Military ranks SS. The title of the Wehrmacht and the SS

The SS is one of the most sinister and frightening organizations of the 20th century. Until now, it is a symbol of all the atrocities of the Nazi regime of Germany. At the same time, the phenomenon of SS and the myths that go about its members are an interesting subject for study. Many historians still find in the archives of Germany documents of these "elite" Nazis.

Now we will try to understand their nature. Signs of distinction and SS title today will be the main theme for us.

History of creation

For the first time the abbreviation SS for the designation of Hitler's personal militarized security unit was used in 1925.

The leader of the Nazi Party surrounded himself with guards even before the Beer Putsch. However, she acquired her sinister and special meaning only after she had been re-recruited for the liberated prison from Hitler. Then the SS ranks were still extremely meager - there were groups of ten people who were headed by the SS Fuhrer.

The main goal of this organization was to protect the members of the National Socialist Party. The military rank of the SS appeared much later, when the Waffen-SS was formed. These were precisely those parts of the organization that we remember most clearly, since they fought at the front, among ordinary soldiers of the Wehrmacht, although many stood out among them. Prior to this, the SS was at least a militarized, but "civil" organization.

Formation and activity

As already mentioned above, the SS initially was only a personal guard of the Fuhrer and some other high-ranking members of the party. However, gradually this organization began to expand, and the first bell, predicting its future power, was the introduction of a special SS-title. This refers to the post of Reichsfuhrer, then still simply the chief of all the Fuhrers of the SS.

The second important point in the organization's rise was the permission to patrol the streets on a par with policemen. This made the SS members no longer just guards. The organization has become a full-fledged service to monitor the order.

However, at that time the military ranks of the SS and the Wehrmacht were still considered equal. The main event in the formation of the organization is, of course, the coming to office of Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler. It was he who, while in parallel at the head of the SA, issued a decree that did not allow anyone from the military to give orders to SS members.

At that time in the German army this decision, of course, was taken with hostility. Moreover, along with this immediately issued a decree, which required to give all the best soldiers at the disposal of the SS. In fact, Hitler and his closest associates turned a brilliant scam.

After all, among the military class, the number of adherents of the National Socialist labor movement was minimal, and therefore the leaders of the party, seizing power, understood the threat posed by the army. They needed a firm conviction that there were people who would take weapons on the orders of the Fuhrer and would be ready to die fulfilling the tasks assigned to them. Therefore, Himmler actually created a personal army for the Nazis.

The main purpose of the new army

These people performed the most dirty and low, in terms of morality, work. Under their responsibility were concentration camps, and during the war members of this organization became the main participants in punitive sweeps. SS-ranks appear in every crime committed by the Nazis.

Finally, the victory of the SS authority over the Wehrmacht was the appearance of SS troops - later the military elite of the Third Reich. No general had the right to subordinate a member of even the lowest step in the organizational ladder of the "guard detachment", although the ranks in the Wehrmacht and the SS were similar.

Selection

To get into the party organization of the SS, it was necessary to meet many requirements and parameters. First of all SS-ranks were received by men with absolutely Aryan appearance. Their age at the time of joining the organization was 20-25 years. They had to have a "correct" structure of the skull and absolutely healthy white teeth. Most often, the "service" in Hitlerjugend ended with the entry into the SS.

Appearance was one of the most important selection parameters, as people who are members of the Nazi organization were to become the elite of the future German society, "equal among the unequal." It is clear that the most important criterion was the endless devotion to the Führer and the ideals of National Socialism.

However, such an ideology did not last long, or rather, almost completely collapsed with the advent of the Waffen-SS. During the Second World War, Hitler's and Himmler's personal army began to recruit all those who show their will and prove their loyalty. Of course, the organization tried to preserve the prestige of the organization, appropriating to newly-admitted foreigners only the rank of SS troops and not taking them to the main cell. After serving in the army, such persons were required to obtain German citizenship.

In general, "elite Aryans" during the war very quickly "ended", being killed on the battlefield and taken prisoner. Only four first divisions were completely "staffed" by a clean race, among which, incidentally, was the legendary "Dead Head". However, already the 5th ("Viking") gave the opportunity to receive the title of SS Foreigners.

Divisions

The most famous and ominous is, of course, the 3rd Panzer Division "The Dead Head". Many times it completely disappeared, being destroyed. However, again and again reborn. However, the division gained recognition not because of this, nor because of any successful military operations. The "dead head" is first and foremost an incredible amount of blood in the hands of military personnel. It is on this division that the greatest number of crimes lie both against the civilian population and against prisoners of war. Chines and ranks in the SS during the tribunal played no role, since almost every member of this unit was able to "excel".

The second in legend was the division "Viking", recruited, according to the Nazi formulation, "from close by blood and spirit of peoples." There were volunteers from Scandinavian countries, although their number was not off scale. In the main SS titles were still worn only by the Germans. However, the precedent was created, because the Viking became the first division to which foreigners were recruited. For a long time they fought in the south of the USSR, the main place of their "feats" was Ukraine.

"Galicia" and "Rhone"

A special place in the history of the SS is occupied by the division "Galicia". This unit was created from volunteers from Western Ukraine. The motives of people from Galicia who received German SS titles were simple - the Bolsheviks came to their land only a few years ago and managed to repress a considerable number of people. This division was more likely not from ideological similarity with the Nazis, but for the sake of war with the Communists, which many Western Ukrainians perceived the same way as Soviet citizens - German invaders, ie, as punishers and murderers. Many went there out of a thirst for revenge. In short, the Germans were seen as liberators from the Bolshevik yoke.

This view was typical not only for residents of Western Ukraine. The 29th division of RONA gave ranks and shoulder straps to the Russians, who before that had tried to gain independence from the Communists. They fell there for the same reasons that the Ukrainians - the thirst for revenge and independence. For many people, joining the SS was a real salvation after the broken 30 years of Stalin's life.

At the end of the war, Hitler and his allies were going to extremes, just to keep people connected with the SS on the battlefield. The army began to recruit literally boys. A striking example of this is the division "Hitler Youth".

In addition, on paper, there are many and not created units, for example, the one that was supposed to become Muslim (!). In the ranks of the SS sometimes fell even black. This is evidenced by old photographs.

Of course, when it came to this, all elitism disappeared, and the SS became just an organization under the leadership of the Nazi top. A set of "imperfect" soldiers only testifies to the despair in which Hitler and Himmler were at the end of the war.

The Reichsfuhrer

The most famous head of the SS was, of course, Heinrich Himmler. It was he who made the "private army" out of the Fuhrer's guard and lasted the longest time as its leader. This figure is now largely mythical: it is impossible to say clearly where the fiction ends, but where facts from the biography of the Nazi criminal begin, it is impossible.

Thanks to Himmler, the authority of the SS was finally consolidated. The organization has become an integral part of the Third Reich. SS-rank, worn by him, actually made him the commander-in-chief of the entire personal army of Hitler. I must say that Henry approached his post very responsibly-he personally examined concentration camps, conducted inspections in divisions, participated in the development of military plans.

Himmler was a truly ideological Nazi and considered service in the SS his real vocation. The main goal of life for him was the extermination of the Jewish people. Probably, the descendants of the victims because of the Holocaust and must curse it more than Hitler.

Because of the imminent fiasco and the growing paranoia of Hitler, Himmler was accused of high treason. The Fuhrer was confident that his ally had entered into an agreement with the enemy to save his life. Himmler lost all high posts and titles, and his place was supposed to take the well-known party leader Karl Hanke. However, for the SS he did not have time to do anything, since he was not able to enter the office of the Reichsfuehrer banally.

Structure

The SS army, like any other militarized formation, was strictly disciplined and well-organized.

The smallest size in this structure was the Shar-SS branch, consisting of eight people. Three similar army units formed a troupe-SS - in our terms it is a platoon.

The Nazis also had their own analogue of the SS-storm company, which consisted of about one and a half hundred people. Commanded them Untersturmfuhrer, whose title was the first and the youngest among the officers. Of the three such units, the Sturmbann-SS was formed, at the head of which was the Sturmbannfuhrer (the rank of major in the SS).

And, finally, the SS-standard is the highest administrative-territorial organizational unit, analogous to the regiment.

Apparently, the Germans did not reinvent the wheel and look for original structural solutions too long for their new army. They just picked up analogues of conventional military units, endowing them with special, sorry, "Nazi colors." The same situation has developed with titles.

Ranks

Military ranks SS troops were almost completely analogous to the ranks of the Wehrmacht.

The youngest of all was an ordinary soldier, who was called Schutze. Above him stood the counterpart of a corporal - the Sturmman. So the ranks were raised to the officer Untersturmfuhrer (lieutenant), continuing to remain a modified simple army ranks. They went in this order: the Rottenfuehrer, the Sharfuhrer, the Oberscharfuhrer, the Hauptscharfuhrer and the Sturmsharfuhrer.

After this, the officers began their work. The highest ranks were the general (Obergruppefuhrer) of the clan and the colonel-general, who was known as the Oberstruppefuhrer.

All of them obeyed the Commander-in-Chief and the head of the SS, the Reichsfuehrer. In the structure of SS ranks there is nothing difficult, except perhaps pronunciation. However, this system is built in a logical and army-like way, especially if you add to the head the rank and structure of the SS - then everything generally becomes quite easy to understand and remember.

Marks of Excellence

Chines and titles in the SS are interesting to study with the example of epaulettes and insignia. They were characterized by a very stylish German aesthetics and really reflected in themselves all that the Germans thought about their achievements and purpose. The main theme was death and ancient Aryan symbols. And if the ranks in the Wehrmacht and the SS were almost not different, then this can not be said about epaulettes and stripes. So, what's the difference?

The runners in the rank and file did not represent anything special - the usual black streak. The only difference is stripe. The junior officers went away a short distance, but their black shoulder strapped over a strip, the color of which depended on the rank. Beginning with the Oberscharfuhrer, stars appeared on the epaulettes - they were huge in diameter and quadrangular.

But a truly aesthetic pleasure can be obtained if we consider the insignia of the Sturmbannfuhrer - in form they resembled Scandinavian runes and plaited into a quaint ligature, on top of which stars were placed. In addition, on the stripes, except strips, there are oak leaves of green color.

General epaulettes were executed in the same aesthetics, only had a gold color.

However, a special interest for the collector and wishing to understand the culture of the Germans of that time is represented by a variety of patches, including the marks of the division in which the SS member served. It was both a "dead head" with crossed bones, and a Norwegian hand. These patches were not mandatory, but were part of the SS army uniform. Many members of the organization proudly put them on, confident that they are doing the right thing and that fate is on their side.

The form

Initially, when the SS only appeared, it was possible to distinguish the rank-and-file party member from the "guard detachment" by ties: they were black, not brown. However, in connection with the "elitism", the demands for appearance and isolation from the crowd grew more and more.

With the advent of Himmler, black became the main color of the organization - the Nazis wore kepi, shirts, uniforms of this color. To them were added stripes with runic symbolism and "dead head".

However, since the entry of Germany into the war, it turned out that the black is very prominent on the battlefield, so a military gray uniform was introduced. She did not differ anything except color, and was of the same strict style. Gradually the gray tones completely supplanted black. The shape of the black color was considered purely ceremonial.

Conclusion

Military ranks of SS do not carry in themselves a certain sacral meaning. They are just a note from the military ranks of the Wehrmacht, one might even say, a mockery of them. Like, "look, we are the same, but you can not command us."

However, the difference between the SS and the conventional army was not at all in buttonholes, epaulettes and the name of ranks. The main thing that members of the organization had was an endless loyalty to the Fuhrer, who charged them with hatred and bloodthirstiness. Judging by the diaries of the German soldiers, they themselves disliked the "Hitler's dogs" for their arrogance and contempt for all the people around.

The same attitude was to the officers - the only thing that was tolerated in the army of the SS members was the incredible fear of them. As a result, the rank of major (in the SS this Sturmbannfuhrer) became much more important for Germany than the higher rank in the simple army. The leadership of the Nazi party almost always took the side of "their own" during some kind of intra-army conflicts, because they knew that they could rely only on them.

In the end, not all criminals of the SS have overtaken justice - many of them fled to South American countries, changing names and hiding from those to whom they are to blame - that is, from the entire civilized world.