SS and Police Leader

The title of SS and Police Leader (German: SS- und Polizeiführer) designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; regular uniformed police), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the occupied territories.

Three levels of subordination were established for holders of this title:

The office of Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer (Higher SS and Police Leader, HSSPF) was authorized by a decree of 13 November 1937, signed by Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. This decree authorized the creation of HSSPF in each of the 13 German armed forces Wehrkreise (military districts) in the German Reich, but only in the event of mobilization. At that time, the HSSPF would serve as deputies under the jurisdiction of Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer-SS and chief of the German police, for the purpose of leading, coordinating and integrating all local and regional SS and police formations into the defense organization of the Reich. The first HSSPF activated were those appointed in the Wehrkreise bordering Austria during the Anschluss crisis in March 1938, and Czechoslovakia during the summer and autumn of the same year.

The Oberabschnitte were the Allgemeine-SS regional commands in each of the Wehrkreise. Their commanders carried the title of SS-Oberabschnittsführer (SS Main District Leader) and usually held the rank of SS-Gruppenführer or SS-Obergruppenführer. The SS-Oberabschnitte were subordinated to the HSSPF; however, in nearly every instance, the SS-Oberabschnittsführer held both positions simultaneously. The purpose of the Higher SS and Police Leader was to be a direct command authority for every SS and police unit in these given geographical regions, answering only to Himmler and, through him, to Adolf Hitler. They were to act as Himmler's chief liaison to, and unifier of, all Allgemeine SS and police components in a region.

After the March 1938 Anschluss when Austria was absorbed into the German Reich, two new Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were established there as well. Likewise, after the October 1939 conquest of Poland, two additional Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were created for those Polish areas that were directly incorporated into the Reich.

In all other occupied territories, no Wehrkreise were established, so the HSSPF were independent commands with several subordinate SS- und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader, SSPF) commands reporting to them. These positions were created beginning in November 1939 to assist the HSSPF in administering the large areas under their jurisdiction.

Finally, in the autumn of 1943, Himmler created two Höchster SS- und Polizeiführer (Supreme SS and Police Leader, HöSSPF) posts with jurisdiction over very large territories; these were Italien (1943–1945) and Ukraine (1943–1944), each of which had both HSSPF and SSPF reporting to them.

Within given areas, SS and Police Leaders commanded and controlled multiple SS and police units. This typically included the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; regular police), SiPo (security police), including the Gestapo (secret police) and Kriminalpolizei (Kripo; criminal poilce), Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; Nazi concentration camps), and SD (intelligence service). Most of the HSSPF normally held the rank of SS-Gruppenführer or above, and answered directly to Himmler in all matters pertaining to the SS within their area of responsibility. Most SSPF normally held the rank of SS-Oberführer or SS-Brigadeführer and reported to their HSSPF. The role of all SS and Police Leaders was to be part of the SS control mechanism within their jurisdiction, policing the population and overseeing the activities of the SS men within each respective district. The HSSPF could bypass the chain of command of the administrative offices for the SS, SD, SiPo, SS-TV, Waffen-SS and Orpo in their district under the "guise of an emergency situation", thereby gaining direct operational control of these groups.