Uniforms and Insignia of the Schutzstaffel

8/15/2019 Uniforms and Insignia of the Schutzstaffel

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Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

SS-Gruppenführer Hans Heinrich Lammers i n black

Allgemeine-SS uniform 1938

The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were

paramilitary ranks and uniforms used by the SS between

1925 and 1945 to differentiate that organization from the

regular German armed forces, the German state, and the

Nazi Party.

1 Uniform design and function

While a multitude of uniforms existed for the SS, often

depending on the theatre of war where they were sta-

tioned, the all black SS uniform is the most well known.

Black was seen as sombre and authoritative. The black-

white-red colour scheme was characteristic of the Ger-

man Empire, and was later adopted by the Nazi Party.

Further, black was popular with fascist movements: a

black uniform was introduced by the blackshirts in Italy

before the creation of the SS. There was a traditional rea-

son, as well. Just as the Prussian kings’ and emperors’life-guard cavalry (Leibhusaren) had worn black uniforms

with skull-and-crossbones badges, so would the Führer 's

2nd pattern SS Totenkopf or death’s head, 1934–45

bodyguard unit.[lower-alpha 1] As with many more formal

military uniforms, these SS uniforms were tailored to

project authority, and foster fear and respect. As Himm-

ler put it, “I know there are many people who fall ill when

they see this black uniform; we understand that and don't

expect that we will be loved by many people.” [1]

During the war, the German clothing factory that

eventually became the international menswear power-

house Hugo Boss produced thousands of SS and other

uniforms;[2] with the black SS uniform having been de-

signed by Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck.

Once the war began, however, the black uniform was sel-dom worn. The combat units of the SS-Verfügungstruppe

(SS-VT) and the later Waffen-SS wore a variation of the

field-grey (grey-green) ( feldgrau) army (Heer ) uniform

with SS insignia. The majority of SS personnel wore vari-

ations of the Waffen-SS uniform or the grey-green SS ser-

vice tunic. Branches with personnel that normally would

wear civilian attire in the Reich (such as the Gestapo and

Kripo) were issued grey-green SS uniforms in occupied

territory to avoid being mistaken for civilians.

SS uniforms used a variety of insignia, the most standard

of which were collar patches to denote rank and shoul-

der boards to denote rank and position, along with sleevecuffbands and “sleeve diamond” patches to indicate mem-

bership in specific branches of the SS.

1

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2 2 UNIFORMS DESIGNS AND STYLES

2 Uniforms designs and styles

2.1 Early SS uniforms (1925–1928)

The traditional “Danziger” Totenkopf worn by the SS 1923–34

The SS can trace its origins to several early Freikorps

and Nazi Party formations, among them the Erhardt

Naval Brigade, Stahlhelm, and most significantly the

Sturmabteilung (SA), of which the SS was originally a

subordinate organization.

The very first SA uniforms and insignia were paramilitary

uniforms fashioned by early Nazis which incorporatedparts from World War I uniforms to include such features

used by other Freikorps formation such as high boots,

daggers, and the kepi hat. The 8-man Stabswache (staff

guard ), Hitler’s bodyguard, soon renamed the Stosstrupp

(shock troop), also adopted in May 1923 the skull and oak

leaf as a means of insignia, both of which were already

deeply rooted in European military history.

In 1924, while the Nazi Party was legally banned follow-

ing the Beer Hall Putsch, Frontbann (underground SA)

leader Gerhard Roßbach located a large store of war-

surplus brown denim shirts in Austria, originally intended

for tropical uniforms.[3] When the SA (which includedthe nascent SS) was re-founded in 1925 following Hitler’s

release from prison, these brown shirts were issued as uni-

forms.

In 1925, Hitler ordered the formation of a new bodyguard

unit, the Schutzkommando (protection command).[4] It

was formed by Julius Schreck and included old Stoßtrupp

members, Emil Maurice and Erhard Heiden.[5] The

only insignia was the swastika armband, usually home-

made, except for the handful of men constituting the

Stosstrupp’s successor, the Schutzkommando, who contin-

ued the use of the Totenkopf pinned to cap or collar. That

same year, the Schutzkommando was expanded to a na-tional level. It was renamed successively the Sturmstaffel

(storm squadron), and finally the Schutzstaffel (protection

Early SS armband using the rank stripe system

squadron), abbreviated to SS (on 9 November).[6] In the

following year adopted its first recognizable rank insignia

system which was used mainly by senior SS personnel at

major rallies, with the rank and file of the SS, like the

rest of the SA, still wearing a variety of brown shirts or

paramilitary uniforms with no recognizable insignia.The early rank system of 1926 consisted of a swastika

armband worn with white stripes, with the number of

stripes determining the rank of the bearer. Thus, the very

first SS rank system was as follows:

• Reichsführer (“national leader”): three stripes

• Gauführer (“district leader”): two stripes

• Staffelführer (“squadron leader”): one stripe

• Mann (“trooper”): no stripes

Under the above system, basic SS troopers were orga-

nized into 10-man Staffeln, each under the authority of a

Staffelführer . SS districts, known as SS-Gaus , were under

the authority of a Gauführer while all SS district lead-

ers answered to a national leader of the SS called the Re-

ichsführer , at this time Josef Berchtold.[7] In line with the

Führerprinzip (“leader principle”) of the Nazi Party’s ide-

ology, the word Führer was incorporated into all ranks

except those for basic SS troopers.

By 1927, the Sturmabteilung had greatly increased its

numbers and had standardized the “brown shirt” uniform

which would thereafter be permanently associated withthat group: shirt, tie, breeches, boots, and cylindrical

kepi, all brown. As the SS was at this time a small unit

within the SA, SS personnel during this period likewise

wore brown shirt uniforms but distinguished themselves

as an elite among the SA by wearing black neckties and

black kepis with Totenkopf and Party eagle badges.

By this time, with influences from the Stahlhelm, the SA

leadership adopted its first collar insignia and also added

a new SA rank of Standartenführer ("standard leader”)

in charge of regiment-sized Standarten (incorporating the

company sized Staffeln); the SS at this time adopted the

same rank as well.

The 1927 ranks had no insignia for SA/SS troopers (still

known by the title "Mann") and the previous rank of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standartenf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerprinziphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Berchtoldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_(military_rank)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffelf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichsf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzstaffelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Heidenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Mauricehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Schreckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Ro%C3%9Fbachhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontbannhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putschhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Europehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_SS_Division_Leibstandarte_SS_Adolf_Hitlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Sturmabteilunghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmabteilunghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stahlhelm,_Bund_der_Frontsoldatenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinebrigade_Ehrhardthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinebrigade_Ehrhardthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freikorps


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2.2 SS Brownshirts (1929–1932) 3

1st pattern Party eagle, worn by the SS 1927–36

Staffelführer had become shortened to simply Führer

(“leader”). The higher SS ranks of Standartenführer ,

Gauführer , and Reichsführer like their SA counterpartsnow used a system of oak leaves displayed on both col-

lars of the brown SA shirt. One oak leaf signified a

Standartenführer , two a Gauführer , and three oak leaves

were worn by Reichsführer-SS Berchtold and his succes-

sor Erhard Heiden, who reported directly to the Oberste

SA-Führer .

Over the course of the next year, the burgeoning SA saw

the emergence of new units and ranks, and for the first

time a comprehensive system of rank insignia. A basic

squad unit, the 10-man Schar , was grouped into platoon-

sized Truppen, and these into company-sized Stürme

which in turn made up battalion-sized Sturmbanne. Newranks went with the new formations: Scharführer , with

one pip worn on the left collar patch, Truppführer , two

pips, Sturmführer , three pips, and Sturmbannführer , four

pips. On the right collar of SA uniforms was worn a patch

with two numbers indicating Standarte and Sturmbann af-

filiation. Because the SS numbered fewer than a thousand

men, it did not adopt the Sturmbann unit at this time, and

right-hand SS collar patches displayed the number of the

Standarte only.

At the higher end of the organization, in 1928 the SA

Gau-Stürme were restructured into regional Gruppen,

each commanded by a leader with a new general-officerrank, Gruppenführer ; its insignia was the three oak leaf

collar patch. At this time the former rank of Gauführer

was renamed Oberführer (“senior leader”).

The collar patches of the SA were color-coded: each

Gruppe had its own distinctive color. The SS was consid-

ered to be a Gruppe unto itself; its color, naturally, was

black, and Reichsführer-SS Heiden held the rank of Grup-

penfuhrer and wore its three-oakleaf insignia.

2.2 SS Brownshirts (1929–1932)

In 1929, under new Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himm-

ler,[8] the SS codified its first uniform regulations:

Heinrich Himmler wearing an early SS uniform with Oberführer

insignia in 1928

the signature black color was extended to breeches,

boots,[lower-alpha 2] armband edges, and belt and crossbelt;

the shirt collar was edged in black-and-white twist cord

except for those of senior leaders, which were trimmed

in silver.

The ability to produce and issue complete uniforms

came about due both to the centralization of the

Reichszeugmeisterei (RZM; national quartermaster of-

fice) under NSDAP Treasurer Franz Xaver Schwarz, andto Himmler’s expansion and reorganization of the fast-

growing SS (from 280 members to 52,000 between 1929

and 1932) into several brigade sized Brigaden throughout

Germany, each comprising three to five regiment-sized

Standarten. Within the Standarten now existed two to

three battalion-sized Sturmbanne (“storm units”), and be-

neath this level were the Stürme, Truppen, and Scharen.

For the lower ranks, the SS also specified that a patch

showing the wearer’s regiment (Standarte) would be worn

opposite the badge of rank while the higher SS leaders

would continue to wear oakleaf insignia on both collars.

Collar tabs below the rank of Sturmführer were edgedin black-and-white twist cord; those of Sturm and Sturm-

bann leaders used black-and-silver while those of senior

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Xaver_Schwarzhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichszeugmeistereihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruppenf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmbannf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truppf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scharf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberste_SA-F%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberste_SA-F%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Heiden


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The earliest SS rank system, used during the year 1929

leaders were edged in solid silver cord.

In addition to the collar unit insignia, the SS now created acuffband system which was worn on the lower left sleeve.

These cuffbands were black and displayed the bearer’s

Sturm number together with color-coded edges indicat-

ing the Sturmbann, which in conjunction with the collar

insignia showed regiment, battalion and company affilia-

tion. Leaders above the company level did not at this time

use the cuffband system.

The holder of the title of Reichsführer was still considered

an SA-Gruppenführer , with Reichsführer itself not yet an

actual rank. In addition, for a brief period in 1929, the

rank of Standartenführer was divided into two separate

grades, known as Standartenführer (I) and Standarten- führer (II); the insignia of one oak leaf was used for both

positions. This situation was another reflection of the

SS' rapid expansion: Oberführers now commanded the

three newly created SS-Oberführerbereiche, east, west and

south; and so a senior Standartenführer was promoted to

command each SS-Brigade.

Hitler’s personal guard, known at this stage by the orig-

inal SS name of Stabswache (later to be known as the

Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler), was also expressing its inde-

pendence and increasing its size under the leadership of

Sepp Dietrich.

The Stennes Revolt of August 1930, in which members of

the SA attacked the Berlin party Gau headquarters which

was defended by the SS, had profound consequences for

the SA and its relationship to its subordinate organization.

In an open letter to Berlin SS leader Kurt Daluege, Adolf

Hitler proclaimed SS Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue! (“SS

soldier, your honour is called loyalty!"). Subsequently,

Meine Ehre heißt Treue (“My honour is called loyalty”)

was adopted by the SS as its motto. More significantly,

Hitler cashiered SA head Franz Pfeffer von Salomon and

assumed the position of Oberste SA-Führer personally,

and simultaneously promoted both Himmler and Daluege

to the new rank of SS-Obergruppenführer . Daluege wasthe SS leader of Northern Germany while Himmler con-

trolled southern SS units out of Munich while serving as

the National Leader for the SS; this move had the effect

of rendering the loyal SS practically independent of the

suspect SA, since Himmler and Daluege now outranked

all SA commanders.

The transitional SS ranks of 1930

Another result of the Stennes Revolt was Hitler’s recall of

his old Putsch comrade Ernst Röhm from South Amer-

ica to take over the day-to-day running of the SA with

the title of SA-Stabschef . While Hitler thought that this

would bind the SA more firmly to him, Röhm had other

ambitions, including the conversion of the paramilitary

Sturmabteilung into an army. With his expansions, pro-

motions, and changes to the SA, a revision of the SA

rank system was required although the uniforms and ti-

tles essentially stayed the same. The first major change

was the addition of new ranks modeled on the origi-

nal titles created in 1928 but with the addition of “se-

nior” and “head” designators (ober and haupt ): these were

Oberscharführer , Obertruppführer and Sturmhauptführer .

The new rank insignia were created by adding a silver

stripe to the collar pips of the next-lower rank.

A 1930 change to the SS uniform was the addition of a

single narrow shoulder strap worn on the right side. There

were four grades of shoulder strap: until 1933 a black-

and-white pattern was worn by SS troopers, an epaulette

of parallel silver cords by Sturm and Sturmbann leaders,

a twisted pattern in silver cord by standarten-, ober- and

Gruppenführers , anda braided silver shoulderboardby the

two Obergruppenführers .

By 1931, Himmler was secure (or independent) enough

to reorganize the SS, formerly one SA-Gruppe, into five

SS-Gruppen divided into several Brigaden led by officers

with the new rank of Brigadeführer ; its insignia was the

two oakleaves of an Oberführer with a pip.

2.3 SS black uniforms (1932–1934)

In 1932,[lower-alpha 3] the SS introduced its most noto-

rious uniform, the black ensemble designed by Karl

Diebitsch (later to become an SS-Oberführer ) and graphic

designer SS-Sturmhauptführer Walter Heck.[9] The shirt

remained brown as a nod to the SA, of which the SS was

still nominally a part, but all else was black from high

boots[lower-alpha 4] to the new military-style peaked cap,

aside from the red armband. SS men were also issued

black wool greatcoats for inclement weather, which sim-

ilarly carried the armband, epaulette and collar patches.

Around this time a belt buckle featuring the motto MeineEhre heißt Treue (“My Honour Is Loyalty”) in its design

was produced by the Overhoff firm to replace the SA

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2.3 SS black uniforms (1932–1934) 5

buckle.

Furthermore, several new ranks and insignia changes

were introduced. The expanded rank system of 1932 still

used the same collar pip method to denote position paired

with a corresponding shoulder board, but added two new

junior positions known as Sturmmann and Rottenführer .By this time, Himmler had also increased scrutiny on SS

membership with a particular focus on proof of “Aryan”

ancestry, and created a “candidate” position known as SS-

Anwärter , which prospective SS members were required

to hold for at least six months before formally joining the

SS as an SS-Mann; an Anwärter wore no rank insignia.

With membership continuing to increase, Röhm in-

vented two new officer ranks known as Obersturmführer

and Obersturmbannführer . SS (and SA) officers ranked

Standartenführer (colonel) and above wore rank insignia

on both collars without the use of unit insignia; all person-

nel Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) and below

wore a unit insignia patch opposite the badge of rank.

SS rank insignia pattern from 1933

In 1933, after Hitler had become Chancellor, the SS be-

gan to make more of a distinction between 'officers’ and

'enlisted men;' an SS man could now only be promoted

to Sturmführer with Himmler’s approval, based upon the

Reichsführer ’s personal review of the candidate’s appli-

cation including his career resume or lebenslauf and rec-ommendations from current and former superior officers.

Note however that this system presupposed enlisted SS

membership; Himmler always detested the army’s class

distinctions. It was forbidden for SS men to follow the

army custom of addressing superior officers by prefixing

Herr to their rank, and Kamerad was an approved form

of address under most circumstances.

At this time, the SS also began to revamp its unit col-

lar insignia, shoulderboards, and sleeve cuffband system.

These changes were introduced over a period of one year

between 1933 and 1934 and began with the introduction

of a new senior enlisted rank known as Haupttruppführer .The black-and-white enlisted shoulderboard became

black-and-silver, and officers were brought into parallel

SS-Haupttruppführer insignia

with army practice: the twisted “cruller” board was as-

signed to the field-grade ranks (Sturmbannführer, Ober-

sturmbannführer, and Standartenführer ), and the braidedboards to the general-equivalents of Oberführer through

Obergruppenführer . In late 1934, enlisted collar patches

changed from black-and-white to black-and-silver edg-

ing; all officers now wore silver-piped collar tabs.

LSSAH guard detail, Berlin 1938; note sig-runes insignia

Also in 1933, the runes insignia was introduced which

would eventually become known as the symbol for the

entire SS. The first use of the SS runes was as a unit in-

signia limited only to members of the Leibstandarte Adolf

Hitler[10] which had transferred their headquarters from

Munich to Berlin and had replaced the Army Chancellery

Guard to become Hitler’s main protectors. It was at this

time that the Leibstandarte moved from being a “paramil-

itary” formation armed with pistols and truncheons to

“military”, equipped with rifles, bayonets, and steel hel-

mets. Their SS runes unit collar patch was to be worn

on the right side of the tunic collar.[11] The adaptation of

this particular unit insignia was largely the work of Sepp

Dietrich who on 4 November 1933, declared the unit an

independent formation and, although a part of the SS, an-

swerable to Hitler alone.[12] Dietricheven went so far as toforbid entrance of Himmler into the Berlin Leibstandarte

barracks and, for a brief few months in 1933, ordered his

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSSAHhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haupttruppf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_colonelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obersturmbannf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standartenf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obersturmbannf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obersturmf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anw%C3%A4rterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottenf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmmann


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Leibstandarte soldiers to wear the black uniform without

a swastika armband in order to differentate the bodyguard

unit from the rank and file of the Allgemeine-SS (“General

SS”) units throughout Germany.

At the same time Dietrich and his Leibstandarte adopted

the SS runes as their unit insignia, the full-time SS head-quarters and command staffs began using a blank collar

patch, without a unit number, to differentiate themselves

from the “rank and file” SS units in Germany which were

still using regiment Standarten numbers as their unit in-

signia. Thus, by the end of 1933, there were three unit

collar insignia patches in existence: the SS runes used by

the Leibstandarte, the blank collar patch used by the SS

headquarters and command staff, and the numbered SS

unit insignia worn by regular SS companies throughout

Germany.

SS unit insignia (1934)

In 1934, with the rise of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-

VT), the SS runes unit insignia was expanded to these

other formatations of the then fledgling military arm of

the SS (later to become known as the Waffen-SS). Toseparate these new military formations from the main

Leibstandarte regiment under Dietrich, the SS runes worn

by the Verfügungstruppe displayed a small number corre-

sponding to the particular SS-VT regiment of the bearer.

In all, there were three possible numbers:

1 for members of the Deutschland Regiment, 2 for

Germania personnel, and (from 1938) 3 for members

of the Der Führer Regiment. These insignia would sur-

vive throughout World War II and were kept in use after

the three original regiments had expanded to brigade and

division strength.

A collection of SS cuffbands

In addition to the expansion of the collar unit insignia sys-

tem, the SS by 1934 had also greatly expanded the system

of sleeve cuffbands which were now a standard part of the

black uniform, worn on the lower left sleeve. Within the

Allgemeine-SS companies, cuffbands were worn in con-

junction with a unit collar patch to denote regiment, bat-

talion, and company affiliation. While the unit collar

patch displayed the wearer’s Standarte (regiment) num-

ber, the number denoted on the cuffband indicated theSturm, or company, while collared piping along the cuff-

band further denoted in which battalion (Sturmbann) a

member served.

For those personnel serving above the regiment level, a

bare cuffband was worn or a cuffband bearing a Roman

numeral could be displayed. The Roman numeral cuff-

band indicated membership on the staff of the SS-Brigade

so numbered, which by the end of 1934 had become

known as an SS-Abschnitt . For the even higher levels,

such as Himmler or the senior SS-Gruppe leaders (later

known by the title SS-Oberabschnitt Führer ) a solid silver

cuffband was worn.

Within the early military SS, which included the Leibstan-

darte and the formations of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, a

series of cuffbands were introduced which bore the name

of the regiment to which the bearer was assigned. The

most coveted of these was the “Adolf Hitler” cuffband,

carrying the Führer ’s name in Sütterlin script, which was

worn solely by members of the Leibstandarte.

2.4 SS pre-war uniforms (1934–1938)

Heinrich Himmler’s insignia for Reichsführer-SS

An event which significantly altered the SS rank and in-

signia structure was the Night of the Long Knives which

occurred from 30 June to 2 July 1934. As a result of SS

participation in the purge and execution of the SA lead-ership, the SS was declared an independent formation of

the Nazi Party that answered only to Hitler.[13] Several of

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2.5 SS uniforms of World War II (1939–1945) 7

the rank titles were renamed to completely separate the

SS from its SA origins.

The most significant rank change was the creation of an

actual rank of Reichsführer-SS to denote the commander

of the SS. The new rank was the equivalent of a field mar-

shal in the army.

[14]

Prior to 1934, Himmler had been re-garded simply as an SS-Obergruppenführer . Reichsführer

was merely a title and not a rank prior to 1934, though

Himmler preferred to use his title more than his rank.[14]

In addition to Himmler’s new rank, several of the orig-

inal SS rank titles were renamed (although retained the

same insignia), bringing about the final nomenclature of

SS ranks which would be used until the SS was disbanded

at the end of World War II.

The change in SS rank titles applied mainly to the non-

commissioned officer ranks as well as the ranks of Sturm-

führer and Sturmhauptführer which received new names.

The titles of the remaining ranks remained unchanged.

In the wake of the "Röhm-Putsch", the SS officially

took over the concentration camps from the SA and po-

lice. Soon thereafter, camp guards began wearing the

Totenkopf (“skull”) on the right collar patch, to distin-

guish themselves from the numbered Allgemeine-SS Stan-

darten. This was inconsistent in the early days; some

guards instead wore tabs with the initial of their camp (e.

g. “D” for Dachau), and some wore blank tabs. About

1935, the black uniform proving impractical for daily

service wear, the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps

adopted a working uniform in “earth-brown” (erdbraun),

which was identical in cut to the black tunic except for

shoulderboards on both sides. In March 1936, the camp

“service” was formally established as the third branch of

the SS, the Totenkopfverbände or skull units.

At about this same time, for similar reasons, the military

SS formations (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and the

SS-Verfügungstruppe) adopted a service uniform in what

was termed “earth-grey” (erdgrau).[lower-alpha 5] This also

was based on the black uniform, but without the red Hak-

enkreuz armband, its place on the left sleeve being taken

by an eagle-and-swastika patch, and worn with trousers

and shoes or calf-high jackboots. In June 1938 this uni-

form was authorized for full-time Allgemeine-SS cadres as

well; the LSSAH and SS-VT then adopted army-pattern

shoulderboards to distinguish themselves from the gen-

eral SS and emphasize their military role.

2nd pattern SS eagle, 1936-45

In February 1934, the Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer

(“honor chevron for old campaigners”) was introduced

for all SS men who had joined the Nazi Party or a

Party-affiliated organization prior to January 30, 1933;

after the Anschluss , it was also authorized for Austri-

ans who had joined the DNSAP prior to 18 February

1938. It took the form of a silver lace chevron worn onthe right sleeve. During this period, the principal SS in-

signia also underwent design changes. The ancient jaw-

less Danziger style of Totenkopf was gradually replaced

by the 'classic' SS skull, a naturalistic design with grin-

ning jaws; the old form was taken up by the army’s newly

formed Panzerwaffe. Additionally, in March 1936, Hitler

approved a new art deco eagle with staggered wingtips for

the SS, which was worn through the end of the war as a

cap badge and on the sleeve.

Sicherheitsdienst sleeve diamond (raute)

By the end of 1938, the SS had also adopted a new in-

signia feature of sleeve diamonds worn on the bottom of

the left sleeve. Between 1939 and 1940, the SS expanded

its cuffband and sleeve diamond system into a vast array

of over 30 cuffbands and more than 12 sleeve diamonds.

2.5 SS uniforms of World War II (1939–

1945)

When World War II began in 1939, the Allgemeine-SS

grey service uniforms took on a more military appear-ance with the somewhat “ad-hoc” adoption of Wehrma-

cht -style shoulderboards, except for SS generals, who,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_decohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerwaffehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#Uniform_design_and_functionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_National_Socialismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschlusshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour_Chevron_for_the_Old_Guardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopfverb%C3%A4ndehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_concentration_campshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Kniveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichsf%C3%BChrer-SS


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SS rank insignia for enlisted personnel and officers

SS senior and general officer rank insignia, before (top row) and

after (bottom row) April 1942

Various unit insignia collar patches worn during World War II

until 1942, continued to wear the narrow braided silver

SS shoulderboards to denote general rank. It was also

at this time that the rank of SS-Oberführer lost its sta-

tus as a general officer rank and was instead now re-

garded as more of a senior colonel position. The black

uniform was increasingly seldom seen, eventually being

worn only by part-time Allgemeine-SS reservists. The

last ceremonial event at which the black uniforms were

worn “en masse” was the Berlin victory parade follow-

ing the fall of France in June 1940. In 1942, Himm-

ler ordered most all of the black uniforms recalled andstripped of insignia. They were sent east for use by the

native auxiliary police units and sent west to be used by

Obersturmbannführer Otto Kumm in Waffen-SS uniform. Note

the unauthorized Heer (army) style eagle together with SS

Totenkopf on the peaked cap, the Sigrunen and rank tabs on the

closed collar, and the shoulderboards similar to a Wehrmacht

Oberstleutnant

Germanic-SS units such as the ones in the Netherlands

and Denmark. In 1937, the LSSAH and SS-VT had

adopted a closed-collar feldgrau (grey-green) field uni-

form for combat wear, which with the outbreak of war

became the standard uniform of what would soon be the

Waffen-SS. This feldanzug was very similar to the Model

1936 Army field uniform; however, the SS version had

a somewhat wider collar in feldgrau (grey-green) rather

than Heer bottle-green,[lower-alpha 6] the lower pockets were

of the SS angled slash type, and the second button was

placed lower to permit the collar optionally to be wornopen with a necktie like the service-dress uniforms. The

Totenkopf branch, which was designated the reserve for

the Waffen-SS, also adopted this uniform. Waffen-SS

Panzer troops wore a double-breasted black uniform sim-

ilar to the Army model but somewhat different in cut; the

SS also made extensive use of camouflage clothing as the

war progressed. The full-time Allgemeine-SS cadres, es-

pecially Reichssicherheitshauptamt personnel, continued

to wear the earth-grey service-dress uniform.

A unique situation developed during World War II with

regards to SS ranks held by those who had served in

Allgemeine-SS positions from before the outbreak of warand now wished to serve in combat conditions with the

Waffen-SS. With such persons being SS members al-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichssicherheitshauptamthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_German_uniform#Panzer_uniform_(Sonderbekleidung_der_Panzertruppen)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_German_uniform#Tunic_(Feldbluse)_Model_1936https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_German_uniform#Tunic_(Feldbluse)_Model_1936https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Kummhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_colonel


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2.5 SS uniforms of World War II (1939–1945) 9

A concentration camp SS-Scharführer wearing a gray-green

field uniform. The silver-gray braid on the collar was used by

all SS non-commissioned officers

M43 field tunic of an SD -Unterscharführer. Note that, in con-

trast to Wehrmacht practice, the SS wore the eagle-and-swastika

device on the left sleeve, not the right breast

ready, it was expected that they would join the Waffen-

SS in order to serve in combat; some members in fact

had no choice and were drafted for combat service due

to their Allgemeine-SS billet being done away with or, in

situations involving disciplinary actions, transferred into

combat as the result of a hearing before an SS and police

court; Wilhelm Höttl was one such example.

As a result of Allgemeine-SS members transferring into

the Waffen-SS, a situation arose where an SS mem-

ber would actually hold two separate ranks - one in the

Allgemeine-SS and another in the Waffen-SS; it was fur-

ther possible to hold a reserve commission in the regu-

lar German military (Klaus Barbie, who was a reserve

Feldwebel (“sergeant”) is one such example). Waffen-SS

officers could also hold a regular or reserve commission,

with most Allgemeine-SS members being appointed to the

Waffen-SS reserves (the intent was to easily be able to

place such members on inactive duty once the war had

ended). With this policy, it was very common for SSmembers in the Waffen-SS to hold drastically different

titles from their Allgemeine-SS duties; a Standartenführer

in the regular SS could, for instance, serve as a Rotten-

führer (lance corporal) in a front line Waffen-SS com-

pany.

The security forces of the SS, such as SD troops which

were part of the Einsatzgruppen, were also all considered

part of the Allgemeine-SS , even though many of these per-

sons (especially in the field) wore uniforms nearly iden-

tical to the Waffen-SS; to further the confusion, many

agents of the security police (SiPo) in such “field” roles

wore Waffen-SS uniform even though they were not ex officio members of any branch of the SS. By 1943, the

SS had made a determined effort that most field person-

nel (including concentration camp staffs) were granted

Waffen-SS ranks and, in 1944, any Allgemeine-SS who

served in an area that commanded SS combat troops, was

granted a Waffen-SS commission.

To add to the confusion of multiple rank titles, uniform

regulations of this time created a mixture of pre-1939

SS shoulder boards, Wehrmacht -pattern shoulder boards,

and police shoulder boards depending on the duties of

the SS person in question. It was not until late 1944

that regulations specified that all grey-green SS uniformsshould only display Wehrmacht -style shoulder boards,

with the exception of SD and uniformed SiPo person-

nel who wore police-pattern shoulderboards with giftgrün

(“poison green”) underlay.[lower-alpha 7]

Another uniform insignia change occurred in April 1942

with the creation of the rank SS-Oberstgruppenführer .

This necessitated an insignia change for SS generals and

all SS generals at this time began wearing Wehrmacht -

style gold shoulder boards; Oberführers wore the shoul-

derboards of an army Oberst (“colonel”) just as Stan-

dartenführers did. The sole exception was Heinrich

Himmler who continued to wear the silver braided shoul-derboard with oak leaves of his rank as Reichsführer-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberstgruppenf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicherheitsdiensthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsatzgruppenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldwebelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_H%C3%B6ttlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmachthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicherheitsdiensthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officer


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10 4 POLICE RANKS AND INSIGNIA

SS . At the same time the collar patches for general offi-

cers were revised; the 1942 pattern used three oakleaves,

rather straighter than the old style, with zero to three pips

indicating rank from Brigadeführer through Oberstgrup-

penführer .

SS uniform suppliers could not keep up with wartime de-mand and, as a result, the Waffen-SS and Totenkopfver-

bande frequently wore uniforms drawn from army stocks,

with the addition of SS insignia. By the middle of World

War II, a wide variety of uniforms could be observed,

even within the same unit, and standardization was never

complete as previous stocks were issued or recycled. Per-

sonnel in combat conditions, away from stable supply

lines would combine uniform parts and insignia depend-

ing on what uniform parts were available.

Waffen-SS and SS-TV members during this period wore

army-style shoulderboards with SS collar patches; edging

of enlisted collar tabs was discontinued in 1940 while SS

officers’ collar patches continued to be trimmed in sil-

ver. Enlisted shoulderboards were made of black fabric

as opposed to army dark green or field-grey (grey-green),

and officers had a black underlay; all shoulderboards were

piped in waffenfarbe (branch-color). Junior leaders (Stur-

mmann and Rottenführer ) wore sleeve chevrons corre-

sponding to army insignia (Gefreiter and Obergefreiter ),

but with black backing; SS non-commissioned officers

wore army-style silver-grey braid around the collar.

The staffs of concentration camps had by now standard-

ized the skull collar patch, whereas between 1934 and

1938 the Totenkopf as well as various camp specific col-

lar patches, displaying Germanic letters, had been used as

unit insignia. Other unit insignia collar patches included

a Standarte-number patch for most of the Allgemeine-SS ,

a blank collar patch worn by SS main office staffs and

Sicherheitsdienst (and some SiPo) personnel, the sig-runes

Waffen-SS patch (adopted after 1943 as the standard unit

collar patch for most of the SS), and a numbered skull

patch which was used by personnel serving in field units

of the Totenkopfverbaende; the three senior Totenkopfs-

tandarten, formed into the Totenkopf division, would re-

tain these collar patches throughout the war, but the re-

maining TK-Standarten were redesignated SS-Regimenter

and switched to sig-runes in February 1941. As the warwent on, the Waffen-SS recruited heavily among con-

quered populations, creating 'ethnic' brigades and divi-

sions. These formations wore, in place of the sig-runes,

distinctive unit collar patches identifying them as Frei-

willigen (foreign volunteers). In the last days of World

War II, the SS also created a twin swastika collar patch

which was used by the “auxiliary SS” which were non-

SS members conscripted to serve in concentration camp

positions.

By 1943, a special staff non-commissioned officer po-

sition, known as Stabsscharführer had been adopted by

the Waffen-SS. This position, equivalent to an armyHauptfeldwebel , was denoted by a special sleeve insignia

and was not an actual rank, but rather a title for the

head SS non-commissioned officer of a particular com-

bat unit. The rank of Sturmscharführer was also unique

to the Waffen-SS as a type of regimental sergeant major.

The SS also, by this time, had created a private first class

position known as Oberschütze, denoted by a silver pip

worn on the sleeve of the SS uniform. The SS contin-ued to use the candidate rank of Anwärter during World

War II, but in a much less formal way especially in the

Waffen-SS where soldiers were typically enlisted directly

as an SS-Schütze, which was the military equivalent of the

Allgemeine-SS rank of SS-Mann. In 1943, the SS created

still a further entry rank with the position of Bewerber

(“applicant”) which was the lowest possible position in

the SS; it had no rank insignia.

SS generals of the Waffen-SS were typically addressed by

both their SS rank title and a corresponding general’s rank

associated with the Wehrmacht . All such general ranks

were followed by the phrase der Waffen-SS to distinguishthe SS General from their counterparts in other branches

of the German military. Thus, a typical title would be

Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS . For those

who had held police rank prior to 1944, the SS general’s

title could become rather lengthy. Ernst Kaltenbrunner,

for instance, was listed on the SS rolls in 1945 as Ober-

gruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS .

3 Final SS ranks 1934–1945

Main article: Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-

SS

4 Police ranks and insignia

Main article: Ranks and insignia of the Ordnungspolizei

In 1936, the regular German police, previously agencies

of the Länder or states, were nationalized and placed

under Himmler, who was named Chef der Deutschen

Polizei . The ordinary uniformed police were called the

Ordnungspolizei (“order police”). Known as the Orpo,

the Ordnungspolizei maintained a separate uniform, sys-

tem of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was also possible for

SS members to hold dual status in both the Orpo and the

SS, and SS generals were referred to simultaneously by

both rank titles. For instance, an Obergruppenführer in

the SS, who was also a police general, would be referred

to as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei . In late

1939, Orpo personnel were formed into a combat divi-

sion, recognizable by its use of police insignia; in 1942,this formation was absorbed into the Waffen-SS to be-

come the 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier division.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_SS_Polizei_Divisionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Ordnungspolizeihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnungspolizeihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Ordnungspolizeihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Waffen-SShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Waffen-SShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Kaltenbrunnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmachthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewerberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anw%C3%A4rterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obersch%C3%BCtzehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_first_classhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regimental_sergeant_majorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmscharf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauptfeldwebelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabsscharf%C3%BChrerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_SS_Division_Totenkopfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicherheitsdiensthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gefreiterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffenfarbe


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11

5 SS foreign legions

A reproduction field blouse of the British Free Corps , considered

a unit of the SS foreign legions; rank of Untersturmführer

As with the senior SS titles, volunteers of non-Germanic

countries had the title "Waffen" prefixed to their rank.

For instance, an Untersturmführer in the foreign le-

gions would be referred to as Waffen-Untersturmführer

whereas a regular SS member would be addressed as SS-

Untersturmführer . This helped to indicate non-native vol-

unteers, or to separate Germanic individuals in the divi-

sions composed primarily of non-Germans.

6 Germanic-SS uniforms

Main article: Germanic-SS

Germanic-SS uniforms were modified versions of the

original black Allgemeine-SS uniforms and were used

strictly by the Germanic-SS in occupied countries. Un-

like the foreign legions of the Waffen-SS, who wore the

standard field gray (grey-green) SS uniform to conform

with the rest of the Waffen-SS, the Germanic-SS was con-cerned solely with homeland duties and therefore were

provided with surplus black uniforms upon which were

displayed country specific insignia. This led to a wide

variety of insignia and rank titles depending on the coun-

try of origin, although standardized throughout the entire

Germanic-SS were the rank insignia pips and oak leaves

used by the SS proper.

The Germanic-SS also had a unique military award,

known as the Germanic Proficiency Runes, awarded for

qualifying under certain physical tests, in much the same

manner as the German Sports Badge and SA Sports

Badge were awarded to the regular SS.

The Germanic-SS effectively ceased to exist in late

1944, after which time most of its members were folded

into the foreign legions of the Waffen-SS. Due to most

Germanic-SS members being considered traitors to their

countries, Germanic-SS uniforms were often destroyed

by their owners to prevent identification as a German

collaborator.

7 Special SS uniforms

Formal dress uniform jacket of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Werner

Lorenz

SS officers had the option of purchasing formal-dress and

mess-dress uniforms. The formal uniform was not un-

like U.S. or UK dinner-dress uniforms, cut like a civil-

ian tailcoat without the tails, and worn with white or

black bowtie and waistcoat. This uniform also featured

silk-faced lapels, SS shoulderboards and collar patches, a

Totenkopf breast pin, and silver piping (broad silver-greytrouser stripes for general officers). Mess dress resem-

bled a double-breasted tuxedo, with collar tabs and silver

piping.

Officers could also wear a white cotton walking-out

blouse, cut like the black service blouse, between April

and September. Members were also permitted to wear a

white SS visored service cap with the uniform.

A waist-length white“waiter’s jacket” with collar tabs was

issued to those SS men who served as Hitler’s domestic

staff.

For use in hot weather climates like Southern Europe andNorth Africa, a tropical uniform of tan cotton was de-

veloped. This consisted of a Sahariana-style tunic with

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saharianahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mess_dresshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Lorenzhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Lorenzhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_dresshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborationismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SA_Sports_Badgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SA_Sports_Badgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Sports_Badgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_Proficiency_Runeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic-SShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Free_Corps


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12 9 SS MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS

An SS camouflage pattern

shoulder yokes based on Italian tropical uniforms, long-

sleeved field shirt, and trousers. Headgear could be a pith

helmet, sidecap, or an M40 tropical cap based on that of

the Afrika Korps . Insignia was similar to that of standardSS-uniforms but in tan thread on black backing. Police

units deployed to tropical climates wore an identical uni-

form with police insignia.

Waffen-SS troops were pioneering among the German

forces in the use of camouflage clothing and wore it exten-

sively during the war. Waffen-SS used a variety of origi-

nal spring and autumn designs in many patterns. Usually,

camouflage was worn on overall parkas or helmet covers,

and only late in the war were camouflaged tunics intro-

duced.

8 SS titles

In addition to the rank titles used by the SS, the following

titles were frequently interchanged when addressing SS

personnel in certain positions of authority.

• SS-Mann: A generic term for any member of the SS.

Also used as an actual rank of the Allgemeine-SS .

• SS-Führer : Originally an early rank of the SS, the

term SS-Führer designated commissioned officers of

the SS, and means “SS leader”.

• SS-Unterführer : This term designated non-

commissioned officers in the SS. An enlisted SS

soldier, applying for non-commissioned officer sta-

tus, was often known as an Unterführer-Anwärter .

• SD-Leiter : This title was used by senior officers of

the Sicherheitsdienst , typically those in command of

a major SD office or regional headquarters.

• SS- und Polizeiführer : Translated as “SS and police

leader”, these were some of the most powerful men

in the SS, commanding all SS, Gestapo, Kripo and

Orpo units in a given geographic region, often of the

size of a major military district.

• Oberste Führer der Schutzstaffel : Literally,

“Supreme Leader of the SS”, was a special ti-

tle intended to be held solely by Adolf Hitler. When

the SS became an independent organization from

the SA, Hitler was listed on SS officer rolls as SS

member #1 and the group’s Supreme Commander.

This title was intended to give Hitler a technicallyhigher SS rank to Himmler (Reich Leader of the

SS), but there is no photographic record of Hitler

wearing an SS uniform, and there was no special SS

insignia for Hitler above that worn by Himmler.[16]

From 1937 to 1945, Hitler also held the rank of

“Honorary Corporal” in the Italian Blackshirts,

which was a senior General’s rank.

8.1 Secret Police ranks

•

Main Article: Gestapo Ranks

In addition to the various titles and ranks of the SS, any

SS member who also served in the Gestapo or Kripo

held a unique criminal investigator rank, one of the more

common of which was Kriminalrat , a police investigator’s

rank denoting professional detectives. Arthur Nebe, a ca-

reer policeman, went by the title of Kriminalrat for most

of the 1930s, only using an SS rank when engaged in non-

Kripo activities. The Gestapo also maintained an entire

array of ranks which were used interchangeably with a

Gestapo member’s SS rank.

9 SS membership numbers

Adolf Hitler, as the Führer of Germany, was considered

SS member #1; Emil Maurice (considered one of the

founders of the SS) was member #2. Based on the senior-

ity system of SS membership numbers, this made Hitler

senior in the SS to all other members. The SS member-

ship number system was also a means to denote the “Old

Guard” of the SS, and to hold a number below 50,000 was

considered a special place of honor since it denoted SS

membership before the Nazi seizure in 1933. Numbersbelow 500 were considered the original cadre of the SS,

while any number below fifty denoted an original founder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Mauricehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo#Rankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Nebehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detectiveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kripohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo#Rankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackshirtshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Commander_(militant)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_and_Police_Leaderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicherheitsdiensthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioned_officerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeine-SShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_camouflagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrika_Korpshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith_helmethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith_helmet


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13

and, in most cases, a personal associate of Hitler. Himm-

ler, who held membership #168, was known to resent

those with lower numbers than his and was known for his

attempts to sabotage such SS careers for his own inter-

ests. Emil Maurice was one such example, who Himmler

attempted unsuccessfully to have dismissed from the SS

after rumors surfaced of Jewish heritage.

10 See also

• Comparative military ranks of World War II

• Degen, the SS Sword

• Glossary of Nazi Germany

• List of SS personnel

• Nazi party paramilitary ranks

• Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung

• Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party

• Ranks and Insignia of the German Army in World

War II

• Runic insignia of the Schutzstaffel

11 Notes

[1] This same tradition in its 'cavalry' aspect would also man-

ifest itself in the black uniforms and totenkopf badges of

the army’s Panzer troops.

[2] The regulation boot was by now the standard army-style

Marschstiefel or jackboot, a calf-high pebbled-leather

pull-on boot with hobnailed leather soles. The standard

size was a Euro: 41–42 or a US: 9.5

[3] Ironically, the iconic black uniform was brought out dur-

ing a short-lived legal prohibition on political party uni-

forms

[4] In contrast to the army, the black SS uniform included rid-

ing boots and breeches for enlisted men as well as officers.

[5] In practice, earth-grey was little if any different from

army field-grey ( feldgrau); however, Himmler resented

the army and preferred a distinct SS term

[6] However, many Waffen-SS officers had their tunics made

with green collars.

[7] Except that SD/SiPo shoulderboards used black where the

Orpo used dark brown

[8] This rank has been alternatively translated as “colonel

group leader”.[15]

12 References

[1] Himmler, Heinrich (1936), Die Schutzstaffel als anti-

bolschewistiche Kampf-organisation, p. 29 as quoted in

The Third Reich: A New History, 2001, p. 192.

[2] Givhan, Robin (1997-08-15). “Clothier Made Nazi Uni-forms”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-11-08.

[3] Toland, John (1976), Adolf Hitler , New York: Doubleday

& Co, ISBN 0-385-03724-4.

[4] Weale 2010, p. 26.

[5] Weale 2010, pp. 16, 26.

[6] Weale 2010, p. 29.

[7] Weale 2010, p. 30.

[8] Weale 2010, p. 47.

[9] Laqueur & Baumel 2001, p. 604.

[10] Cook & Bender 1994, pp. 288, 292.

[11] Cook & Bender 1994, p. 292.

[12] Cook & Bender 1994, p. 15.

[13] Kershaw 2008, pp. 308–314.

[14] Kershaw 2008, pp. 313, 316.

[15] Yerger, Mark (1997), Allgemeine-SS , Atglen, PA: Schif-

fer.

[16] Schutzstaffel der NSDAP, SS Officers List , Berlin (1942),

Reprinted by Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA (2000)

13 Bibliography

• Bedurftig, Friedemann, and Zenter, Christian

(1985). The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich.

• Cook, Stan; Bender, R. James (1994). Leibstan-

darte SS Adolf Hitler: Uniforms, Organization, &

History. San Jose, CA: R. James Bender. ISBN

978-0-912138-55-8.

• Hayes, A. SS Uniforms, Insignia and Accoutrements

• Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. W. W.

Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.

• Laqueur, Walter; Baumel, Judith Tydor (2001). The

Holocaust Encyclopedia. New Haven; London: Yale

University Press. ISBN 978-0-30008-432-0.

• McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. Amber

Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-49-5.

• Mollo, Andrew. Uniforms of the SS, Collected Edi-

tion Vol. 1–6 (ISBN)

• National Socialist German Workers Party

(1938).Deutsche Uniformen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Uniformenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_German_Workers_Partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-906626-49-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-30008-432-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Laqueurhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-393-06757-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-912138-55-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_the_Third_Reichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFKershaw2008https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFKershaw2008https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFCookBender1994https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFCookBender1994https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFCookBender1994https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFLaqueurBaumel2001https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFWeale2010https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFWeale2010https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFWeale2010https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFWeale2010https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel#CITEREFWeale2010https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-385-03724-4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Timeshttp://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/15/news/ls-22533http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/15/news/ls-22533https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runic_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_Insignia_of_the_German_Army_in_World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_Insignia_of_the_German_Army_in_World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Nazi_Partyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Sturmabteilunghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_party_paramilitary_rankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SS_personnelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Nazi_Germanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degen_(SS)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_military_ranks_of_World_War_II


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14 15 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Personnel Service Records of the SS, National

Archives and Records Administration, College

Park, MD.

• Weale, Adrian (2010). The SS: A New History. Lon-

don: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1408703045.

14 Further reading

• Angolia, John (1989). Cloth Insignia of the SS . R.

James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-0912138282.

15 External links

• German WWII Army & SS Rank & Insignia

• Grey uniform of a SS-Sturmbannführer of a self-propelled gun crew of the SS-Totenkopf-Division

• Black uniform of a SS-Standartenführer of the SS-

Totenkopfverbände

• Uniform of a SS-Unterscharführer of the early SS-

Totenkopf-Division

• Examples of different cuff titles of the SS

• Examples of different cuff titles of the Waffen-SS

• Cuff title of the “training camp Dachau” (car-

ried by members of the Waffen-SS there duringtheir “platoon leader training course” aka German

"Zugführerlehrgang")

• Cuff titles & Patches of the SS

http://ww2militaria.net/http://65.160.172.250/repro/r098.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r098.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r098.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r098.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r119.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r120.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/rc124.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/rc124.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r135.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/r135.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/rc137.htmlhttp://65.160.172.250/repro/rc137.htmlhttp://www.alanhamby.com/ranks/rank.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0912138282https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1408703045https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marylandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Park,_Marylandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Park,_Marylandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Archives_and_Records_Administrationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Archives_and_Records_Administration


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svg License: Public domain Contributors: This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this:

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Administration Original artist: Uploaded by User:OberRanks on en.wikipedia

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Tunic.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: en:Image:M36_British_Free_Corps_Tunic.jpg (uploader: en:User:Boothferry) Original

artist: en:User:Boothferry, see disc.

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based on Image:SturmabteilungSA.jpg Original artist: Ratatosk

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16.2 Images 17

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• File:SS-Unterscharführer_Collar_Rank.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/SS-Unterscharf%C3%


• File:SS-Untersturmführer_Collar_Rank.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/SS-Untersturmf%C3%


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•

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diatus

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utors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. (Original text: National Archives and Records Administration) Original artist: Uploaded

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