Schutzstaffel: Difference between revisions
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Himmler considered the SS an elite, ideologically driven National Socialist organisation and under his leadership the SS expanded and gained a larger foothold in the NSDAP. |
Himmler considered the SS an elite, ideologically driven National Socialist organisation and under his leadership the SS expanded and gained a larger foothold in the NSDAP. |
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=== The Organisation's Role in the Nazis Consolidation of Power === |
=== The Organisation's Role in the Nazis Consolidation of Power<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzstaffel#Pre-war_Germany</ref> === |
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After Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power on 30 January 1933, the SS was considered a state organisation and a branch of the government. Law enforcement gradually became the purview of the SS, and many SS organisations became ''de facto'' government agencies. |
After Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power on 30 January 1933, the SS was considered a state organisation and a branch of the government. Law enforcement gradually became the purview of the SS, and many SS organisations became ''de facto'' government agencies. |
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In September 1939, the authority of the SS expanded further when the senior SS officer in each military district also became its chief of police. Most of these SS and police leaders held the rank of ''SS-Gruppenführer'' or above and answered directly to Himmler in all SS matters within their district. Their role was to police the population and oversee the activities of the SS men within their district. By declaring an emergency, they could bypass the district administrative offices for the SS, SD, SiPo, ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS-TV; concentration camp guards), and Orpo, thereby gaining direct operational control of these groups. |
In September 1939, the authority of the SS expanded further when the senior SS officer in each military district also became its chief of police. Most of these SS and police leaders held the rank of ''SS-Gruppenführer'' or above and answered directly to Himmler in all SS matters within their district. Their role was to police the population and oversee the activities of the SS men within their district. By declaring an emergency, they could bypass the district administrative offices for the SS, SD, SiPo, ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS-TV; concentration camp guards), and Orpo, thereby gaining direct operational control of these groups. |
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=== Their Role in World War |
=== Their Role in World War II === |
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By the outbreak of World War II, the SS had consolidated into its final form, which comprised three main organisations: the ''Allgemeine SS (General-SS),'' ''SS-Totenkopfverbände (Death's Head Units)'', and the ''Waffen-SS'', which was founded in 1934 as the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT) and renamed in 1940. |
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The ''Waffen-SS'' evolved into a second German army alongside the ''Wehrmacht'' and operated in tandem with them, especially with the ''Heer'' (German Army). However, it never obtained total "independence of command", nor was it ever a "serious rival" to the German Army. Waffen-SS Members were never able to join the ranks of the German High Command and it was dependent on the army for heavy weaponry and equipment. Although SS ranks generally had equivalents in the other services, the SS rank system did not copy the terms and ranks used by the ''Wehrmacht''<nowiki/>'s branches. Instead, it used the ranks established by the post-World War I ''Freikorps'' and the SA. This was primarily done to emphasise the SS as being independent of the ''Wehrmacht''. |
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=== Ideology === |
=== Ideology === |
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