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Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The SS unit nomenclature can be divided into several different...
The Schutzstaffel (SS; also stylised as ᛋᛋ with Armanen runes; German pronunciation: [ˈʃʊtsˌʃtafl̩] ⓘ; lit. ' Protection Squadron ') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II.
The SS (Schutzstaffel, or Protection Squads) was originally established as Adolf Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit. It would later become both the elite guard of the Nazi Reich and Hitler’s executive force prepared to carry out all security-related duties, without regard for legal restraint.
The Schutzstaffel (SS) was formed on Hitler’s order in April 1925. It began as a small, specialised unit of the Sturmabteilung (SA) with a specific role: providing bodyguards for Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis (the name Schutzstaffel means ‘protective staff’).
The SS had two main branches: the Waffen-SS (units tasked with combat in war) and Allgemeine-SS (non-combat and security units). 5. The Final Solution was, for the most part, carried out by members of the Allgemeine -SS, who staffed and led mobile killing squads and concentration camps, as well as locating Jews in hiding.
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.
