SS men and other azi!. our of rhc country. A few en terprising indi,·iduals even secu red jobs driving U Army trucks on the Munich- al.tburg autobahn. and hid fugitives in the backs of rhe ' 'chicles, which were o;eldom t:arch~d by the American military police, to get them safely across the Austrian border. Every forty miles or so, an ODESSA Anlaufstelle, or reception centre, was cstabli hed, run b~ at least three but not more rh::tn five people, who knew only the Anlaufstellcn on ei rher side of them along the route. These relay poinrs covered the C'ntire German-Ausrrtan fro ntier, with the mosr import::tnt ones being situated at Osrermicrhing in Upper Austria, ZeU-am-See in rhe Salzburg District, and Jgls near lnnsbruck in the Tyrol. :\tlany SS men on the run ended up at eirher Bregenz or Lindau, both on Lake Constance, from where they cro~!.ed into Switzerland and rherea fter boarded civil airline flights to rhe Middle Easr or outh America. ODE SA also ran a so· t}'C'>

....

HIMMlfR'S BlACK ORDER

,\!larks the pre\ iou!> wt·ck. h.1d rbt•n .1bruptl} to Mer 2,600,000 :O.hrks! He had no idea \\here the additiontll money had come from. umil he recalled a my~teriou~ vtsit he had had in rhe aurumn of 1944 from rwo ·entOr 55 officers, who wanretl w know the number l)( his hank accnunr and asked for a specimen of his stgnJture on two blank sheers of paper. Although no cxpbnar10n had been given at rhe rime. they had evidently ht:en prepa ring rhe ground"' nrJ.. for rhe distri hurion of S funds after rhe w.tr. It ha been estimated rh:n hetween 1945 and 1948 rhe managed to hide the presenr· day equivalent of around £ J ,000,000,000 in mone} and assets in \' arious parts of rhe world . The 'lix lists of the people authorised ro dispose of, and benefit from, these funds are probably the most important undiscovered documents of the Third Reich . fwo wen: iu the h .:~nds of the men who organjseJ ODE~ A in 194-, mo arc said ro be 111 the safe-keeping of banks. and one of the remaining t\\ o is bclie,·ed to be lying at the borrom of L.1ke Toplitz in Au tria, where a large 4uantity of !'.vi loor was hurried!~· sunk in 1945. The v.1~t majority of those named on the lisrs are no\\ dl'ad, bur rheir .:hildren ll\·e on . There can be lirrle doubt that many respected famil~ bu~ines e:. currently operating successfully .teras'> rhe glob~.· owe their origins and continul·cl existence ro ODE'iSA and the fund of the S-. '\ hile ODFSSA "a alway ...t secret network, geared rowards secunng the escape ot S war criminals and rhe continuance M :'\;a.Gi ideology, a second well-publicised organisatiOn for ex-SS men was established ar about the same rtme. lr \\JS the Hi lfsgemcinschafr auf Gegenseitigkcir dcr ·olda ten der ehemal \XIaffcn-SS, or Hl.-\G, the Welfare ssoc1anon of former Soldiers of the WaffenS. HlAG cl)nsistcndy den1ed an} connecrion with 0D[S$A, bur the latter undouhtedlj financed it in the early da~·s . Its ;wowed

called Monastery Rourt-, between Auscna and Italy, where ymp.ubt.'tll" Rom.m Carhoh~: dergy, p:uricubrly l-ranciscan fnars, pa!>Scd hunted ~~ men dO\\Il a long ltne of religious 'safe hou!>cs•. Moreover, the organisation had connections with prufc:,sion:tl smuggler~ in all fronrier areas . a nd cultivatetl valuable contacts in rhe Spanish. Egyptian, ~yrian and numerouc; ~ourh American embassic in \·arious European capitals. One llf rhe m was Obersrurmhaunfllhrer Fr:lnt. Roestel, tormerl} of rhe Waffen- S division ' h und berg·. :\!though nor on the 'wanted' list himself. he operated under rht: assumed name of I laddad Satd, and found piJt:e for man} of his ex-colleagues a militar~' advtscrs ro rhe gm ernmenrs of developtng Arab stares . .\II thl co:,r money, a resource which ODESSA conveniently had Ill Vlffually unlimited supply. The huge profits amassed through rhe SS econumic cnrerprises, the substantial donurions received O\i<.'r many years from mcmbt:r~ of the Freundeskreis R f$~ and the Fordernde Mitgliedcr, and the cash raised by rhe sale of confiscated jewish propen~ and .Ht treasures looted from rhe occupied terriwrie~ had filled the \\ a n ime coffers of the ~ to the poHH of overflow. Early in 1945. the WVII .'\ and RSIIA con pired to liquidate all remaining S assets and rran!>fcr the bnlk of it~ money inro hank ac~.:ounrs opened in ncurral l:ounrnes. These were ubsequenrlr u ed ro c'\tablish :~nd finance over -so 55-sponsored companies "\·hich sprang up ..d l over the world, including Ill in pain, '\8 in t>(Jrtugal, 35 in Turkey. 98 in Argenrina, 214 in •Nitzerlantl and 233 in other countries. Trusred former S~ oHiccrs suddenly and unexpecredl) had substantial sums deposi{cd into che11 perc;onal hank accounts, whi~h e'Cpl.tim lww ~o ll1,tny of them became 'successful businessmen' in later life. One ex-Obersturmbannfuhrer paid a visit w his bank in 194- to discover thar his accoum. whJCh had stood ar .1 modesr 12.000

278

EP I LOGUE

purpo'>c \\-.1S w Lampaign for and achicvt. clw pavrnenr of 'rate hellt'(it to t"'\-~l·rvkemt'n of the ~affen-. ~. particularly the war-wounded. who did not qualify for regular \X!ehrmachr d1sabdiry pensionc;. In thar aim, it \\',U muderatelr successful. Over rhe years, as ir~ original membership progres~h d: died off. HT.\G Jwintllt'd in importance to hecome only a pale . hadow of its former self, de,·ored almost entirely w rhe runn1ng of :t small puhlishing house, ~fun1n- erl,tg Gmbll of Osnabri.ick . which produced literarurc celebrating the combat achievements of S fidd troops during the Second World \X.'a r. The dismembcrmenr o t HIAG Ill the early 1990s ,,1\v rhe end of rhe last acknowledged active remnant of the S . However, while rhc SS may nnw be consigned to rhe history books, mreresr m rhe srory of the organ1s:lrion, and tts regalia. has ne er been greater. The Waffen-)S in parricul:tr continues ro hold a position of unique interest. wirh recent anal) ses setting aside rhe atrocities anti reapprai~ing the Waffen· .1~ .m elite multi-n:ttional fighting force, even .1 fo rerunner of ::-.:ATO, whose soldiers earned rhc respect nor only of their Wehrma~ht comrade~ but al~o of their enemies. A veritable multi-million pound businc~;s has gro\\O ur around the buying anJ selling of S m1liraria and other memorab1lia. lndeecL the collecnng of S regalia bcge~n l'\' 1.'11 before the ~..ess.uion of hostilities in May 1945. As Germ:tn towns and cities, and concentration camps. fell to the Allies, .. Items r:tptdly Jiscarded by rheir owners were jusr as quickl~· ' napped up· by souvenir-hunring Briri h and Americnn troops. Like their counrerparrs in armies throughout 111Story, rhe vicrors of rhe Second World War eagerly tr.:~ded in .tnJ bartered \\ Jth rhe spoils taken from the v:1nquished. Largt· stockpiles of SS uniforms
279

smppt:d: pri oners-of-war had rhci r hadges confiscated; and l.O un. ut:h wa thl' av;-~ibbllity of S effcc.:rs rhar no ~rear value \\ac; pur o n Jny of tht:m. Soldiers mighr cxt:hange .1n general's peaked cap for .:~n Irvn Cross 2nd Class, a death 's head nng for a belt huckle or a Reichc;fuhrer's swurJ of honour for a steel helmet. rew knew exactly v,:h
archives

srorn1g

wartime

S·

per onnel record:, .u1usscd a fortune by remo\'ing documents signed by Himmler, Hcydrich and the like and selling them on rhe open marker. He subsequently received a lengthy jail sentence for his efforts, and collector<: rhr()ughout the world wl'rl' obliged ro return to thl! authorities in Germany items wh1ch they had bought in good faith.

HIMMlER'S BLACK ORDER

\mon~

th e \<", ru~ce now 111 grea reo;;r demand .uc pcal..~.·d cap • runi~,;~. ~,;,unoutlage clothing and insignia of all rypcs. Onv,inal'> .tre h.trJ ro find . and ro meet rhe demand rh1. faker' h.Hc turned rn producing •fa nra~ } · ircms which h:1J no .1urhenuc counrerparr:. during the Third R-:1ch! ron•m<.l'> t .lmong rhe'>e are the follm, ing ·fantas> · ~.uff tide!>, n<>ne uf which C\.1 ted hefore the end nf the ~ccond World '\ .1r:

unn <"tphcro;, the whole.: range ot tnrc1gn 'nlunreet arm 'hu~IJ , mountaln rroop edelwet!.'>CS, Old ( ampatgner's che' rons . br~a'>t runt:<. and tht: r..\nk 1n'>lgn1:t fo1 camouflage dorh1ng. Cop) piping and Tre'> e tor coll.tr and ~houldcr ~traps arc a''atlablc hv rhe mcrre, .tnd e'ven RZ.\l I:Jbdc; han~ been faked for t'\\ ing 011 to hngu-. uniforms and badEtco;. .\iloreo\ ~r. llo:r.cns of orher ~ collectahle have been reproduced. lk lt hud.le~. cap ~.ord<:.. tum1. hurrons, !>word knOt!>, identlt}' paper~ and disc,, flags, pennant'\ and rings arc tmr a ~m:~ll ~e l ec..t1on . WnCfen -SS recruiting poo;rt•rc;. dnving licence-; and even ~ong boob have heen reprinted. Convincing new fa he; reguiJrl) appeJr "irh plausible 'pcdigrl'C'>• designed w ,1sc.isr rheir acceprnnce. In 1992. for e' i'> that rhere would be no purpo e 1n proJ111.' 1ng ... udl fake rrash tf rhcrc were not a \'o.t~r and lm:r.ttivc market for it. Mo r buyer think they arc ad w pcrpetu ;tl Jamnarion.

Berlin Bohmen·Niiihren Briti che, 1-n:ikorps Dnc:hau Dirlcw
S -Po lizei Tott:nkopf I Totenkopf 11 rotenkopf Ill

Ungarn Wallonie While the faker h;we ·''"''ay~ rended ro concentrate on the lucr.tti' e are.ts of collar patches, shoulder trap , arm eagles and so on, c\·ery type of badge ha been copied. Reproduction'> include sport~ 'esr insignia,

280

BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARYSOURCES

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING

An lnu dcr Rcichsfiihrer-SS 1111d \he( dt'r f) e ut:.c!Jen Polil.ei . Present!} scored

d.Aiquen, G., /)ie 5~. C3crlin, 1939. Of(i~,;ial pamphlet prnduccJ O) th~? Reich fiihrunj!,\ Jct<1iling the origins and functions of the ~ or~an1 sauon . German texr. J\ngolia, J. R. , Cloth lnsignia oj tbe S. Bender, ~.lll Ju~c. 1983 . Lavish dlusrrarivc hi~ror) of rhe devdopmem of~ ' badges. B.ukcr, ,\ ..J., W.'a(fen-SS at \\''ar, Jan Allan, heppenon. 19H1. Good coverage nt Waffen~ h.trrles dunng the Second World War. l~c.t"er, ~I. D .•tnd Borsarelln, J., Camou(/uge Umform s of the Wld(fen· .S. Schitfer, Penn ylvani.t. 1995. Oct;uled photograph~~: rud~ of , ~ ~amouflage parrernc;. Bender. R.J ..1nd Ta~ lor, H .P., Untfo rms, ( )r~mus,7tir)ll and History of the \V.1ffen-S • Vols l-'i. Bender, SanJo.,c, 1969- 83. A good r~terencC' on lllllt ht~roric~ and insigma, ftlf rht- firl>r t\\t!'nr~ W;lffcn- S divisions. Bursarcllo, J. and Lassu . D. , Cuno u(/aged Untforms of tin· \Y/a(fm-S , Vuls I & 2. ISO, London, I 'J>ln-~ . Photographic sruJ~· o f $ c:tmoutbgc. Bw,,, P.H .•wd Mollo, A., Hitler's Germanu: l.egio us. McDonald & Janc·s. t ondon, 1978. An illumared lw.rory of the wesrern Europc~111 l~gion' of rhc Waffen· · , 1941-3. Cooper, D.j .• Usin~ the Runes. Aquan.to Pre<;,, \XIellwgboro ugh . 198 - . .\ cnmprehcn~i' e mrroduct ion w the ancienr Jrr of runecrJft. Da\' l'i, B.L .. \V,I/{en - '.\. Blandtord, Poole, 19HS. A ha-.ic phutographic h1stor). F.clking. 1-rl'thcrr von, Die Uni(ormt•n du

' ithtn

rh e D. .

~ ationa l

Archives,

Wa~hingrun

Das

Kurps: Zettung rler der SOAP, Orga n der R£•tc!Jsfiilmmg-SS. (Zentr,tl h·rlag der N~OAP. ,\lunich, 1935-45 .) The ofticial ncw-;paper o f the I) . Der Dietnch. t arious issues. I The bulletin o t rhe I eth~ranJarre-S 'Adolf Httler'.

tbwaru

S(.hut~sta((el

/)ienstaltcrsltste der Sclmtzsta{fel der DAP. (. Pe r onalhaupt:1mr, Berl111, 'ariou<; edinon .) The SS Officer<. I 1 r. 1-AI -l.c•ttsclm{t: Vf o natscbrift der R£'rchsfiihrung-SS fiir Forderndt.• Mit,~ lteder. IZenrral Verlag der 1\:SDr\P, ~lumch, 1935-45 .) The tournai o t the ~S

Pacrun ,\ l emhcrs

Organi~an on.

Or.~a llisatr o ns/)llch der 1 SDA P. (lt·rnral Verlag dcr ~DAP, ,\ lunich, \arious

editions 1934-4-. ) development oF S.

l nclude~ uniform~

the nnd

in~ignia .

'cf)/1/~s/affel da

1 • I) A 1': Kleiderkasse Prt!tslrste. (SS Ven,altungsamr. Berl1n,

'ariou"

d.ue~. )

1hc official SS uniform .md

eqUipment price hsc. . S Persomrrl Ftles and Records.

e\·eral million C)f these
/Jr,wnhemden:

281

A . ••\. Po litisrhe Leiter,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY Haleriu~?end .:;~

Reich.

BD \
:-.J)DAP. .Munich, 1933. Illustrates earlr ·s uniform~. German te'\r. .Frutiger, :\ .. Der Nr L'l/sc!J tmd sei11e Zetchen. Weiss Verlag, Dreieteh, 1978. The design<: anc.l meaning~ of igns and symbob. GennJn text. (,ilbert, A .• \V.t(fen- . Bison, tondon. 1989. ,\n excellent illu-.trateJ h1c;ror~. llamilron. C., Ledders ,]lid Personalities of tbe Tlmd Retch. BenJer, San Jose, 1984. Mini-biographies of all rhc main Naz1 leaders. Harms, N. and Volc;LJd, R., Waf(en-S 111 Acttoll. Squadron/Sigurd, Texas, 1973. A general picrorial account. !laves. A. (ed.), Uniforms. Insignia and Accoutrements. Schiffer, Pennsyl vama, 1996. A photographic o;rud) of S regalia. I Whue, H., Der Orden tmtt•r dem Totenkopf. Verlag dcr piegcl, Hamburg, 1966. The standard hi mry of rhe S . German ti!Xl. Holzmann, W.K .. Mff/111111 o/ the Waffen- . Bdluna, Warford, 1976. Ba::.ic reference on Waffcn-) uniforms anJ equipment. Hunr. R .• Dcath's Head. ll unr. Madi on, 19-9. t\ combar record of the SSTorenkopf-Di,·isinn in f-rance, 1940. Jurado, C. and Hannon. P., Reststance Wlarfare. 19-J0-15. 0 prey, London, 1985. Includes CtJvcrage of rhe Germanil:-~S and nssociarcd units in the west. Krausnick, H. and Broszat, M., i\natomy of the S . tate. Paladin. London, 1970 . A scholarly <~Cconnr of rhe concenrration camp sysrem and the per.ccurion of rhe Jews. Kumm, 0., VorwJrts Prin:: Eugen! ~lunin· Verlag, O~nabruck, 197H. An illusrrared hisrorr of rhe S division ·Print fugen'. German rcx'T. Lehmann. R.. OTt: l.t'tbstandarte. Munin· Verlag, Osnabri.ick, 1977. An illusrra red histor) of the Leibsrandarre-SS 'Adolf ll itler·. Germ:~n rc'Ct. I irtlejohn. D., roreign Legwns o( the Tlmd

Vols

1--J.

Bender,

an Jose,

19-9-87. Includes sectio ns on the non-

<...t
Lumsden, R., Detecting the Fakes. fan Allan, hepperron, I 989 . H ow ro spot repwducrion Nazi regalia. Lum den, R., The Black Corps. Jan Allan, hepperton. 1992. A collector'~ guide ro the hisrory of rhc S. Lumsden, R .. The 1\llRemcme·S . Osprey, London, 1993. A general hisrnq of the Allgemeine-$ and irs uniforms. Lum sden. R., The Waffcn-SS. Jan Allan, Sheppcrron, J994. A collecror'c; guide. Lum den, R., SS Regalia . Bi::.on, London, 1995. Photographic record of the umforms and insignia of rhe ~tnll o, .\., A Pictonal History of the S~. /923-H. McDonald & .Jane'!>, London, 1976. J:..xcdlenr phorographic record of rhe S . Mo llo, A., Uniforms of the SS. Vols 1-7 . l lisrorical Research Unit, Lonc.lon, 1969-76. The st:111dard books vn uniform. Mund, R., Der Rasputi11 llimmlers. Vienna, 1982. The ::.tory of SS-Brigadefuhrer Karl Maria Wiligur-We1o;rhor. German tc)>.'t. ~l unoz, A., Forgol/eu I egtons. Paladin, Colorado, l991. The r.tle uf the ohscure combat formations elf the \XIaffcn· . Padfield. P., llimmler: Reichsfiihrer-SS. Macmillan. London, 1990. The ultimate b1ugrt~phy of Heinrich ~ limmler. Page, R. I. , Runes. Briti<;h Mu eum Press, London, 1987. The srory of runic writing in Dark Age Europe.

282

Pallud . J . P., Ardennes I 944: Petl)t'r ,md Skor~eny. O:.prcy, London . 198-. The '\' affen- ") mvolvt:'mem 10 rhc Battle of the Bulge . Pa::.::.murc, M .• SS /'(Jrcelaw Allarh. I LO, O-xford, 19 -2 . •\ hisror~ uf rhc ~) pon.d:11n and ceramics industr~. Petc:r!>on. D., \'1/a(fen-)S Camouflage Umforms and Postwar Der~t •.Jltt•es. Windrow &. Greene, London . 1995. A recnnstrucrion of Wa ffen- <; ca mtnlflage un1forms in wear. Pia, .J .. ·~ Regalt 1. 13allanrinc, New York. 1974. Includes good colour illusrraLinn of SS collectahb. Quarne, B.• \'cc Moder nc. l) aris, 1980 . A good gene ral accnunr of rhe ~ . . French text. Reidinger. G .• The S: A/ill/ of a Ntllmn. Hem ema nn. London, 195 6. fbc hrsr der.adeJ hisrory of the S. Russel, . :-~nd Schneider, J., He111rrc!J Himmlers Burg. Heit£ & H offke , Es'ien, 1989. A dtron1cle of Wcwelsburp. la!>rlc. 1934-45. German reJ.'r. Schne1der, .J ., Their Hunour \X7,1S Loy.1lty. Bender, an .Jose. 1977. An illu rrarcJ nnd dnc:umenmry hl'lror~· of rhe Knight's Cro,, holders nf the Waffen-~ and police.

283

'limpson. 1\..,

\\ '.l{(t'II ·~.S. B•~on.

London. 1990. hi,tOr) of rhc \X/a ffrn- • ~mJth, J.H. and Sari,. W., He.zdget1r o{ Hitler's Gcrmally, Vol 2. Bender, a•1 Jo-.c. 1992. CoH:rs \X/affen- he,J<.ldres!>. rein, G., The W4fen· .. : Hitler's Elite Cuard Jt \\''ur. Ct>rnL·II. ~c" York. 1966. A chularlr accounr of rhL· Waffen·S . rcphen. A. and .-\modio, P. , Wla{feii·SS U111(orms in CeJic>ur Plwto}:ra/Jhs. '\ HHlrow & Greene. London, 1990. Imaginative rccnno;trunions of Wnffen - S uniform in we,1r. tober. H. , Die Sturmflut Ulld d.1S rude. .\llunin -Verlag, O~nahriick, 19 76. lllu1>tr.ncd h1srnr> of rhe division 'Gort \'On Berlichingcn·. German re.xt. ~rdnor. C.. 11ldters of Destruction. Princcrown Uni\"(~ rc;l£\ Pre<; , Pr inceton , 1977. fhc tory of rhc -Torcnkopf unit'>. 1933-45. Thomas, N. and .-\bborr. P., Partisan Warfare, 19-J 1--+S. 01.prey, London, 1983. Includes coverage of S .Hlti· partlsan engagement.> on rhc casrcrn from. 11me-Life Bonks ( \luiuus aurhors ), The · . Time-Lire, Alexandria, 1988. An illusrrareJ lw;rory of rhe \\"~•clinger. 0., Dtz•rsum ' Dds Reich'. MuninVcrlag, Osn.1brikk, 19-9. An illu~tr.lted history of the Jl\·ision 'Das Reich'. German rext. \Xfilli.tmson. G., The S.: llitler's /nstmmeltt urrerror. Brmvn, London, 1994. A hi<:rorr nf rhc ~~Williamson. G .. Loy.Jity ts My I frmour. Brown. London, 19 95. Rccollc rions o( formt·r member of rhe Waffcn- ·. '\ ibon, K., SS Hec.1dgcar: A Collector's Curde. Rt'cldick, Texas, 1990. Colour phoro~raph~ of \Xlaffen- · headdress. Windrow, M .. Tin• W!affw-S . Osprer. London, 19 82 . A general hisLOq 11f Waffenunn... un1forms nnJ campa1gn .... Photograph~~:

.._

IN 0EX (,,,lk~.

'>S-StandJrtC'n tuhn:r Rmno 121 t.ehhardt . .,.., Ol>t·n;ruppcnfuhrer Or "~rlfin,,-,26~.

INDEX \l>odumw

•Jrl(~ntl.iltlnll ~0-2

.\hwchr '1-1 \l:..:ount ·•; I llll "'hnrnt'rhto 121-6. tr \llach ror~d.llll \\Orl.., 1()11, IIH o\llgcm•·tn(-\.., I '1-t-o, 1""'11, ISO

4'-.!1

dun~.,

iino~n,..,s

10!

tr.lmtn!t -1--'1 umtu~~ 142--o unu •Jrg.lnt~Jitt•n 19--12 .111J \X'chrwnlt organtsanon Il-l \m.1nn, ~ Ol>t'r~ruppenfuhrt'r .\ l.n 110. 2-6 o\r~nr • ..,..,_Oixrfuhrcr

Prot. lknno \Ort 246 AMllann, R,.,, h~tugendfuhrcr

\mtr IH \i.l<. lo, ..,',-Ol>crgruppen fuh rcr Fn.h \Un dem '16, 26-l,

,... -

•

l

Backe. ~~-Obt-r~:~ntp~ntltlmr Hcrhcn 112. 2-:;

6.t,l Tnlt U. 166. 1-4. I 81 . .! I l

IH)Z..I -H, I 31, 144 [{eglt·ubiltJ•IIvn Rflo'> 94 lkhrcnd\, ......(.ruppentuhrcr

nl

Hermann -6 J.knJ~r. I, c;. \t,l nd3 11eniuhrer l lur-~

24 lkrLhtold, I curnJnl 10-1 I

Jn•d II.

Berger, !1~-0I>crgruppcnfuhra <.mdoh-( hrt>rtan 2 '· ~ '· 141. .!-~. rBesr, S!l-(,ruppcnfuhrn Dr \\ crnl!r 92. I 14 Btttndl. '>lo- Obcr~ruppcnfuhrcr \t'1lhelm 198 Hlood Banner I0, l IS. I(,Bluml Order IX. '14 Rlumcnrc:urc:r, ..,..,_ GmpJWnfuhrcr Or C..ul 6U

\ lamh.lU\Cll IU4, IXII ~JI/\IC:IIer 104 ~cu~nj.!,ltlll1u: IIH

Oramcnhurl' -1, HH. 1-x, 214 R;ncn,btu't.. 104-5.2 14 chrcincr,burj( 114 ">oh1hnr t>6 • .l~9 ';runhnl 104 Trcblink.1 M, :! ~9 Lonu, ~<; Ol'l<'r"ruppe11fuhrt't Dr I cun.udo 60. I I 2. :!.""' .;ourh, ~!! .lnd roll.:«: 11'1

1\r.lntlt, ~~-C.ruppenfuhrt'r f'rnl Dr " ·•rl 109. 2--1 Brandt, )!)
,--ll.

.t'Aiqu.:n,!:. -Srandurtenfiahrer (,unrt·r 44-5 O.liUc!(c. sc;-OI>t'N· C.ruppentuhrer Kurt 9. I!, .!I. -'1418. 2'"4 DMrc. \\-OI>t'rgruppcnfuhrn R1d1.Hd \X'a hher 6 '· -n. 112 l.!t,n> f),Js .\ dm•.u;,• Kmps 44-~, 141 Lk 'iS \1,111 I 16, 14.! dr.uh', h~JJ lollliJtlum ~t·e

BuLh, '>~-Ohel"j!ruppcnfuhr<·r \\'.1ltcr I I 0. :!-' Buchner, Rc••h,/cugmriHcr

RKh3rd 2-13 Bund Deut>chcr ~ l.iJcl WL' 1{0~1

Burgundt.t I ~4 Buro "on 1\ur-~:11

BJhns.:hur7pultlcl !I(. BJrtds. SS C:,und.mlnfulu~·r llt'rmann 119 BJurictll, \ntlre.l~ 9

C.cndumenc ll \

l•ducnhur~ 1-1! ~l.1jdanck t.n, .!""''1

0beqvurrrntuhrt'r \brttn II 0. 26l\ouhlcr. ~'I Ol>crt:ruppcnluhrer Phtltpp I ti'J, .!-l

HQ21i 'Urfllt~\

LSiu!l.lhnc s,·, Hloml B.uHicr Rtibct ffitO, 'I'> Oher,turmnannhthrl'r n, H .1nn' 104 B<~mhard, ..,., \.ruppctlluhrer \dull 1nnllS Elnrn1.1nn, '1~-

-s

\\.lffcn ·';'i: 'i'>-TV Je.ah·~

hc.1d

111~1gn•o~

su

umtnrm~: c;~

C.:111am, AJnural \\ 1lhclm 94 dl.' Clcn.lJ, Cu,l.l\1' '')raf' I H Cohurg. HJIIIc
l>r~:~rdlc,

C\'\-SrJnd3ru:nfuhrcr

Leon I 'Jt., 2n:. 2 1 I. 172.

_, 1"""'

I".

llcm1an>l-. Bani~ of 1911 ' Dc:r .\nJ;nll' I ' O•c-1-n~h,. -Oht'rluhrer l'rol. "arl II - . 11'~,1-111 D1cl>, <, ·Obcrluhrcr Rudolf -9- SO. I I 3, 1""'b 0Jt'll5t,1ltt'rsft~t~: '4-6 Du:m.:h. '>~ Obcr~t­ Lrupp.:nfuhr.-r fmc! ''-l'pp' '· t;, i4. I -1-20 I,

12\. 2l9 Jk(<;rn ,.,-, lll..J l\cl'c' nn 1\u.:hcn" .dc.l I), '6. h-. -l. lli..J. 1!\U Chelmntl bb (..nlurnhi:!-IIJu' 1-b Dil,h,m IS, bll-1. ln4-t., 1-s. 1so. 114 l:.stcrwc:gt·n 1-S

,-_-I.

rt.

01C[tKh, ...... OhNgruppcnfnlm·r

rs

Or~<> 112. Dulli!J. Gr.llld \dnm:tl 2"'1)

Fln"lnhurg 11)4

1-uhl,huncl 1-s Grn---Ru
I >rc.->clcr. \nwn '· II-

284

1-,

( •ehcnnc .,t,l:Jt>poltzc• 5CI' (icsrapo

nr

"·"I

l:xb n, D1ct rid1 I 1- , l l!fl Ehrenfuhrrr 44, t 1-1- 1~ EhrhJrdr Bnj.!adt -1. 14 6 Fhrllllgt•r, \S-Oht:rfuhrcr Ln~h 9:!. [ackr, :)4\-0bergruppcntuhra I h~odor 178 I, 19l Fm'i.mglllflflC" 64, '10 [nhatN.lffd 109 L•sner. Kurt S fller~1tk. ~ -O bertuhrc• Kl•rt

u

Epp. fr.Jtll Rlt!N ~on 4-5 exrcrminarion c.unp; ><'t' cuncemr,mnn c.llllp!. Fxrcna,rc:inc 106

1-anslau,.., Bngadetuhrcr llt'lll/ 103 Farhcn, I.C.. 10--8 Fegele•n, '-"-Gtuppenfuhrer llerm~nn Quo 1--1!, 6l f-dJherrnhJIIe monmncm 9,

n

Fcldl..!lmmandnsrcllc

Rf!>~

H-'

FeiJmc•ter. SS t.mdJrt.:nfuhrer j oh.1nn~s I lenJnl. l lh:ucrsdtullpolilCI 86

f tehlt:r, S~-OIX'rgruppcnluhrc:r l>. arl I 13, 1-6 fmal snluucm tu thc 1~'' "" prohlem 6b f~ l Org.,ni\JIIon 44. 2-s rM Zctt~
l·omcr, <, -OI>t'rgruppcmtuhrcr AI !>crt""'!!, 2-..J Fr J nl... '>S-O bcrgru rr, 103, II S I r.u1~. Dr H.111' - x r ro~nk . \S-G ruppcnluhrcr K.1tl Hermann "6, 114, 2..,4 Fr~cma~onn 8~

r rc
II - . 114, 14 ~ hruntJr,J..n•" RISS 1n--S,

2"'S Fm.J.., Rc1d1Smmistc:r \X'•Ihclm Rll Frumh.mnc 9 lunk~·hutJ

!!""'

(,crman Order 94 'GrrmJnt'rt'n ' ll'J, 141 Germamc l'rohliCI1C\ Rune 141 C.erm3n1c-\~ H. 129. I '4-12 in Drnm~rk l l9-40 1n Fl.tndfr~ 13 'i-111 German) 141-l 1n I loll.tnd u--x 111 :"'ur" ·•> 138-9 uniforms 114-42, 1511 <..cstapu 26. -6. -'J-1!0. S9-'IO, 93 Gille. SS~Ohcrgtuppcofuhrcr Herbm-Ottu 1-4, 200. 1""'6 t..lulks. ~~-Uhcrgruppcnfuhrcr

RKiwd 6-. 10.1. r 4.

r(,Ut:bbd~.

Rt:ldl)fii1111HCf Dt lo~d l.l-13, 112 (,clrutg. Rcidhmar~hall

Ht>rmann 2, t-. 21.14. -9.1 n Gonhrrg. ~S­ Ob('r)lruppcn(il hrer ( ·urt

von269 Graf. -c;. L\ngadt(uhrn Ulrich

ro

C.rJI\111, 'iS· Ohcrgruppenfuhr~r Prof. Dr L:rn~t Kobm 14_60.

11 4. 120. l""'l ( ,rc•lelr, S\-Obcl)trurrcnfuhrl'r Ulrich 18. --. r6

Gnmmanger. taodJrtcnfuhrer j al.oh I I, 166, 2 ...6 Grorh mann, <;5. Obcmurmbannfiihrcr Wl.'rner 2-2 gu<"rrill.l "arf.Ht' 164-5 Clll~rrill~ \X;uf:ue 1\,ulgc 26 , _-

Hanke, S-Ohcrgruppcniuhrcr

K,1rl rn, 274 I l.trun ci-Ra-chid Hinrcrsar1,

S5-Standmrn(Ohrc:r Wilhelm 214 Haupr--amt S<; Gcru:hr 'IHO llauptamt RKF sri! RIO·D \ ' I bus~~r, SS-Obem Cruppcnfillucr Paul 1-4.

-

llcck, SS-Sturmfuhrt'r \'\'alter 146

Heiden, l:rhard I I

Ohc'l!ruppcnluhr<'l RcmharJ l_ 26. 6\, M.

.md the l.l\tcrn (.crm.uu, Emp1rc --_g f.tll from p•mrr 1/i- - -o Jlld f laf.. 311\liiJIICS IJJ IOtPidS ll~t' ol .lrtnY r.mk> Ill Wolf fen-'>'> Ill' · .1nd fore•~n rruop' 111 \\;',lflcll·'>'> 19(1, 20 I X 1-rcll..nrp~ mrmhu'<;htp ' .1nd C.l.'rlll.lll hiSIOfl II '1-2b J' C.t·nuan~ \ b1~g~sr mdustrt.liiSl 100 ~odlarhcr of <,c; d1Jitlrcn - , a' H•tln's hc:•r-a pparcm 26lt'gal and c.lasltplm.ln p1mcr~ man•J~o~l' rule~

lur tlal ~'> 69--2 :~nJ mcd•.:•.t l'"pcnmt·m~ 61!-1. 6.\ linim•r ul the lntcnot 114,

H 1cge, 'i-

Oher,turtllh(lnnftlhrt•r Ferdinand --. Ill l llldt'brandt. S!:.Ohc"ltrupJ>Cnluhrcr R•dwd -,, 269, 2"'6 llilt-gememsch.lll .H1f G~genscurgkc•t c.lcr oldarcn dt•r l'hem.tl \X'affen-'i'>; St<' HI \(, I fuumler_ <,C, \t.lndartcnfuhrr• l'rol. <..c:bh.ud r 2 I limmler. Rc1ch~luhrcr-SS Hcinnch .uttt·parm.1n re!~ponsib•lny 96. 26~ .tpJ>otnted Rctlh
Ill

JnJ ' l'l.A ~\\ICm 126-9 .1nJ oarh' 1..:n Jrtd t•ffau·1 cover for the \X';a/f,•n·\ 209 p<1g.1111"1' 1 ,and peace nc~ortaunns

,mu

168- -n Jl'""mal tr,t•n, ''wndcrw~ llcmn~h' 24 pl3ns fur the~ 66

pum hdJ' pn1mmion
,\rm1 <.mur cumrnJndcr ll ~- :!h31ld .1nn1 rcrnunolom I ~2. 18Chiel nl R:11 ;m:Jn Politic.1l Pollee: lit) ( htcl nf (,crmJn l'olu:c li I Ch1el nf <.c:w1po SO { hu:f of '>Z.11• PJm Pul1..:t· I; .tnc.l ChnsiiJlllt\' I 1Lirclc ol l• ncnd~ nf Rt~'i

l.l9 Kt·•chsk(llnlllt\sar for the ( 011\IIIICI.H ltlll l)f Gl.'rman"m .!It ---l!

ilnd rum~ symhohsm 141, I·H-SO and Student .ul.lll" 1:!8-'l• \lliCIUL" l""'J ,111d S\\CICd\ 120, 165~ and rroptcal umlc>rm 136 .mtl \\C;lflllf!. nt Jll'ltll\ 241 .1nd the \Vc,rcrn <•l'rmJn•t Emp•rr I 14

to--s

<.umnl.lntlrr·m-( hid ol I lome: Arm' 115, consnltdat•t•n ,..( "" command >trucrurc

.w-

19-2 1 .tlld Ctt
l'·lfh ~.lrt'cr X. I I

s-

80.811-9' 111-\G 2"'8-'J

II

6. ''· JIJ. Grafe, i\IIX'rt \l)n 9

IX4-l04,12ll. r

Hru•r•4"h I. Km~ ot ~JXflnl 1116. liS. 120. IH . I lt'I~Silli.'\'Cr, ~., Obcr):rupJlcntuhrcr \ugu\t !5. 28, 11 4. 128. l-,Henlcin, C, (.ruppcnfuhrL'r Dr k.vnr.1d -6 Hrrfl. S~-Ob.:'l!ruppcnfuhrcr \la\mHhan "'n :!- . 2-4 HcrmJn~. \\"ard I ~" He,s, SS-Ohcrl(rupp.:ntuhrc:r Rudolf 6. l t4 , tli.J, 14 l lndrich. .>S-

llindcnhurJ~,

cns1s

76 .md c.l3gJ.:m 12t.l. 164-' Jnd dt<.uh\ hc1d 111\lglll.l 14' .wd dc3th 's hcac.l rmg 1.!11.

( .cnc:r;J lfl'lllmar '>l h.tll

P01ul Hill I~ Hm, "'·'>rurmhannftihrcr l>r \ugusr 123 Httkr_ \tlolf ht'.:umc' (.h.111~ellor I ' t ummander-m·Chu~f of tht•

14- -'1 .111d de'-lf\11 uf S!:. hclt hu<.kk 24 1 / Jtrn!tultersiiSir ,lc:taals '4-'

ss 163

cJrl~-

days ol the '\aLl f\Jrll 5-1" c.Hiy d.n' c. I thr c,-, W-Ill

and l>t~:rnth\ l c:•h~tandanc

,-1

285

I'am \X'1lriJ \\.Jr \Cn ICC: I ·" f u•v•.,•ons 1-1. 1~6, 11n, l'll, I'H fn·•kurp\ member 4

.tnd furore: of the !:.~ I ~J lur UJ\S 269-70 lasr nght r•f Judicial .1ppcal fw lhc 'I~ s.and ' i~lll. nl\c~· I~ Ill rcr..<'curum of the lcws hh Jnd .>S comrol of rhc poh,c l!0-1 .111d ...S Clltvltf.l~t 109-JO .md ~c; promotions 53 and Waffcn-$ - ftHiurc~ 202 llnlcqugcnd >t'l' H_l HJ 49. I ;0-~ I lufnlctrlll. '>'> · Obcr[:rUpJ>t'nfuhrc:r Otto

-,.--

1ll)ht:t"l·llllcn, Fnc:dmh

-BnrhMrhS,l• VCIII I I'} I 16ht·rc -,.,. und l,oh7c1fOhrcr set• H')~JI{ Hohlft.>!Jcr, ~~ ·Ohcrfuh,....r Or Han~ 41 l lohn~. ~­

OI'l<'r..rurmhannfuhrc:r D1 Rulf I l l l t<;Srf2S. 81. 99 mdusmal cnrcrpm~ IOV-11

J.lrll..uhn. '>'I ll bcr
lrho,ah'<. Witlll'\~~ 90 lusr. S. -Bng;~dduhrt'r Hem/ 9 ~ JnnJ!dau ... CiS C.ruppcnfuhl'l'r RKhard lib Jungdeut~.:hcr OrJcn 1

luttrwr,

c;.,_Ol~rgrupp~·nfuhrcr

11.111' 26. I I'

K.1h1. (..uq;~, \ vn 8. 11\Jhcuhrunner. S • Obcf}!ruppcnfiihtcr l>r lnm ~6. 94. .!n'J. !-4 K.1mrnlcr. .,S-Gruppcnfuhrc r Or Han, 101, 124 KJpp JlUlKh 4 1>..1St'micnc llundC'rrschahcn 1-, }\ask•"· \Ia tor 1 U):t'o I 1-..tufm;mn. lo'>UilC'I}:fliJlPl'llfUhfl'r l>.~rl Xfl " c:pplcr. o,<;.l)bagruppcnluhn:r Ctt'Otfl 2""'6 Keppler, 1\'t-C.rupJ>Cnfuhrcr 'OC'tlhdm -6. lOS. r~

l>..lem. SS-OI>t'NIIrmh.mnfuhrrr llor~r I(If,

INDEX

\larun~l'n. --~

"hngc:nlx-r):, ..,.., 'lrandJr!l'llluhn:r I 1111 Hi\-9

l:lnch

~

Knight\ (ro,, nt rhc lrun lru~' I 14. ll\6, liN, 19~.

l'1n.210

f..nul>l.tudl, '>'>· Ohert-truppeuluhrt·r

""rl

.!6 1\.c...:h. Rctd,..l.,,,mmtss.u I n.:h Kunun.unlo~tab RfC, .!2- 5 " •1p1schke, 5~0bc:r,turmhanntuhrc:r ~IJ-'< 142

-s

l<.ra,h, '>S·Brt~•ldduhrcr llu~­

C.uttf rtl'll101 Kranctu~s . SS BnJ.:,rdclithrw I r1r1 lUi! Kr.rnkhldd I!>!> .:a~tk•l Ill(! Kr,lli\C, .,..,.L,mtr>.:ha rl ulrrcr 1-rn~r I ~ll Knc(lc!l. Ohcr~rlcum.rnr Hca mann' J...runmJlpolil~l """ " ripo 26. 'JJ. 91 " 'l"agl.., Luu Gr.tl ..:hwcrm \till.! I "ritgcr. !1-0I~rj.\ruppcntuhrer I n<'Jndl· \\ tlhtlm ~ • .!-l "nr~cr. !:. Obt:'ltruppenfuhrcr \X'alrcr .!0Kvbt:, Rcadhkumml\\ar \'Vilhelm -s f.. umm. 1\ Bng,ulctuhrn Orw .!04 Kur...:hcr .1. '>~- Bng..tdttuhrcr

"nrn

Fran1 .H Lt~rou, Rene L.unmc~, S~­

I 'S

Ol•l·r...:ruppl·nfuhtct IJr 11.111\ 11 0, l-, Landwadn lH. 11/J Lmgcm,trc:k. 83rrlc v( lltJ lc·lwn~horn -l-3 L4•chlt'r, SS01-.eriturrnbaamt uhrl'r lrtr!l ll5 L~'· Retchsntnll~ltr Dr l{(lhert 11lac, ~~--.mnJJrtenluhrcr )•lll·h Ill!

Lreh\.ncchr. " arl ' LMcnz, !.S-OI>crgrurrenfuhrer \\cmer 2X, -,, .!-), 2-Lurncr. S Gruppeufiihrcr Gcorg 103 LuJenJurlf. C.cncr:rl frt,·h S-9 Lulr.>t:hutlpoiii.CI 1!6-l uoc:, 0.,-\-C,r~"~dret \ al..rM ,Luxemburg, R•1•1 ' .\l.n:her. ~'>- IIJ uphntrmfuhrt'r

H4''"' r::!

'PI'-\ lS, l.!t>- '1 ,,[),\P .!. '-I i, ll il. 11:'\ ' 0 tl\ 1.!9-ll) :'\~"._ !.!. Ill>. 22' '\.urnl>trj.\ !rlJI'> !-~- i

Obersrurm".mniuhrt'r J...nud 14U \laun•e. ·OI~Cttuhft'r Emal h, 15,2-\ Ia'. -O,runnl>,lnnllihrer Dr lla11• 1114 rnnla.:.al c'pcnmcms 6tl-1. n-:-.

f.. !anti,< h. I curn.1nr Ho~n•­

( lber.rh...:hn11rc nr~ant,.luon

l t

· " onrad --

· Bngadettlhrcr Kurr

Org.tna~.111on

189, 202 ,\I t") sz.ncr.

SS-Gruppcnfuhrt•r .\ugu!.l 1!5 \fi,.. hkc-. S-Srurrnlwtnluhrcr l>rAifre.f l OS .\lockd. '>~·Ohcrfuhrer Karl 104 \lnhnke, 'o-Rng.1Jcfuhrcr \Vtlhdm 1-l. 186, 1(11 \lurorisltrtC! Gendarmcm• !! ' ~I rU);ti\HJ.. ). \-Uhcrflihrcr Jlrol. Dr Joo~chim 60 \'lullc:r. 1\ -Gntl'pcnruhrrr Hrmnch -6. 93,1-4.

dcr SS-

An);ch
st·c

ODF\SA

Orpo !14--. I U2 <.lstcn. SA·Ohcrgruppenfuhrcr Han~ \on ls.:h.tmrn~r unJ tl l

O•nnJumte GmbH .214. 219

f'.lllcke., ~\-Ohcrgrupptnluhrer \oumh~r -s, 140 f'apcn, I ranr 'Volll I 1 l'.urnn ~1 em~rs ot tho.' 'i'l •ct F\1 Or~ams.uwn pl\, 1-i-n, 11-

r-

Pctper. S '>tamiJrt<'utuhrcr Joa,htm !01

\-l ullcr.' -BngaJcfuhrer llnmJnn 15 \lullcr. Paul 16.\lummcmhc:,, 'l\-

People's \X'dfarc Orgam~.mnn sce \\i 11\\t l'l'r)tmlidwr liroh Rt!-'>1.:!-> l'er,\lrzS<'hk~. S\Obcrsturmhannfilhr<'r Konr.tJ 41 r~tri. SS·GrupiX'IIIUhrn Lev 26, Ill J>fdfer- \X'iIden hrul h. '>" Ohergrurpl!nfithrcr J...o~rl

Obt:r t~nnhannfuhrcr "arl I 04 .\lumch pm~ch 8-9, - 9, H-, 1&6 \l un•n-Vtrlal! l-'J .\lu"cn. Ant~m Adraa.1n \hiW•Itnt, iknito 6. 93. ISS.

u-

2H

IR-

I'flau m~r. ~S

l\ragadcfilhrcr t...1al 134 l'nlc l"· S'>-Uhcrgruppenfuhrer Artur 100

set :--:Pl..\

'\.auun;~lp••lau~~:he

l:rzlt'hungs,m~tal tc:n n•t· ~Pt:.\ :-.:ntrtHtJI\!IItJir~usdlc

Plea~'· S~· ll.mpl\nlfmtuhrcr

Oeut,.. hc

(.,l•rd 11;'.1 Pohl, \\-( )hcr~rurpc:nfuhr(r 0\1\ald ::!-. 101-S. r-1 polt c: htn<-IIVn~ lll rhc S'l

•\ rhrircrp.rrtttl su

"-'lDAP

'~rannalsoZiahsnschc Dcur,ch~

C)ruJentcnhund su '\.SO t.H \.a llllnllsot.Ja h;.ti'l:he>

-9-100 Poltmcht· lkrenschaftcn src JIBs Jlo,t'><.hurt fl(,, lll'rut7m.lnn . ..,..,

'\$1\J... '\Jut$, lil-3 Kraftiahrkorps

2--~

lhlenJurr. ~~-Grupfl(ntuhrcr Ouu 91. 112 ()hneSOI)tC, 'tit.' Orpo OrgamMttton Rm~b.,,h I

\lrm k.rmpJ 6b. -,. r6 \ len~dt. '>'>·l l:r uprsmrmfuhrrr Dr Juset 6-. :!-4. r\kycr, 1\'>-\rruppc.-ntuhrer Dr jllhannc:s R6, I B .\1t\'cr, S\-Oberfuhrcr Prof Or

\. a,~nb'

-~1)

ODI::..'I .\

121

\h•yer,

INDEX

Stt'

Ohc:rgruppcntuhrc:r H.tll\ 'l9. 134, r2-\ I'Hmont, ~S­ OI•.:r~rupJ"-'IIIuhr.:r JoStJ~

Pnn1 \on \\-:rlcfe.:\. und 'i'i-t.

286

Qul'dlml>ufl:t Ill Qut-hn~:. \itlt..un I ~lj

' alun J... tm' '12 S...hafcr, S :sturmhannfuhrrr Dr f.rn\1 124

rJ ...ul( pt>hC) 01 the 5 n4-~8 ltAD 49. '4. 2!5 Rangtuhrer I H-1 ~ Ra chcr. '>~·lmcrsrurmluhr.·r Dr Stgmund 60-1 R,Htenhubcr. SS-Bri~adcfuhrer I tan, 9 1 R,lUh'r; Obt:rgrup(lC'nfuhrer

~h.llhlll'(!,

113nns

1r

Rcdnerschu11 45 Rc:•.:h>Jrbclt>dtcnst see RAD ltttchsflihrung·S 22 Rcichskontmtss.mat liir Ji< l'c'>tigung des dcurscht'll \'olkstulll~

see RKI-DV

Rt'tchskricgsOagge 3, J I Rcachsschule-SS '1 3 f< eu:h~si.:hcrhcnsdal!nst sl!c

RSD

· 1\mmrhannfilhn:r < hmf1311 hedenck C.ral \Oil 140 ~h:trle. \S-Grurpcnfuhrcr Paul hauh, -Obt-r~rupprnfuhrer Juhm 6. 109, r6 ··heel, S -Obcrgruppenfiihrtr Dr Gu~w·-Adolf 130. S<;.hcllenherg. c; -ijrigadefuhrer Walter 9J. 269. 215 S.:htcl.., Prof. J•>hann 228, 2Jl ~charach, Rcich~jugcndfuhrer

Baldur vun nchlclch, c;s rurmbannftihrtr Eduard Riner von 2, 42 ~chleif, 'IS· Ohcrgturmbannfuhrer Prof. Dr Hans 123

l{trchs~icht>rheir~h3uptlmt sl!e

Schmclchcr, SS-Crruppenftihrcr

RSIIA RtachSLeugmctsterCJ dt'r

Wtlly gSdunllt. S-Ohcrgrup(lC'nfuhrer Walter 27, 2"4 xhrl·ck, 'I ·Bngadcfiihrer Juhus 6, 10
-,;!,D,\P se~ RL.\1 Rcrnt-t·ke, S -Oberluhrer Dr Gunther Hl

Remdanh, SS-Gruppcnfuhr\'r Hcin1.r6 l(l'ltl'f~l;"llldanen -8 rest'rVC UIIIIS Olthc.- 'oS JR- 9, 43 l
r

Obt:r~truppenfiihrcr

Jo:tchim \Uil - 6. 11 0 llKH>\ .!R.--S RuesteL S

ObersturmbJnnliJhrc.-r Fra!ll r~

Rnhm. SA-Sro~hsd1cf l:tn~l \- 18,20, SO, Il l>, IllS.

Schu11mann~hafr

ss

su Schum,\

SchuttpoltJca t!4-5 Xhurzstaff~l Sl!l: !)!)

chwar7, -HaupL\tunnfuhrcr Fr.uu -l Schwar1, S-OberstGruppenfilhrer han1 Xaver 22. 84. 11 0, 16S.

l7S

n! Rohr, H,luptmann Wtlla I 41

Runtgen~turmhann

Rt>sl•nhers. Reichslciter Or Alfred 45, 64-S. 7'7-8. 111, 1 ~3 Ru~'bJdt, Leutmlnt C.crhard

1'1 RSD ~1 RSH .\ 26--. IS9. 8!1-!H.

r-

runu. ~)rnholi~m 14'1-)1) Ru HA 74-5.103 Rust. R~tchsmmrsu:r Or Bernhard 126 RZ\1 Is-. 216. 24.!-4, .!60

r,

!>A )- I '. lll. 69. ~{) '> \ -l-eld1agcrkorps 1• \ ~.ul~~huu S

o,.,ch,, Ci-Obcrgruppenluhrcr EmstH a~hstnsham 122 '>Jiomon. ~A-Obcrfiihrc:r frJn7 10119.

92 hun~.~ - 8, 98-9, 1

II

SO 19, 26, -6, 81l-'.10

cyss· lnquarr, !l~­ OhcrgruppcnfUhrcr Dr Aathur 114, I r <;ichtrht!i~Jicmr de!> RfSS src D achcrhcatspoliltl sec lpo '>ae~crr. )$-Ohcrtuhrl't Dr Rudolf92 \aeH:r~. c;s.c;rllnJarr<'nfuhrcr Wolfram 121 Sapo 811-9.5 Sa'\, SS-Ohcrfuhrcr l'rof. Dr han1. 93. Ill, Ill koneny, SS turmbannfuhrer Otto 9l, 234-5 ollmann. '>!I·Standartenfohrer \lh -2 'lpacrl. • tandam·nfuhrrr Josef 92 port<. .tnd ph~ '>leal rraming 41, 62 and a rchacc>lng~· 122-3

and me Jnswuan lll-14 aatd chant) I 14 . chtldren of rhe S -1-4 and thc c111l adm1msuauon 110-13 code of hnnuur '9 command ~rrucrure I J. 19-2' condmons ol >en tee -15-~'J.

o.,c;

untf

Ru-.IIA \S-~ondcrJ..umrn:sndo Jut~rhog 1-1. 116

'>!! X'nd~rkumm3ntfo Losscn 1-l.llh tJJr' 102

·ss-

"!>-\Xach.,turmhJ>Ill [mtanll 1. 0 '> \V1rrsch:~fu- und \ c:r\\ alruntt~hauptarm su WVHA ') mb•lli~m 142--2 tr11mng e~rahltshment5 · 1.

1111-1

iO, I R~ llowtplontlf) sy•tt'm 56-9 early days of rhc S I 0-21) c~onomic emcrpnses I 00-S and eJue:rriun U, 1.26-IJ female auxilian~s 4J-'l fin.1ncial assistance for members 24. 6 1 .rnd rhe Foretgn Mmi~rry 110-11 'The Fuhrer's mosr personal, selccrl·d guards • 45 and hiSIC>r) I I )-11 .md the Hatler Yuuth Jl0-3 honorary members 114-15 andependcnr ofrhc A Ill mlllrr::uion uf Gt-rm;ur mcien I 08- 1'i legal pos;nun of memhus 56 ltf<: Sa\'mg 62-3 and local go\>crnmenr 112-13 m:m-iagc procedurc~ 6<J--.!

&2 ~a1J

the unt' ('f~llte' 129-30 .mJ Ihe VI Jnd Vl rocker programme~ 124 wtlfarc: ~crvtcn 6 1-2,-4 sci! .rlso Allgemeine-\~, \rermaoti.:-SS ami Waift:n·

s

'C\ra.lhsdrutZknrps' ~::ont:C'Jll ~ 1-2

1Jb\\\3Chl' 6. 1-1 ~r.1hlhdm 3 ~tilnJancn ll-6 "'~.::.k, 0,'1-0ber'lurmfuhrcr Paul l.!'l cr, ~!1-0hcrgnrppentuhrer I eh 1-5-6. 102. .!05, .!69.2-6 St.·nnc~. i\·Obcrluhrcr \\"alrht'r ll-13 .Sturm.\~ 1r,1-12 turmrroops 1-2. 143 Swsurupr .\dnlf Hnlcr 1>- 9.

m~rs1ll

medical servu:es 24. 60 .\len's Hall~ 51-1 rnott~ 118, 140. ISl oath 49.204 officm 53-1,93. lOl, lilY an 'Order of German 1\lcn·

143

'itr3ch\\ 1!7. SS-1\r.tnd;~rtcnfuhrer ll vazmth Craf I 14 \rrecket;hach. S • C.rurpcnfuhrcr Bruno 'l1 ~tunnabtcilung set• SA turmhanne 38-IJ Sudelfr:ld Cmlc 106

48 a Pagan Order Il-- l~

I';Hron Mcmhcn su I .\1 pcr5on ncl records S4 police function'> I 'i, 4'~', regal!~

P(}-1!0

Tauhcrt. SS-Oh.. rgruppenfuhrer

and pnsoncr-of-wnr c;~ mps 85 and the Propaganda Minisrry 112 puhli~arioo~ 44-", ·2 racral ~lite 6 4- -g rank S)'STCm 161-3 recruiting standards I o- 11. 48-9

ICt(fried I 19 fcchrn~chc ~othtlfc

st•e rc:-:o

leN,~~-

Terh("'cn.

Rcich~kotJOm<~'ar

Jl•~td 1311 l ~u r onat

O rder 94, 118

nrule OCICf\ 64, 116-1-, 145

Ttlll'II\.Opl ui~t);nia su d~:arh\ he.1d m~igm~ Turner, S ·l.ruppenfuhro::r Dr llarald 7\

~galta

142-.,.2 -Fiicgc:nrurmbann 42 S!> Fuhrungsh:tuptamt lb. 145-6 SS H.~t,•pt.unt 25-6, H'i-6 SS Pcrson;rlhnuptamr l-, i4 SS-Pol•cc: rcgrmcnl'o 83, 95-'1 S-l'osrschun tl6. I r

S 142--o. 214-6Allgc.-mtme· !. 142--o arm dtamonds 155.163 arm nglc.-s :!11. 245. 2r-63 ;um shtcld~ 14\, 16 l

unofurm~.

287

ol \ i, 181) lun nn poltuulunlhHIIh ll, 1'4 belr hud.lcs I B • .!41 hla,k >Cnlce untrorm I )4-1! boors .!41-3 hrown shtrr rradmon.rl unofurm I ) 1-'1 tamuuOage duthmg 2JO-I ,:·ollac pat,hes 15 1-1.1S1-l cuff utles IS.!. 1-2. 154-9 da~;K~r-. 121), 164-'i ,Ieath\ hc:ad ~~~~~gma 2, 4, 141-'i dcurh 's head rin~ 1.!0. 1-r-'1 eagle .uHl ~\\ as11k:1 lll>tjtniJ 153, 155,2.5£hrcnfllhrcr 114-1 S ticld equipment 241-2 ficiJ-gre) unaform 212-1 nags and hanncrs J 66-"ll foon\'ear 215, 240-1 Gcrm:1ni -SS I l+-12 ~:urg~ts 42 !(rcatcoats 155. 2r-ll gr~~ sen ice uniform I 'iS-60 lrcadge.u 154. 215-ll Honour lht•' ron , of the t IIJ Guard I U-1, .!6.~ honour mles J3. 152 kepi I i1 ll"s ol in~ajlnta a~ punrshmenr 60 manufacrure <•f ~~~~~~IIIJ 242 manuf:rcrurt and ~uppl) of un1Fom1 IO'i. I H-6. .!14-1) lilt'S> drl'S) JJ5 p1nzcr umforms 1 U -1 paratroop unifurrm 1 ~4-6 price~ 15 6-rur··ha~e of umform I H. .lf!l'ilCtiOO

~tc:dlung,h<~uptJnu SIW

decuranon~

79-100 posnvar rradc rn SS

R.1~~e

lH

re.:etpl of insignta 49. 21 i aun~' inl>ap.ni~ 145-511 s-hou ltltr stmps 153. 251. 254 apo/ D 89-90 <pon~we.u :!.3~-'10

Sr:lmntahtc•lung 4 \ •wa~tika Jrmband I S I. 2 59 swords 120, 165~ Totcnk•>rf in~tJtnra st•t: Jcath'~ hNJ 111\I!VliOI rropical uniform .!36-tuniCS 154-8, 11 '. l1 Hi Waffrnfarbe 142-6 \X'affen-S<., 114-(.6 white ~en tee unrform )5 i.

n-

'"nccr unarm m 2l9

VDA -5 Vcrl..chr\pOhtea 8)

INDEX

\ cr,.ulfc,, Tr... u, nl \ \'er"' .tltunw.pulatn li ~ \ l.t.tm.,..hc 'Jtllonaal \crhonJ >('(' " ' '

V:'\\ I H. 141 Yo)!d • .,.., Ohcr\lurrnhannfuhrt·r

llcinrad1 I0) I •J/kt>cltt'r litoi•Jc.htu I I, h4, 11-,lM Volkshund fur da~ Ot'ur~.:hrum 111 \u~land see VO \ \ull.."lctu-.:hC' -'i--. 205-\'ofi..,Jcm.,.-hc \ torrd,tellc: set' \ '0 \11 Vnll.."turm 26-

I ;':1-111, !04

'nn.l\.\nt' rq.:nm.:nt I H. ll'urwc.w;ul l cgovn 204 ofhc.w .:urp' 101. lU-. 14':1 Orclct ul H.udc 2tl9-14 llr!J.:In' I" I

'\l..amlt'r~):·

126 \X',tffr:n \~ 1-1-l-\

'Wt'st lond' ref.:uuenr 11 '. .:!nd""

'-·'"'1'·"~'" I 1-14-202

6-,

.111d C
1"''1 Sll .. undttu•n~ ol ~r>ICt I~ 1- l J,,, .r.uoon, 110, II! to. 2M tC{(In1Ctlt

l-6,

' Deutschland' regtmem ~- ~ . I 1-14-6, 20 '. 228 fj lliUh.:C• 2 J. J-1

llcmosh I t'gtnn I H, 204 fnrctgncr~ II< H. 20 ~-!! 'C.t'rtllJOIJ' f~lf\\C:Ill ~-~.

IR4

Ll'al"undJrtl

c;s ·\dull

llttlt'r I 'i, 1-1 201. ~~-

201 202 l2ml \ [)" t\u•n '!0 J:11111.1r' 14-

204

191\

Dl\t'>tOII 'Das I ~S. I S4-202

.w-

ll!th '.') Otvosion 'Wallnnien'

Jl4 Ro.:odt'

llrd SS Dl\'lsion

'( hJrlemJj!ne· 201 l4rh D" i'>ion ·L:mdsrorm 'cderland' 138 \\'ai!J1cr. (.aulcotcr -\Jnlf 'lll.

;rJ ~~ l>i\ ISIOO ' Tutrnknpl'

6-. 140. 145. I Ill. l'l4-1112 4th "" [)" t>tnu •J>ult~ci' Ill. ... -. lll\.lll2 'ith ~~ Di\lsinn ' WiJ...ing' 6-. l l 'i, I 40. l lllJ-ZHl C.th \S Dt\l(ion ''\inrd' t<Jn -rh !-~ DI\'ISion ·r•nnt Fugcn' 14-. 200. 205. 234 Sth '>'> Dhtston 'rlori.tn (,eHr' lR. I flO, .:!0 I ~th '>S 01\ I 1011 ' llnhcn~raufcn· 1':12, I 98, 201 lllth 'i\ 01\ t<mn

16W';t~lll:r,

Ro-.hanf 115

w..~IN'C' CunfererKC 66

W.l~~crschU[Zpolizci

see \\'H\\

\\"~h.

<\\-Brigadduhrer

I hcndt~r .!Ill Wm, ')C,.Ungadeliihrer l'nrl llll \'<'mjr. C,<,.(,ruppel'.lluhrcr Kurt

.H. 164 WomnJnn . .,.,. Haupmurm(uhrcr Mid1ncl 196 Wolff, "" Obergrupp(nHthrcr K.~rl .l, 23-4, 54, q9.

nx.2-n,Po--

Wm r'><.:h, ~S­ Ohergrnppenfuhrcr t ldn

""' '

\\ unncnhag. '>'>· Ohcrgruppenfuhr~r

\lfr(d lN, 2"'6 \X u~t. S~·Ohcrfi.ihrer l'ruf. Dr Walrhcr 121

85-6 Wrhcr. S'i·Brtgadeflihrer

WVHA 2-, 69. 102-ll. 2 14-1 'i. .245-6

C'hri'>tian 6, 31. l-4 Wl'hcr. \\ Gruppenfuhrer Prof. L>r I ncdrich I ll

'\-R,I\ llatr.llton sri!

\X'ehrmacht 132-.l. 158, I i6 \\'t'hn\ nil nrg:1nis.urun I 34 \\'citlrt;Kh, $~-( •tup)X1llllhrtr I tan~ R\\'ct~\.

288

\\'tntcrhol f~\\crk

19 '.101

.!2nd SS Dm~ton ·\J.m.l Theu:sa · ..!0 l 2 hd S. Divi~inn ':-\t>dc.·rland'

I -'i.

Wilii\Ut·Wciqhur, \SIinllaJt'liihrcr Karl \ l,lfl,l 14'

2(11,

'(,llf7 \till

lkrltchm~cn·

2 "' -;') Dt\I~ICII\

WH\X' 114

\\ trth, Dr Ht'rm.:rnn 111

1-th \\ 1)1\ ISIUII

174-S. 21-

Rnu.,h Free C..Cirp~ 20'

.w-

ll(, -

1-X-RI \'criUJ.:UII):~tl lii'I)C

200,

Rt't.:h.,luhrcr-~c;·

\X1.'il ht Icr. \~ Ohcrwuppcnfiihrc:r I nrt

'(kr 1-uhrcr' 1114

'HanJ~.:har' 6-. lhlh S~ 01\ ISHIO

\\ llt"ull\\

---


\l.trun o0-1 \\'rrk...:huupolitci S\Vc\\t:l,hur~ ~ .1\tlc: llH, Jl~-zo.J5o.r~

I lrh S u,, i>mn

24/j-Q rt·..:rumnrnt -4. ll!O

Ol>crsrurmbannfuhr~r

Dt~i~inn

'Htti<'I'Jll~t'nd' IB, I YH

raul..~

unifMtm 2.11-to) olr Wolf I !!4-21)2 .tnd Wchrwc.tf <~tgani~.11ion

.Hroi•IIIC\ )!j{.,

I H . 201 llrh \'o

p.1 r.H roop' 234-lt

\<.,

\0\lllN. -l. -s-x. 12':1

·1 runJ,hcr~· 1':1..!. I ':I'{. .!01 .! II th I,\ D11 asum ''-nrt..ll,tnd'

'urdl.wJ' rcgtmem

\\-

Runrgcmturmb:~nn \'Outh

Jml lhe SS Sl'l' HJ

7.ehneNraffdn 10 /ctCircmtlltgcn '

',., ll