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67-868: The office traces its origins to 1931 when the SS created the SS-Amt to serve as an SS Headquarters staff overseeing the various units of the Allgemeine-SS (General SS). In 1933, after the Nazi Party came to power, the SS-Amt was renamed the SS-Oberführerbereichen and placed in command of all SS units within Nazi Germany . Its leaders were Ernst Bach (December 1932 to June 1933), Siegfried Seidel-Dittmarsch (June 1933 to February 1934) and Curt Wittje (from February 1934). This agency then became

134-589: A (region), which were subordinate to the SS-HA; SS-Abschnitt (SS-Sector) was the next lower level of command, responsible for administering a (District); Standarten (regiment), which were the basic units of the Allgemeine SS . Before 1934, SS personnel received no pay and their work was completely voluntary. After 1933, the Oberabschnitt commanders and their staff became regarded as "full time" but

201-610: A general purge of SS members who were identified as drunkards, criminals, or otherwise undesirable for service in the SS. Himmler's ultimate aim was to turn the SS into the most powerful organization in Germany and most influential branch of the party. By 1930 Himmler had persuaded Hitler to run the SS as a separate organisation, although it was officially still subordinate to the SA. After the Machtergreifung (seizure of power) by

268-598: A motorcycle company and a mortar company. The unit was officially designated SS-Verfügungstruppe ("Dispositional troops", i.e. troops at the personal disposal of the Führer). The men were to be volunteers who had completed their service in the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD; Reich Labour Service). The existence of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) was publicly declared on 16 March 1935 by Hitler in

335-700: A speech at the Reichstag . The SS-VT had to depend on the German Army for its supply of weapons and military training, and the army also retained control of the recruiting system through local draft boards responsible for assigning conscripts to the different branches of the Wehrmacht to meet quotas set by the German High Command ( Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW in German). As a consequence,

402-590: A unit from the Totenkopf , the 4 Company, committed the Le Paradis massacre ; 97 captured men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment were machine gunned after surrendering, with survivors finished off with bayonets . Two men survived. By 28 May the SS-Leibstandarte had taken the village of Wormhout , 10 miles (16 km) from Dunkirk. There, soldiers of the 2nd Battalion were responsible for

469-485: Is the main argument that nearly the entire SS knew of the concentration camps, and what actions were committed within them, making the entire organization liable for war crimes and crimes against humanity . By late 1940 the Allgemeine SS controlled the Germanic SS ( Germanische SS ), which were collaborationist organizations modeled after the Allgemeine SS in several Western European countries. Their purpose

536-806: The SS Führungshauptamt (SS Leadership Main Office; SS-FHA) and the main offices of the Allgemeine-SS , such as the Reich Security Main Office . Recruiting members for the Waffen-SS was handled through the SS-HA and its chief, Berger. This caused overlapping jurisdiction and friction with the SS-FHA. Berger's SS-HA had a problematic relationship with the SS-FHA, which was responsible for organising, training and equipping

603-823: The SS-Verfügungs-Division with Paul Hausser as commander. The LSSAH was expanded into a motorized regiment. In addition, the armed but ill-trained Totenkopfstandarten , together with SS Heimwehr Danzig , were organized into the Totenkopf-Division under Eicke's command in October 1939. A further division, the Polizei-Division , was created from the Ordnungspolizei . These formations took part in combat training while under army commands in preparation for Fall Gelb against

670-519: The Allgemeine SS rank of a Standartenführer (full colonel), yet was only ranked an Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS. If this same SS member were an architectural engineer , then the SS-Hauptamt would issue a third rank of SS-Sonderführer . SS members could also hold reserve commissions in the regular military as well as a Nazi Party political rank . Add to this that many senior SS members were also employees of

737-575: The Allgemeine SS were raised in occupied countries. From 1940 they were consolidated into the Directorate of the Germanic-SS ( Leitstelle der germanischen SS ). When the war first began, the vast majority of SS members belonged to the Allgemeine SS , but this proportion changed during the later years of the war after the Waffen-SS opened up membership to ethnic Germans and non-Germans. Adolf Hitler in 1925 ordered Julius Schreck to organise

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804-568: The Allgemeine SS ; although many police members were also dual SS members. The death squad units of the Einsatzgruppen were formed under the direction of Heydrich and operated by the SS before and during World War II. In September 1939, they operated in territories occupied by the German armed forces following the invasion of Poland . Men for the units were drawn from the SS, the SD, and

871-718: The Gestapo to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outside Prussia . Two days later Himmler named Reinhard Heydrich the head of the Gestapo. The SS was further cemented when both it and the Gestapo participated in the destruction of the SA ;leadership during the Night of the Long Knives from 30 June to 2 July 1934. They either killed or arrested every major SA leader, above all Ernst Röhm . Himmler

938-540: The SS- Stabswache and SS-Sonderkommando Berlin . The LSSAH, under the command of Josef "Sepp" Dietrich , continued to serve exclusively as a personal protection unit for Hitler and an honor guard during this timeframe. By 1937 the SS was divided into three branches: the Allgemeine-SS (General SS), the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) which administered

1005-774: The SS-Wachverbände in 1933, which later became known as the SS- Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV). Thereafter, the SS-TV branch increasingly became divided into the camp service proper and the military Totenkopf formation controlled by the SS-VT (forerunner of the Waffen-SS). As the Nazi regime became more oppressive and World War II escalated, the concentration camp system grew in size, lethal operation, and scope as

1072-686: The Sturmstaffel ("Storm Squadron") and then finally the Schutzstaffel ("Protection Squadron"; SS) on 9 November 1925. The SS was subordinated to the SA and thus a subunit of the SA and the NSDAP. It was considered to be an elite organization by both party members and the general population. The main task of the SS was the personal protection of the Führer of the Nazi Party , Adolf Hitler. In 1925

1139-666: The Wormhoudt massacre , where 80 British and French soldiers were murdered after they surrendered. After the close of the Battle of France, the SS-VT was officially renamed the Waffen-SS, in a speech made by Adolf Hitler on 19 July 1940. Himmler also gained approval for the Waffen-SS to form its own high command, the Kommandoamt der Waffen-SS (Waffen-SS Command Office) within the SS-Führungshauptamt (FHA), which

1206-428: The concentration camps . On 17 August 1938 Hitler decreed that the SS military formations were to be placed at the "disposal" of the army in time of war. Hitler stated, at Himmler's request, that service in the SS-VT qualified to fulfill military service obligations. Further, during wartime, units of the SS-TV would be used as reserves for the SS-VT. Over the course of the war this led to a constant flux of men between

1273-519: The invasion of Poland . It fought alongside army units at Rozan , Modlin , Łomża and Kmiczyn . The division was disbanded near the Polish city of Nidzica on 7 October 1939. In spite of the swift military victory over Poland in September 1939, events during the invasion of Poland raised doubts over the combat effectiveness of the SS-VT. The OKW or Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of

1340-465: The Allgemeine SS was administratively divided into several main sections: After World War II began, the lines between the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS became increasingly blurred, due largely to the Allgemeine SS headquarters offices having administrative and supply command over the Waffen-SS. By 1940, all of the Allgemeine SS had been issued grey war-time uniforms. Himmler ordered that

1407-655: The Armed Forces) reported that the SS-VT units took unnecessary risks and had a higher casualty rate than the army. They also stated that the SS-VT was poorly trained and its officers unsuitable for combat command. As an example, OKW noted that the Leibstandarte had to be rescued by an army regiment after becoming surrounded at Pabianice by the Poles. In its defence, the SS insisted that it had been hampered by having to fight piecemeal instead of as one formation, and

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1474-681: The Low Countries and France in 1940. Elements of both the SS-VT and the LSSAH participated in the ground invasion of the Battle of the Netherlands . In the five-day campaign, the LSSAH linked up with army units and airborne troops after a number of clashes with Dutch defenders. After the surrender of Rotterdam, the LSSAH left for The Hague , which they reached on 15 May, after capturing 3,500 Dutch soldiers as prisoners of war . On 16 May

1541-455: The NSDAP in January 1933, the SS began to expand into a massive organization. By the end of 1932 it included over 52,000 members. By December 1933 the SS increased to 204,000 members and Himmler ordered a temporary freeze on recruitment. On 20 April 1934, Göring and Himmler agreed to put aside their differences, largely because of their mutual hatred of the SA. Göring transferred control of

1608-702: The Reich government in capacities as ministers, deputies, etc. In 1944, nearly every SS general was granted equivalent Waffen-SS rank, without regard to previous military service. This was ordered so to give SS-generals authority over military units and POW camps and apparently to try to provide potential protection under the Hague Convention rules of warfare. In the event of capture by the Allies , SS-Generals thereby hoped they would be given status as military prisoners rather than captured police officials. In 1944,

1675-592: The SS Totenkopf Division was ordered to France and was attached to army divisions which formed the northern "spearhead" of attack. In France, the SS Totenkopf was involved in the only Allied tank attack in the Battle of France . On 21 May units of the British 1st Army Tank Brigade , supported by the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division , took part in the Battle of Arras . The SS Totenkopf

1742-513: The SS and authorized SS and Police Bases ( SS- und Polizeistützpunkte ) to be established in occupied Poland and occupied areas of the Soviet Union. They were to be "armed industrialized agricultural complexes". They would also maintain order in the areas they were established. They did not go beyond the planning stage. SS-Verf%C3%BCgungstruppe SS-Verfügungstruppe ( SS-VT , lit.   ' SS Dispositional Troops ' )

1809-441: The SS had only 200 active members and in 1926, it ended the year with the same number. There were 280 members in 1928 as the SS continued to struggle under the SA. After Heinrich Himmler took over the SS in January 1929, he worked to separate the SS from the SA. By December 1929, the number of SS members had grown to 1,000. Himmler began to systematically develop and expand the SS with stricter requirements for members as well as

1876-458: The SS had risen again and reached its peak with an estimated 240,000 members. By the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the SS had solidified into its final form. Correspondingly, the term "SS" could be applied to three separate organizations, mainly the Allgemeine SS , SS-Totenkopfverbände and the Waffen-SS, which until July 1940 was officially known as the SS-VT. When the war first began,

1943-479: The SS officer schools ( SS-Junker Schools ), physical training, communication, SS garrisons, logistics and support. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the SS-Verfügungstruppe expanded rapidly becoming the Waffen-SS in 1940. By this time, the office of the SS-Hauptamt could no longer administer the entire SS organization. As a result, the SS-HA was downsized losing much of its pre-war power to

2010-540: The SS was given the lowest priority for recruits, thereby limiting its size. In 1936, Himmler selected former Lieutenant General Paul Hausser to be Inspector of the SS-VT with the rank of Brigadefuhrer . Hausser worked to transform the SS-VT into a credible military force that was a match for the regular army. The SS-VT trained alongside Hitler's personal bodyguard, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), which had also been formed from

2077-574: The SS, females participated in atrocities against Jews, Poles, and others. In 1942, Himmler set up the Reichsschule für SS Helferinnen (Reich school for SS helpers) in Oberehnheim to train women in communications so that they could free up men for combat roles. Himmler also intended to replace all female civilian employees in his service with SS-Helferinnen members, as they were selected and trained according to NSDAP ideology. The school

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2144-597: The SS-HA for both the Waffen-SS and the SS-Totenkopfverbände . The General SS members were especially seen as well suited for duty at the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps . From 1942, forward, other personnel working for SS organisations were also drafted into the Waffen-SS to meet its manpower needs. In 1940 the SS-Hauptamt remained responsible for SS administrative matters such as manpower allocation, supplies, personnel transfers, and promotions. The SS-HA had 11 departments (Ämter or Amtsgruppen): The SS-HA

2211-530: The SS-HA on January 30, 1935. The organization oversaw the Allgemeine-SS , concentration camps , the SS-Verfügungstruppe (Special-purpose troops), and the Grenzschutz (Border Control regiments). During the late 1930s, the power of the SS-HA continued to grow becoming the largest and most powerful office of the SS, managing nearly all aspects of the paramilitary organization. This included

2278-480: The Waffen-SS and the Nazi concentration camps . The military formations under Himmler's command on 1 September 1939 consisted of several subgroups: Elements of the SS-VT served with the Wehrmacht during the occupation of the Sudetenland , Austria , and Czechoslovakia . For those operations, the SS-VT was under the command of the army. The SS-VT also formed an Artillery Regiment during this time-frame which

2345-416: The Waffen-SS. The SS-FHA wanted the Waffen-SS to be a small elite corps, but Berger and Himmler knew that Adolf Hitler needed as many divisions as possible, even if that meant some Waffen-SS formations would be of lesser quality. During the early war years, to meet the high casualty rates and expansion of Waffen-SS field divisions , members of the Allgemeine SS were used for compulsory recruitment drives by

2412-577: The all-black uniforms be turned in for use by others. They were sent east where they were used by auxiliary police units and west to be used by Germanic-SS units such as the ones in the Netherlands and Denmark . Approximately one third of the Allgemeine SS were considered "full time" meaning that they received a salary as government employees, were employed full-time in an SS office, and performed SS duties as their primary occupation. The vast majority of such full-time SS personnel were assigned to

2479-612: The camp operations, the WHVA was the organization responsible for managing the finances, supply systems and business projects for the Allgemeine SS . By 1944, with the concentration camps fully integrated with the Waffen-SS and under the control of the WVHA, a standard practice developed to rotate SS members in and out of the camps, based on manpower needs and also to give assignments to wounded Waffen-SS officers and soldiers who could no longer serve in front-line combat. This rotation of personnel

2546-544: The concentration camp at Auschwitz was greatly expanded to include the addition of gas chambers , where victims were killed using the pesticide Zyklon B . After 1942, the entire camp service was placed under the authority of the Waffen-SS for a variety of administrative and logistical reasons. The ultimate command authority for the camp system during World War II was the SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt (WHVA) under Oswald Pohl . Beside

2613-539: The core of the Allgemeine SS , were maintained in their own order of battle, beginning with regiment sized Standarten units and extending upwards to division strength Oberabschnitte commands. Within the Allgemeine SS Standarten there were in turn subordinate battalions of Sturmbann themselves divided into company Sturme . For most rank and file members of the Allgemeine SS , the Sturm level

2680-671: The draft exemption for the Allgemeine SS main offices was lifted and many junior members were ordered into combat with senior members assuming duties as Waffen-SS generals. The core of the Allgemeine SS was part-time mustering formations spread throughout Germany. Members in these regional units would typically meet once a week in uniform, as well as participate in various Nazi Party functions. Activities including drill and ideological instruction, marching in parades, and providing security at various Nazi party rallies. Regional SS units were organized into commands known as SS-Oberabschnitt meaning "SS-Senior Sector" responsible for commanding

2747-590: The economic ambitions of the SS intensified. Intensification of the killing operations took place in late 1941 when the SS began construction of stationary gassing facilities to replace the use of Einsatzgruppen for mass killings. Victims at these new extermination camps were killed with the use of carbon monoxide gas from automobile engines. During Operation Reinhard , three death camps were built in occupied Poland: Bełżec (operational by March 1942), Sobibór (operational by May 1942), and Treblinka (operational by July 1942). On Himmler's orders, by early 1942

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2814-487: The formation of a new bodyguard unit, the Schutzkommando ("Protection Command"). Hitler wanted a small group of tough ex-soldiers like Schreck, who would be loyal to him. The unit included old Stoßtrupp members like Emil Maurice and Erhard Heiden . The unit made its first public appearance on 4 April 1925. That same year, the Schutzkommando was expanded to a national level. It was also successively renamed

2881-453: The invasion of Poland, "[t]heir...capabilities were employed instead in terrorizing the civilian population through acts that included hunting down straggling Polish soldiers, confiscating agricultural produce and livestock, and torturing and murdering large numbers of Polish political leaders, aristocrats, businessmen, priests, intellectuals, and Jews." Further, members of the Leibstandarte also committed atrocities in numerous towns, including

2948-507: The main SS offices that were considered part of the Allgemeine SS. By 1942, these main offices managed all activities of the SS and were divided as follows: Main office commanders and staff were exempt from military conscription, although many, such as Heydrich, served as reservists in the regular German military. Main office members did join the Waffen-SS, where they could accept a lower rank and serve in active combat or be listed as inactive reservists. By 1944, with Germany's looming defeat,

3015-586: The murder of 50 Polish Jews in Błonie and the massacre in Złoczew, where 200 civilians were machine gunned. Złoczew's children also suffered; SS men beat and murdered them, sometimes with rifle butts, crushing the skulls of toddlers. Shootings also took place in Bolesławiec , Torzeniec , Goworowo , Mława , and Włocławek . In October 1939 the SS-VT regiments Deutschland , Germania , and Der Führer were organized into

3082-432: The nucleus of the Waffen-SS . The SS-VT was formed on 24 September 1934 from a merger of various Nazi and paramilitary formations such as the SS Special Detachments ( SS-Sonderkommandos ) and the Headquarters Guard ( SS- Stabswache ) units. The SS-VT consisted of three regiments, modelled on the infantry regiments of the German Army ( Heer ) and regulations; each regiment consisting of three infantry battalions,

3149-409: The occupied Soviet Union, including mass murder of Jews, communists, prisoners of war, and hostages, and played a key role in the Holocaust . All Concentration Camp staffs were originally part of the Allgemeine SS under the office of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate ( Inspektion der Konzentrationslager or IKL). First headed by Theodor Eicke , the Concentration Camp personnel were formed into

3216-405: The party Sicherheitsdienst (SD). Later from 27 September 1939 forward, the SD, Gestapo, and Kripo were folded into the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) that was placed under Heydrich's control. As a functioning state agency, the SiPo ceased to exist. The ordinary uniformed German police, known as the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo), were under SS control after 1936 but were never incorporated into

3283-405: The police. Originally part of the SiPo, in late September 1939 the operational control of the Einsatzgruppen was taken over by the RSHA. When the killing units were re-formed prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the men of the Einsatzgruppen were drawn from the SD, Gestapo, Kripo, Orpo, civilian (SS auxiliary) and Waffen-SS . The Einsatzgruppen units perpetrated atrocities in

3350-448: The rank and file of the Allgemeine SS were still part-time only. Regular Allgemeine SS personnel were also not exempt from conscription and many were called up to serve in the Wehrmacht . In 1936, the state security police forces of the Gestapo and Kripo (Criminal Police) were consolidated. The combined forces were folded into the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) and placed under the central command of Reinhard Heydrich , already chief of

3417-414: The start of 1941, Germania was renamed Wiking , with command given to then Brigadeführer Felix Steiner , the former commander of the SS-VT regiment Deutschland . The Verfügungs-Division was also renamed Reich (in 1942 Das Reich ). In addition, the Polizei division was brought under Waffen-SS administration. The Leibstandarte was also expanded to a division for Operation Barbarossa . When

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3484-496: The stated membership estimate for the SS was 800,000. The Waffen-SS had approximately 600,000 of those members in their ranks. The Waffen-SS had grown from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, and served alongside the Heer (regular army), but never formally a part of it. In comparison, by the end of the war the Allgemeine SS only had a little over 40,000 men still in its ranks. The mustering formations of part-time SS members, considered before 1938 to be

3551-449: The vast majority of SS members belonged to the Allgemeine SS , but this statistic changed during the later stages of the war when the Waffen-SS opened up membership for non-Germans. Further, with Himmler as Chief of the German Police, the SS also controlled the uniformed Ordnungspolizei (Order Police). The term Allgemeine-SS referred to the "General SS," meaning those units of the SS considered "main, regular, or standard." By 1938,

3618-529: Was a paramilitary force, which in war was to be subordinate to the Wehrmacht ("Armed Forces"), but remained under Himmler's control in times of peace and under Hitler's personal control regardless. According to this restructure, the SS now housed three different subordinate commands: Himmler further conducted additional purges of the SS to exclude those deemed to be opportunists, alcoholics , homosexuals , or of uncertain racial status. This "house cleaning" removed some 60,000 SS members by December 1935. By 1939,

3685-399: Was closed on 22 November 1944 due to the Allied advance. The ranks of the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS were based upon those of the SA and used the same titles. However, there was a distinctly separate hierarchical subdivisions of the larger Waffen-SS from its general-SS counterpart and an SS member could in fact hold two separate SS ranks. For instance, in 1940 Hermann Fegelein held

3752-434: Was created in August 1940 under Gruppenführer Hans Jüttner . The Totenkopf Division, together with the independent Totenkopf-Standarten , were transferred to FHA control. Further that same month, SS chief-of-staff Gottlob Berger approached Himmler with a plan to recruit volunteers in the conquered territories from the ethnic German and Germanic populations. At first Hitler had doubts about recruiting foreigners, but he

3819-472: Was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the Ordnungspolizei (order police) nor the Wehrmacht , but military-trained men at the disposal of the Führer . In time of war, the SS-VT were to be placed at the disposal of the army. The SS-VT were involved in the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. By 1940 these military SS units had become

3886-487: Was improperly equipped by the army to carry out its objectives. Himmler insisted that the SS-VT should be allowed to fight in its own formations under its own commanders, while the OKW tried to have the SS-VT disbanded altogether. Hitler was unwilling to upset either the army or Himmler, and chose a third path. He ordered that the SS-VT form its own divisions but that the divisions would be under army command. In addition, Eicke's SS-TV field forces were not military, and during

3953-430: Was later named the chief of all German police in June 1936, and the Gestapo was incorporated with the Kripo (Criminal Police) into sub-branches of the SiPo . Heydrich was made head of the SiPo and continued as chief of the SD . In August 1934, Himmler received permission from Hitler to form a new organisation from the SS Sonderkommandos and the Politischen Bereitschaften , the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). This

4020-448: Was officially established in the autumn of 1934 to distinguish its members from the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Dispositional Troops or SS-VT), which later became the Waffen-SS , and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head Units or SS-TV), which were in charge of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps . SS formations committed many war crimes against civilians and allied servicemen. Starting in 1939, foreign units of

4087-425: Was overrun, finding their standard anti-tank gun , the 3.7 cm PaK 36 , no match for the British Matilda tank . After the Dutch surrender, the LSSAH was moved south to France. On 24 May the LSSAH, along with the SS-VT division, were positioned to hold the perimeter around Dunkirk , assisting in reduction of the size of the pocket containing the encircled British Expeditionary Force and French forces. On 27 May,

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4154-416: Was persuaded by Himmler and Berger. He gave approval for a new division to be formed from foreign nationals with German officers. In December 1940 the Germania Regiment was removed from the Verfügungs -Division and used to form the cadre of a new division, SS-Division Germania . It was made up of mostly "Nordic" volunteers from the newly conquered territories, Danes, Norwegians, Dutch and Flemings. By

4221-450: Was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, but received credit for the four years during which he had been in custody awaiting trial. Berger was released from Landsberg prison in 1951. Allgemeine-SS The Allgemeine SS ( [ˌalɡəˈmaɪ̯nə ˈɛs ˈɛs] ; "General SS") was a major branch of the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany ; it was managed by the SS Main Office ( SS-Hauptamt ). The Allgemeine SS

4288-423: Was technically subordinate to the Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS , but in reality it remained autonomous. After the end of World War II in Europe, members of the SS-HA were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity . Gottlob Berger , its former chief was arrested in May 1945 and tried in 1949. The trial against Berger and his co-defendants commenced on 6 January 1948, and ended on 13 April 1949. Berger

4355-409: Was the highest which the ordinary SS member would typically associate with. The Sturm itself was further divided into platoon sized Truppen (sometimes known as Zug ) which were in turn divided into squad sized Scharen . For larger Allgemeine SS commands, the Scharen would be further divided into Rotte which were the Allgemeine SS equivalent of a fire team . Himmler had grand visions for

4422-693: Was to enforce Nazi racial doctrine , especially anti-Semitic ideals. They typically served as local security police augmenting German units of the Gestapo, SD, and other main departments of the Reich Main Security Office. The Allgemeine SS also consisted of the SS-Frauenkorps (literally, "Women's Corps") which was an auxiliary reporting and clerical unit, which included the SS-Helferinnenkorps (Women Helper Corps), made up of female volunteers. Members were assigned as administrative staff and supply personnel, and served in command positions and as guards at women's concentration camps in places such as Ravensbrück concentration camp . Like their male equivalents in

4489-413: Was used to fill the gaps in a number of army units for those events. The SS-VT regiments Deutschland and Germania along with the Leibstandarte participated in the invasion of Poland , with Der Führer (recruited in Austria after the Anschluss ) in reserve at Prague. In September 1939, a combined unit of SS-VT and Heer (army) troops conducted operations jointly as Panzer Division Kempf during

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