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Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS (German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌfyːʁɐ ˌʔɛsˈʔɛs] ⓘ, lit. 'Reich Leader-SS') was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS), and it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler.
Reichsführer-SS was both a title and a rank. The title of Reichsführer was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, Joseph Berchtold. Julius Schreck, founder of the SS and Berchtold's predecessor, never referred to himself as Reichsführer. Yet, the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became Reichsführer-SS and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of Obergruppenführer. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called Reichsführer-SS.
Prior to the Night of the Long Knives, the SS was an elite corps of the Sturmabteilung (SA or storm troopers), and the Reichsführer-SS was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the Stabschef. On 20 July 1934, as part of the purge of the SA, the SS was made an independent branch of the Nazi Party, responsible only to Hitler. From that point on, the title of Reichsführer-SS became an actual rank, and in fact the highest rank of the SS. In this position, Himmler was on paper the equivalent of a Generalfeldmarschall in the German Army. As Himmler's position and authority grew in Nazi Germany, so did his rank in a "de facto" sense. Further, there was never more than one Reichsführer-SS at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until April 1945.
Under its original inception, the title and rank of Reichsführer-SS was the designation for the head of the Allgemeine SS (General-SS). In this capacity, the SS Reich Leader was the direct commander of the SS Senior District Leaders (SS-Oberabschnitt Führer); by 1936, the Reichsführer-SS was head of the three main SS branches: the Allgemeine SS, SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT; political action troops), and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; concentration camp service).
During the Second World War, the Reichsführer-SS in effect held several additional roles and wielded enormous personal power. He was responsible for all internal security within Nazi Germany. He was overseer of the concentration camps, extermination camps (through the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and SS-TV), and the Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads (through the Reich Security Main Office; RSHA). Over time, his influence on both civil and foreign policy became marked, as the Reichsführer reported directly to Hitler and his actions were not tempered by checks and balances. This meant the office holder could implement broad policy, such as the Nazi plan for the Genocide or extermination of the Jews, or order criminal acts such as the Stalag Luft III murders, without impediment.
It is difficult to separate the office from the duties assigned to the individual. As of 20 April 1934, Himmler in his position of Reichsführer-SS already controlled the SD and the Gestapo. On 17 June 1936 Himmler was named chief of all German police, thereby placing all uniformed police (Orpo) and criminal police (Kripo) in Germany under his control. In the latter role, he was nominally subordinate to the Interior Minister, Wilhelm Frick. It is not clear how much of this power would technically reside in the office of the Reichsführer-SS were those duties to be split up. These questions became moot by the time Himmler became the Interior Minister in 1943.
It is difficult to define precisely the full detailed duties and responsibilities of the Reichsführer-SS beyond that of leader and senior member of the SS, since, in the words of historian Martin Windrow, "by the outbreak of the (Second World) war it would have been impossible to define exactly the role within the state" of the entire SS itself.
The rank of Reichsführer-SS was defined in the SS hierarchy as the highest possible rank of the Allgemeine-SS. The exact position of the rank within the Waffen-SS evolved over many years, ranging from clearly defined to vaguely associated. The Waffen-SS was originally the small armed SS unit known as the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), and in the 1930s was under the command of Himmler who, in his position as Reichsführer-SS, issued directives and orders to SS-VT commanders. Hold-outs existed for some aspects of the armed SS however, as well as within the special bodyguard unit known as the SS-Leibstandarte. Although the unit was nominally under Himmler, Sepp Dietrich was the real commander and handled its day-to-day administration.
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Reichsführer-SS AI simulator
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Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS (German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌfyːʁɐ ˌʔɛsˈʔɛs] ⓘ, lit. 'Reich Leader-SS') was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS), and it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler.
Reichsführer-SS was both a title and a rank. The title of Reichsführer was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, Joseph Berchtold. Julius Schreck, founder of the SS and Berchtold's predecessor, never referred to himself as Reichsführer. Yet, the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became Reichsführer-SS and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of Obergruppenführer. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called Reichsführer-SS.
Prior to the Night of the Long Knives, the SS was an elite corps of the Sturmabteilung (SA or storm troopers), and the Reichsführer-SS was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the Stabschef. On 20 July 1934, as part of the purge of the SA, the SS was made an independent branch of the Nazi Party, responsible only to Hitler. From that point on, the title of Reichsführer-SS became an actual rank, and in fact the highest rank of the SS. In this position, Himmler was on paper the equivalent of a Generalfeldmarschall in the German Army. As Himmler's position and authority grew in Nazi Germany, so did his rank in a "de facto" sense. Further, there was never more than one Reichsführer-SS at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until April 1945.
Under its original inception, the title and rank of Reichsführer-SS was the designation for the head of the Allgemeine SS (General-SS). In this capacity, the SS Reich Leader was the direct commander of the SS Senior District Leaders (SS-Oberabschnitt Führer); by 1936, the Reichsführer-SS was head of the three main SS branches: the Allgemeine SS, SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT; political action troops), and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; concentration camp service).
During the Second World War, the Reichsführer-SS in effect held several additional roles and wielded enormous personal power. He was responsible for all internal security within Nazi Germany. He was overseer of the concentration camps, extermination camps (through the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and SS-TV), and the Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads (through the Reich Security Main Office; RSHA). Over time, his influence on both civil and foreign policy became marked, as the Reichsführer reported directly to Hitler and his actions were not tempered by checks and balances. This meant the office holder could implement broad policy, such as the Nazi plan for the Genocide or extermination of the Jews, or order criminal acts such as the Stalag Luft III murders, without impediment.
It is difficult to separate the office from the duties assigned to the individual. As of 20 April 1934, Himmler in his position of Reichsführer-SS already controlled the SD and the Gestapo. On 17 June 1936 Himmler was named chief of all German police, thereby placing all uniformed police (Orpo) and criminal police (Kripo) in Germany under his control. In the latter role, he was nominally subordinate to the Interior Minister, Wilhelm Frick. It is not clear how much of this power would technically reside in the office of the Reichsführer-SS were those duties to be split up. These questions became moot by the time Himmler became the Interior Minister in 1943.
It is difficult to define precisely the full detailed duties and responsibilities of the Reichsführer-SS beyond that of leader and senior member of the SS, since, in the words of historian Martin Windrow, "by the outbreak of the (Second World) war it would have been impossible to define exactly the role within the state" of the entire SS itself.
The rank of Reichsführer-SS was defined in the SS hierarchy as the highest possible rank of the Allgemeine-SS. The exact position of the rank within the Waffen-SS evolved over many years, ranging from clearly defined to vaguely associated. The Waffen-SS was originally the small armed SS unit known as the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), and in the 1930s was under the command of Himmler who, in his position as Reichsführer-SS, issued directives and orders to SS-VT commanders. Hold-outs existed for some aspects of the armed SS however, as well as within the special bodyguard unit known as the SS-Leibstandarte. Although the unit was nominally under Himmler, Sepp Dietrich was the real commander and handled its day-to-day administration.