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The Schutzstaffel (German: [ˈʃʊtsˌʃtafl̩] ⓘ; lit. ' Protection Squadron '; SS; also stylised with Armanen runes as ᛋᛋ) 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.
Between 1925 and 1945, the German Schutzstaffel (SS) grew from eight members to over a quarter of a million Waffen-SS and over a million Allgemeine-SS members. Other members included the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), which ran the Nazi concentration and extermination camps.
SS–Gruppenführer Hans Lammers in black Allgemeine SS uniform, 1938 The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel (SS) served to distinguish its Nazi paramilitary ranks between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the Wehrmacht (the German armed forces from 1935), the German state, and the Nazi Party.
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.
(in German) Ethnic composition Named after Years Active Insignia Maximum Manpower — Kempf [a] Germans: General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf: 1939: 164–180 tanks — Böhmen-Mähren [b] Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia: 1944–1945: 1st: Kosaken Nr. 1: Cossacks: 1943–1945: 17,500 [citation needed] — RONA (Russische Nr. 1) Russians ...
Einsatzgruppen [a] (German: [ˈaɪnzatsˌɡʁʊpm̩], lit. ' deployment groups '; [1] also 'task forces') [2] were Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe.
The Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was created as the militarised wing of the Schutzstaffel (SS; "Protective Squadron") of the Nazi Party.Its origins can be traced back to the selection of a group of 120 SS men in 1933 by Sepp Dietrich to form the Sonderkommando Berlin, which became the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). [4]
In contrast to the German army's traditions, officer promotions in the SS were based on the individual's commitment and political reliability, not on Junker status or upper-class family background. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] Consequently, the SS officer schools offered a military career option for those of modest social background, which was not usually ...